Things Qantas Does & Doesn't Do Well

[AFF Editor]

There has been plenty of discussion here and elsewhere over the years about things Qantas does well, and what it doesn't do so well.

In this series of opinion pieces, I give my overall thoughts on the things I think Qantas is great at, and what could be done better:

18 Things Qantas Does Well

Qantas may have its challenges, but there's lots to like about Australia's national carrier. Here are 18 things Qantas does particularly well.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

10 Things Qantas Could Do Better

I enjoy flying the flying kangaroo most of the time, but there are 10 things I think Qantas could improve including its call centre, aircraft cleaning and priority baggage.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Do you agree with these lists? Or perhaps you think there is something missing? You can share your own thoughts in this thread!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Like the lists.

To the ‘do well’ list I would add the QFi business class seat… it’s wide, long and the footwell is not restrictive. And no uncomfortable tension or retraction seatbelts such as SQ has on their 777s.

QF’s PEY seat is also pretty good, but needs a few extra inches pitch,

On the ‘not so good’ list is the economy seat pitch… or at least options like ‘economy plus’.

QF’s 737 business class… it’s really a PEY. It either needs 10 inches extra pitch, or to be priced as a PEY product on longer haul flights.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

"Influencing politicians and the media" - love it

 

[ChrisMars]

Refund process is still broken, and imho, should make it in the top 5 things to fix. The refund process is unacceptable, and I am surprised Qantas doesn't get audited, with big slap on the wrist to improve things.

Let's put aside the covid s***show, it's in the past, and see what's still broken in the refund process. Yes,often the refund happens promptly, but...
- refund might take weeks (months), with active following required from the pax.
- refund may or may not include credit card fee (why sometime yes, why sometime no, I personally don't bother following up, but I am puzzled).
- refund may only include only some of the pax of a booking, and yes, following up is required to get all passengers refund.
- call center keep saying refund will be done this week, but no, need to follow up the week after
- CR qantas point refund may or may not be processed correctly, may be processed at a completely different time (weeks apart) from taxes, why?
- CR taxes recalculation on itinerary change, yes Qantas knows how to take the money when taxes increase, but I shouldn't need to follow up to get a refund of the taxes when those decrease.

Note that in the list above, I am not correctly separating normal flight, voucher credit, CR flight, and yes, YMMV. Nevertheless, refund is broken and that's not acceptable. I don't think I should need to have a spreadsheet to keep track of the refund status of my flights. I don't cancel many flights, but in the last 3 cancellation, I had 3 major issues that needed several call to Qantas to get fixed. Not acceptable.

 

[jase05]

To the ‘do well’ list I would add the QFi business class seat

Absolutely.
It’s a very good J seat.
Shame about the sub par meal offerings and other parts of the J experience but can’t fault the actual seats

 

[Gold Member]

That’s a comprehensive analysis which I mostly agree with. I’m sure this thread will be a runaway success and will attract everyone’s armchair expert opinions, experiences and facts

I don’t believe this was intentional, but some of the “Does well” aspects come across as a Marketing piece for Qantas and their Frequent Flyer program as promoted features and benefits. For example, their Oneworld Alliance and Lifetime status are great features, but not something I would define as “does well” at compared to some of the other items like Safety and Friendly on-board service. Perhaps this is just my personal interpretation of the language used though.

Combining all of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program features listed seems to pad out the “Does well” article to 18 items, whereas the “Could do better” has only 10. But each of those 10 are tangible, real opportunities for improvement. Some will argue there’s an imbalance there, right or wrong.

If I could offer my 2c worth and highlight one aspect from each article that stood out to me:

“Does well” - Onboard service. On par with some of the best out there.
“Could do a helluva lot better” - The Call Centre (Regular, not Hobart/Auckland P1/CL VIP line). On par with some of the worst out there.

 

[Quickstatus]

Does well?

Cabin service - no because inconsistent
Safety - yes
Airport lounges - marginal
Wide body for transcontinental flights - partial
Network - partial
OW - not really when only single ticket bookings are recognised
Wifi - ok
Free seat selection - no if there are caveats
Free alcohol - there are caveats
App - sometimes
Customer service Facebook
LTG - ok for those with LTG but when you get to LTG no need to fly QF
WP1 - OK for some
Points club - OK but partial yes
Pyjamas - nothing special
Celebrating birthdays - didn't do for me on 2 occasions = inconsistent
Making money by also breaking the law - yes
Influencing politicians - at least QF is good at something

 

[SYD]

The obvious omission from “Could do better” Is the lack of CR seats on a lot of the network. Rolling out CR+ for those who can’t plan ahead isn’t an excuse to pull CRs from those who can.

