Qantas Staff Travel

[SYD_QF]

I have met Joyce twice in two separate forums. He has mentioned in both forums that he wants to ‘re-engage’ staff. Not a surprise since his predecessor disengaged most employees to the point of ridiculous. One quick way to make staff happy would be to bring our staff travel system in line with other carriers.
I have many mates who work for other carriers.They laugh at our staff travel system as I have yet to come across any carrier that charges for upgrades etc. Some benefits our competitor companies offer:
No charge for upgrades for anyone
Several free coupons per year to use on the network
Ability to purchase staff travel at the ticket counters, or dedicated self-service booths
Staff travel tickets can be given to anyone (no six month limits for beneficiaries)
I realise we make revenue from staff travel (it would seem we make more revenue than any other carrier) and also realise it is a privilege, not a right. But it has gotten to the point where it is more expensive than travelling full-fare at times
But seriously, a major re-vamp to our current staff travel system to be similar to our competitors would be a really quick boost to staff morale. Yet with no counter service, charging for just a quote, and waiting on hold for 3 hours just to talk to a staff travel consultant – it is not worth the effort anymore. With cost differences and ease of use I now give my money to Tiger,VB or ZED fares, as it isn’t worth the QF staff travel cost or the rigmarole. If Joyce came up with a better system it would not only improve morale instantly, they would get all of the revenue that goes to other carriers. An really, we are only filling empty seats, so the cost to the organisation is minimal.
What do people think?