Qantas staff warned about rorting

[Wirraway]

crikey.com.au

Qantas staff warned about rorting

A disgruntled Qantas customer
25 February 2004

A disgruntled Qantas customer writes:

“I have just returned from the United States and travelled on Qantas through Los Angeles airport.

While the new terminal facility is a very impressive and clean, the surly and disinterested Qantas staff, make for a very unimpressive experience.

I also observed a very pushy Australian Qantas staff member, with her husband at the check-in counter, waving her Qantas identity card and shoving copious quantities of luggage through the system, and then securing first-class seats for herself and co-traveller at the expense of a number of other regular business class passengers who were attempting to upgrade to first-class using their increasingly devalued points.

The ground and cabin staff were all fawning all over this fortunate couple.

I can only hope that the Qantas employee by the name of McCulloch had a very pleasant flight at the expense of those fare-paying passengers who keep her in her job.

When will Qantas get real and look after of those who pay to keep the company in the air?


Qantas staff warned about rorting

Sealed Section - February 25

It seems like the staff at Qantas are expressing their unhappiness through misuse of staff travel. Check out this memo that went out to staff on Monday afternoon:


Message - Breaches of Staff Travel Policy

Due to several recent incidents, I would like to remind all employees that the following practices are serious breaches of Staff Travel Policy:

Creation of 'phantom' commercial bookings to "protect" (ie block from sale) seats for staff travel use.

Manipulation of the staff travel onload/upgrade priority in the reservations or departure control systems.

Travel by a beneficiary who is no longer eligible for staff travel but holds a ticket issued before eligibility status was removed.
Adding, as a travel beneficiary, a person who has been dismissed from Qantas, or is currently suspended from the use of Staff Travel.

Audit processes are in place to monitor fraudulent practices such as those mentioned above. Such breaches of policy will result in disciplinary action which may include, as has recently happened, termination of employment.

Please ensure you are aware of your responsibilities in relation to Staff Travel Policy. All employees are encouraged to familiarise themselves with this Policy at
http://qfintranet.qantas.com.au/stafftravel/policy or call Staff Travel for clarification on particular issues.

Terry Byrne
Head of Remuneration and Programs

CRIKEY: We can’t see the policy because it’s on the Qantas intranet but this memo clearly suggests that a lot of staff have been shafting paying customers and rorting the system. Can anyone provide more details on what free or discounted flights Qantas staff at different levels are entitled to? For instance, Qantas chairman Margaret Jackson was presumably delivered to John Travolta’s recent birthday party in first class. Does she declare the value of this as a fringe benefit? It certainly doesn't appear in the annual report as that only covers cash fees, super and the like.

============================================

[blueloo]

I can only say bloody whinging frequent flyers. They get bonus points to use as a perk and an incentive to fly with QF. They get treated in many cases better than full fare paying passengers and yet they still whinge like a stuck pig.

Don't get me wrong, I think they should be treated as valued passengers due to their repeat business, but in many cases they get the vast majority of frequent flyer points as a perk/fringe benefit from their company paying their air fares. They should be entitled to their perks, yet another companies members (ie QF staff travellers) can't have their perks? Thats fair isnt it!


This of course doesnt excuse QF staff from acting like gits in front of pax be they FF or full fare. However QF make staff travel such a nightmare and a pain in the arse to use (and it is intended that way) that staff do get pee-ed off when they too get treated like third rate citizens.

Whats the solution?

1 Make Staff Travel clearer and easier to use without the potential to be scammed.
2 Dedicated staff travel check in away from the masses - so that they cant be seen to get perks ahead of others
3 Shoot all frequent flyers.
4 Give me 500 guaranteed free first class tickets each year
and limo to airport. and 5 star hotel accom.

[Capt Fathom]

1. I'd be suprised if QF had their own staff in LAX (or other ports for that matter).

2. I'd hardly class the terminals in LA as 'impressive and clean'.

3. Staff do not get on before commercial passengers.

[currawong]

Ahhhh, "rorting"....

Misread that.

My mistake!:E :ok: :E :ok:

[*Lancer*]

I imagine MJ would have gone to JT's party on Duty Travel fully at company expense... It would be extraordinarily easy to write off such a trip as in the interests of the business.

