If you had a day to spend with AJ to fix QF what would you say ?

[pearler47]

The worthlessness of points and the inability to use them in most cases. I had a quick glance at the shop, in the event that is where I will use them, and was gobsmacked at the worthlessness of the points. I see where the $24m comes from.

 

[p--and--t]

Thank you. I have now clarified, corrected and expanded my original post.

I don't argue that AJ is paid very well, but lets have facts.

AJ doesn't pay himself. The board sets his pay and bonuses. If he meets and exceeds the company targets set by the board (not him) and the boards agrees he has met them i.e. his KRAs, he gets bonuses from them that increase his income.

If you read between the lines and dig below the media hype, his salary is less than half that reported and the amount they headlined, over and over (click-bait) , 6 months ago was actually due to bonuses set by the board in 2014.

If you have a gripe over his income, then target the cause, not the recipient.

Edit: BTW the reason the bonus was so high was because he was given a significant number of shares. Given the share price of QF went from $2.40 in Dec 2014 to $7.11 in Dec 2019, its no wonder the bonus was large.

 

[GF1962]

Alan, stop biting the hand that feeds you!

 

[Gary T]

Fix the domestic lounges in Sydney international in Syd and Mel, both are hateful and depressing.

Fix the God Damn call Centers, remember your company should be customer service oriented, my time is valuable waiting on the fone for 45mins to talk to someone who doesn’t understand I need to change my first class ticket to depart from JFK rather than DFW is not acceptable no matter what class or fare that has been paid.

Catering can I say Sucks.

 

[bfm]

Just a simple request from me.

Stop darkening the windows on the Dreamliner in daytime. In fact, leave the darkening to the passenger at all times.

This simple issue reflects the arrogance of decision-makers that deem they know what is best for their customers.

 

[ianmdk]

Nice to see you back posting.. too many are disappearing...

Wearing my shareholder hat , AJ is doing a pretty good job.
Wearing my customer hat , the airline sucks and I only fly qf if there is no better option (there mostly is)

Imo he is probably making the best of the situation so I would say… carry on.. Don't need a day ...a minute would do….

I totally agree with the above, as a Platinum Flyer for many years not once have I received a call from QANTAS to ask why I and my partner are not flying QANTAS as often as we have in the past. It is a simple PR exercise for which they would receive valuable input if they were remotely interested. The fact remains they are interested in profit before customer satisfaction and hence we shall only fly them on a need basis as there are better options available when flying from Australia. The QANTAS brand name has diminished and QANTAS has become but another airline, sad. There are so so many things that are needed to improve and I still await their call...

 

[I love to travel]

Hmmm I note that this thread has attracted a lot of new posters which is behaviour not see in other threads.

 

[sww199]

I can understand the cuts to less profitable routes, increased focus on status credits and the FF program (perhaps to the detriment of higher tiered flyers) and reduction in in-flight amenities.

However, the two things that I detest:
* The shift to overseas call centres and non-telephone ways of contacting Qantas. I find the Australian operators usually amenable and helpful, but I have a consistently woeful time with overseas operators and messaging. It makes basic requests (such as shifting seat when Qantas' online system is having a bad day) very difficult. The excessive delays in speaking to a real person - ridiculous.
* The poor standard of cleanliness and recent shifts in design to the Qantas Clubs. The Melbourne domestic club is a shopping mall cafeteria. It is not relaxing or comfortable. The unused cutlery and plates under the counters are usually covered in water stains and (not infrequently) dirty. The food selection is repetitive and limited. It is a poor value proposition for those who pay for access, and a reduced perk for those who earn access with status.

 

[p--and--t]

Hi Alan

Good to see you and hope you holding up against all the uninformed vitriol.

Thanks for pulling QF group away from the brink. It would have been a great shame to see one of our Aussie icons disappear.

Unlike the other 12 airlines that have disappeared in the last 12 months alone and the dozens in the few years before them, and sadly several others likely to go in the next 12 months, QF stats say the company is back in profit and commanding excellent load factors on many of the trimmed routes. Great that QFi is in much better shape to survive even though competing against a number of state sponsored and/or low labour cost competitors.

You have been here long enough to be familiar with the “tall poppy syndrome” and know that Aussies are great “knockers” however you need to understand your customers very obviously have had and are still having a hard time coping with the various changes needing to be implemented to keep the airline afloat and hoping and praying QF doesn’t drop to the levels of the typical US domestic carrier.

