I think the most pertinent question here is how many elite members do they have in the various elite levels (Silver, Gold, Platinum, etc.) and how does that compare to other airlines? One thing people constantly forget about Qantas is that the frequent flyer program is only applicable to Aussies (maybe Kiwis if we're being generous). The reason being is you need to fly 4 segments with Qantas Group airlines. That would be very tricky indeed for most travellers. Now contrast that with a program like United or British Airways. If you travel enough internationally you can make it work. After all, United has an extensive network to the Americas and BA for Europe. And no, I'm not picking on those airlines, you can make the exact same argument for Air Canada's Aeroplan too (in fact one could argue it's even easier since spend in CAD is one of the basis used for calculating status). The only reason you'd fly Qantas is if you plan on coming to Australia. And as popular a destination as Sydney or Cairns may be to you or I, it's not very popular globally.
So now that we've established that it's mainly Aussies who will ultimately earn status on Qantas the next question is how to attract them over? For Aussies primarily travelling internationally, Qantas is in a bit of a pickle there as there are numerous airlines that offer better elite benefits, better fares and schedules and service. For instance, United Premier 1Ks (equivalent to P1). get upgrade credits they can use to upgrade long haul flights on United, Lufthansa and ANA. The only way Qantas can beat them is in how simple it is to earn status. Qantas is one of the last remaining airlines to base status largely on miles flown and class of service. In terms of domestic market well we've got Virgin Australia to worry about. Indeed, Virgin Australia regularly offers fares for less than Qantas, and it's even easier to earn status with Virgin (notwithstanding the recent enhancements, more on that later). Notwithstanding what Virgin fanatics may say, Qantas easily has better benefits of the 2 programs though. But for the business traveller perhaps on a BFOD policy, it's hard to justify booking QF. However, if a DSC promotion comes up, it can become more justifiable to spend the extra $40 or $100 over to MEL or CNS versus Virgin.
To the point of the thread which is whether these promotions will go away. That's always a possibility. I don't want to jinx anything but it has been quite some time since Qantas has "enhanced" their frequent flyer program. And given that Virgin Australia has already done so, one must wonder whether Qantas' turn will come up shortly. One thing to keep in mind is that Qantas' has already built the capacity to support the elites they have. So if they do enhance the program resulting in there being substantially fewer elites, they will be sitting on excess capacity which may be a waste of resources. For instance, at most major Australian airports, Qantas operates two domestic lounges: a Qantas Club (for Gold frequent flyers and Qantas Club members) and a Business lounge (for Platinums and those in business class). Consequently, we don't see the lounges being rammed in the same way say a Delta lounge can easily become. Notwithstanding the reservations I have with catering and general upkeep of the Qantas lounges, they are doing quite a good job managing expectations.
-RooFlyer88
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