SYDNEY - Qantas Airways will make millions more seats available for frequent fliers, but passengers will need to use more loyalty points to secure their tickets, as chief executive officer Vanessa Hudson overhauls a model that had increasingly frustrated customers.

Frequent flier members will have access to 20 million new seats for travel over a 12-month booking window, the airline said on April 8. They will be available for booking immediately on all international and domestic routes and in every class of travel.

Ms Hudson is attempting to appease passengers who have struggled to swop their points for flights to the destinations they want. The change, which will cost the airline A$120 million (S$106.6 million) in investment next financial year, adds to a growing list of initiatives pushed through by the new CEO since she took over from Mr Alan Joyce in September.

The points required to book reward seats under the new programme, which Qantas calls Classic Plus, will vary like normal airfares. They will be lower during off-peak periods or when booking early, and higher during peak periods.

With the details of the frequent flier programme changes finalised, the carrier confirmed it will commence a buyback of as much as A$448 million of shares.

The revamp of the loyalty business underpins its goal to generate between A$800 million and A$1 billion of operating profit a year from the unit by June 2030. The business is on course to deliver earnings of A$500 million to A$525 million in the 12 months ending June 2024, Qantas said on April 8.

The current Classic reward model remains. It typically requires fewer points for a seat but does not offer the same scope of redemption options. The airline will continue to offer more than five million seats under this programme. BLOOMBERG