Is Qantas Actually Listening?

[QPProletarian]

on the contrary, EK and BA flights were both amazing (yes i know, even BA). better service, crew were happier and better product.
.

AA and in particular BA are legacy carriers currently reinventing themselves - new planes, facilities and staff training. BA's new planes are nice, Cabin Crew are being run like hotel staff and Terminal 5 is amazing. Qantas needs to be following their path.

 

[rickylee]

AA and in particular BA are legacy carriers currently reinventing themselves - new planes, facilities and staff training. BA's new planes are nice, Cabin Crew are being run like hotel staff and Terminal 5 is amazing. Qantas needs to be following their path.

I cannot agree more about AA. With BA it is a bit more hit and miss, but their first class crew are very friendly, attentive, and understanding.

 

[rickylee]

Crew members were clearly stressed about their job security, it was a BNE-SIN flight on a 744 and you can feel the 'hopeless' energy in the air. after chatting to staff, most of the staff on the plane believes they wont have a job within 12 months.

I have had the opposite experience recently. I flew QF11 to LAX two weeks ago and both legs of QF108 from JFK to LAX to SYD last week and the flight attendants were all attentive, friendly, upbeat, and all round fantastic. I was actually surprised as I expected them to be stressed about their jobs and could not care less anymore.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

If QF were listening, they would ditch the post Jul 14 changes.
Apart from a revolt, or doing something "stupid", QF are not listening especially in relation to points earn and SC earn post Jul 14 MAJOR changes.
To them it might be nothing to muse about, but to me, its a big thing.
They might need the $, we all do, but still, to ostracize members, like the post Jul changes, grrrrr...
The person who thought this up, even if AJ is involved or not, should make themselves known, and bear the full results of the emails, letters and phone calls, in regards to the changes.
I would be totally shocked, if QF did change the FF system back to what it was, before the Jul 14 changes were thought up.
But I don't hold much hope.
QF doing it better for us (flyers/QFF members)... hah!

 

[mannej]

The changes are not going anywhere like it or not. I guess they feel that on the flip side reversing the changes would be a loss of face and not worth it.

It has been made available who was involved in the changes, so all you need to do is have a look around to find the information.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Ok, thanks for that Mannej, re: that the person/people who thought up the post Jul 14 changes, info is out on the web.
Best I not go and find it, lest I write them a worst note than when I did the last time.
As always, differences of opinios, or ways of doing things, and putting it out there are good, BUT, too drastic changes will rile the cages of the inmates!

 

[tjtecoma]

I have had the opposite experience recently. I flew QF11 to LAX two weeks ago and both legs of QF108 from JFK to LAX to SYD last week and the flight attendants were all attentive, friendly, upbeat, and all round fantastic. I was actually surprised as I expected them to be stressed about their jobs and could not care less anymore.

I think this again illustrates one of the big problems with QF that has gone on for years - inconsistency. I flew QF9 and 10 in J a few weeks ago. Absolutely superb service on the Dubai - London legs both ways from the London based crews. Could not fault them. Really average, inconsistent service from the Melbourne based crews for Melbourne - Dubai both ways. Sitting in row 13 both ways it was almost comical to watch - hot towels given to one side of the cabin, but not the other; crew coming through to deliver a 2nd set(!) of pyjamas, amenities kit and water to passengers; some passengers getting drink orders before meals, while others didn't. The list goes on.

 

[roncritch]

Up until my 7 flights of last week, I was prepared to accept the inevitable downgrading of points etc. BUT... ..on my overnight flight to Sydney in J (paid), the offering was aricini balls, a cake along with a bowl of cauliflower soup. I was offered ONE aricini ball and the next run was to offer ONE cake. I gave up and tried to sleep...seats no beds. Woke up to the wonderful CAFE breakfast, I only had a quiche thing. There was no time for breakfast in the J lounge as connected to a CBR flight. That breakfast was good!! I must admit that the next 2 flights CBR-SYD-PER had good food in J (and beds...why can't these planes be used overnight?) BUT I MISS THE HOT TOWELS honestly how much does that save you Qantas?
I flew back home to KTA yesterday, economy as I can't see the point on spending $$'s on short flights, and the offering was a SAUSAGE ROLL, not even a good one, they were the one with 10% meat and 90% bread, NO TRAY!. Only one serviette which came with my drink and when coffee was brought I had to ask for a stirrer!! The CSM also said the cuts had become silly. Felt sorry for them as they fielded a lot of complaints.
I know that Qantas is losing money but the cuts are just plain ridiculous. None of the things taken above will make that much difference to their loss, but finally, I will be trying Virgin next time, so the savings will be offset by loss of revenue. Enough is enough from a member since inception.

