In 2007 Qantas reported a record Profit before tax of $1,032 million. (Worlds most profitable airline at the time). Then Fuel Soared, WFC, Failed Private Equity Takeover, Price fixing fines, A380 and other incidents so that by 2011 a profit of less than 200mill is all that can be extracted out of a business that seems to want to destroy itself by internally ripping itself apart. Jet-star being initially setup to stop the perceived erosion by management of their turf by Low Cost Virgin and later Tiger. Now This threat has been effectively capped. And now in a totally logic defining
move this same subsidiary is turning and canibalizing it's own parent whilst those responsable for this mad turn of events have the audacity to declare that they do this in order to become more competitive in an unfair airline world?
. Or as Mr Joyce recently put it "Innovating'..Should the title to this story read "How to Turn a Very profitable Business into a Potentially less profitable one?" Or perhaps "How The Blond Lead The Blind?"
The old saying "You get what you put in" fits this case like a rug. Emirates, Ethiad, Qatar have simply gotten what they have invested in. More routes, better and newer planes and to my mind superior service which logically leads one to conclude that passengers have voted with their wallets taking their bums elsewhere. Still those at the helm claim this is due to those airlines operating in an unfair level playing field...Perhaps they should be reminded that if it wasn't for the QF Frequent traveler program monopoly of corporate travel and the Government's nearly obligatory awarding them the majority of their corporate account (Protectionism ring a bell anyone?) then Qantas would have disappeared long time ago..
The only thing that can save Qantas now is real leadership, lots of money to invest, a rethink of the two (Three, four or five?) brand strategy, a radical change in the short to medium fleet acquisition program and most importantly a re-energized and engaged work force....And why not add a sprinkle of luck as well?
I hope shareholders (whom also share in the blame) finally realize that if they continue to support a management team as deluded as this they will in the not to distant future be lead to a point at which their money is invested in a company so small as to be irrelevant in a global aviation environment, leading to the impossibility of ever achieving record profits of the likes of 2007 (Unless of course you can achieve profits by striping even more from the people that make it happen...Staff
)..After all it doesn't take a genius to work out that the serious money is at the front end of the plane and not at the back end charging $10 for an isle seat to ordinary folk.
How sad to think that in less than a decade one of the most admired, prestigious and recognized global brands can potentially be turned into nothing more than a regular flying service.
My two cents worth anyway
Cheers