Qantas has bowed to political pressure and concerns from residents to reduce some of its regional airfares in 16 regional towns across Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Key points: Airfares to the nearest capital city will be capped at $800 return

Airfares to the nearest capital city will be capped at $800 return Qantas says it has responded to concerns expressed by residents during Senate inquiry

Qantas says it has responded to concerns expressed by residents during Senate inquiry Local residents and MPs have welcomed the new discounts

Currently residents in areas such as north-west Queensland could pay around $1,000 for a return flight to Brisbane, but the airline will now cap airfares at $800 for a return trip to the nearest capital city.

In the first stage, Qantas is extending its discount fares scheme for residents in the Queensland towns of Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Longreach, Barcaldine, Blackall, and Western Australian towns of Karratha and Kalgoorlie.

According to Qantas those airports and councils have committed to reducing passenger fees, which contribute to airfare costs.

The discounts are also earmarked for Moranbah, Roma, Charleville, Broome, Port Hedland, Newman, Paraburdoo, Alice Springs and Yulara (Ayers Rock) but negotiations are ongoing.

The announcement comes just over two months after the Senate committee inquiry into the regional air services handed down its report concluding it could not find evidence of price gouging but said that did not mean it was not occurring.

Qantas responds to public pressure

Qantas Group executive manager of corporate affairs Andrew McGinnes said the airline was responding to the concerns of residents in regional Australia which were raised during the Senate inquiry into regional services.

"We've listened very closely, there were some very good examples of individuals who had had experiences where it was very difficult for them and their family to travel to a capital city when they needed to, often at the last minute and that's specifically what this is supposed to address," Mr McGinnes said.

"What I think we've heard very clearly is that people travelling at the last minute have a particular burden because often the last seats on the aircraft are the most expensive

"So that's why we've moved specifically to add this discount to the ones we already have in place."

Mr McGinnes said regional travel had a different cost base and often the comparison was made with overseas travel, but he said the reality was the economies of scale were simply different.

Reality for locals

Cloncurry's Hamish Griffin has long been outspoken on the subject of regional airfare prices. ( ABC North West Queensland: Harriet Tatham )

Cloncurry resident Hamish Griffin said 'exorbitant' was the only way to describe flights in the bush.

"Normally they would advertise a fare that might be $700 or $800 and then depending on how far out you book it you can get a 20 per cent or 30 per cent discount which is still a $500, $600, or $700 fare … one way," Mr Griffin said.

Mr Griffin said a cap on airfares was something he hoped would come out of the Senate inquiry.

"So for Qantas to have put this cap on … I see it as a win," he said.

Mount Isa resident Nadia Cowperthwaite welcomes the Qantas regional residents fare changes. ( ABC North West Queensland: Esther MacIntyre )

Mount Isa resident Nadia Cowperthwaite said capping the price of flights would be a big help for family emergencies.

"I've known a lot of people who haven't been able to go to funerals, I didn't go to a funeral myself once because of it," Ms Cowperthwaite said.

"So it's a relief to know that if something goes wrong or if the worst happens I can actually go down and see my family."

Further calls to reduce regional and remote airfares

Member for Traeger Rob Katter said Qantas had succumbed to community and political pressure, but more airline data needed to be collected by both levels of government to address the high cost of airfares.

Local Mount Isa MP Robbie Katter is calling for more data to be collected in the airline industry. ( ABC News )

"Until you get the government to get a visual of the inventory of pricing, we're really wasting our time and big business are invited to exploit and take advantage of remote communities where we have no other choice to travel those great distances."

Mr Katter said the Queensland Government had not done anything towards helping address airfare pricing and the Federal Government could do more.

"The very unfortunate thing is it's the poorer people in our community that get the most impacted, you know if they've got family sick, doctors' appointments or something related to their kids' sports, they just can't afford to travel," he said.

Queensland's Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the discounts were a positive step in the right direction but were no doubt influenced by the Senate inquiry and lobbying by regional MPs.

"I think there's certainly been a lot of focus on [airfares] over the last 18 months or so by governments of different levels and MPs but also Qantas needs to be competitive, with their competition with Virgin across the Australian market.

"I think they want to ensure that regional Queenslanders when they transfer onto those long haul flights, that they're flying with Qantas so if that means cheaper fares for regional Queenslanders, that's great news," Mr Bailey said.