27th February Big Qantas announcement

[Happy Trails]

'... to a blind man' is the rest of the saying, so that it makes sense .

Blind horse wasn't it, or was that just The Faces?

 

[lovestotravel]

Spending on cards that allocate points directly to QF currently on hold in the Cat household. AMEX points are being warehoused until the dust settles. May need to completely rethink our strategy...

Yep my major spend is now on an Amex issued Amex for points warehousing and CitiBank for overseas spend and domestic where Amex is not accepted, warehoused for Virgin/Singapore use later

I currently have a very large share of Qantas FF points, but will be burning through some on a RTW F fare

I think you've nailed it in that comment. Lots on commentary in this thread about cutting or introducing new routes, introducing new or updating aircraft, cutting staff, but little feedback around actual demand for Qantas services (or lack of), and its steady decline over the years (someone posted some stats that international patronage for Qantas is down 40%). Its easy(er) to cut costs through staff redundancies, employing use of efficient aircraft, and introducing other new technologies but where is the strategy to grow revenue?

Strategy for revenue is Jetstar, always has been.

Always easy to be "profitable" when QF pays for 787 training facilities etc etc.....

 

[JohnK]

You could book a flight now and not stop until they're burnt. I'm not suggesting that you do this as I'm sure QFF will be the same or roughly the same come the 27th Feb 2015.

But, I would say building a pile of points and storing them in a FF account has risks - there is no doubt that their value has dropped over the years and will certainly continue to do so. It's a bit like a property boom.....for 10, 15, 20 years prices rise and then BANG! Massive correction and a whole lot of value disappears in a heartbeat.

True. I know I am taking some risks storing the QFF points. I even don't mind if the QFF points devalue as that is expected.

My plan was to retire in 2-3 years and start using them on Oneworld awards till I got sick of flying. I did not plan on the CEO sabotaging the company's future.

 

[JohnK]

Hoarding points is the wrong strategy IMHO. Points are just a number on a website until you use them. Earn and Burn.

Not that simple.

 

[zainman]

Not that simple.

Let's agree to disagree then.

 

[davidj]

Points are just a number on a website until you use them. Earn and Burn.

Happy to except I won't be able to lock in any definite travel before this announcement. Book some tentative travel now and pay the change fee (in points) later perhaps.

 

[JTB]

Maybe they might do what Virgin did and drop the low cost carrier and focus on the more profitable full service airline.

 

[QF029]

I've just pulled the trigger on a redemption that ate up more than 99% of my QFF points balance.

Have you also stocked up on canned goods?

 

[Nizar]

Have you also stocked up on canned goods?

Lol great call son

 

[zachary.august]

Not that simple.

I guess it depends on how you value points but, at least to me, you're gaining them as a reward for something. Whether it's spending money or flying. Hence, unless you're going out of your way to book flights to gain points you aren't exactly paying for them. In this sense at least, I always see them as a nice to have. If I want to take a last minute spur of the moment getaway I will use points so I guess it's not a huge issue for me but I do understand how for some it's almost as valuable as money. As for the 'big' announcement, I think it'll be impacting the staff more than the customers at least directly. I am still booking with confidence on Qantas services and I think that I am not being daft.

 

[gwilli1]

All i hope for is that the AFF servers cope with the load this Thursday , as its going to be O U T O F C O N T R O L on here

 

[maninblack]

As for the 'big' announcement, I think it'll be impacting the staff more than the customers at least directly. I am still booking with confidence on Qantas services and I think that I am not being daft.

Right. I think they dare not piss off their customer loyalty base too much, people can be very fickle, they will just burn their points and walk. Its happening already. Plenty of other options out their particularly internationally. Jobs are out of sight out of mind, as are routes to some extent.

 

[cove]

The art of cutting costs out of an enterprise without the flying customers noticing will be a big ask seeing the cuts are close to $700 million a year for 3 years.

 

[maninblack]

Indeed, there is a tipping point.

 

[cove]

Will the Club start charging for drinks?

 

[whatmeworry]

All i hope for is that the AFF servers cope with the load this Thursday , as its going to be O U T O F C O N T R O L on here

Most users ever online was 1,158, 27th June 2012 at 08:21 PM.

I wonder if we will get a new record for users online that day?

 

[Clivem]

Will the Club start charging for drinks?

No the glass size will be put in an accelerated downward trajectory until 'thimble handling' becomes a WH&S R.S.I. concern for the bar staff ........

Oh hang on, that doesn't work because as we are seeing now everybody is just ordering two glasses and not one already. Following that path becomes "Can I have 5 shoot glasses of beer please" .......8 month later ......"Can I have 12 thimbles of beer please".

The QP's cutting back of 'open for service' hours is damaging enough in some ports for them now already.

I'd suggest within an hour of QF charging for drinks Borghetti would have the contractor teams in around the country pulling down walls for his extensions...


All the focus on the 27th ...........yet VA's numbers on the 28th will be interesting in their own right .........but it could take until the following Sunday (March 2) before anybody notices.

 

[CamDownUnder]

All the focus on the 27th ...........yet VA's numbers on the 28th will be interesting in their own right .........but it could take until the following Sunday (March 2) before anybody notices.

No I think there will still be plenty of focus on the VA numbers!

 

[amaroo]

Wonder when competitors will start courting QFFs with the speculative status match carrot?

 

[tgh]

Passes my mind (at post#517) ..that aj may finally have learned something about pr.
Everyone is expecting the worst , maybe the actual announcement will be quite benign.
While folks are popping the bubbly after a huge sigh of relief..a few sharp changes might slip through buried in the detail.