It will be interesting to see if the new CEO understands how to go about satisfying customers in an airline. My opinion is that salaried staff on a good wage will result in a similar customer experience as the next airline, whereas staff who have pride in their organisation will achieve an excellent customer experience. The cabin crew, check in staff, dispatchers, pilots and Engineers who are proud to be part of their organisation will actively seek to make each flight top notch. They’ll communicate more, and in a different way. They’ll make phone calls to ensure smoother outcomes, they’ll go sick less often and generally be personally invested in doing a great job. Staff who are embarrassed to be associated with their organisations behaviour won’t achieve anywhere near the customer satisfaction.
I suspect many Qantas staff have had their professional pride stripped away little layer by little layer over the last decade. Is it even possible to build it back up? Will the new CEO try? Unsure.