 

[Traveller1955]

a lesson for those who think QF is worth saving,,,,,, the hardest thing in business is finding your customers, the easiest thing is retaining them AJ should read this many times. I am in the process of jumping ship as IMO JQ is not what I want and QF is not want AJ wants so as the customer I can say GOOD BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

 

[frankxinyu]

had another flight today on QF.

maybe it is because i have been reading the forum, or i know what is going on with QF policy change, you can really feel the sense of despair, similar to shopping at a business that is doing a closing-down sale.

again, old J menu from 3 months ago.

 

[medhead]

a lesson for those who think QF is worth saving,,,,,, the hardest thing in business is finding your customers, the easiest thing is retaining them AJ should read this many times. I am in the process of jumping ship as IMO JQ is not what I want and QF is not want AJ wants so as the customer I can say GOOD BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

I pretty much share your conclusion, although I was prepared to give JQ a chance. Whether or not Qantas is listening, surely Qantas should be concerned that the customer is getting this message after listening to Qantas.

 

[QPProletarian]

I pretty much share your conclusion, although I was prepared to give JQ a chance. Whether or not Qantas is listening, surely Qantas should be concerned that the customer is getting this message after listening to Qantas.

I gave the change-in-singapore for JQ thing a go. It was terrible. Found out later no earn on QF codeshare, QF can't issue BPs or select seats and had to queue up forever to get boarding pass at Changi leaving no lounge time. Never again.

 

[rocketboy]

Qantas isn't listening to me and that doesn't really come as a surprise. They have after all another 10 million fish to fry! I wrote to express my concern to the changes in OW partner status earn and received a reply on my voicemail that was very nice but unfortunately did not address my concerns. So I wrote a response to that call and also mentioned how business class fares on Emirates flights from Europe were often on sale and substantially cheaper than Qantas or QF/EK code share. At the time of writing I knew that Emirates were having a sale, so to give examples I punched in some random dates on the Qantas site. To my surprise, there were QF business saver fares to match the Emirates ones. Fares that were considerably better than the current "best offers" advertised on the Qantas website and as attractive as those offered by competitors such as Qatar or Etihad. Fares I would be happy to purchase if I ever knew they existed. It seemed ridiculous that I need Emirates to tell me that Qantas fares are on sale. A few weeks later I received a response that my email had been referred to the sales department and that they would respond. I have heard nothing to date and can only assume Qantas is not really interested in marketing promotional fares to European customers.

So, as I am currently living in Europe, I am very tempted to start crediting to BAEC. I just re-qualified as WP through Oct 2015 and coincidentally my BA membership year has just begun. I could make the change very smoothly. But QF LTG is now on the horizon and attainable in 2 to 3 years at my current SC earn rate (before the fairer and simpler changes). So do I hang in now on the assumption that Qantas will even survive long enough for LTG to be worth achieving? I only wish the quality of the QF international product made the answer to that a resounding YES. But unfortunately it is too inconsistent compared with the competition. My last London to Sydney flight was mediocre at best and plagued with problems. I understand there are bad days and it may just be a co-incidence - but I haven't flown Qantas on that route since.

Certainly, if LTG is enhanced, I will exit stage left! But in the meantime I will continue on towards that goal. I have cancelled my Amex card (Ultimate) that sends points directly to QFF. When the fares are competitive, I will make QF codeshare flights on EK equipment my first choice. I will keep reassessing the alternatives and watch out for opportunities in other programs. As far as I am concerned, loyalty is just another word that Qantas spin has made meaningless.

 

[penegal]

I do hope that they are listening, but I'm not holding my breath.

There is a lot of noise about QANTAS on AFF, FT, other social media, and in the popular press. But behind all the noise there is a plethora of legitimate concerns, and experienced travellers who are evaluating where to send their travel dollars.

