Is QF possibly the worst airline in the world?

[Mal]

Qantas is not the best airline in the world, nor are they the worst. Out of oneworld (and I've flown most airlines in oneworld, but not all), I would probably put them second after CX.

 

[mosanator]

However, internationally - comparisons with BA, and AA are moot as they are not the competition (whilst BA and QF do fly two identical routes to LHR they are co-operating on these routes no really competing). The competition is CX, SQ, EK, TG, MH, EY, QR etc, and whilst QF is certainly not the worst airline in the world, it markets itself as a premium airline, and on it's day can be, yet on some days falls way short of this mark, it is this inconsistency that the most frequent flyers are used to, but leaves the less frequent ones at times a little disappointed (and at other times a lot disappointed)! As a regular traveller in Y SIN/MEL I find negligible difference between EK & QF so usually choose on the price/FF value equation.

Yeah I agree, but the original post was "in the world" not "on specific competitive routes"! The OP was broad brush.

I picked BA & AA as comparisons as I believe they are considered in the same market class. BA was once regarded as one of the best airlines in the world. Some (not saying me) still consider AA to be the best the USA has to offer.

Don't BA and AA market themselves as Premium airlines also? Thats marketing, and like statistics 9 out of 10 people can be fooled by it. Do we expect QF to market themselves as "nearly premium" or "almost premium" or "a middle of the road airline" or "almost as good as CX".

They are definitely not a low cost, budget or Easyjet style carrier. And I agree they might not be up there with SQ but is there another "tag" they could wear?

I can't think of any that any Board Member would find acceptable.

What would we want them to market themselves as??????

 

[ajw373]

Personally, I believe all good people have the right to be treated like human beings. That is all. (Having worked in a service industry gives me some sympathy in this regard).

No people have the right to be treated the same as they treat others. Ever heard of the saying "do unto others as you do unto yourself"

What one other poster alluded to was spot on. A lot of people who fly ponce around like they are something special when there not. For example on my last flight I had a guy try to push in at the boarding gate because he was flying business class. Hmmm if only he stopped and looked, he would have then realised the whole line he was trying to push into was full of business class passengers as it was a priority line! Anyway he was put in his place (by me) and went sooking to the back of the line.

 

[ajw373]

Yeah I agree, but the original post was "in the world" not "on specific competitive routes"! The OP was broad brush.

I picked BA & AA as comparisons as I believe they are considered in the same market class. BA was once regarded as one of the best airlines in the world. Some (not saying me) still consider AA to be the best the USA has to offer.

Don't BA and AA market themselves as Premium airlines also? Thats marketing, and like statistics 9 out of 10 people can be fooled by it. Do we expect QF to market themselves as "nearly premium" or "almost premium" or "a middle of the road airline" or "almost as good as CX".

BA and AA are great comparisions as they both fly similar types of routes. Ie a mix of short haul (like Qantas domestic) and long haul.

The problem I see is when people compare they don't compare apples to apples. For example they will complain about how cough Qantas is on a domestic flight compared to say EK on a long haul. At least with AA and BA you can do an apples to apples comparision. BA short haul is absolute cough, especially in business. As for AA, amazing to think if they are the best in the US.

Recently I flew AA LHR-JKF in Y and for the first time ever I received service that was that bad I felt compelled to complain. Never before have I seen such an unprofessional crew. The guy at first class check-in was rude and incompetent (didn't know how to enter a visa into the system) and when I asked where the lounge was told me I wasn't entitled to use it (despite being One World Emerald). I found it and the staff there were top class might I add, same too on return at JFK. We were meet at the door by this bedraggled looking dragon with her cawfee in hand barking seating orders to passengers. For the whole flight her cawfee never left her hand. If she had a ciggie in the other hand you would have mistaken her for a Kings Cross street hooker. Come meal time another was hollering at passengers if you want to get fed to put your tray table down or you would miss out. And beleive me a few did miss out because their trays weren't down in time. Then all the crew bar 1 disappeared into a special rest room AA have on their 777's until the 2nd meal service. Overall the worst 'long haul' flight I have ever had. The return was better but only marginally so.

 

[dajop]

Yeah I agree, but the original post was "in the world" not "on specific competitive routes"! The OP was broad brush.

Yes, OP being a bit melodramatic!

Don't BA and AA market themselves as Premium airlines also? Thats marketing, and like statistics 9 out of 10 people can be fooled by it. Do we expect QF to market themselves as "nearly premium" or "almost premium" or "a middle of the road airline" or "almost as good as CX".

If you fish around on the AA, BA and QF websites (and I'm trying to find the bits where BA/AA push their hardest) and this is what you get is below. BA certainly speaks about premium is where they want to be, a lot of the language in the details (on economy particularly) talks about value for money. QF very much pushes the line exceeding customer expectations and worlds best. Make of this all what you will!

AA:

As an airline with a global network, American's customers benefit from our products and services wherever they travel.