I’m probably telling you to suck eggs and you already know, but I’ll raise it anyway, number one reputation problem is the call centre hold times are horrendous. I know that is to theoretically drive the self-service paradigm through the website, but many requests are not satisfied due to shortfalls in the software. So, cut through the middle layer of management telling you otherwise; you either you need to spend a heap of cash on fixing the website properly or significantly beef up the call centres in staffing and training (which is obviously lacking at some centres).

I have read about the preliminary plans for fleet renewal which is going to be needed fairly soon. Can understand you might be looking to maximise the usage of current hardware and holding your cards close to your chest any advantage that might be gained from awaiting the outcome of Boeing’s current debacles.

Hopefully you have got through a lot of the cost cutting measures phase, and ready for the next phase which from a customer focused perspective must be looking for the areas where quality of delivery has consequently dropped. Middle management needs a bit of a hurry up to make sure customer sensitive service targets are being met in parallel with the financial ones. Get onto all those contractors and divisions that are not delivering to expectations and set stringent measurable targets, firstly cleaning of planes and lounges, also priority luggage management, gate management of queues etc.

As the economy inevitably slows even further with 2019-nCov, perhaps think out of the box to boost/maintain load factors. Perhaps its time to reconsider standby fares. Perhaps copy your competitor with a more flexible fly-ahead policy even for people on Red fares with the payment of a token amount.

On a personal note I was pleased to see you carried through on a promise of delivering a few more redemption opportunities, but the QFF members are never going to be even nearly satisfied until you tweak the process to deliver a lot more redeemable seats and cut the surcharges. People will obviously complain when that means more points to be expended for the same flight, but at least there will be a seat there to claim.

Lastly, in all honesty, you need to move on from Neil Perry, regardless of motives and good intentions he is not longer doing the brand any good. Yes, passengers should be eating more healthily and the scientists are telling you what should or shouldn’t be included on long haul meals, but you are fighting decades of eating habits. Provide options to let them eat stuff that not good for them if they want to.

Cheers

 

[hmmm]

Agree with a lot of the comments. Nearly at LTG and looking forward to getting out of the QF Shackles. Many other better cheaper options are available.

once I hit LTG 2.5 years ago, I THINK I’ve flow Qantas twice and that was just domestic. I get treated better by pretty much every other airline, including some where I’m an average joe with no status. Qantas is a complete joke. It has exploited its market dominance and its ‘Australia-ness’ for far too long. It’s service vs pricing structure is heavily skewed in their favour.

As an aside, regarding their interactions with other one word airlines.......

Qantas have a problem with BA, CX, MH and QR and somehow, all these other airlines are the problem? It seems Qantas treats its partners with the same contempt it treats its customers. 20 years ago, Flying with QF was a pleasure, but slowly over time it denigrated into a ‘what’s next’ type scenario. Would the flight be fine, would I have a drama or an issue? And as someone has pointed out earlier, they simply NEVER put their hand up, acknowledge a mistake, correct it and move on. You have to push and push and PUSH some more to get treated correctly and fairly and that is something I refuse to tolerate in a business relationship. Since ‘releasing myself from the Shackles’ I have once again started to enjoy flying. Trying new airlines, flying to and through new destinations and the exciting possibilities that brings. I do get a perverse enjoyment flying on oneworld airlines, enjoying their lounges, knowing Qantas foots the bill without getting a dime of revenue. It’s really become a case of Qantas who?

 

[VPS]

Hmmm I note that this thread has attracted a lot of new posters which is behaviour not see in other threads.

I was thinking exactly the same thing

Hi Alan

Good to see you and hope you holding up against all the uninformed vitriol.

Thanks for pulling QF group away from the brink. It would have been a great shame to see one of our Aussie icons disappear.

Unlike the other 12 airlines that have disappeared in the last 12 months alone and the dozens in the few years before them, and sadly several others likely to go in the next 12 months, QF stats say the company is back in profit and commanding excellent load factors on many of the trimmed routes. Great that QFi is in much better shape to survive even though competing against a number of state sponsored and/or low labour cost competitors.

You have been here long enough to be familiar with the “tall poppy syndrome” and know that Aussies are great “knockers” however you need to understand your customers very obviously have had and are still having a hard time coping with the various changes needing to be implemented to keep the airline afloat and hoping and praying QF doesn’t drop to the levels of the typical US domestic carrier.

I’m probably telling you to suck eggs and you already know, but I’ll raise it anyway, number one reputation problem is the call centre hold times are horrendous. I know that is to theoretically drive the self-service paradigm through the website, but many requests are not satisfied due to shortfalls in the software. So, cut through the middle layer of management telling you otherwise; you either you need to spend a heap of cash on fixing the website properly or significantly beef up the call centres in staffing and training (which is obviously lacking at some centres).

