Qantas slashing jobs and possibly selling FF program?

[Aussie_flyer]

Re:

Did y'all know you can fly QF to Asia then onwards to Europe on EK via DXB on a single ticket? I am doing just this London-Dubai (stop) - Bangkok (stop) - Sydney - Cairns all on QF number on one ticket in January. So it's not completely hopeless, there is QF flight numbers on routes like BKK-DXB etc.

 

[casanovawa]

Re:

So what's the feeling at this stage of the success or failure of the Emirates marriage? This was AJ's big play.

Well where has the big success come from it.... They gave up their SIN hub which serviced flights to Europe and should have been the hub to then fly throughout Asia, which is meant to be the big growth area this century, and instead have (what i would have thought) now is a pthetically utilised 'hub' at DXB which services what?? 2 flights a day in each direction??? Does a flight from BNE go through DXB??? No aussies are going to fly to DXB and then back to Asia, or Asians to Australia through DXB, there have been no announcements on any other utilisation of DXB as a hub such as flights to TXL etc to skirt restrictions on EK, so how much of a hub can be with so few flights?? So what a lousy small scale 'hub' it currently is???

Its more than likely true that EK has gotten more out of it than QF as as i can't see that QF have gotten much at all??? I would have been redeeming more EK one way classic awards back to Oz as they had those tiny fuel surcharges compared to QF redemptions and fuel surcharges, but now i see QF have managed to pump those EK surcharges up, so while an EK redemption say back from NYC via DXB to PER costs a few points less, QR via DOH actually has quite a bit smaller taxes and surcharges, so will probably use them instead of EK...

So all up, while sacrificing many Asian options by p!ssing off their OW mates and now cough connections to SIN/HK for their JQ networks, what have they achieved from the hook up???

 

[Pushka]

Success for EK? Definitely.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I wish Qantas would include some of its cabin crew in the staff lay-offs. There are clearly some who don't want to be there and have a knack for being able to ruin a flight. Grumpy, tired, condescending and in at least one case downright unprofessional.

these crew don't care that they have an impact on whether people choose to fly Qantas in the future and they are, in my opinion, hurting the bottom line.

I just got off the QF128 recently and it was a good experience. It was a return to the halcyon days of Qantas First class we had back until the early 2000s: sleek and professional with engaged and intuitive service. The food was just ok but it didn't matter - it was more than compensated for by the total experience. It was a perfect end to another year away. That Qantas flight put it on par with top carriers.

It's unfortunate that 128 crew has colleagues not holding up their end of the product delivery.

 

[Sojourner]

It will be interesting to see how Christmas plays out. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Mr Joyce throws another blackmail tizzy and shuts it down for a few days. I'm glad I'm not flying anywhere this Christmas.

I've seen other children play that strategy pretty well, but from a corporate CEO? Is that the only other card he knows how to play? "Give me what I want or I'll keep all flights grounded."

 

[BoyZeus]

Time to redeem some free Puds and burn some points...

 

[casanovawa]

I have found it pretty hard to be motivated in my work place after continual penny pinching, budget cuts and a 1/4 or the workforce gone over 4-5 years, and our DG didn't even seem to keep labelling the workforce as one of the major impediments of the organisation (or their remuneration)... No wonder not everyone at QF leaps out of bed each morning to confront another day at the coal face...

People aren't robots and a lousy working environment morale-wise does eventually start telling on people and their performances and loyalties...

 

[Isochronous]

I wish Qantas would include some of its cabin crew in the staff lay-offs. There are clearly some who don't want to be there and have a knack for being able to ruin a flight. Grumpy, tired, condescending and in at least one case downright unprofessional.

these crew don't care that they have an impact on whether people choose to fly Qantas in the future and they are, in my opinion, hurting the bottom line.

I just got off the QF128 recently and it was a good experience. It was a return to the halcyon days of Qantas First class we had back until the early 2000s: sleek and professional with engaged and intuitive service. The food was just ok but it didn't matter - it was more than compensated for by the total experience. It was a perfect end to another year away. That Qantas flight put it on par with top carriers.

