Dear Mr Joyce,
I'd like your team to have a look at an example of the interconnection between QFF, QF, and your OneWorld partners.
My friend Mr James is a busy man, in fact he is flying to London 6 times in the next 12 months. He is a member of QFF and a keen collector of points. He also reads the forums of AFF and has come up with a sustainable means of ensuring his trips are all nearer the pointy end of the plane. (It's all serfty's fault!!
)
His plan is to earn points as follows:
Paid J Travel with BA: 95,000
Paid J Travel with LAN: 8,000
Paid Travel with QF: 80,000
JASA's/FASA's: 168,000
QF Bonus Points: 82,000
Shopping: 12,000
Credit Card Spend: 300,000
Car Rental: 8,000
Hotel: 40,000
My friend (acquaintance really!) Sid, plans to use the points to book three JASA's or at worst 2 JASA's and a WASA. (I can't see him getting 300,000 points on spend this year, he is way to careful with his money.) He always books 12 months in advance. (Well his secretary, PA is such a modern term, Ms Pugh does.) In effect Sid is only generating 10% of his points from paid QF products. (Always one for a good scam is Sid.) He is however very loyal to the Qantas Frequent flyer Program. Ms Pugh ensure he rents from Avis, shops at Woolworths (He likes the Every Day Rewards scheme.), buys his diesel from Caltex, stays at Holiday Inns, and uses his Amex card as much as possible. (He has even been known to buy some odd items from QF in flight duty free.)
Now Sid likes the finer things in life, sitting behind the wings is not for him. He has worked out that he can make his regular trips to the UK in J at the price of Y+ and it is sustainable. Our other friend, Mr Kerr, suggested that Sid is a bit unaustralian because he doesn't pay much to QF for his luxurious jet-setting travel. Although Sid, as a South African, took this as a compliment, he could see where Bill was coming from. Bill went almost as far as accusing Syd of driving the international arm of QF into the ground.
Sid asked Ms Pugh to gather a few pieces of information together and was shocked to see that QFI had lost over $200m last year. (Sid did worry that he may have been responsible for half a million of that in booze alone at the F lounge.) He contemplated sending a donation, but thought better of it when he saw how much you were paid Mr Joyce. He raised his eyebrows when he saw that QFF had made over $200m in profit. "How can that be" he gasped. "Surely they can't make all of that money from selling FF points at tiny amount each?"
Not known for deep thought, Sid mulled these numbers around in his alcohol shrunken brain over a glass of chateau Dan Murphy, and wondered if QFI and QFF were in someway interconnected.
What would happen if you, Mr Joyce, looked at Sid and said "he is not worthy, take those JASA's away from him." He'd be stuffed. He'd have to find another way to travel in comfort, and perhaps become loyal to another FF program. There would be no point in directing his hard earned FF points towards expensive classic awards. He'd have to consider one of those Middle Eastern carriers who is less expensive than BA or QF. Then he might have to change his credit card, hotel, and shopping habits. :shock: He wouldn't be using many of the QF benefits, but then he wouldn't be collecting any QFF points either. There was a balance to be had somewhere. If Sid was to pursue his QFF points he needed to be able to spend them appropriately. So "without QFI, QFF would struggle and vice versa" he mused.
Sid poured himself a Bells 10 year old blended whisky, (Did I say he was cheap?) and thought some more.
"This running an international airline lark seemed quite complicated. Lots of carriers with better service but lower cost bases. How does QF compete with them."
He recounted some of his QF experiences when The CSM didn't bother to say hello, and when the FA's were too busy chatting in the galley to help him out with a drink. "If only QF would empower their staff" he thought out loud. Happy staff makes for a happy flying experience. He really would prefer to fly QF, but Ms Pugh controls the purse strings tightly.
"If only QF FA's were like the nice CX ones." (Mind you if QF has a problem BA is on a very sticky wicket.)
He didn't like to admit it, but he really didn't mind paying a small premium over BA or CX if the product was right....but not over 20%!!
So I think what I am saying is that QFI and QFF would struggle to exist independently. Messing about with QFI will impact QFF.
Service needs to improve to differentiate from LCC
Make status special (By not giving it to everyone.)
I do concede that it is perhaps a lot more difficult than it appears. :-|
Yours Sincerely
TH
, the new J seats are a lot better then QF domestically, especially those 734's, and priority boarding, and i have to say that new MEL lounge is impressive, just see BNE tomorrow!
