Originally Posted by 600ftlb
Stupid statements like there are too many better value for money options out there. and You pay premium prices and you expect a premium product, prove without a doubt, you are a sheep who believes in perception rather then the truth.
The perception that Qantas charges much more then anyone and is just **** all round.
If Qantas is so ****, why are their price points basically exactly on par with Virgin if not cheaper in many instances ? Don't believe me ? Goto webjet.com.au the easiest price aggregator in Australia. Prove me wrong. Not that I care, I check facts before I form opinions, something obviously foreign to you.
Qantas charge those rates where Virgin compete because Virgin are there. More importantly look at QF pricing where Virgin aren't and see what effect a new entrant has on their price.
Not surprisingly Qantas charge a premium where there is no competition. Such is the way of business.
One of the key issues for Qantas is the impact of international partners with Virgin. There is now a choice of Singapore in combination with an Australian domestic carrier. And yes, Singapore currently flog you guys for quality of product, service and flexibility for travel.
So well that 2 companies I have recently undertaken work for have moved from an all Qantas travel policy to an individual choice policy (with specific price requirements included) and people are voting with their feet.
Qantas needs to lift their game, from pricing, to destination options, to counter and cabin crew. Many probably won't like that last bit, but the simple fact is that too many QF staff come across as grumpy and miserable. You can blame Joyce and Co all you like but as a customer where do you like to shop - the "happy, friendly" place or the "sit down shut up and you'll get what you're given" place? Again, where genuine choice exists people are voting with their dollars.
That's not to say Qantas is ****, because they certainly aren't. But a major lift in their game is needed to match the currently far superior offerings of your competitors.
Originally Posted by 600 ftlb
Qantas does compete on price, Qantas has MORE frequency, Qantas has the BEST on time performance. Simple facts.
Yet every time I want to change my ticket, and I admit if happens a lot due to changing meetings and the like, Qantas do everything they can to make those cheaper tickets less attractive in terms and conditions. Again, that's their choice, but when I do manage to get away early from a meeting in Canberra (as a recent example) not moving me forward from a peak hour flight to a 2pm flight that is half full using the reason that my ticket class doesn't allow such changes is a major difference to your competition who usually can't do enough to help me get away from the airport and back home as quickly as possible.
The price isn't everything, as Qantas keep trying to point out, and as you do yourself with commentary on frequency and on time performance, other factors are there. Making life that little bit harder or less flexible for people who work for one of your top 10 customers is not a great idea. That goes beyond your webjet question, it goes to the core ethos of your company. Domestically I fly roughly 2/3 Qantas, 1/3 Virgin. Yet Virgin are the ones currently making my life easier as opposed to Qantas' view that sitting in their lounge for 3 hours if perfectly fine.
Sure, that's a first world problem, it certainly isn't the end of the world. But when I have a choice who do you think I will choose - the airline that gives me a nice lounge for 3 hours or the airline that gets me to my personal lounge 3 hours earlier?
Originally Posted by 600 ftlb
But don't let your perception get in the way of the truth. And don't fill up this board with mindless **** statements with no proof and statements akin to 'yeah qantas is **** because its oh so expensive and you'll all be out of a job soon but good luck to all.'
Have you even flown Qantas lately to label them in such an idiotic way ?
Reasonably regularly. I wouldn't be in your Top 100 or anything but I'm certainly in your top tier. Your marketing people keep telling me how valuable I am to you, I keep getting all sorts of wonderful offers for all sorts of stuff, clearly your people are mining their databases to get a larger "share of wallet" from me yet somehow your opposition manages to lure me away by backing up their hipster image with the view "hey, we're an airline, let us get you where you want to go as effectively and efficiently as we can" rather than making me hang around airport terminals.
Qantas are in a similar position to BMW. They are a premium brand, they are premium priced, but they have the equivalent of Lexus nipping at their heels. Your competitors have an aggressive attitude toward growth, they do everything you do and more and they are taking your market. Just as BMW is no longer superior to Toyota (in the form of Lexus), Qantas is no longer superior to Virgin or Singapore or Emirates or anyone other than the genuine LCC's like Tiger.