Anthony Albanese’s Qantas flight upgrade denials questioned

Anthony Albanese’s denials over Qantas flight upgrades have been slammed as “bulls**t”, according to an airline insider, as the crisis over airline perks escalated on Thursday.

It was reported a Qantas whistleblower called into question the Prime Minister’s categorical denial he had ever sought upgrades from former airline boss Alan Joyce.

“I know because I know. It’s bulls**t. It did happen,’’ the Qantas insider said.

“We all knew about it. It’s very well known inside Qantas. (Former government relations executive) Andrew Parker used to get calls from Labor staffers as well about upgrades.

“If there’s a senate inquiry and Alan Joyce goes he’s going to get asked.”

The development, as reported by News Corporation, came as Labor sought to shift the focus off the scandal engulfing Mr Albanese by pointing out flights taken by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on billionaire Gina Rinehart’s private plane.

Speaking in Perth on Thursday, Mr Dutton confirmed he had asked Mrs Rinehart’s office for an option to fly to a Bali bombing memorial in Sydney while he was touring central Queensland for which there were no commercial flight options available.

“We asked the Government for a RAAF flight. They played games, and they didn’t offer that flight,” he said.

“At that point, I think we had a charter estimate, which was about $40,000 to fly from Rockhampton to Sydney and then back to Mackay. I thought that was very expensive.

“The cheaper option for the taxpayer was for my office to speak to Mrs Rinehart’s office as to whether the plane might be available. That was at zero cost to the taxpayer.

“I don’t think you get as clear a statement as that from the Prime Minister. But that’s what happened.”

It’s understood Mr Dutton had only requested the RAAF flight less than 24 hours prior.

Mr Dutton was also asked on Thursday about a photo being shared of him and journalist Jos Aston, which is believed to have been taken in Sydney in April and was leaked by Labor.

Aston’s new book sparked claims about Mr Albanese’s relationship with Mr Joyce — claiming the Prime Minister had requested 22 flight upgrades from the then airline chief, including some while transport minister.

Mr Dutton said he had known Aston for a long time.

“I’ve known obviously a lot of journalists ... and I caught up with Joe for lunch only a little while ago,” Mr Dutton said.

“I do that with editors, with journalists on a regular basis. So I don’t think there’s any surprise about Joe’s connectedness.

“The government can throw all this mud and the (Prime Minister’s Office) can background journalists and the rest of it. What’s at stake here is the Prime Minister’s integrity.”

After poring through his records over the last five days, Mr Albanese has now denied ever contacting Mr Joyce directly.

But Mr Dutton has suggested that, in exchange for the supposed perks, Mr Albanese had acted in Qantas’ best interests when he blocked Qatar Airways’ bid for more flights into Australia last year.

Mr Albanese’s office issued a statement on Wednesday saying the PM had never called Mr Joyce for flight upgrades — which left open the question of whether he had used other means of contact.

It’s since been claimed, via text messages to a radio announcer not an official statement from his office, Mr Albanese never texted or emailed Mr Joyce, and never had in-person conversations with him regarding flight upgrades.

It’s also been confirmed Mr Albanese never directly shared any flight or travel plans with Mr Joyce, or other senior Qantas figures including senior executive Andrew Parker — amid reports he had handled Mr Albanese’s upgrades.

The PM has maintained all travel undertaken over his nearly 30 years in Parliament has been appropriately declared, and it’s understood all upgrades have been a decision ultimately made by Qantas.

Mr Albanese has not fronted media since Tuesday, but 2GB host Ben Fordham reported the PM had said he hadn’t spoken to Mr Joyce in “a very long time”.