Jason Clair asked for a flight upgrade after surgery

Education Minister Jason Clare has admitted he called Qantas to request a flight upgrade following leg surgery, but says he cannot remember whether he spoke to the airline’s government relations representative.

Talking about Sky News On Sunday morning, Clare said he took a personal trip from Sydney to Singapore in 2019 and received an upgrade on the flight he had previously claimed.

“It was a situation where I had just gotten out of the hospital,” he said. “I had surgery on my leg and yes, I asked for an upgrade and Qantas helped me. You may remember that I had melanoma on my leg. I had to cut it out, my family was abroad and I caught up with them as soon as I was allowed.”

The decision to host came after a week in which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese fielded daily questions about his 22 upgrades on Qantas flights in recent years and his relationship with former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce.

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Clare said he couldn’t remember all the details of his 2019 flight but had “probably” spoken to a Qantas government relations representative to arrange an upgrade for his solo trip.

“Yes, perhaps,” he said when asked if he had spoken to a government relations representative. “Look, I don’t want to mislead you, but you know, I definitely asked for this just to help me after the surgery. I remember picking up the phone and asking for some help.”

Albanese denied having any contact with Qantas and the airline did not respond to a request for comment.

Clare defended Albanese’s time in quelling rumors that he had contacted Alan Joyce about the updates, saying the Prime Minister had taken every effort to do his due diligence and correctly answer the questions put to him.