A senior Coalition official has demanded Anthony Albanese explain his relationship with Qantas after it emerged he was given dozens of free flight upgrades on personal flights with the airline and its affiliated airlines.

Australian Financial Review Excerpts from Joe Aston’s upcoming book, The President’s Lounge, listed at least 22 free upgrades on economy tickets dating back to 2009, when he was transport minister under the Rudd government.

In April 2010 he and his son also received an upgrade from Emirates to Rome from Sydney.

While flight classes were not disclosed, Aston estimated the value of the gift to be around $10,000.

The Prime Minister continued to receive free updates while in opposition between 2013 and 2019, with Aston stating that Mr Albanese would ‘contact Joyce directly regarding his personal travel’.

Although the upgrades have been publicly announced by Mr Albanese, he now faces calls to explain his relationship with Qantas.

National Leader David Littleproud said the actions had failed the test of public opinion, especially given Labor’s decision to reject pressure from Qatar for more flights, and given that Mr Littleproud had further increased competition in that country for a decade.

‘I think the Prime Minister should handle this one way or another. Come out and explain exactly what happened.

A senior Coalition official has demanded Anthony Albanese explain his relationship with Qantas after it emerged he was given dozens of free flight upgrades on personal flights booked with the airline and its affiliated airlines

Australian Financial Review Excerpts from Joe Aston’s forthcoming book, The President’s Lounge, list at least 22 free upgrades on economy tickets dating back to 2009, when he was transport minister in the Rudd government (pictured with Mr Albanese, then Qantas CEO Alan Joyce) 2023)

‘If he did not declare this because of his financial interests, why not?

‘And I think that’s a reasonable question to ask, given the important decisions this government has made about airfares and airlines in this country.’

He also accused Mr Albanese of ‘hiding’ after finishing a press conference in Samoa on Saturday, where he was attending the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

‘I think it’s important for the Prime Minister to come out today and do this to preserve the status of his office. Don’t hide like you did yesterday,’ said Mr Littleproud.

Employment Relations Minister Murray Watt defended Mr Albanese and declined to comment further.

“I can assure you… that Labor’s national interests have always been at the forefront of our decisions on aviation policy,” the former Sky News man said.