At the end of the day, staff shouldn't carry on in public the way they sometimes do (firstly because its rude, but also;) because the public continue to fail to understand that the concept of "staff travel" is a benefit that is part of a salary package.

[ftrplt]

the concept of "staff travel" is a benefit that is part of a salary package.

since when?

[The Stooge]

Staff travell is a privilege and I dont thing it is part of your salary as it can be taken away from you as quick as it is given. Your employer also has to pay FBT on it as that is why most employers cap it. Our company rules clearly state you must blend in with the rest of the mob. You tend to look like a d!ckhe@d when you make a scene, or ofcourse this certain individuals bags might not have reached Australia!

[Pimp Daddy]

However QF make staff travel such a nightmare and a pain in the arse to use (and it is intended that way) that staff do get pee-ed off when they too get treated like third rate citizens.

I've found QF staff travel pretty damn easy to use since I've been there. Look up flight on website, buy ticket, fly. Interline, fill out form, fax it, ticket turns up in mail a week later. Pretty painless.

Haven't been treated like 3rd class citizen, but then again if I'm going away peak time and have to get there, I buy full fare, so I'm a frequent flyer too, and I have had several overseas award flights as one.

Staff travel is a privilege, if it was part of your salary it would be in your EBA right?

Probably good there is a shakeup - too many people take it for granted, like other things in the company.

Next thing they should sort out is the car parks. Pisses me off in MEL when the car park form I signed clearly stated that it was for work use only yet just about every day you see some w@nker with his/her standby tagged bag from wherever talking to a mate about how good this trip was.

[Feather #3]

FYI, to quote a very inside source, only 25% of the "QF" uniformed staff at LAX are actually employed by QF. The rest are contractors who [to quote again] "can make more money working at MacDonalds!"

As with most things in life, you get what you pay for!!:rolleyes:

G'day ;)

[Keg]

I copped an absolute hiding from the QF 'customer service' people in LAX. After listing two hours previously for a flight that had 30 spare J class seats, I turned up at check in (economy) to be told by the bloke on the counter that I hadn't listed and couldn't just 'turn up' and expect to get on. Tried explaining that I had listed just two hours previously to no avail. Sent me away to a phone to list only to call me back three minutes later. 'Found your booking but your family isn't on'. Tried explaining again. Two minutes later 'found them' but no 'j' class seats. Thinking it a little unusual that 30 J class can disappear in just two hours (and no other aircraft unserviceabilities) we accepted that we'd be advised in the departure lounge. As the very last bus was loading for the trip to the a/c, i politely enquired as to our seating. It was a massive inconvenience to the gentleman concerned but we did get three seperate seats in j class- and interesting prospect with a 20 months old ;)- and were the last to board.

Thankfully, the CSM saw the value in looking after (but not fawning over) our own and managed to move around the group of travel agents on subload fares (and a lower priority) who had been upgraded ahead of us so that we could have the three seats across the centre. It is the ONLY time I've used staff travel to go o/s. I've used it once to fly my family domestically.

Crikey really has the knives out for Qantas though don't they!

[Animalclub]

Have travelled QF several times on interline tickets and the greatest problem is check in... I just accept it. It's not my airline.

The time I travelled full fare QF FCL SYDLAX (paid by me not a company) the biggest gripe I have is the behaviour of positioning crew (main topic of conversation among them was how to scr*w QF legally through work practic(s)es) and the Cabin Crew fawning over them. Not nice.

I have to admit that this topic of conversation (getting the company) is just as prevalent among the Tech Crew in my old company... usually at a volume that can be heard by paying passengers.

[pullock]

The Stooge - Maybe staff travel is a priviledge for you, but it is part of my package that I negotiated at my job interview. I have it in writing.

I use it regularly, obeying the rules and maintain a low profile. With the exception of one CSU in Darwin I have been treated really well on staff travel.

Staff travel is not simply a staff benefit - the airline also benefits by selling disused seats that would otherwise be a complete loss. It is therefore a valid revenue source for airlines, especially as airline fares on low cost carriers aproach what staff pay for a standby ticket!!