Legacy Airline = Legacy Brand
Not being the sharpest knife in the drawer, it has taken time for me to realise that the danger and stupidity inherent in labelling an airline , or any business for that matter as a "legacy". But just as importantly, this concept also extends to the idea of the legacy brand - and I think Qantas may be heading for legacy brand status, which is not good - ie: "Qantas was good once, but not any more."
Sennits ice cream, Skipping Girl vinegar, Ballarat Bitter, Buckley and Nunn, Early Kooka. How many Australian brands can you remember that are no more? Just as businesses can dry up and blow away, so can brand awareness. To put that another way and in a Qantas context, how many Thirty somethings have ever seen "Rain Man"? How many remember the "Faded Blue Denim" Qantas economy seats of the 1970's?
There must be volumes written on the care and feeding of brands. What concerns me, and should concern the shareholders, is the possibility that the Qantas brand, and associated shareholder value, may be heading irretrievably for the dustbin.
Without waxing too lyrical and getting out of my depth, my perception of Qantas was formed in the 1970's. That was when the standard thing for middle class Australians was to work for a few years to save money, then take that overseas trip to London - via QF of course.
The value that I and I suspect many others ascribed to Qantas was that it represented safety, security and familiarity. you were in safe Australian hands until you arrived in big scary London, and the sense of relief when you boarded at Heathrow for your return - and heard those confident Australian voices has to be felt to be believed. That feeling existed because we believed that Australian engineers and pilots were the best in the world and the cabin crew set out to prove on every flight that they were the same.
I believe that the brand is under massive threat because you cannot manufacture the perceptions I'm talking about out of a Neill Perry menu and a glass of Grange delivered by some low cost Thai cabin crew. You can't make it out of low cost harassed pilots nor Asian maintenance.
In any case, Globalisation has almost run its course. Economists are now predicting the return of protectionism starting around 2013, after which the decision to outsource overseas will be looking pretty foolish. If Mr. Borghetti keeps going - and investing in Australian staff, then he is going to take the Qantas mantle of being Australias flag carrier and the Qantas brand will end up on the scrap heap.