QANTAS talking to the disaffected!

[justinbrett]

Well Qatar does already have what they call Super wifi. not free for everyone but if you Prepay USD 8 it is unlimited in all classes. Just a fraction better than QF now.
The program in the next 2 years is to change over to Starlink and it will be free for everyone. Said to be up to 350 megabits per second.

Qatar Airways to Offer Complimentary Starlink Wi-Fi

Qatar Airways to Offer Complimentary Starlink Wi-Fi. Qatar Airways, one of the world leading airlines, has recently unveiled its groundbreaking collaboration with SpaceX Starlink project, setting a remarkable milestone in inflight connectivity. This partnership marks Qatar Airways as the largest...

qatar-visa-status.com

Qf with a much smaller fleet is also saying they will roll out the Viasat wifi in 2 years I did find an Executive traveller article of a month ago stating that the speeds were 10-15Mbps.

Fast, free WiFi on Qantas flights to Asia

The international fleet is getting an early upgrade for worldwide Internet coverage.

www.executivetraveller.com

And QR certainly beat QF to fast and free for everyone when they celebrated the 100th aircraft to have wifi for 100 days free to everyone in 2020.

https://www.qatarairways.com/en-au/europe/complimentary-wifi.html

Starlink is up to 500Mbps per plane, so if every pax is on that's about 2Mbps each.

ViaSat advertise 12-20Mbps per device

Either way 2Mbps is probably enough for most pax applications (streaming video etc).

 

[SeatBackForward]

And what? VH did exactly what she said she did (ie “surrounding myself with customers who’ve had bad experiences”).

The executives listened without judgement and generally without challenge or push back (particularly VH). They’re not really going to say much else in that forum (nor would I expect them to say or do much else at that time).

Were there some common themes of "disaffection" amongst the customers at the forum you attended? Or was there some form of NDA involved regarding the discussion?

 

[encryptededdy]

I can't imagine Qantas doesn't know what customers are dissatisfied with. I mean, it's not a bad thing for VH to talk to customers, but I can't imagine it's actually necessary for any sort of positive change.

Surely is stopping positive change is the cost or lack of staff.

 

[dajop]

Why does every other thread seem to end up in discussion of QR. It's truly getting out of hand. AFF is not and should not be about QF vs QR.

They are not the only carrier that QF competes with, in fact QF's Europe services form a relatively small part of the overall route network. There are for many more competitors with QF's various Asia and US routes.

 

[Gold Member]

Why does every other thread seem to end up in discussion of QR. It's truly getting out of hand. AFF is not and should not be about QF vs QR.

Agreed. It’s a shame that the forums are being manipulated for commercial/political reasons to support whatever agenda is at hand.

 

[Happy Dude]

Well it's really anyone that selects 6/7 and below on those surveys.

To find "the detractors", a better starting point than a subjective survey response, would have been anyone that has sent an email to [email protected]

 

[adenda]

To find "the detractors", a better starting point than a subjective survey response, would have been anyone that has sent an email to [email protected]

Or anyone who has been put through to a call centre other than Hobart

 

[DAC1]

Were there some common themes of "disaffection" amongst the customers at the forum you attended? Or was there some form of NDA involved regarding the discussion?

No NDA. Both sessions had a large number of WPs (and to a lesser extent, SGs). The participants were generally older as well (I am in my 30s and I was probably the youngest in both by at least 10 years). The issues those passengers face are not necessarily indicative of the issues that all QF passengers would experience.

If I had to summarise it broadly, the issues experienced by the participants are similar to those we hear about on this forum from WPs and SGs. However, one issue that got little airtime was the quality of the call centres (and there were some compliments for the Cape Town call centre in one session, which I suspect would horrify some people on AFF). And frankly, some of the ‘issues’ raised were non-issues (there was a participant who was also in both sessions who made a point each time on how he was annoyed that QF7/8 is now on a 789 instead of a 388).

