Is it 100% free, or do you still pay a certain percentage of the airfare? And what about taxes, fuel surcharge etc? Do you need to pay for that?
It's not free and the percentage is off the full fare economy rate....which is not cheap. SYD-MEL return is running at $125 economy inclusive of taxes ($48 without them!
). SYD-Canberra staff travel fare is just $12. Fees and charges bulk that up to $54.
Sydney to London is about $1K. Keep in mind that's standby and the aeroplanes are pretty full so you can spend 1-6 nights waiting to get on. You have to pay all fees and charges and these are generally included in the price that we get.
So, do they get to travel on their own, or do your staff travel benefits only cover your family when they're traveling with you? (BTW, does it include nieces and nephews as well?)
They can travel on their own although the kids need to be a particular age obviously. Parents in QF travel on 'QEB' fares which means that they're paying double what a worker is paying. With the deals out there these days you'd be pretty nuts to go QEB anywhere. $2K return to London? Pay a bit extra and get a few nights accommodation thrown as well and not have to suffer through standby travel.
Nieces and nephews don't get it, just immediate family. I think brothers and sisters can get it until they're aged 26 if you haven't nominated a travel partner- wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, concubine, significant other, friend, etc. Been a while since I looked at that side of things so I may be wrong.