worrying news from the pages of Crikey!

[dede]

I don't think this has been posted before but I could be wrong
from today's Crikey:


I'm pretty confident Qantas is planning some nasty cutbacks for frequent flyers. I've been "randomly selected" to complete an extensive on-line survey for the airline. Recurrent themes in the multiple choice scenarios indicate Qantas is testing the market's tolerance for: no more frequent flyer points awarded for discounted fares such as the Red-e-Deals, and Extending the dreadful economy self-check-in kiosk concept to "premium travellers".
Qantas is dressing this up with suggestions that every premium customer will be given an electronic tag which will be swiped over a reader to "streamline" the check-in process. In reality, it will quickly degenerate into the awful mess that is the norm for all non-frequent flyer/Qantas Club members. I have just returned from a three state, multi-stopover domestic business trip in which the return bookings were messed up. It took a "real person" 15 minutes to sort it out at the Business Class/Qantas Club airport check-in counter.
I would have been stuffed if the only thing I had to rely on was some wanky new e-tag! Airlines and banks ... every time they promised improved service by rolling out "great new technology", JUST SAY NO! It's simply code for fewer staff and even lousier service!

 

[moa999]

The e-tag got mentioned on FT (sounds very similar to Air NZ).

The points one would not affect me too much for business, but would definitely make me reconsider my choice of personal travel if no SCs.

Would probably care less if the min point guarantee was altered - there is not much benefit being a SYD based WP domestically.

 

[albatross710]

: no more frequent flyer points awarded for discounted fares such as the Red-e-Deals,

Isn't that one of the few remaining differentiators against VB. For what it costs, it must be good value for booking preference.

 

[docjames]

No FF points or no SCs = docjames travelling on BFOD (except TT).

Note: this is self funded travel.

 

[serfty]

I too received said survey - what a load of muckracking that article seems to be.

Here's the FT thread: New Qantas Survey - FlyerTalk Forums

I have such an AirNZ RFID chip and have used it for eight flights. More here:

OK, the card is a flat piece of plastic approx 15mm x 30mm x 1mm with rounded corners. The electronics is embedded.

The card has one side self adhesive - I have not removed the backing paper.

This Process for, say, a one way Domestic NZ flight is along the following lines:

1. Log into My AirNZ using your Airpoints number.
2. Book flight.
3. You will receive a combined E-ticket/BP .pdf by email.
4. Once booking is completed, you can choose a seat on-line.
5. At any time up until around the last few hours before travel you can recheck/change seat allocation.
6. You can request online to have new BP's showing current seats emailed to you.
7. On arrival at airport you can check in and print boarding passes using machines, if you have no checked luggage this is optional.
8. These machine have a both chip reader and a barcode reader. You can scan your chip or your e-ticket barcode. You can also enter your airpoints number or your booking reference using the touch screen.
9. You can use these machines to reselect seats/reprint BP's.
10. On boarding you scan your BP's barcode or your chip.
11. If you scan your chip on boarding, a seat receipt approx 7cm by 10cm will be printed showing your details and seat number. You take this and head to the aircraft.

Notes:

• At no stage do you need to print a BP if you have no checked luggage. The seating receipt printed when your chip is scanned on boarding is all you need.
  
• I am not completely certain of how it work with checked luggage as I have not had any to date.
• Seats are not automatically allocated on booking; you need to make the effort.
• I presume if you do not select a seat, one will be allocated for you and you will see this when you scan your chip on boarding.
• The simplest process would be: (carry on only)
  1. Log into My AirNZ using your Airpoints number and Book. You receive a combined E-ticket/BP .pdf by email.
  2. On boarding you scan your chip.
  3. A seat receipt approx 7cm by 10cm will be printed showing your details and seat number. You take this and head down the airbridge to the aircraft.

 

[simongr]

A colleague of mine in NZ had the etag and it was fantastic I thought. No BP at any point (no luggage of course) and minimal fuss at check in.

Bring that on. His was stuck to the back of his blackberry I think.

 

[dede]

Sounds like it's actually a good idea! As long as benefits aren't reduced. (Any more than they are now!)

 

[serfty]

FWIW, there were many questions asked, some more than once.

One interesting one I mention was SC's for JQ saver fares but no FF points.

 

[N860CR]

If the points/credits are taken off red e-deal fares then over to DJ it will be for me.

At the moment I pay, on average $60 more for a return flight on QF over DJ and basically do it for status, points and afternoon bar service. If I lose A and B, $60 buys more than enough $6 beers!

 

[Mal]

If the points/credits are taken off red e-deal fares then over to DJ it will be for me.

I don't get worried over random market research surveys. It's amazing what some companies throw into them. When any changes are announced, that's when I will care.