American Airlines and American Eagle are in business to provide safe, dependable and friendly air transportation to our customers, along with numerous related services. We are dedicated to making every flight you take with us something special. Your safety, comfort and convenience are our most important concerns.

BA:

British Airways is a full service global airline, offering year-round low fares with an extensive global route network flying to and from centrally-located airports.

Meeting the rising expectations of our customers remains central to our strategy of transforming British Airways into the world’s leading global premium airline. Our investment in our staff, our fleet and our facilities are all about making sure we provide the very best in customer service. We want all of our customers to enjoy a premium service at every point of their journey, whenever and wherever they travel with us.

QF:

Today, Qantas is widely regarded as the world's leading long distance airline and one of the strongest brands in Australia.

We are Australia's leading premium airline and we are dedicated to being the best.
We aim to meet your expectations every time you fly, and so we continue to invest in our business and will always strive to provide you with an exceptional level of service.

 

[anat0l]

About the "premium airline" branding etc. - all marketing gimmick and nothing more.

If marketing was really honest (even if they are still trying to portray a positive image), it wouldn't sound even close to as good. If people were allowed to sue due to false advertising in the sense that, for example, "we will exceed your expectations" and they didn't = instant payout, then many businesses would be out of business, hands down (and "consumers" would be mostly serial litigants).

Marketing is mostly a gimmick with not enough information at times. It messes with people's emotions. It's more or less the most legal form of psychological corruption that humans can partake in. That is all.

So the next time you see "premium airline" or whatever kind of something that the marketing department spun up, just ignore the icing and go for the cake.

 

[Dave Noble]

If marketing was really honest (even if they are still trying to portray a positive image), it wouldn't sound even close to as good. If people were allowed to sue due to false advertising in the sense that, for example, "we will exceed your expectations" and they didn't = instant payout, then many businesses would be out of business, hands down (and "consumers" would be mostly serial litigants).

Based on the quote, they only claim to meet expectations which is quite possible depending on someone's expectations. Claiming that they would exceed expectations would only be viable for a company not planning much repeat business

 

[JohnK]

Personally I think the OP has a valid point. I have noticed that QF service levels have been dropping significantly over the last few years but they are far from being the worst airline in the world.

Have you actually ever used the travel voucher?? It is only able to be used through Qantas Ticket Sales, which means it cannot be applied to any internet fare (like a Red e-deal). So in fact it is a total false economy. I have bucket loads of these piled up after years and years of faulty AVOD systems on the A330.

Screw the voucher, I just want a system that works.

It is actually a shame that you have not used the travel vouchers over the years.

I have been able to use all of my vouchers over the years and have been able to book a red e-Deal (or lowest available fare) each and every time.

 

[wenglock.mok]

Have you actually ever used the travel voucher?? It is only able to be used through Qantas Ticket Sales, which means it cannot be applied to any internet fare (like a Red e-deal). So in fact it is a total false economy. I have bucket loads of these piled up after years and years of faulty AVOD systems on the A330.

Any phone agent who tells you you cannot use the travel voucher to book a red e-deal fare is pulling the wool over your eyes... the red e-deal is NOT solely an Internet fare (contrary to what its name might suggest), it is just the marketing name for the most restricted economy fare classes on QF. In my (fairly extensive) experience of using these vouchers (no thanks to the constant breakage of the old B743s on the transcon flights), the phone agents have in fact been very accommodating and have largely waived the service fees even (I quote, from my first encounter, "we've already inconvenienced you in the first place and we should not even be charging you this fee").

So the next time someone tells you you cannot book an Internet red e-deal with the voucher, I'd ask to speak to their supervisor.

 

[dk4]

So the next time someone tells you you cannot book an Internet red e-deal with the voucher, I'd ask to speak to their supervisor.

Thanks for posting your experience.

Like other posters, I too had just assumed that the added expense of the assisted booking fee, the unavailability of cheaper fares plus the hassle of having to use a paper based voucher - meant that the Qantas "compensation" would simply end up costing me more: so I tossed them straight into the bin - more annoyed than appeased.

These days an online account credit (or even points) would be more meaningful to me, than a voucher printed on paper:!:

 

[medhead]

The one voucher that I have received and used without problem clearly said that I would not be charged any fees when using it. Only hassle was I had to go to qantas travel to identify myself. But just wanted until I was going past the shop anyway.

 

[harvyk]

No it's not...

Is AA the worst airline in the world? According to me it is, but then again I know there are members on this forum who love AA.

I will happily state that I have had some very ordinary flights with QF. However a good proportion of those flights where due to other PAX, and not FA's.

The other thing is that we are all very quick to complain if something goes wrong, and whilst I'm very quick to tell people about the best flight I've ever taken (Last year, SYD-SFO in Y+, they gave better service than any J flight I've taken), there are many other really good flights (With QF \ AirNZ and DJ) which I've taken which I haven't posted up here.