Reality is since:
- the recent enhancements;
- the higher QF prices; and
- underwhelming P1 treatment (nothing bad, just a complete failure to deliver me anything above and beyond)
I have modified my flying away from QF by a reasonable amount.
Interesting to read the comments.
Appears to be a trend where LTG members are more open to the idea of switching away.
Like most of you who have left QF - there isn't one single reason why I've not stayed but agree with the sentiment that there is no standout reason.
The death of a thousand cuts.
The grass is certainly greener if you control your own spend and have flexibility.
Putting my FFP professional hat on, there is certainly a culture shift in a certain portion of the traveller population and I don't believe the smart folks at Qantas have figured out how to engage with this growing segment. Loyalty is taking on a new meaning in the minds of this demographic. The same as how loyalty in the telco industry made a giant shift about 6 years ago - airlines are entering a similar phase now. Essentially this presents an opportunity to re-work the model to improve financial performance. I don't see much changing in Australia since the member base is so captive and banks are locked into lucrative points agreements.
Totally agree with the above comments.
However my current "trial-separation" with QF (we're not talking, not even shared-custody), is a direct result of poor P1 treatment. Under-delivering is much worse than never-promising in the first instance.
I won't concur on the comments regarding ASAs, as I was loyal to QF for many years prior to ASAs existing, let alone discovering them. Hell - I was loyal back when my spend was only QP/PS level, and that loyalty led to QF earning ridiculous amounts of self-funded spend from me, far in excess of what I would have spent if it wasn't for loyalty (had I only been purchasing on BFOD or product/value decisions).
ASAs were a nice feature, but their removal has no impact on my loyalty.
Simpler and Fairer, the Jetstarisation of CNS, poor attitudes of the QF Loyalty department and customer-unfriendly policies have all had a much more significant impact on both my personal loyalty, as well as advocacy for the brand.
Professionally however, as an airline - they are an excellent brand, and generally do have an excellent product. The Qantas Frequent Flyer program is no longer part of that statement.
I think Virgin/Velocity represents the best option for most primarily domestic flyers, and I believe that impending improvements to the Velocity program will only strengthen it.
I think that QFF's failings are masked by record billings, and they have overplayed their hand when it comes to enhancements.
The duopoly in Australia provides a significant safety net for them, but the reality is that they have foregone an opportunity cost in the range of hundreds of millions, by over-enhancing the program.
I won't say that QF and I won't reconcile........ but it ain't on the cards for this week.
) a little ahead of when I had planned, due to some circumstances not of my own making and hope to maintain that for a while, though mASAs getting the chop sure makes it hard sometimes.