All that said, No SC's on Disc Econ fares would probably cause me to not fly Qantas domestically (and some overseas flights) I believe, or to move my FF allegiances elsewhere.

Note that BA have gone the entirely opposite direction, and recently reversed their long held stance on Tier Points not being earnt on cheap fares.

 

[N860CR]

Yes can't say I'm too worried - surely QF have the sense to realise that its largely their FF program that ties people to them. While we all complain about it, you have to give it credit for achieving exactly what they want it to.

 

[dede]

The fact that it has been recently reported as being so profitable makes me think they wouldn't mess with it too much.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Also what is wrong with e-tags on roads?

IMO they are great...no stuffing around with coins or having to stop and quue at toll booths.

Etags are less hassle, quicker and also means less traffic accidents as well.

 

[anat0l]

I wouldn't mind the e-tag idea, as well as self-serve bag drop! Thank goodness that will be the end of lines at the domestic airports. Of course, there will be some very sticky problems with premium pax, priority tags and check-through bags (e.g. Dom->Int). As a NZ GE I have an e-tag and it works a treat, though it does get rather daunting I guess that I have at least 3 ways of performing almost every process......

It'd be a big if QF cut off points for Red e-Deals; even bigger because oneworld, unlike some *A schemes, doesn't allow points and status earning to be split across FFPs (in *A, for some *A FFPs you can choose your FQTV and FQTS FFPs - the process is a bit coughbersome and not elementary, but it can be done). I wouldn't mind SCs on JetSaver / JetSaver Light fares with sans points; of course, that will more than likely mean that a portion of my travel will move to JQ instead of QF (or at least to the extent that I can tolerate it).

Not getting points on some routes would be mighty annoying! Even something like BNE-MEL (in Y, 1,000 points for NB; ~1,600 points for WP), or BNE-PER (2,244 points for NB; 4,488 points for WP)!! If they extend it to Sale fares and Red e-Deals on international sectors then this is not good!

I travel quite a bit domestically and although I do a lot of it for status, having no points for Red e-Deals plus being one of the stingiest (most expensive) FFPs for award redemptions in the world would not be good. I guess I should selfishly confess that if QF go through with removing points and/or SCs for the cheapest fares, I've got a lot to lose, and probably so does QF.

 

[medhead]

It seems to me that if they are going to give SC for jetsaver fares then they are unlikely to remove SC for red-e-deals. However, with all the new ways to earn points I could see that they might reduce or remove points on the discount fares. A lot more money has to be spent to get points through the partners, which must result in a greater return to QF FF.

Eg 1000 points costs $80 for MEL-ADL flight or $1030 at woolies. A 1% charge to woolies is $10 that all goes to FF and must be greater then what FF gets from the flight. IMO

 

[Ric]

FWIW, there were many questions asked, some more than once.

The above is interesting. Yes, there were many questions asked more than once and it seems that they were purposely done to cross check and double cross check your answers!:shock:

You really have to remember what you have answered before as there is no "back" button to refresh your memory!

From what I can recalled of the survey, it certainly looks that they are testing the water on what they can "enhance" (read: drop) certain benefits. I based this assumption on all those questions where you were asked which one benefit is most important to you and which one is least important to you. And this section have the most cross check questions!

As far as the survey and how it was structured, I thought it was pretty well done (from a marketing research point of view).

 

[simongr]

I would hope one outcome from this is that everyone says tht they "stringly disagree" with removing points from red-e-deals....

 

[Dave Noble]

I would hope one outcome from this is that everyone says tht they "stringly disagree" with removing points from red-e-deals....

Depends on whether they do disagree, surely

Dave

 

[NM]

I personally do not use Red-e-Deals, so could not care less if points and/or SC's were removed .... but I do realise such a change would not be popular with many people.

These days you can earn QF FF points just about anywhere, so dropping points earning on JQ fares seems an interesting direction. I wonder if Woollies will start providing SC's to compensate? Seems QFF may be moving further down the Frequent Spender/Debtor path than a Frequent Flyer program.

 

[dajop]

so dropping points earning on JQ fares seems an interesting direction.

The way I read the post referring to JQ, you don't earn points on JQ saver fares at the moment, so it's not so much dropping the points earning as adding status credit earning - even with out FF points this would actually be an enhancement.

As a whole though if points/SC earning on red e-deals was removed, surely that would lessen the loyalty to QF and make DJ a more attractive option, domestically. For me personally, with regular travel between SIN and MEL (paid out of my own pocket), dropping earning on international red e-deals would probably put me into the EK camp - SQ don't offer points on their low fares either - and definitely put SQ (with their A380) ahead of QF.