Qantas launches flight you can only pay for in points

It sounds almost too good to be true. An international flight that won't cost you a cent.

Flying from Melbourne to Tokyo later this year, the flight is the first across the Qantas network where passengers will be able to travel overseas without handing over any money, news.com.au reported.

Instead, the "Points Plane" will only allow Frequent Flyers members to book a seat on board at a cost of 35,000 points for economy, 54,000 for Premium Economy 72,000 for business and 108,000 Qantas points for first class.

The new flight will also offer passengers a unique drinks and meal service, signature pyjamas and in-flight giveaways. The new flight will be open to Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum members who will all have equal opportunity to secure a booking on dedicated Points Plane flights.

"This is the first time we have dedicated an entire aircraft — let alone an A380 — to our frequent flyers, and we are expecting to see significant demand for these flights," Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth said in a statement.

"Four flight redemptions are made every minute and 60 upgrades are confirmed every hour. We know our members love to redeem their points on travel, so we're excited to be able to give them new ways to access these rewards.

"Member-exclusive flights mean more redemption opportunities for our members and less time searching for reward seats."

The first flight, set to depart Melbourne on October 21, 2019 for Japan, could be the start of more international trips requiring points as payment.

"If this concept is a success, which we think it will be, Qantas hopes to operate more regular Frequent Flyer-only flights to other international and domestic destinations in the near future," Ms Wirth said.