Qantas pleads for Australians' support

[pauly7]

A few weeks ago John Borghetti told travel agents that they should find other ways of making a profit which do not rely on airline commission,several agency operators are reported to have told him that had already done that several years ago by stopping selling Qantas and instead dealing with airlines that pay better commission and have friendlier staff.(I can send you the email if you wish).

Don't worry I believe you, my point was that how is this different from the other major airlines in this countries relationships with travel agents in terms of the comission (or lack thereof) they pay....

Now if Qantas really wants to serve the interests of Australia's travelling public it could start by responding to emails in a timely fashion (I sent them an email 3 weeks ago and have yet to receive a reply) whereas the same email sent to Virgin Blue received a reply within 2 days (oh of course that's because Qantas are so much busier than V Blue !) they could also start treating passengers with respect,instead of the contempt that was shown a friend of mine recently who asked for a glass of water and was told "you should have bought a bottle at the terminal" we dont serve water.only to have the csm wander up a minute later and apologise,saying "it was just a little joke" .

I'm sorry you have had problems getting an email response, the concensus on the board is that both DJ and QF are pretty good at getting back to people, JQ less so and I don't beleive Tiger have even learnt to write or speak English yet.

Look, isolated incidents happen on all carriers it doesn't define them but they do make fun and interesting reading on this forum!

pauly7 sometimes it may pay you to take off your Qantas tinted glasses and realise that Qantas has problems,instead of belittling anyone who questions the way they currently operate.

I'm sorry you feel belittled it wasn't my intention, I was actually pointing out the short coming, sensationalised nature of the article rather than the way QF operate which IMHO is same same to all the other airlines anyway.

I wish I had QF tinted glasses you talk about because then they would be perfect in my eyes and I would be happy - but I know for a fact they are not, but then again neither is DJ, JQ, Rex, Tiger etc etc!

 

[Nigelinoz]

Don't worry I believe you, my point was that how is this different from the other major airlines in this countries relationships with travel agents in terms of the comission (or lack thereof) they pay....



I'm sorry you have had problems getting an email response, the concensus on the board is that both DJ and QF are pretty good at getting back to people, JQ less so and I don't beleive Tiger have even learnt to write or speak English yet.

Look, isolated incidents happen on all carriers it doesn't define them but they do make fun and interesting reading on this forum!



I'm sorry you feel belittled it wasn't my intention, I was actually pointing out the short coming, sensationalised nature of the article rather than the way QF operate which IMHO is same same to all the other airlines anyway.

I wish I had QF tinted glasses you talk about because then they would be perfect in my eyes and I would be happy - but I know for a fact they are not, but then again neither is DJ, JQ, Rex, Tiger etc etc!

I probably should point out that I've been a loyal Qantas passenger in the past and I still am generally pretty happy when I fly Qantas,I have had instances of receiving poor service but as you correctly point out every airline has that happen sometimes,overall nothing would please me more than to be able to say that Qantas is the best airline in the world,but unfortunately at the moment I don't think it is ,having said that though,I wouldn't put any of the others you mentioned in that category either.

 

[JohnK]

Speaking in London yesterday, Qantas executive general manager John Borghetti said that not since the SARS flu scare seven years ago had the airliner embarked on such a large campaign to remind people about the Flying Kangaroo brand.

Yes and in those 7 years Qantas could not care less about their customers as they tried to squeeze every last dollar with fuel surcharge increases and devaluation of the QFF program. Now they want our help....

 

[Platy]

I'm sorry you have had problems getting an email response, the concensus on the board is that both DJ and QF are pretty good at getting back to people

I still travel QF for now (perhaps yes or no after reaching Life Time Gold) and have personally experienced both the good and the bad on which to make my travel provider choices. If staff do a great job I send in a written commendation. If there is a problem, I will write about it, mostly under the motivation that the airline has the choice to remedy the problem so it does not affect other customers, should the airline agree with my concern.

I must say that the response to emails has been atrocious. It has only been through extremely persistent and dogged determination that I have ever got any satisfaction from QF. It took months of work to arrive at a situation where people who have the clout to make a decision became involved. Eventually I managed to target specific managers (who normally hide in their ivory tower in Coward St and never go near a customer) and got a mutually respecful dialogue.

QF have put the proverbial finger up at their loyal customers. They will have to work hard both now and in the future to maintain that loyalty. Borghetti invoking emotion in the interests of brand support is an unedifying and pathetic spectacle.

You've really got to shake your head in disbelief...

Do you mind me asking, Pauly7, do you travel QF by choice or by your employer travel policy?

 

[Nigelinoz]

Appears Business Spectator has been reading some of the posts here on AFF,at least it seems that way after reading this commentary on the new Qantas campaign.
Business Spectator - A hard sell

 

[clifford]

I'll be giving QF the same wonderful support and loyalty they have shown me over the years, ie none.

Btw, I flew SYD-AKL-SYD in Y last week, the outbound flight on a LAN A340 and return on a coughpy old QF B767. It was like chalk and cheese. The LAN product is excellent IMHO, the Qantas product on those old 767's, well, is hugely sub-standard (no PTV, old seats, etc, etc).

Why would anyone willingly pay over the odd's to be treated in such a manner?

 

[serfty]

I don't consider a standard $410 return fare between MEL and AKL "over the odds" at all.

 

[pauly7]

Do you mind me asking, Pauly7, do you travel QF by choice or by your employer travel policy?

Of course not 2 employers - First is a 100% QF contract, Second is BFOD & estimated split is 60% QF 30% DJ 10% JQ.

Leisure - Generally prefer QF for all the nice to have extras and flexibiltiy, service and comfort but will sometimes 'slum' it on JQ if the C/C is hurting. DJ if they are super cheap below QF which isn't that often anymore.

 

[Platy]

Of course not 2 employers - First is a 100% QF contract, Second is BFOD & estimated split is 60% QF 30% DJ 10% JQ.

Leisure - Generally prefer QF for all the nice to have extras and flexibiltiy, service and comfort but will sometimes 'slum' it on JQ if the C/C is hurting. DJ if they are super cheap below QF which isn't that often anymore.

Sounds like you are in a fortunate position when it comes to travel options!

With recent belt tightening I am missing much of my typical plane travel and thus getting very restless!!!

 

[Nigelinoz]

Sounds like you are in a fortunate position when it comes to travel options!

With recent belt tightening I am missing much of my typical plane travel and thus getting very restless!!!

Well platy,after the announcement by Qantas about their NZ domestic operations changing to JQ metal,one hopes you don't have any AKL-CHC trips planned in the near future !

 

[Hvr]

Flew BNE-TSV yesterday (am currently in the TSV lounge to get back to CBR) and the pilot's message specifically thanked us for choosing QF saying that they knew we had a choice and they appreciated us flying with them.

Be interesting to hear what the say on the trip back.

As for loyalty, well BFOD is the norm for work and QF for pleasure by choice. QF have been very helpful when trouble hit in BKK late last year so I am glad I made that choice.