The participants received an email from the research team who coordinated the sessions in late March. I have copied that email below. Ultimately, all of the executives present acknowledged that customers were not satisfied and they were committed to being better.

Dear DAC1, Thank you for taking part in the focus group session at Qantas head office. Your participation and feedback has been extremely valuable. We promised to come back to you with what we heard, and the actions that we are taking. Following is an overview of the 4 key themes that we heard and the steps we are taking: 1. Many customers shared their disappointment with some of the food on board and want Qantas to showcase the best that Australia has to offer – like we do our wines. Supporting local, and providing fresh, Australian produce where we can and delivered - simple and fresh. We are able to share with you that new menus went onboard our international flights on 1 March for all cabins, showcasing even more local produce and a greater variety of foods. Domestically, from 1 March flights over 2 hours now have hot snacks all day and complimentary beer and wine from 9am. 2. You mentioned that customer experiences when flying with Qantas (service, on time performance, aircraft condition) are hit and miss and having a consistent experience is paramount to rebuilding trust. Some note improvements lately, however there is a way to go be back to our best. In response to this feedback, there is an increased focus on taking extra measures to ensure our customers are getting away on time with our on-time performance improving. We have also introduced onboard coaching to support new and unexperienced crew in delivering a consistent quality service. We have also stood up dedicated Engineering Cabin Focus Team to quickly maintain and refresh aircraft cabins. With all of these initiatives we hope our customers will feel this consistent experience across all aspects of the journey. 3. We also heard that from you that during times of disruptions, customers want Qantas to be really clear about what is happening, when and why – and it must be a consistent message across the journey. Transparency is key. Customers want more support from our people to help them through these times and make the experience easier. We have recently implemented a new disruption communication tool to communicate to customers more frequently as well as empowering frontline staff to recover our customers in the event of disruption through a range of on-airport initiatives. We are also streamlining flight cancellation rebooking processes, to be done in bulk and more efficiently which helps to free up time for Airport staff to focus on those who need extra support. 4. Our customers work really hard to earn their status and points and want more opportunities to enjoy them, whether that be through upgrades or that special trip overseas. For some Tiers there was a callout for improvements on other benefits such as; Priority Baggage and Boarding – delivering what we promise.  We are currently working on more permanent improvements to the flight reward suite, as well as a focus on improving the airport experience for members which includes a refresh of priority baggage and priority boarding enforcement.   Overall, some progress has been made, however recognise there is still more to do therefore remain heavily focused on improvements to the customer experience.   We thank you again for taking the time to share your feedback with us and we look forward to having you back again sometime in the future as we will have many other topics to explore. Warm regards Catriona Larritt Qantas Group Chief Customer & Digital Officer

 

[jb747]

They can't even get ex-employees to fly with them....

 

[BAM1748]

The issue she has is, she can apologise all she wants, customers love it. But then they can go and buy a ticket on an airline that doesn't need to apologise.

 

[AIRwin]

They can't even get ex-employees to fly with them....

No seats?

 

[dajop]

No NDA. Both sessions had a large number of WPs (and to a lesser extent, SGs). The participants were generally older as well (I am in my 30s and I was probably the youngest in both by at least 10 years).

Interesting observation. When I was in the Singapore J lounge earlier this week I made the comment to my partner that there was definitely an older demographic in the lounge (including me - in early 50s).

I also noted it was a very Caucasian demographic, but after living in Singapore for 15 years I’m used to be one of few Caucasian’s wherever I am - I don’t tend to hang out in expat haunts so it seemed odd to be in Singapore and have so few people of other racial origins.

I guess it may, more than anything, reflect the nature of QF status travellers, who are travelling overseas in early June.

 

[I love to travel]

At the end of the day people will vote with their feet. Cleaned out my points balance earlier this week (on partner airlines), SG ends October so now it is BFOD including international J. I don't hate Qantas but no longer am inspired by them. SQ on the hand you can get J rewards seats and fares are competitive if you buy when there is a sale. Krisflyer Gold takes care of VA lounge and baggage. Works for me, others will be different

 

[Quickstatus]

Was the "Dear DAC1" letter compiled by ChatGPT?

