Qantas introduces Qantas Joey Playbox iPad app for kids

Free to download, the app is designed for children aged 4 – 8 years and includes four games, encouraging kids to play freely and creatively.

What does it let them do?

Children can design their own airport, help prepare the runway for planes to take off, collect baggage, and decorate digital paper planes, postcards and bags. They can also scan their Qantas boarding pass to unlock additional features for the planes and postcards, which they can then share with friends and family.

The game was designed by Tasmanian company, Secret Lab, who first developed the concept at Qantas’ inaugural Hackathon. The company won second prize for its children’s game concept and Qantas commissioned them to create the game for its youngest customers, the fastest growing segment of the Qantas Frequent Flyer membership base.

…Qantas has over 250,000 flyers in “The Joey Club,” Qantas’ Frequent Flyer program for children. Looking after our youngest travellers is very important to us, so the new app has launched just in time for peak family travel.

While exciting for little ones, we know travelling with kids can be stressful for parents and carers, so the new app is a great way to keep the kids entertained, whether in the lounge, in-flight or at home during the school holidays.

In this high-tech age, young children are often proficient in iPad use, so it’s important we continue to innovate and cater to our youngest audience. We’ve specifically designed an app with games that help children understand what goes on at an airport in a fun and entertaining way. Qantas Head of Digital and Entertainment Jo Boundy

Other Qantas initiatives to help make family travel easier during the peak holiday travel season.

The airline will add pop-up “Joey Club” kids’ zones in the First Lounges and the whole family can enjoy favourites such as cheeseburgers and chocolate sundaes from the new summer menu. Inflight, Qantas Entertainment includes additional children’s films and Christmas specials, such as National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation as well as Christmas-themed boarding music.

Other existing family friendly initiatives include:

• Dedicated children’s movie channel with 21 hours of content and a dedicated TV channel with 28 hours of TV shows
• Kids menu in the Sydney and Melbourne First Lounges
• Dedicated Kids Zones across the Qantas domestic and international lounge network complete with iMac computers, children’s furniture, toys and books.
• Infant meals (up to 2 years of age) providing a range of top brand baby food, milk, baby bottles, cereals and rusks
• Kids meals in-flight (over 2 years of age)
• Priority family boarding (staff on hand at the boarding gate ready to collect the stroller and to further assist with pre-boarding the aircraft)
• Additional Baggage Allowance (include a collapsible stroller or push-chair, collapsible cot or bassinet; or car seat or baby capsule.

The app can be downloaded for free on the App Store.

Qantas is waiving the normal join fee of $89.50 to the Joey Club at www.qantas.com/kids until 31 December 2015. All new Australian-based Frequent Flyer members between the age of three and ten years old will receive a special Joey Club kit when they join the program.

The Qantas Joey Playbox app includes the following games:

•  Airport Playbox
  Design your own airport; layout, runways, engineering hangars and support vehicles. Creative free play for all ages.
• Tarmac Tiles
  Line up the runway so the planes can take off. Grid-based puzzle solving and pattern awareness, for slightly older or advanced kids.
• Baggage Snake
  Collect the baggage, and avoid the barriers without driving your truck off the tarmac. Problem-solving and spatial navigation fun for older, or advanced, kids.
• Design a bag, plane or postcard
  Decorate your perfect bag, draw on and decorate three different styles of paper planes, and draw on and decorate postcards to email or share with friends and family. Creative, design-focused free play for kids of all ages.

Click here to see a gallery of the new app.

Image credit©Qantas