If qf offered a status match would you jump ship?

[Fishhead]

Yes well, that makes a good case. When I stopped flying with them there was never a 'we notice you aren't flying as much' contact. They collect shedloads of information on me and either they don't use it or can't be bothered.

Maybe youre right. I shall stay with Virgin. A few minor hassles compared to the 'couldn't care less' Qantas.

 

[maninblack]

But the final thing that confirmed our choice was the arrogance. We were buying on average about two flights per week from them over many years. Then since we stopped, they still have never even asked why. I presume they already know why but they didn't even bother to ask. All they do each year, is move me from Plat to Gold, then to Silver without wondering why we stopped flying with them. I was very close to lifetime gold yet I can't be bothered achieving it because I see QF as a terminal airline (pun intended).

You are quite right and this is where FF programs can go badly awry. By downgrading you they are only further compounding their own problem and loss of business. It worked when there was no real competition but now you have an option that is credible so why go back, especially if they have downgraded you to Silver. Their attitude is deluded and lacks understanding of the current market place where they are starting to look like also rans. QF are still telling the customers who are abandoning them that they have to earn loyalty but this is not so, it's QF who need to regain your loyalty. Very few will go back under present circumstances.

 

[darrend]

This little bunny will NEVER (under any normal circumstance) fly with Qantas or any of it's affiliates (e.g. Jetstar). I left Qantas back when Ansett was still around because of their arrogance and very poor customer service. At the time I was flying SYD - MEL 3 times weekly (in Business at around $700 each way if I recall) and had been doing it for a good 18 months. Heard nothing from them when I suddenly stopped uses their services. I had the misfortune of flying Jetstar about 4 years ago and it just reaffirmed my previous experiences. By all accounts nothing has improved and has only gotten worse. Virgin isn't perfect but they know how to smile, how to empower their staff and understand customers are their survival. As for status the whole family is Platinum with Virgin and Gold with Star Alliance and the only time in the last 10 years I've flown with a one world carrier was Malev - Budapest to Warsaw so unlikely we would get any benefit from a Qantas status match - nor would we want it.

 

[frequentflyer91]

I don't think I would switch. I have never had a problem with Virgin & have always been very impressed with their upgrade services & business offerings. I have a mate who is Platinum One on Qantas who says he barely gets upgrades which is surprising to me. He was shocked when he heard all I had to do to upgrade a sydney to perth flight was call up and ask.

 

[greglow]

At present VA seem to genuinely value us. I had preconceived notions of DJ back when it was basically a backpacker airline, and they weren't good. But when we gave them another chance a few years back (after yet another horrid QF long haul experience), they had changed so much they were barely recognisable. So all you QF plats, nothing to see here, nothing to see here. Move on, nothing to see here.

 

[Frostydog007]

Been a memer of both QF and VA programs and the VA Plat serves me very well - particularly with the pooling, which allows me to retain Plat year after year. Jump ship? Never - a virgin forever so to speal

 

[Kieran2274]

I've been viewing this thread for a while now, and I think while a QF status match offer (which I don't think very likely by the way, unless QF did intend to sell off its QFF business) would no doubt have a lot of people putting in an application (because, why not! Status match doesn't compel you to *actually* fly the airline), I'm not sure how much transfer QF would obtain. Most people flying Virgin domestically seem pretty happy with it (thankfully long gone are those onboard face painting gimmicks - it's a professional airline now), so I can't see much poaching here. I'd say there might be enough transfer for international flights to make offering a QF status match a viable business decision, but honestly I don't think its enough to satisfy QF to run what would be a somewhat damaging marketing exercise (in terms of positioning).

It made excellent sense for VA to offer status match (as the newcomer - they didn't have anything to really lose), but for QF it really is something that I'm sure isn't even anywhere near the table.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

If QF offered a status match I'd expect an additional complimentary year at my current QF tier...

 

[Roberto]

After being subjected to the worst flight of my life in 2007 on a Qantas international flight in business class my wife and I have managed to almost completely avoid flying Qantas domestically and wouldn't even consider flying Qantas internationally.

The following chronicles my experience with Qantas:
1. On the international flight from hell
a) Seat broken won't lie down. Business class full so no alternative but upright in Economy so no advantage there.
b) Sorry sir we have no eyeshades or earplugs available. What the? This is a night flight!
c) Old plane with dropdown screens immediately in front of my seat so I get to see the movie I don't want to see.
d) We're sorry the in-seat sound system is not working so we'll pipe the movie through the loudspeakers!
e) Complain to Qantas via complaint form on board.

Subsequently send an email outlining my experience to Qantas. Still waiting for a response to the on-board complaint and the email over 7 years later.

On same business trip have a short flight with SQ. I am reading a newspaper. FA approaches me and advises that the in-seat entertainment system is not working. I say it doesn't matter to me because I don't intend to use, but I am still given a SGD200 voucher to make up for the "inconvenience". What a contrast!