For me #3 is most promising. Being exceptional in the routine does not matter if performance during disruption is poor.

 

[tdimdad]

For me #3 is most promising. Being exceptional in the routine does not matter if performance during disruption is poor.

But it feels that QF often trips over itself. Case in point: adding call centre capacity (great!) but of very lacking capability and access to systems (ouch!). If their routine operation was rock solid and humming along nicely, there would probably be far less disruptions to deal with.

To me, the letter's point #2 is the key (and executing on aspects of #4). Once they get the process and consistency settled, it leaves more room to work on the other points (especially #1 is cosmetics / nice to have).

 

[dylarr]

Is it a case of 0-6 is a fail, 7-8 is average and 9-10 is a pass for NPS - so that there's only really 3 scores? Be interested to know.

Yes this is pretty much spot on. At my previous company I used to analyse response data from Medallia and the NPS scale is 0-6 detractors, 7-8 passives, 9-10 promotors. In reality anything an 8 or under on the "Would you recommend x to a friend or family member?" question was looked at pretty closely - depends on the company though I suppose.

 

[RichardMEL]

QF do seem to kick a lot of own goals at times...

 

[leadman]

I've been sitting on the sidelines for a while reading this and other threads about QF, changes, gripes, etc etc, but I just see it as pointless other than to expel grievances. This is QF's business model!!! It makes money, and they "ain't" going to change. When you replace a CEO with the CFO, the Board is happy with the way things are, so why bring in new blood and ideas? They chase after the business end of the plane, sweetened by Chairman's Lounge and Pt1, and throw breadcrumbs to the rest. They lose court cases and face, but they still make money; I don't see many posts from shareholders here complaining about their dividends.
So, let's run a few workshops showing we are doing something - they have a great HR/PR/Marketing team. Just look at the sappy ads on TV and the safety video on the plane (it's a wonder they don't market their own tissues). I'm guessing they run a variant of the "boiled frog scenario" where once complaints start to flow, the temperature is turned down.
But if they were losing money, wow, it would be a different ballgame!
Am I happy about it? Of course not, but that is business and when profits count, (the major kpi in bonuses), not much is going to go back to what it was. A 20+ year WP, I will still use the company, watch the sappy ads, and know "business is business" (sadly).

 

[ozflier]

I would like Qantas to become more competitive with Asian/Middle East carriers by offering something like decent business class meals ( not just vegeterian / grassy / full of seeds offerings.)
Similarly how about offering wines in J that actually cost more than $10 a bottle at Dan Murphys
I never thought it would come to this but I am finally starting to look at Asian/Middle East carriers for my travel - access to QFF reward flights is going down and delayed Qantas international flights are occuring more commonly, premium service is not what it used to be .
The old loyalty I had with Qantas is no longer the case - so many disappointments with delays and poor service have occurred that I am looking at the opposition!
The Australian airline needs to realise that just being Australian owned just doesn't cut it any more!

 

[OATEK]

There is no doubt that QF loses out in many ways over other ME/Asian carriers. The meals on EK are the best I have had in J (across EK, CX, AY, A3, AF, BA, OS, QF- in descending order of preference) and like everyone I speak to, the Neil Perry bowl of green leaves is the most dismal offering.

However, from the very beginning of my international flying (1980s) flights on foreign airlines have far outweighed those on QF. When I speak to people in my social and business circles I am surprised at how many prefer the AU experience on QF, where they get what they want and expect, to flying with foreign carriers.

So when considering QF's position, you can't go past the fact that they give many Australians what they want even if we judge at as below par. And we also know that the vast majority of Australians fly economy, where differences are less pronounced say than those between champagne offerings in F. QF are on a sound footing, making money, but probably getting a much smaller share of revenue from discerning flyers than say EK/QR/SQ.