It's unfortunate that 128 crew has colleagues not holding up their end of the product delivery.

I consistently find SYD crew on 127/128 and 129/130 far better than the 29/30 crew on MEL for some reason.

 

[footy99]

My read:

Qantas starts capacity war with Virgin in an attempt to rub them out

Virgin gets a massive capital influx to the surprise of Qantas which turns that power battle on its head

Qantas needs their own capital influx to continue that strategy

Qantas lobbies the government to either give it themselves or open up foreign investment

So here we are. Likely continuation:

Government tells them to shove it on the first count but reduces restrictions on foreign investment as a trade off

Foreign investors require the ridiculous capacity war to stop before investing

Qantas stops playing hard ball with the arbitrary 65% capacity in exchange for an influx of foreign capital

Qantas gets its capital and discontinues the primary prideful reason for its loss.

Or as others have put it - it's mostly just posturing for capital.

 

[11sjw]

I have found it pretty hard to be motivated in my work place after continual penny pinching, budget cuts and a 1/4 or the workforce gone over 4-5 years, and our DG didn't even seem to keep labelling the workforce as one of the major impediments of the organisation (or their remuneration)... No wonder not everyone at QF leaps out of bed each morning to confront another day at the coal face...

People aren't robots and a lousy working environment morale-wise does eventually start telling on people and their performances and loyalties...

Got made redundant from a workplace very similar (Yay me!). New company took over at the start of 2012 after, essentially, buying us at the top of the market and paying top dollar. (Think 400% return for the seller on his initial investment approx 5 years before) For mine it seems the due diligence carried out by the new owner's senior management was completely cough yet who suffers when things slowed down (ie returned to normal levels) as we were very mining dependant? The staff. Within 18 months of taking over approx 1/3rd of the workforce gone through redundancies or resigning due to having the sh!ts with the new owners.

Should senior management here be shown the door? Should more than pay freezes take pl;ace at QF within Snr Management? IMO Yes to both.

 

[rocketboy]

People aren't robots and a lousy working environment morale-wise does eventually start telling on people and their performances and loyalties...

The morale at Qantas has been on a downward trajectory for years. I for one find this astonishing in a business that is based around customer service. And while I agree that there are many staff whose time is up, the fact that so many still display enthusiasm is a reflection on their own good performance and not on the support and encouragement they receive from their management.

As for EK and QF. I was one who looked forward to this alliance. From Munich I would be able to fly QF one stop to Australia and avoid the extra leg to either FRA (gone) or Heathrow. But overnight the cheapest r/t business class fare rose €1000. So since the alliance started, the only booking (apart from one FASA) I have made this year on QF is one red e deal MEL/SYD/MEL. Next two Australian trips are on Qatar bought during a recent promotion. I am almost getting two trips for the price of one on Qantas. I have yet to experience QR (first trip in 2 weeks) but as a self funded traveller, their fares and direct service into Melbourne, were just too tempting. I will wait before I decide to jump from QFF - but unfortunately I have become a part of Qantas' problem. And from what I read on here, I am not alone.

 

[OATEK]

I consistently find SYD crew on 127/128 and 129/130 far better than the 29/30 crew on MEL for some reason.

I consistently find the crew on the A380s a level above the other international QF flights I have taken (747, 330).

 

[amaroo]

I have found it pretty hard to be motivated in my work place after continual penny pinching, budget cuts and a 1/4 or the workforce gone over 4-5 years, and our DG didn't even seem to keep labelling the workforce as one of the major impediments of the organisation (or their remuneration)... No wonder not everyone at QF leaps out of bed each morning to confront another day at the coal face...

People aren't robots and a lousy working environment morale-wise does eventually start telling on people and their performances and loyalties...

Don't QF pay their people more than other operators in OZ?

Apparently it's 17% more expensive to run QF than VA according to the joker the ABC has interviewed the last two nights!.......Might have something to do with the current state of affairs:idea:

 

[davidj]

Sorry to hear about the state of Qantas.

However can someone in the know provide some insight on:

What happens to my FFPs if Qantas goes into liquidation and there are no buyers for the airline (ie. Ansett all over again)? Do I basically lose all my points? I better make some light reading of the T&Cs...

