Why Qantas Airways is Offering to Pay For Your US Passport

Qantas Airways has launched a clever promotion offering American visitors $135 off their ticket price, to cover the cost of a new passport.

It's an innovative marketing strategy that plays off one interesting factoid, and another longstanding trend in US travel: According to the US State Department, in 2016 the total number of valid passports in circulation was 131.8 million.

That means that more than half of Americans don't possess valid papers and can't travel abroad, a fact that the Qantas marketing team is using to their advantage.

"We've heard the majority of Americans don't own a valid US passport. Since we're not your typical airline, we'd like to do something about that," reads the tagline.

Meanwhile, Oz has been making regular appearances on several different travel lists over the years.

Last year, Australia was named the top bucket list destination among affluent globetrotters in Virtuoso's network, a travel agency group specializing in luxury travel.

Byron Bay landed in fourth spot on Contiki's list of top 20 travel experiences among Millennials for 2017.

And the Great Barrier Reef also cracked the top 10 list of biggest travel fantasies among TripAdvisor users last year as well.

"G'day America, it's come to our attention that Australia's at the top of your bucket list," says a handsome, toothy flight attendant in the promotional video.

"The thing is, if you want to come and explore our beautiful country, you need a valid US passport. But not everyone has one."

Visitors who book a Qanats flight to Australia will be able to knock US$135 off their airfare, which is meant to cover the cost of a new passport application.

The strategy borrows a page from Hotels.com, which also offered a $110 discount off their room rates to help cover the cost of a free passport.

The Qantas offer is available until November 28.