Otherwise, the lists seem reasonable. I’d probably include a sub-point that OW membership gives the unique opportunity to attain OWE status that *A and ST lack. VA WP has some random additional perks with partners but one of the better ones goes away with the EY divorce.

 

[Daver6]

Wide bodies on transcon flights are becoming pretty rare. I don't think this is something they do well now. Pre-covid yes, now definitely not.

 

[mviy]

Wide bodies on transcon flights are becoming pretty rare. I don't think this is something they do well now. Pre-covid yes, now definitely not.

Until/unless Virgin decides to reintroduce these, there’s little reason for QF to change this.

 

[Clayton]

Yes, have to agree that its not Qantas' fault that Aussie politicians seem so easily bribed with a free coffee or wine in the Chairman's club, or indeed free upgrades to business and first for them and their family members' holiday trips But I do wish Australian media types were less gullible with reprinting Qantas press releases, as if they are verified facts and providing free publicity at the disadvantage of other airlines that provide better, more reliable, and more contemporary service to Australians travelling internationally.

 

[Blacksheep]

Never had any trouble with cabin crew, most of the time they've been fantastic.
Lounges, meh. Sydney Int Biz definitely needs an improvement big time, I don't fly that much but everytime I go the 'signature' dish is always out of stock.
Domestic Biz, I definitely wouldn't rate the Melbourne spice bar, but it's better than nothing,
Pizzas at the Perth Dom Biz is ok, something between domino/pizza hut and a small suburban pizza joint.
Calling the support centre as a Gold, total mixed bag. It has been much faster since Hudson took over though.

 

[anat0l]

Until/unless Virgin decides to reintroduce these, there’s little reason for QF to change this.

Or unless the WA mining and extractive industries go absolutely bonkers...like 2005-6 ridiculous.

 

[Franky]

Or unless the WA mining and extractive industries go absolutely bonkers...like 2005-6 ridiculous.

Why would you bring up conditions from 20 years ago????

 

[RooFlyer]

Until/unless Virgin decides to reintroduce these, there’s little reason for QF to change this.

Presumably, wide-bodies are more profitable than B737s ?

 

[OATEK]

Never had any trouble with cabin crew, most of the time they've been fantastic.
Lounges, meh. Sydney Int Biz definitely needs an improvement big time, I don't fly that much but everytime I go the 'signature' dish is always out of stock.
Domestic Biz, I definitely wouldn't rate the Melbourne spice bar, but it's better than nothing,
Pizzas at the Perth Dom Biz is ok, something between domino/pizza hut and a small suburban pizza joint.
Calling the support centre as a Gold, total mixed bag. It has been much faster since Hudson took over though.

We have found the International cabin crew very different from flight to flight. We had a lovely female FA looking after us on SYD-SIN late last year - but she is the only one I remember across our last 5 or 6 QFi flights mostly in J (since Covid).

We have had more consistent status recognition on EK than QF (when we were WP, now sliding down through the ranks as we mostly travel with other airlines).

I find QFi food ok, but nothing exceptional in J. Whereas on EK I have had some really exceptional meals in J.

I have run out of space to store my QF PJs, which have been quite useful. But AY used to have the best slippers, and EK have some, but not QF - obviously not a deal breaker.

The bottom line for us has been that given the cost of the QF fares, particularly in J and W, they are not really competitive with ME carriers, more aligned to BA.

 

[bsb]

Good summary and I agree with most except your comment about international boarding which simply does not make sense to me because that is a true s*** show.

After a month in Europe and multiple flights I feel I’m in a good position to compare and contrast what we get v Europe and I was quite surprised at how good the food in J on BA and LH was around Europe and this after only 12 months since I was there last (which is like a domestic QF flight). That is definitely an area for improvement. Of course the seats are better, but then again, you’re paying a lot more here than there. Overall European flights were pretty good.

I flew J QR and F Emirates internationally. I think QF compares very well to both - which will be controversial I know. I’m not a fan of EK styling but the suite is better than the last time I was in QF F. As for wifi. Well if you’ve flown QR you know how much you get and for how long and how slow it is, and on EK it never worked on any flight, so who knows. But if QF pulls off fast free for everyone that’ll be better than most. But TBH I fall in the camp of “I’m happy to unplug and enjoy”.

QF lounges, at any level, at any port, are way better than anything I experienced. And yet again the BA Flounge just floored me with its mediocrity and NHS bathrooms (why this still shocks me still surprises me all these years later).

But the thing that I found most interesting is that pax complain about the airline they’re flying. I read an article recently about AAs early 2000’s attempt at adding leg room and it’s abysmal failure. Unless domestically (international I accept is a different story) we want to pay more then I think QF does pretty well. That said, I now spend 90% of my domestic spend on VA J and I’m very happy with that experience (for the price).