Australia has found a very handy export: Robert Irwin. Now Qantas has put him to work at 35,000 feet.
The airline has teamed with the wildlife conservationist for its latest global “Australia in the Sky” campaign. The idea is simple. Use Irwin’s humour, khaki and worldwide appeal to sell not just the flight, but the Australian holiday waiting at the other end.
The campaign has run across North America, the United Kingdom and Asia since 16 September. It was filmed at Australia Zoo’s The Crocodile Hunter Lodge and onboard a Qantas aircraft. In the main film, Irwin falls asleep during the flight and dreams he is back at Australia Zoo.
Qantas joins forces with Robert Irwin
The film also helps visitors crack the code of Australian English. Irwin and Qantas crew explain that “nah yeah” means yes, while “yeah nah” means no. Frankly, somebody had to tell the rest of the world.
Then comes the visual gag: a Qantas cabin filled with Robert Irwin, Robert Irwin and still more Robert Irwin.
Explorer fares put substance behind the smile
Behind the fun sits a clear tourism pitch. Qantas is using the campaign to promote Qantas Explorer fares. Eligible travellers who book an international Qantas flight to Australia can add discounted domestic sectors to the same itinerary.
Current Qantas information says Explorer customers can save 30 per cent on base fares, excluding taxes, fees and carrier charges, across more than 45 Australian destinations. The program offers Economy and Business fares, subject to its conditions.
That gives the campaign a useful job beyond celebrity sparkle. It can help push overseas visitors beyond Sydney and Melbourne and into more of regional Australia. Cairns, Broome, Hobart, Uluru and the Whitsundays suddenly become easier additions to a longer trip.
Tourism Australia is also working with Qantas in several markets. Destination NSW says the first wave includes a Qantas Explorer push in Singapore, with joint promotion also planned in the United States, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.
Qantas Group Chief Brand and Corporate Affairs Officer Danielle Keighery said: “Robert Irwin is one of Australia’s most loved personalities and there is no one better placed to showcase our country to the world. For Qantas, that experience starts the moment customers step onboard one of our aircraft, through our distinctly Australian hospitality, food and wine. And with our Explorer fares offering discounted travel to more than 45 destinations across Australia, there has never been a better time to discover just how much this country has to offer.”
From loaf of bread to national carrier
Irwin’s bond with Qantas goes back well before this campaign.
“Qantas has been part of my life since I was about the size of a loaf of bread. Some of my earliest memories are walking down the aerobridge with Mum and getting to visit the flight deck,” he said.
“When I get on a Qantas flight, I’m amongst friends. There is something about the warm Australian hospitality that feels like home. Getting to join forces with our national carrier to show the world just how much Australia has to offer is something that means a great deal to me.”
There is another fine Australian touch. Brisbane-based Qantas cabin crew member Dan Jameson met Irwin on a Qantas flight years ago. Irwin drew a crocodile on Jameson’s arm. Jameson later had the drawing tattooed permanently, which is one way to make sure an autograph never goes through the wash.
Qantas will also support the 2026 Steve Irwin Gala in Brisbane, which raises money for conservation through Wildlife Warriors.
For travel advisers, the smart part is linking a famous face to a fare product people can actually book. Irwin brings the wildlife, humour and warmth. Explorer gives travellers a reason to turn one Australian stop into several.
Qantas is not simply selling the flight Down Under. It is selling what happens after touchdown with enough Robert Irwins to fill the cabin.
By: Octavia Koo – © 2026.
Read Time: 3 minutes.
Author Bio:
Octavia Koo arrived in Australia in the early eighties with little fuss and a good eye. Sydney suited her. At UNSW, she studied Arts, then found her footing in graphic design before drifting, quite naturally, into the digital side of things, building websites and shaping words that made people want to stay.
Singapore followed, and with it, the fast pace of tourism platforms and ITB Asia. Long before SEO became a buzzword, Octavia understood how stories travelled online. That’s where she met Stephen, and the seed for something more was planted.
A few years later, she joined Global Travel Media.
Today, Octavia works with quiet assurance, blending art, instinct and experience to produce stories that don’t shout; they simply work and linger.