I have read about the preliminary plans for fleet renewal which is going to be needed fairly soon. Can understand you might be looking to maximise the usage of current hardware and holding your cards close to your chest any advantage that might be gained from awaiting the outcome of Boeing’s current debacles.

Hopefully you have got through a lot of the cost cutting measures phase, and ready for the next phase which from a customer focused perspective must be looking for the areas where quality of delivery has consequently dropped. Middle management needs a bit of a hurry up to make sure customer sensitive service targets are being met in parallel with the financial ones. Get onto all those contractors and divisions that are not delivering to expectations and set stringent measurable targets, firstly cleaning of planes and lounges, also priority luggage management, gate management of queues etc.

As the economy inevitably slows even further with 2019-nCov, perhaps think out of the box to boost/maintain load factors. Perhaps its time to reconsider standby fares. Perhaps copy your competitor with a more flexible fly-ahead policy even for people on Red fares with the payment of a token amount.

On a personal note I was pleased to see you carried through on a promise of delivering a few more redemption opportunities, but the QFF members are never going to be even nearly satisfied until you tweak the process to deliver a lot more redeemable seats and cut the surcharges. People will obviously complain when that means more points to be expended for the same flight, but at least there will be a seat there to claim.

Lastly, in all honesty, you need to move on from Neil Perry, regardless of motives and good intentions he is not longer doing the brand any good. Yes, passengers should be eating more healthily and the scientists are telling you what should or shouldn’t be included on long haul meals, but you are fighting decades of eating habits. Provide options to let them eat stuff that not good for them if they want to.

Cheers

excellent letter

 

[jase05]

I think a lot of people have summed up my thoughts. I haven’t come across too many “grumpy” staff onboard but in general I find the J products a little underwhelming for the premium cost they place on it. I rarely fly QFi anymore as the charges are just outrageous and even though I know the Australian airlines are in a unique position with wages and other costs I just can’t justify the spend with them. When everything clicks they are a fantastic airline to fly with but you just don’t know what you will get when you fly with them. Agree with everything posted in regards to their IT and website (VA is just as bad) and the call centre waiting times are diabolical. Getting rid of Mr Ponytail would also be a good start, he has ran his race and TBH I think his food choices are quite poor, time to change it up QF.
As posted above though, no one wants to see QF disappear so AJ has done a fantastic job to turn around their financial position and hopefully he can make a few tweaks to get some consistency back in their product.

 

[Franky]

Qantas is not an el-cheapo, Ryanair-type airline, but it's not too much higher above that level. Having said that, here goes:

1. Destroy, sell, compact at Simsmetal or melt all 737 aircraft. I detest them with a pathological hatred and would rather fly across the ditch in a Sopwith Camel.
2. Seriously upgrade the Sydney QP (domestic and international). They are so far behind the rest of the airline world (yes even AA Admiral's club) it's not funny.
3. A teency weency modicum of call centre "service" would be appreciated. My last call was over 4 hours in elapsed time. The problem never was fixed and I ended up going to another carrier.
4. Cease cancelling Mel-Syd flights at the drop of a hat because the load factor is not high enough. Happens all the time (and that's straight from a long time employee's mouth).
5. Maybe get some new aircraft. Sometime. In the distant future.

Like No 1!

 

[Alnwick]

So here I am lamenting the woeful QFF marketing and all of the other annoying and seemingly incomprehensible decisions QFF makes. I though what if I had a day with AJ and that he listened to me about the things which need fixing.
i guess number one would be offshore call centres ...... like close them now !
PS. I have enjoyed the bulk of a nice langhorn creek Cab Sav before I posted this.

Nice to see you back posting.. too many are disappearing...

Wearing my shareholder hat , AJ is doing a pretty good job.
Wearing my customer hat , the airline sucks and I only fly qf if there is no better option (there mostly is)

Imo he is probably making the best of the situation so I would say… carry on.. Don't need a day ...a minute would do….

I spent decades avoiding flying our national carrier because the cabin service was so bad compared to mainly Asian airlines and Qantas simply was not up to industry standard. These last 4 years I am now choosing to fly Qantas Internationally having used many other carriers ( business class cabin). I head off tomorrow to Santiago on Qantas and expect a very enjoyable flight in the upper deck on an old Jumbo. My gripe is the domestic flight down from the Gold Coast to Sydney today. Not just this domestic flight but all of them. Here we are flying over our own countryside and wondering what landmarks we are passing over. So, how about Qantas either giving out a route map with landmarks or the coughpit telling us where we are not just a brief which way we will be tracking announcement at the start of the flight. Make it a little more informative and not just the usual impersonal thanks for flying with us.