I do like the QANTAS brand, but that alone isn't enough to drive my loyalty and continued custom.

I'm ashamed to say, I'm one of those FF who was pretty angry at the changes to OW partner earning and maybe like the majority who were upset, I said and did nothing.
I thank those who did more than rant and rave on the forums.
From my own perspective the changes have made me do something I never thought possible and that is looking at my future travel beyond LTG. I'm not there yet but I am accelerating my progression to it and continuing to explore opportunities in OW outside QFF.
I suspect I am not alone
I sincerely hope QF are listening.

Thanks for summing up my thoughts Princess. 

+1

Thank you Princess. I agree on all of these, and would also add that the A330 services to Asia (with a rather average product) has already seen me jump to SQ and CX for the bulk of my flying on the MEL-SIN and MEL-HKG routes. The A330 refit looks nice, but it is years away from being regularly available on routes which I fly several times a month.

And finally the widespread removal of F is disappointing, but this is a wider industry trend.

 

[penegal]

... what drives me to choose to spend on QF over another airline.
- Upgrades
- Shadows

In the 3 years I was Platinum One - I did not receive any free upgrades. Not one.
This was until my last week of P1 where - on my 'farewell Qantas' trip I had an on-board upgrade.
Overall that brings my P1 upgrade ratio to around 0.7%. I know Silvers and Golds with higher rates!

Shadows: On the 100's of Qantas# flights - shadows are almost non-existent for me. The Gold or Silver behind me will get a shadow, which is fine - but why let a bronze member take 4B when 4A and 4C are both P1?

I regularly joke about never being upgraded on QF, but with the amount of flying I have done (on QF), and with years of status under my belt, I would have expected at least one op-up. Nothing ever.

By contrast I have been regularly upgraded on SQ, CX, AA, and even United when they aren't too busy breaking my guitar.


I have had the same experience with shadows in row 4. Admittedly I am only a WP these days, but often see P1 or CL boarding passes on the other side of the nobody in the middle seat.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I do like the QANTAS brand, but that alone isn't enough to drive my loyalty and continued custom.

And that is a key question... what 'is' the Qantas 'brand' these days?

I think it has been reduced to one of safety. Most other things seem to have been stripped away.

If, heaven forbid, the safety element is ever compromised, what are we left with?

• reduced points earning
• some of the highest award redemption levels of any airline, combined with hefty co-payments that can equal more than half the cost of a revenue ticket
• refusal to interline baggage between domestic QF flights and other carriers
• a mix of some very good, but also - unfortunately - plenty of non committed staff
• reduced catering
• insistence on fee gouging for credit card fees, and telephone assistance fees for transactions that cannot be completed on line, through no fault of the passenger
• closure of call centres and potential loss of excellent staff on the premium line
• lack of confirmed international upgrades, after demanding higher fares be paid in order to be eligible for the lottery
• and unfortunately, many other issues as well

 

[RooFlyer]

The changes are not going anywhere like it or not. I guess they feel that on the flip side reversing the changes would be a loss of face and not worth it.

It has been made available who was involved in the changes, so all you need to do is have a look around to find the information.

Can you share that with us, please?

 

[penegal]

• a mix of some very good, but also - unfortunately - plenty of non committed staff

It would be nice if you could book flights in advance and know you were getting a "good" crew.

The good crews are truly outstanding.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

It would be nice if you could book flights in advance and know you were getting a "good" crew.

The good crews are truly outstanding.

Maybe they could add it as a plus bundle

 

[boomy]

And that is a key question... what 'is' the Qantas 'brand' these days?

I think it has been reduced to one of safety. Most other things seem to have been stripped away.

[*]closure of call centres and potential loss of excellent staff on the premium line

Totally agree about the safety record but I think a lot of people these days care more about saving $100 and fly GA or MH if possible, until something happens and then...
The 2nd thing that separates QF from the rest is the best customer service in the business.
I got a harsh reminder of how bad it can be after trying to reach TK in the last couple of days, to no avail. Endless waiting on the phone and emails were ignored so far.
Many other great airlines have terrible customer service and I really hope QF will not join this dubious club.