One of the great things about AFF is the contest of ideas and sharing of knowledge across a range of travel related issues.
I see plenty of instances where members have strongly pro-Qantas views which are sometimes consistent with QF’s official line. When these members argue their position strongly, I can understand why people, including the OP, might be sceptical.
But I’ve also seen similar from members advocating for VA, SQ and to a lesser extent other airlines and hotels.
I enjoy reading a range of views, including those that are different to my own. Sometimes I even learn something.
There are members who are relentless in pushing a point - but that’s the same at work, or in my social circle.
And when people write things that are implausible, irrational, or who are just trolling, this is when the “ignore” button is very helpful.
While the official QF rep stopped contributing to AFF long ago, I’m not naive enough to think they’re gone completely. Whether they remain active via another handle, or just use AFF for information gathering, is open to debate.
However, if an airline rep (for any carrier) is active on the site, surely there’s more advantage and goodwill to be gained by doing so transparently with an official presence. They’d be able to answer questions authoritatively, provide assistance and so on.
I have no evidence to say if there are airline reps posting anonymously on AFF or not. But if this thread has caused people to stop and think about what they read, then that’s probably a good thing.
It’s a worthwhile reminder not to believe everything you read and to think critically about the motivations of the writer.
A couple of final thoughts:
Deleting this thread would have been the easy option, so credit to the mods for allowing a mature discussion.
And regardless of what you think of the OPs views in this thread
@Gold Member has been an active and generous AFFer for a long time. I’m sure plenty of people have benefited from the knowledge and experience this member has contributed - especially the flight deals.
I do hope you remain an active contributor
@Gold Member.