Building a stronger Qantas

[moa999]

But fuel is not the same across all airlines, RPKs are directly impacted by fleet choices, if you look at senior management, their past and the parallels with Ansett you soon see why they have fleet issues, and they missed a golden opportunity to get it right post 911 at a cheap price.

Well lets go back then.
In 2002 Qantas had a pretty major order book - http://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/about/investors/ABNAmro2002AustralianDebtConference.pdf

• A total of 48 aircraft, with a total value of A$11.5 billion:
• 2 x Dash 8-300
• 15 x Boeing 737-800
• 13 x Airbus A330
• 6 x Boeing 747-400ER
• 12 x Airbus A380
Of these 48 aircraft, some 24 deliver in the period January 2002 to June 2003

So post GFC they were investing in the domestic fleet, finishing the orders for 747s and had begun making the A380 orders (which were ultimately upsized and delayed)

 

[Moopere]

The 767s may rattle and roll, but perhaps a refit may have helped some of the problem (considering there are some younger ones out there)

Yes, I often wonder about this.

From this customers point of view its the tired interior and lack of IFE that makes me roll my eyes when flying on the domestic 767. Give the tube a coat of paint and refresh the interior and I'd be as happy as anything. Is there an inherent problem with the 767 stopping airlines doing this? ie; fuel burn uncompetitively high or something????

 

[Sprucegoose]

Hindsight is wonderful isn't it!

Would the 777 have helped the roo? More than likely. Forgetting the 777, would some foresight have helped the Roo prepare for the 380 and 787 delays? You would think so. The 767s may rattle and roll, but perhaps a refit may have helped some of the problem (considering there are some younger ones out there)

QF really got caught on on the ever expanding rollling delays to the 380 and 787. It was a moving target. In hindsight the 777 became a more viable option, as things stand now, however the ultimate delays were not known when that decision would have provided the least cost.

 

[markis10]

So Executive salaries are just 0.45% of staff costs.So even if you cut their remuneration to one third of the present amount your savings are only 0.3% of the budget.
Or saving 8.5 million is going to make little difference to QFis 218 million loss.

I am not suggesting cutting them will make much difference, I just find the jump in their pay unpalatable given the condition QF finds itself in.

 

[medhead]

Or saving 8.5 million is going to make little difference to QFis 218 million loss.

Well 4% of the loss actually. On par with the return.

 

[chonetsao.co.uk]

Can we move on from Pilot's pay from Page 100?

 

[sarvowinner]

Can we move on from Pilot's pay from Page 100?

Hear! Hear! Yes, the analysis of the financial position of Qantas is very important & does impact AFF. However it is very difficult to sieve through all the posts to find out what will directly impact us in terms of route additions & cancellations, as well as upgrade opportunities etc. Would it be possible to continue the conversation on Qantas in a dedicated thread?

 

[markis10]

Hear! Hear! Yes, the analysis of the financial position of Qantas is very important & does impact AFF. However it is very difficult to sieve through all the posts to find out what will directly impact us in terms of route additions & cancellations, as well as upgrade opportunities etc. Would it be possible to continue the conversation on Qantas in a dedicated thread?

The route changes already feature in their own thread, this one is more of an overview discussion, that occasionally gets down to detail.

 

[Stuffh]

Sorry to interrupt. As a newbie in here, can someone please point me to a page where all the acronyms are explained? Thanks

 

[moa999]

Sorry to interrupt. As a newbie in here, can someone please point me to a page where all the acronyms are explained? Thanks

Link is in the Intro Forum:
http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/introductions/a-note-our-new-members-23237.html

Welcome to AFF.

 

[ajw373]

Guy's there were no FF enhancements or any change to the FF program in the latest announcement which is what this thread is about, so do you think that maybe any talk about the programs etc could be taken to on of the many threads in the following link?

Qantas Freq Flyer Program "Enhancements" October 2010

 

[TonyHancock]

It's a bit scary posting now. I just needed to check if I'm a protagathingy!

Did anyone think that the weekend QF ad did anything to help them?

 

[QF WP]

I couldn't have put it better myself, ajw373 - I had just mentioned that to straitman whether this thread has run its course, as nobody had commented on the details in the OP for quite a number of pages ...Time to do just that....

For those that want to continue discussing Any Time Access and other relates WP issues, time to head over to that thread.

 

[serfty]

Guy's there were no FF enhancements or any change to the FF program in the latest announcement which is what this thread is about, so do you think that maybe any talk about the programs etc could be taken to on of the many threads in the following link?

Qantas Freq Flyer Program "Enhancements" October 2010

I couldn't have put it better myself, ajw373 - I had just mentioned that to straitman whether this thread has run its course, as nobody had commented on the details in the OP for quite a number of pages ...Time to do just that....