2. 10 months later I receive a phone call from QF - "we notice you haven't been flying with us". I tell them why. Despite a promise I receive no follow-up response and subsequently get downgraded from Plat to Gold. At that stage I couldn't care less.

3. A year later just before a Gold to Silver downgrade I received an email saying "Please tell us your flying plans and you may be able to keep Gold status". I reply including my original complaint email. Still no response and get downgraded to Silver. A year later get downgraded to Bronze.

So in answer to the original question would I consider a status match to QF! Ha - you must be joking!

And don't get me started on JQ. My daughter who was 16 at the time was left in tears at Avalon airport when, having arrived 1.5 hours before her flight was refused boarding because snail's pace service at check-in caused her to present 1 minute after the cut-off time. No calls for passengers on her flight, just a check-in agent who laughed when she told my daughter that she was 1 minute late! The replacement flight was, and always will be, the last time any member of my family catches a flight on Jetstar.

 

[davidhand]

I would be amazed if QF ever went for this. The status matching tactic works for a smaller new entrant trying to win frequent travellers across. Starting over with no status is a highly unattractive idea but retaining those benefits might persuade some to shift. I have a business that spends about $1m a year in air travel in Australia and we have employees at high status level on Virgin and Qantas and sometimes both. On of the main reasons we don't have a preferred airline deal is the negative impact on the platinums of the service that loses our business

 

[grubbidok]

Given the increasing number of pax fleeing QF (often self-inflicted, *cough*EK*cough*) they probably *should* do something like this, but I don't think they ever *would*. QF still arrogantly think that people who are on other airlines are 'settling' because they can't get the real thing. Hah!

 

[eastwest101]

I've been viewing this thread for a while now, and I think while a QF status match offer (which I don't think very likely by the way, unless QF did intend to sell off its QFF business) would no doubt have a lot of people putting in an application (because, why not! Status match doesn't compel you to *actually* fly the airline), I'm not sure how much transfer QF would obtain. Most people flying Virgin domestically seem pretty happy with it...

It made excellent sense for VA to offer status match (as the newcomer - they didn't have anything to really lose), but for QF it really is something that I'm sure isn't even anywhere near the table.

Yes I have been watching this thread a bit too and went back through the responses to this very very hypothetical question so far (which could be summarized as):

7 - Yes's
10 - Maybes/I'd dabble/Keep a foot in both camps etc and other soft support
4 - Yes but not to fly QF (but for OW and other partner benefits)
13 - No's of various vehemance from never ever to simply being happy at VA

The interesting thing I can take from the thread is that the biggest group say they have been lost or wouldn't seriously consider a status match, the next biggest group are the maybes/I'd dabble and keep a foot in both camps which shows that the support for VA is not unconditional or welded on either.... The 7 or so outright Yes responses would be interesting to poll as to how many would take the stauts match and maintain or increase or decrease their status.

Keeping in mind this is a very small sample size and self selecting and probably a bit skewed to the higher tiers and also people with a point to make.

 

[Sojourner]

I wouldn't take it up. I cannot support a CEO in anyway that chooses to use its customers as pawns in its industrial disputes. That plus all the other stuff, jetstarisation of routes, (why don't they just be upfront and rename the whole company Jetstar?), prioritisation of Jetstar over QF for new planes, QFF program 'enhancements', reduction in services, forced to fly all the way to Dubai at coughpy hours and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Cannot wait to see the back of Joyce. How many more monumental stuff ups does this CEO have to make before they sack him? What about those Jetstar planes they're paying to have parked in Europe while they wait for approval in Hong Kong? What happened to the premium "Red Q" brand he announced (seriously? maybe he felt compelled to create a new premium brand because the Qantas brand had been trashed).

I cannot believe he gets paid millions to trash the Qantas brand, make announcements like "Red Q" and not be required to actually go through with it, make "line in the sand" declarations that result in the company losing money and destroys the companies' capital and credit rating. Also interesting how the company undertook the strategy to buy-back shares on market. Now the cash pile is dwindling I'm sure that money they blew on that sure could be useful now, particularly now that cash is harder to come by and will be more expensive after the credit rating downgrade. The plunge in the SP since than also further exposes what a silly move that was.

Never seen the guy admit a mistake before. With his history, he may not know where to start.

 

[MartinMemo]

Id deff do it, providing I had already re-qualified for the following year with VA, and give QF a go.

I prefer VA as an airline, but don't like that I don't get lifetime status credits - something that would be enough to win me to QF if I didn't have to start from bronze.

 

[marki]

I am not against Qantas it is because I care so much for it that it really hurts to say this. Greglow i agree with you. Have experienced very similar wait times for luggage at Melbourne airport. I have written to Qantas personally many times and yet it changed nothing. It's like talking to mortar (cement wall). AJ just needs to go for real change to take place. Arrogance needs to replaced with kindness. I really hope Qantas will turnaround.