 

[Jo145]

Agree with everyone who said to fix the call centres. I work in a job that involves (far too often) needing to change my boss's flight with very little notice. Impossible to do when the minimum wait for a CS rep is usually around an hour. Even when it's not urgent, having to wait a minimum of an hour (longer when I elect to have someone call back) tells me I am not an important customer.

Also, what has happened to the website? Have been trying to check prices on flights and the site is not working properly. It's not only clunky, but incredibly ugly. Stop changing something for the sake of change - this is not an improvement!!

 

[dajop]

I suspect a lot of the problems people talk about (except the call centre problem) are not particularly new,

From 2004, an article suggested that "cost-cutting is pleasing Qantas shareholders, but alienating Qantas customers":

Australian Financial Review article on Qantas, 11/12/04

Article on page 17, by Narelle Hooper. The basic thrust of the article is that cost-cutting is pleasing Qantas shareholders, but alienating Qantas customers. Sources include www.frequentlflyer.com.au, QF staff, QF's CFO (Peter Gregg), and QF GM (John Borghetti). Mention is made of...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[VPS]

I just flew SYD SCL return in J on the upper deck. The two older female staff on the way over were professional, pleasant and friendly. On the way back the older guy was taking a VR and he was telling everyone about how glad he was to go and really bad mouthing how QF treat the cabin staff. He was friendly and efficient but I always worry when your front line staff are criticising their employees. The middle aged woman on the other hand was surly, unhelpful and sounded like an old fashioned school marm. Not a pleasant flight.

Edit - and the food was very ordinary

 

[1022]

Overall I'm actually pretty happy with QF. Imagine if we were lumped with US3 style offerings and service. I'm thankful that AJ hasn't taken QF down that path.

As others have already mentioned, checked baggage delivery is way too slow. I often use OOL and a half hour wait is about average. (I could almost get through to the Manila call centre in the time it taks a bag to get from plane to belt!). Priority tagged delivery needs fixing too.

Related to that, hopefully the narrowbody fleet replacement will be to A320 family aircraft. Containerised baggage is one of a number of advantages. JQ can usually get bags on a belt much faster than QF.

As a regular on SYD-OOL flights, I'm miffed that we're treated as second class passengers compared to 'proper' golden triangle flights. Despite the evening flight being mostly suits on weeknights, they don't serve a proper dinner in Y (soggy "veggie bites" anyone?) and the bar service is is b.o.b. All evening jet flights should have a choice of hot or cold dish and complimentary drinks.

Qantaslink in-flight service is a decided step down from mainline. Better quality control and training would be good, including putting a proper CSM (of the non-jaded variety) on 717 flights to provide J service instead of some 19 year old wet behind the ears "team leader".

Speaking of CSMs, I have an OCD habit of making a note of those I meet on each flight and how they conduct their service and the tone they set for the rest of the crew. (I even have a spreadsheet I can share with A!)J. To be fair, 80% or so are good to very good and take pride in what they do.

Can we PLEASE get rid of Sky news from lounges and planes? I really don't need a dose of lies and vitriol from shock jocks.

I don't mind the Neil Perry catering in international J. I just wish main courses were bigger.

 

[alleycat]

Trying to change a booked points flight when the operating airline (not QA) stopped flying that route. spent hours on the phone, Emails over about 6 weeks, just to SAVE QA money? but it was all to hard for the people i spoke to/contacted. the SYSTEM did not allow it?

 

[KiwiFlyer79]

On pondering this excellent question with so many things to raise I have come to the conclusion that the best thing to ask Alan Joyce is if he would participate in an undercover boss scenario and a mystery shopper scenario so HE can experience what passengers do first hand every day. Try using the ugly antiquated website which looks like it was designed in Netscape Explorer. Any other website and looking for flights is easy to compare and doesn't have the weirdest scrolling mechanism out. Make him call the call centre AND WAIT. Make him TRY and claim missing airpoints. Make take a commuter route, arrive early and attempt to amend onward flights by dealing with ground "service" staff in airports. Only then will he truly understand what everyone is getting so annoyed about. Until then, while he sits in the ivory tower, customers across Australia will continue to look for an alternate. I am surprised at the arrogance of Qantas as a national carrier when their attitude in general seems to be to not give a continental about the so called service they are providing.