 

[11sjw]

Sorry to hear about the state of Qantas.

However can someone in the know provide some insight on:

What happens to my FFPs if Qantas goes into liquidation and there are no buyers for the airline (ie. Ansett all over again)? Do I basically lose all my points? I better make some light reading of the T&Cs...

Yep your points will disappear.

 

[jetlagger]

He must have some damn good pictures of some one some where. We are talking about a man who shuts down a National Airline rather than negotiate with in a constructive manner that created huge losses dare I say it probably more than it saved, has little regard for customers as he cuts back services and reduces the quality of onboard offerings. Fails to recognise and effectively grown the Asian business other than LCC Jetstar/3K Business, from whence he came. He has failed to react to competitiors moves other then predatory actions such as adding more and more capacity and reducing loads and Yields.

I ask my self how the hell is he still at the helm?

If it was a government he would have been tossed out by the voters and perhaps now its time for the voters, shareholders to vote him out.

Whinge over.

Give us back an airline that we can once again be proud of and happy to pay a small premium for

Well, it appears AJ & the board aren't so popular.. if they ever were.
Nothing personal, just think that he isn't the best guy for that position any longer & the $100k ++ per week salary is just ridiculous in the current unproductive environment.

 

[Isochronous]

I consistently find the crew on the A380s a level above the other international QF flights I have taken (747, 330).

A380 crew are also paid less too from memory.

 

[Sojourner]

My read:

Qantas starts capacity war with Virgin in an attempt to rub them out

Virgin gets a massive capital influx to the surprise of Qantas which turns that power battle on its head

Qantas needs their own capital influx to continue that strategy

Qantas lobbies the government to either give it themselves or open up foreign investment

So here we are. Likely continuation:

Government tells them to shove it on the first count but reduces restrictions on foreign investment as a trade off

Foreign investors require the ridiculous capacity war to stop before investing

Qantas stops playing hard ball with the arbitrary 65% capacity in exchange for an influx of foreign capital

Qantas gets its capital and discontinues the primary prideful reason for its loss.

Or as others have put it - it's mostly just posturing for capital.

Well said footy99. Basically Qantas tried to use its size to bully smaller rival through a capacity war, but were caught out when Virgin found a few bigger brothers to help it out in the playground. Now Qantas goes crying to mommy and daddy asking for a handout.

IMO, Qantas' "65% line in the sand" is anti-competitive, predatory, monopolistic behaviour. If Woolies or Coles opened up next to the local grocer here and decided to run a loss making "95% line in the sand market share" strategy as Qantas does to drive the local grocer out of business, I would say this is predatory, anti-competitive, monopolistic behaviour. This is no different to what Qantas is doing with its strategy. The only difference is the local grocer can't find a bigger brother to help it out, but Virgin did.

 

[samh004]

Well said footy99. Basically Qantas tried to use its size to bully smaller rival through a capacity war, but were caught out when Virgin found a few bigger brothers to help it out in the playground. Now Qantas goes crying to mommy and daddy asking for a handout.

IMO, Qantas' "65% line in the sand" is anti-competitive, predatory, monopolistic behaviour. If Woolies or Coles opened up next to the local grocer here and decided to run a loss making "95% line in the sand market share" strategy as Qantas does to drive the local grocer out of business, I would say this is predatory, anti-competitive, monopolistic behaviour. This is no different to what Qantas is doing with its strategy. The only difference is the local grocer can't find a bigger brother to help it out, but Virgin did.

Not to be difficult, but that green grocer they opened up next to wasn't a competitor a few years ago, just another player. Then they became a competitor and aggressively started a fare war and tried to lure customers over from next door, posting losses and have since had some bigger brothers pour cash into them to offset their losses.

Whilst I agree the 65% rule was silly, Qantas isn't the only one playing dirty here. In your analogy, they didn't more in next door to the small grocer and steal customers, it happened the other way around.

 

[russ]

Or as others have put it - it's mostly just posturing for capital.

Exactly.

Maybe he should just ground QF again until someone gives QF more capital?