DJ upgrades entire companies' staff to Gold

[QF WP]

Just heard this first hand from a friend who works in an Australian-based company.

Seems that ~12 months ago, the company transferred their flying to Virgin Blue from QF.

An Australian-wide email has been sent to their ~400 staff that because of their company wide travel spend in the past 12 months, they have all been upgarded to Gold status.

Really hard to take for my friend, who has just achieved Gold status from BIS travel.

I find it strange to think that all staff have been given Gold, I would have thought that it would have been tiered based on management level (so ceratin level & above given gold if not already achieve, next level get Silver etc).

Have others here had their company receive the same generous approach from DJ?

 

[StevePER]

Our big company switched to DJ in August 2006 and all we get is a corporate discount of indeterminate size and cheap lounge membership.

 

[pauly7]

Just heard this first hand from a friend who works in an Australian-based company.

Seems that ~12 months ago, the company transferred their flying to Virgin Blue from QF.

An Australian-wide email has been sent to their ~400 staff that because of their company wide travel spend in the past 12 months, they have all been upgarded to Gold status.

Really hard to take for my friend, who has just achieved Gold status from BIS travel.

I find it strange to think that all staff have been given Gold, I would have thought that it would have been tiered based on management level (so ceratin level & above given gold if not already achieve, next level get Silver etc).

Have others here had their company receive the same generous approach from DJ?

That sounds very bizarre... and VERY desperate... maybe the contract was up for re-negotiation?....

 

[Travel Guru]

Certainly not something i've ever heard of, and not a precedent i'd want to be setting if I were in Godfrey's shoes.

Great way to weaken your brand in my opinion.

TG

 

[IainF]

That sounds very bizarre... and VERY desperate... maybe the contract was up for re-negotiation?....

I believe not.... There is no contract in place, just a standard pricing agreement. The staff are flying BFOD which just normally means DJ as they are usually $70-80 cheaper than QF.
I think that DJ have pinched a good deal of business from QF and a lot of the staff have fallen down the status levels over at QF so this is a good way to encourage them to keep looking at DJ for flights as they no longer have access to the QP....
Bear in mind that most of the regular travellers within the company had paid lounge access anyway, so this is not a big cost to DJ apart from the extra points and baggage capacity.

 

[dajop]

As DJ's status program is a stand alone program (without any mutual recognition from partner airlines), then this seems to make a lot of sense. Doesn't cost a lot of money, and probably DJ stands to gains some business.

If it were linked to an alliance, this could be more problematic. But then if DJ was linked to alliance, perhaps such deals would be needed less.

 

[Flashback]

Reading the title before the thread, I thought that Phil Gunter was going to be a v. happy man, finally getting his gold status but alas, this is not the case.

I think the more often this happens, and the wider it is publicised, the better chance we have of QF providing some *real* competition...

 

[Oneworldplus2]

l agree with dajop. If DJ were link with *Alliance or Skypass, would make a difference. Qantas has a strangle hold on the Oz market and DJ just does no seem to be able to connect the dots.
More lounges, alliance network with a big player, in flight meals and maybe people would shift from Qantas.
As it is, why bother changing from Qantas?

 

[v8Statesman]

l agree with dajop. If DJ were link with *Alliance or Skypass, would make a difference. Qantas has a strangle hold on the Oz market and DJ just does no seem to be able to connect the dots.
More lounges, alliance network with a big player, in flight meals and maybe people would shift from Qantas.
As it is, why bother changing from Qantas?

Maybe they should join OW

 

[oz_mark]

I think we know who Lindsay Wilson's friend was.

I am sure if DJ would link with *A if they could but I think you will find that there are forces within *A that prevent it from happening.

 

[ANstar]

I am sure if DJ would link with *A if they could but I think you will find that there are forces within *A that prevent it from happening.

*Cough Cough* Air NZ

 

[pauly7]

I think that DJ have pinched a good deal of business from QF and a lot of the staff have fallen down the status levels over at QF so this is a good way to encourage them to keep looking at DJ for flights as they no longer have access to the QP....
.

A fair assumption but not apparently true if you listen to both DJ and QF. In previous articles/forums QF maintains is has retained the lions share of corporate travel and DJ claims that QF are cutting their margins in order to ensure no one swtiches to DJ.

And thats before you even get to gov departments where although almost all are on some form of BFOD, staff are still refusing to book DJ and work around the policy to book QF!

Then again both could be playing their respective spin to their own advantages, QF to maintain they are still #1 business airline by a country mile and DJ to get sympathy from the Gov and win more gov travel.

 

[rwatts]

And thats before you even get to gov departments where although almost all are on some form of BFOD, staff are still refusing to book DJ and work around the policy to book QF!

That certainly has been true in the past and still is, but is changing - at least in my little corner of a very large federal department.

Since all our fares are required to be fully-flexible, with DJ that results in Corporate Plus fares with lounge access included.

A large proportion of trips from this little corner are to CBR and the DJ direct flight timings are actually better than QF.

Richard.

 

[IainF]

I think we know who Lindsay Wilson's friend was.

Aaahh, although I am Lindsay's friend, I am not the right person.. Although I do know the person concerned. :mrgreen:
The bottom line for the company in question is that one person books all the flights so the staff have no say other than what time they fly....

DJ's pricing always seems to be just a little below QF on most days so they will naturally pick up the business.
Also only a handful of people in the company are allowed Flexible fares, most are deep discount and non-changeable.

This has made the staff acutely aware of the flight times and are less inclined to push on with a meeting, at the risk of missing a flight.
Is a bit of a two edged sword in that the company saves a lot of $$ but meetings do get cut off if they are running overtime and a conclusion may not have been reached.
That is a busines decision made by the MD and he has the final say. He is also abiding by the rules, and has been seen flying DJ on cheap fares around the country, whereas the former MD was a CL and was in J on QF for every flight.

 

[Flashback]

Aaahh, although I am Lindsay's friend, I am not the right person.. Although I do know the person concerned. :mrgreen:
The bottom line for the company in question is that one person books all the flights so the staff have no say other than what time they fly....

DJ's pricing always seems to be just a little below QF on most days so they will naturally pick up the business.
Also only a handful of people in the company are allowed Flexible fares, most are deep discount and non-changeable.

This has made the staff acutely aware of the flight times and are less inclined to push on with a meeting, at the risk of missing a flight.
Is a bit of a two edged sword in that the company saves a lot of $$ but meetings do get cut off if they are running overtime and a conclusion may not have been reached.
That is a busines decision made by the MD and he has the final say. He is also abiding by the rules, and has been seen flying DJ on cheap fares around the country, whereas the former MD was a CL and was in J on QF for every flight.

Good on him I say, that shows real integrity! +1 to him!

 

[IainF]

Good on him I say, that shows real integrity! +1 to him!

He has come from another country and may not have been made aware of CL..... The former MD would most definitely still have the card, I understand. It was always a source of irritation for a number of senior managers who were never guested into the CL...
I have met the new MD and I think he has an absolutely clear idea of where he wants his money to be spent... and it aint Qantas at the moment. Finally an MD who practices what he preaches.

 

[Flashback]

He has come from another country and may not have been made aware of CL..... The former MD would most definitely still have the card, I understand. It was always a source of irritation for a number of senior managers who were never guested into the CL...
I have met the new MD and I think he has an absolutely clear idea of where he wants his money to be spent... and it aint Qantas at the moment. Finally an MD who practices what he preaches.

He certainly has my vote, it's good to see management being responsible and looking out for the employees and the bottom line rather than themselves.