 

[tinkybelle]

I have been plat for 3 yrs now with virgin and Im pretty happy .
the staff are exceptional and nothing is ever too much trouble I remember the nights in the lounge waiting for a flight when earlier flights went out empty with Qantas . no such problems with Virgin.
i agree they need to change their mindset. including the on board staff!
but I would consider a plat match so i could go to the Q F lounge and access F lounges overseas.
Id have to re think my paid travel to see if the oolong term benefit would be there.

 

[777]

Some additional thoughts after my last round of travel. I just flew J on QF (domestic) and LAN to SCL and back. First time in the qantas system for years and also qualified me for 15 months of OW sapphire (AB gold) by virtue of a status challenge.

What did I think? Well, not a lot. Should have had access to the MEL j lounge on the way out but it was closed. Stuck in the regular qantas club. Definitely much worse than the expanded VA lounge in MEL in terms of space, design, and general tardiness. Does the job but not much more to add. Was a morning flight, grabbed a bite and not much else.

QF staff on both dom legs were professional. I was amazed at how much of the J cabin were other staff and how much time they spent talking to them. Not at my expense but it felt like a staff meeting! Not unprofessional but certainly unusual by VA standards.
IFE was nothing to write home about ... Forgotten about the news bulletins (good) and the qantas ads and cross promotions (seriously if VA inundated you with such advertorial tripe people would scream "low cost carrier!") but it all came back to me quickly. It's like being stuck on the infomercial channel after the news stopped. The tablets on the 767 had nothing worth watching (and I've complained before that VAs streaming content needs some work too but this was definitely a cheaper lower quality less current selection) and the audio apart from the tv channel didn't work on my flight/ seat. I'll put the last but down to randomness but I have liked the option on the past.

Obviously no international F lounge access but the business lounge in Sydney and Auckland didn't seem appreciably better or worse than the NZ equivalents (well NZ in AKL is better but it's their home base). All lounge options in SCL were pretty poor but then again VA have nothing there so points to QF I guess.

The thing that really did me in with QF was an extraordinary luggage delay when I got to Melbourne ... My wife was in hospital unexpectedly, I'd just got off a business class international flight and domestic connection and it took me (and probably a dozen others from our flight) nearly an hour before our bags came out. It was like we had depriority luggage and I almost had a meltdown. That's just unacceptable ... It was as though they lost a cart or something and our bags came out an 15 minutes after the rest of the flight had left. Really poor particularly for business passengers.

Upshot? Most of it, I suspect, is what you're used to. I actually thought the LAN service was pretty good but the QF experience was more tardy and tired that I'd been left to expect from the QF fans here.

Now I have One World status will it change my flying habits? Slightly. For example I've got a trip to davenport coming up soon and I'll probably do it on QF rather than route via launceston to stick with VA as I might have done. Also, if the price difference is large enough ill book QF. Unfortunately the ports where they might really win my business (NTL) are JQ only direct and I my newly minted OW status is useless there.

I will probably fly QF a little more now: 80/20 as opposed to 90/10 (mostly Jetstar to NTL) but nothing compels me to switch my business and, if anything, my perception has gone backwards a bit.

 

[medhead]

I
But the final thing that confirmed our choice was the arrogance. We were buying on average about two flights per week from them over many years. Then since we stopped, they still have never even asked why. I presume they already know why but they didn't even bother to ask. All they do each year, is move me from Plat to Gold, then to Silver without wondering why we stopped flying with them. I was very close to lifetime gold yet I can't be bothered achieving it because I see QF as a terminal airline (pun intended).

Hahaha. I have weeks on end of fly one way with QF and the other with VA. Qantas don't even bother to wonder how I get back to fly the same leg every week.

(Well neither do VA I suppose)

 

[maninblack]

The thing that really did me in with QF was an extraordinary luggage delay when I got to Melbourne ... My wife was in hospital unexpectedly, I'd just got off a business class international flight and domestic connection and it took me (and probably a dozen others from our flight) nearly an hour before our bags came out. It was like we had depriority luggage and I almost had a meltdown. That's just unacceptable ... It was as though they lost a cart or something and our bags came out an 15 minutes after the rest of the flight had left. Really poor particularly for business passengers.

Having returned to Melbourne on quite a few airlines over the last few years I would say that this has little to do with Qantas and is more or less the same problem for all.

 

[777]

Having returned to Melbourne on quite a few airlines over the last few years I would say that this has little to do with Qantas and is more or less the same problem for all.

I'm not blaming Qantas particularly but i have never had anything like it on Virgin where I mostly travel HLO and when not priority luggage has worked for me most of the time. I've certainly never had anything take that long. May even be a factor to do with how long it can take to unload a 737 worth of luggage v a 767 if your bag is the last off?