Many posts have been relocated to a more pertinent thread. Please continue discussion on the Narrowing of benefits between WP and other statuses there:

• http://www.australianfrequentflyer....rrowing-benefits-between-wp-lessor-32634.html

This thread has now been unlocked so members can continue to use this thread to discuss "Building a stronger Qantas".

 

[BillW]

If I stay at a hotel and the experience is unfriendly and inefficient, I don't go back. Also, hotels regularly survey me because they are interested in my experience. I don't shop at Myer because there is no service. We avoid Qantas for similar reasons. How hard, how much more expensive, can it be to place more emphasis on service and customer satisfaction?

 

[Moopere]

If I stay at a hotel and the experience is unfriendly and inefficient, I don't go back. Also, hotels regularly survey me because they are interested in my experience. I don't shop at Myer because there is no service. We avoid Qantas for similar reasons. How hard, how much more expensive, can it be to place more emphasis on service and customer satisfaction?

Its not really any more expensive, so far as I can tell, at least, not in a way that matters. In my view service levels start and end with management. Provide employees with a clear vision of the service expectation and then use a mechanism to continuously check if those levels are beinhg reached and maintained - its dead set easy, but management buy-in can be extremely difficult. Without a motivated senior manager laying down the law to middle and junior management you get no results.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Its not really any more expensive, so far as I can tell, at least, not in a way that matters. In my view service levels start and end with management. Provide employees with a clear vision of the service expectation and then use a mechanism to continuously check if those levels are beinhg reached and maintained - its dead set easy, but management buy-in can be extremely difficult. Without a motivated senior manager laying down the law to middle and junior management you get no results.

I disagree somewhat with this... I think money is an issue.

management can have all the vision they want, but without adequate staff to carry it out then you just end up with overworked and dissillusioned staff...

compare crew levels on sq vs qf... if what I read is right qf is now down to almost the bare minimum. I imagine that could be fairly stressful, particularly when there is so much more to be done these days with fancy service in 2nd class. soon there will be a third meal provided on some ultra long haul flights in economy.

same with customer service... management can share the vision that all complaints are responded to within 7 days... but without the staff...

so throw money at it and you can have better service, happier less grumpy staff, and happier passengers....

just as one example, have a look at the work of a single flight attendant serving one of the aisles in business class on a Mel-syd flight. they spend an eternity taking the tray out, righting the glass, removing the plastic covers, filling the water, and now, more recently, having to ladle a scoop of some sauce over something. it all looks great, and the vision is there... but it takes the one person forever to get to the last row.

if they had 2 crew on each cart it would be a lot quicker and less workload.

 

[TonyHancock]

I disagree somewhat with this... I think money is an issue.

so throw money at it and you can have better service, happier less grumpy staff, and happier passengers....

I could not disagree more on this. The most critical thing is empowerment. A much used and abused management term these days. Keeping good staff happy is not all about money it is about allowing people to make decisions and involving the folk that know what they are doing to get on and do it. (Maslow's Hierarchy) People should get a fair wage, but they should also be treated with respect and allowed to get on and do their jobs. I think Virgin is better at this than Qantas.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I could not disagree more on this. The most critical thing is empowerment. A much used and abused management term these days. Keeping good staff happy is not all about money it is about allowing people to make decisions and involving the folk that know what they are doing to get on and do it. (Maslow's Hierarchy) People should get a fair wage, but they should also be treated with respect and allowed to get on and do their jobs. I think Virgin is better at this than Qantas.

I completely agree on the staff empowerment aspect... but remember that cabin service is a highly specified role... I have seen staff manuals that go into minute detail explaining the procedures that need to be undertaken for each service activity.

i can imagine being cabin crew being told, on top of everything else you have to do, that there is now a service enhancement requiring you to scoop a ladel of stuff over the top of the hot pancakes etc as i saw the other day in a biz class breakfast flight MEL-SYD.

They are being asked to do so much more, with less staff. That to me is a money issue, not necessarily about empowerment?

 

[Oneworldplus2]

If I stay at a hotel and the experience is unfriendly and inefficient, I don't go back. Also, hotels regularly survey me because they are interested in my experience. I don't shop at Myer because there is no service. We avoid Qantas for similar reasons. How hard, how much more expensive, can it be to place more emphasis on service and customer satisfaction?

Depends on where you set the bar...????

I was on a flight with a mate (unbeknown to me at the time), he said the flight was sh!thouse when l met him at the baggage carousel, but to me it was good. Same flight, 2 different opinions. Some people want the world to bend over for them...