Qantas Bashing - what do you make of it?

[Slats7]

The unions are behind a lot of this IMO.

I believe they leak a lot of 'inside information' to no news and tell them what to write! Unions are always up in arms about maintenance being carried out of overseas. I think off the top of my head less then 10% of Qantas maintenance is done overseas?? Unions are always complaining about Asian maintenance but fail to mention that Singapore & Cathay Pacific are two of the worlds best airliners from Asia!!

I think also in today's day and age with the internet, news is spreading so much faster and as soon as something happens with Qantas it's top news! What happened yesterday would not make the headlines in the papers.

 

[Smackbum]

The unions are behind a lot of this IMO.

I believe they leak a lot of 'inside information' to no news and tell them what to write! Unions are always up in arms about maintenance being carried out of overseas. I think off the top of my head less then 10% of Qantas maintenance is done overseas?? Unions are always complaining about Asian maintenance but fail to mention that Singapore & Cathay Pacific are two of the worlds best airliners from Asia!!

I think also in today's day and age with the internet, news is spreading so much faster and as soon as something happens with Qantas it's top news! What happened yesterday would not make the headlines in the papers.

In my opinion this conspiracy theory is a complete load of bollocks.

The so-called Qantas bashing is a combination of the tall-poppy syndrome plus the standard media desire for ratings. No-one in Oz would give a rats cough if 100 Ethiopeans died in a plane crash, but if Auntie Doris from Toowoomba gets hit on the head by a falling bottle of duty-free gin on a Qantas flight then it is front page news.

We drive this, so it is unfair to target the popular media. They just give the plebs what they want.

 

[Rebekkap]

In my opinion this conspiracy theory is a complete load of bollocks.

The so-called Qantas bashing is a combination of the tall-poppy syndrome plus the standard media desire for ratings. No-one in Oz would give a rats cough if 100 Ethiopeans died in a plane crash, but if Auntie Doris from Toowoomba gets hit on the head by a falling bottle of duty-free gin on a Qantas flight then it is front page news.

We drive this, so it is unfair to target the popular media. They just give the plebs what they want.

Agree completely. Despite what many people believe, unionists aren't idiots. They have a vested interest in the company they work for staying in business, and while I certainly think unions leak things to the media *when it is in their interests to do so, because it may help them win an argument* this is clearly not the case here.

 

[Kendall Roy]

There is the problem! But to clarify

Jetstar is bringing Qantas down and reducing routes where Qantas needs to fly
Jetstar is keeping Qantas alive and helping keep the cash coming in.

Many staff are of the view that Deathstars figures and fudged beyond beliefwhich forms part of the overall board strategy to kill mainline

 

[straitman]

Agree completely. Despite what many people believe, unionists aren't idiots. They have a vested interest in the company they work for staying in business, and while I certainly think unions leak things to the media *when it is in their interests to do so, because it may help them win an argument* this is clearly not the case here.

What you are saying is the ideal however from bitter experience this is not always the case and a reasonable percentage are idiots :!:

 

[burmans]

Agree completely. Despite what many people believe, unionists aren't idiots. They have a vested interest in the company they work for staying in business, and while I certainly think unions leak things to the media *when it is in their interests to do so, because it may help them win an argument* this is clearly not the case here.

How do you explain Ansett then, at the time it went down the union were still refusing to budge on any cuts to their (at the time fairly enormous) benefits.

 

[Misha]

Interesting thread. Whilst I agree that unions do have some involvment in this (they aren't behind all evils in Australia - as much as my instinct is to say they are! ) tall poppy syndrome, and other issues are at play too.

I disagree however that VAustralia could never achieve what the Red Roo has. I am not loyal to Qantas by any stretch of the imagination - only fly them if there is no other (comfortable and safe) option. However, when I see them at an airport on the other side of the world - yes you can't help but feel proud to be from Oz. Having said that, when I see a VA aeroplane on the tarmac in the States (for example) with the words Australia shining on its side, I get the same feeling. Potentially coupled with the word Virgin I think it could instil pride as much as the red roo - and gain loyalty from a number of Aussies over time too.

I am a loyal DJ flyer, though I don't believe in Qantas bashing - unfortunately these stories are not the issue - it is constant enhancements that has more impact on Qantas' loyal customers and the tarnishing of their name

After saying I agree with some previous posts, I have to say the following generalisation offends me no end:

... No-one in Oz would give a rats cough if 100 Ethiopeans died in a plane crash...

Apathy is a dangerous thing. I care. I am not saying I would fly there to help out with the wreckage, but I do care.

My 2c.

Nice.

 

[ReLoad]

Auntie Doris from Toowoomba gets hit on the head by a falling bottle of duty-free gin on a Qantas flight then it is front page news.

Please leave my aunt Doris out of this!

In all seriousness this is pretty much spot on.

 

[Misha]

Just quickly - I'd be pretty p!$$ed if I lost a bottle of duty-free booze from an airline! Worse than losing my baggage... :shock::shock:

That's why I always carry my duty-free ciggies in my carry-on... no chances

PS: Wouldn't say no to some falling from the sky though

 

[Rebekkap]

What you are saying is the ideal however from bitter experience this is not always the case and a reasonable percentage are idiots :!:

In that a reasonable percentage of all people are idiots, sure.

