ScottyDoo
17th Dec 2006, 15:13
THE rights and rewards of more than 4 million Qantas frequent-flyer members cannot be guaranteed after the company's chairwoman, Margaret Jackson, yesterday refused to confirm that the frequent-flyer program would be retained.
Ms Jackson said only that there were "currently" no plans to change anything in relation to the program.
"The existing management at Qantas understands and recognises the importance and history of Qantas, the role that Qantas plays for the travelling public, the role that Qantas plays for our staff and the wonderful relationship we have with our frequent flyers," she said.
As government watchdogs start scrutinising the complexities of the airline's $11 billion sale to a Macquarie Bank-led consortium, the federal Labor Party has moved quickly to demand that member benefits be protected if the loyalty scheme is hived off.
"Australian consumers have for the past decade behaved in such a manner as to maximise their allocation of frequent-flyer points," he said.
"This includes spending on credit cards, and renting facilities such as hotel rooms and cars that accrue frequent-flyer points.
"Should Qantas sell off the frequent-flyer business, the Labor Party will certainly be raising it with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission."
Along with the hundreds of millions of points accrued by ordinary members, federal politicians have amassed a pot of more than 100 million points. Federal bureaucrats have similarly accrued hundreds of millions of points which remain, as one Government insider said, in a "Qantas vault".
The points are difficult to redeem because politicians, advisers and bureaucrats need the flexibility of being able to jump on planes or change bookings at short notice.
Between January and June this year federal MPs spent nearly $9 million on domestic and international travel but the value of points redeemed to offset that amount was a paltry $2054.70. The liability to Qantas if the points were redeemed would run into the tens of millions of dollars.
A Government insider said ministers had been trying "for years" to strike a deal with Qantas that would give politicians and bureaucrats cheaper air fares in return for forfeiting their rights to frequent-flyer points.
Good to see the priorites are being kept firnly in view.
This reminds me of when my civvy mates who'd left and joined Ansett all lost their jobs in '01, and were then saddled with the additional indignity of listening to Joe Public whinging bitterly about the loss of some FF points.
Besides the fact that the program is beset with practical difficulties (how many people get their free flight when and where they want it without aggravation??), points are something for nothing and the program is nothing more than en effort to instill loyalty amongst sumstomers, thus the name.
If the program is shelved, I won't give a fcuk. People whinging about their beloved points need to get a serious reality check.
But in the meantime, why aren't "our" fat, lying, cheating, sleazy politicians using the points gained spending OUR tax dollars on some free flights (for work purposes), instead of spending more money each time??
And I mean other than getting their fat, slug @rses to and from holiday destinations.....
Ms Jackson said only that there were "currently" no plans to change anything in relation to the program.
"The existing management at Qantas understands and recognises the importance and history of Qantas, the role that Qantas plays for the travelling public, the role that Qantas plays for our staff and the wonderful relationship we have with our frequent flyers," she said.
As government watchdogs start scrutinising the complexities of the airline's $11 billion sale to a Macquarie Bank-led consortium, the federal Labor Party has moved quickly to demand that member benefits be protected if the loyalty scheme is hived off.
"Australian consumers have for the past decade behaved in such a manner as to maximise their allocation of frequent-flyer points," he said.
"This includes spending on credit cards, and renting facilities such as hotel rooms and cars that accrue frequent-flyer points.
"Should Qantas sell off the frequent-flyer business, the Labor Party will certainly be raising it with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission."
Along with the hundreds of millions of points accrued by ordinary members, federal politicians have amassed a pot of more than 100 million points. Federal bureaucrats have similarly accrued hundreds of millions of points which remain, as one Government insider said, in a "Qantas vault".
The points are difficult to redeem because politicians, advisers and bureaucrats need the flexibility of being able to jump on planes or change bookings at short notice.
Between January and June this year federal MPs spent nearly $9 million on domestic and international travel but the value of points redeemed to offset that amount was a paltry $2054.70. The liability to Qantas if the points were redeemed would run into the tens of millions of dollars.
A Government insider said ministers had been trying "for years" to strike a deal with Qantas that would give politicians and bureaucrats cheaper air fares in return for forfeiting their rights to frequent-flyer points.
Good to see the priorites are being kept firnly in view.
This reminds me of when my civvy mates who'd left and joined Ansett all lost their jobs in '01, and were then saddled with the additional indignity of listening to Joe Public whinging bitterly about the loss of some FF points.
Besides the fact that the program is beset with practical difficulties (how many people get their free flight when and where they want it without aggravation??), points are something for nothing and the program is nothing more than en effort to instill loyalty amongst sumstomers, thus the name.
If the program is shelved, I won't give a fcuk. People whinging about their beloved points need to get a serious reality check.
But in the meantime, why aren't "our" fat, lying, cheating, sleazy politicians using the points gained spending OUR tax dollars on some free flights (for work purposes), instead of spending more money each time??
And I mean other than getting their fat, slug @rses to and from holiday destinations.....