But it's usually the case that the people who rise to the top - and are calling the shots - are not the idiots.

 

[Rebekkap]

How do you explain Ansett then, at the time it went down the union were still refusing to budge on any cuts to their (at the time fairly enormous) benefits.

Are you seriously suggesting it was the unions who were responsible for Ansett collapsing? Seriously?

 

[burmans]

Are you seriously suggesting it was the unions who were responsible for Ansett collapsing? Seriously?

No I'm not, but at a time when it was clear to everyone that Ansett was spending more money than they had this would not have appeared to be clear to the union. THere were lots of influences but an intransigent union certainly didn't help.

 

[Rebekkap]

No I'm not...

Yep, that's what I thought.

So it was just union bashing.

 

[harvyk]

Could you imagine if an event happened, and a news company failed to put something out there asap?

There are a few different factors which come into play.

In the days of old, news companies had one chance per day to put something out there (some of them maybe two). A story would come in, they would research it a bit and then publish something in the following days newspaper. Furthermore in that type of media environment the public had already parted with their money to buy the newspaper.

These days if news companies don't have "something" published in the first 30 seconds of an event happening, people whom have no vested interest in staying on one news site will go somewhere else. It is for this reason we get so many news articles which are less informative than the majority of my facebook posts.

Journalists themselves are another part of the problem, the idea of spending 4 to 6 weeks researching an article before publishing something which will bring in as much advertising revenue as the 10 second "twitter feed" style article makes doesn't make financial sense.

Since we're talking about Qantas, they have a PR \ marketing department which does not understand "new media" at all. They are used to the days of old, where airports and airplanes had a level of mystic and grandeur about them. The idea that a single line of text written on my phone can be as powerful in my purchasing decisions as a full page spread showing their skybed seats seems to be completely foreign to them. The best thing they could do is fire their current PR and marketing dept's for inaction, and get in new people who actually understand modern day tech.

Of course finally you have to weight all that against, is the average bogan really going to fly qantas on a frequent basis? Will Qantas really miss the couple of thousand that the bogan would have given them to fly them to Thailand once every couple of years?

All that said one of the things I do laugh at is the really obvious infrequent flyers \ people whom have never set foot on a plane whom post comments on news limited articles.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

In that a reasonable percentage of all people are idiots, sure.

But it's usually the case that the people who rise to the top - and are calling the shots - are not the idiots.

Like Greg Combet? LOL

I worked a guy that used to work in a ship yard in Newcastle, a long time ago. Very union heavy back in the day. There were so many strikes and what-nots by the union, the delivery dates kept getting pushed futher back to a point where orders dried up and the ship yard closed. The is coming from a guy who also moved up in the union ranks and became a union rep and now says that they are the biggest idiots out there. After all the BS and witnessing it first hand, he quit the union and hates them with a passion now. How's that for a 180?

My opinion of the unions, school kids who want more and more. They set out with good intentions but it never appears. Give them an inch and they want a foot. Give them a foot and they want a yard....etc etc etc, it never ends.

 

[Nam Taf]

I still still a warm feeling in my hard when I'm overseas and see the red roo.

You get a warm feeling in your what?!? I mean I like Qantas as much as the next flyer, but that's quite a fondness you have there!

 

[Rebekkap]

The is coming from a guy who also moved up in the union ranks and became a union rep and now says that they are the biggest idiots out there. After all the BS and witnessing it first hand, he quit the union and hates them with a passion now. How's that for a 180?

And I'm sure we could find one example of a person who used to be anti-union and is now pro - but we're getting off topic here.

Bottom line is, the unions didn't destroy Ansett, and they're very unlikely to be responsible for the destruction of Qantas, which in any case seems unlikely.

 

[harvyk]

In that a reasonable percentage of all people are idiots, sure.

But it's usually the case that the people who rise to the top - and are calling the shots - are not the idiots.

I disagree on that. The people whom rise to the top are there because they had the drive to succeed, not because they are skilled or knowledgeable. Furthermore some of the people at the top are very scary people indeed (look up corporate psychopath).

Then there are those at the top whom are so disassociated with the daily running’s of the business (and yes, union's are a business) that they don't truly understand the actual ramifications of their decisions.
Finally, you can never discount the fact that the person at the top could really be an idiot, and is only there due to luck, chance or a little of both.

 

[drron]

I disagree on that. The people whom rise to the top are there because they had the drive to succeed, not because they are skilled or knowledgeable. Furthermore some of the people at the top are very scary people indeed (look up corporate psychopath).
Yes i rose to the top of my Union.:shock:

Then there are those at the top whom are so disassociated with the daily running’s of the business (and yes, union's are a business) that they don't truly understand the actual ramifications of their decisions.
Finally, you can never discount the fact that the person at the top could really be an idiot, and is only there due to luck, chance or a little of both.

So you do know me!

 

[notzac]

..but if Auntie Doris from Toowoomba gets hit on the head by a falling bottle of duty-free gin on a Qantas flight then it is front page news.

Also not caring much for the comment re. Ethiopians dying, but the above .. what a waste of perfectly good gin :-|