How to Fix the Qantas International Business

[Sunfish]

I think we all know who the sciolist is here.

[Sunfish]

Hcmcmclown:

Tough crowd but you guys dont realise just who I am and the influence I have had on the industry, even though I am someone who could possibly be perceived as a three time loser.

But you should see me now! A deadset entrepreneurial genius!

Cafe Sua Da anyone?

Who is the sciolist here?

{sci·o·lism (s-lzm) = A pretentious attitude of scholarship; superficial knowledgeability.}

Anyway in Australia we would just call you a smart@rse. Now fcuk off and drink your pretentious coffee and leave us in peace.

[framer]

Now fcuk off and drink your pretentious coffee and leave us in peace.

heh heh, you've obviously never had cafe sua da

[gobbledock]

HMASassclown, isnt 'Cafe Sua Da' the coffee that men with small weiner's drink, hoping it will increase the length and girth of their undersized member ?
Would explain why you like it so much.

'Cafe Sua Spoonter' anyone ?

[Sunfish]

Getting back on topic, the Board and Management of Qantas that have gotten it into its current situation are, by definition, not the people that will get it out of this mess.

I note for example, the arrival of the 747 - 800 at the Paris airshow.

Why ferchrissake did QF go for the A380 instead of the B777 followed by a migration to the - 800 and 787?

Boeing used to be really good at packaging up a comprehensive fleet renewal plan that started with B737's and progressed through the whole fleet - all for one low price I assume Airbus would do exactly the same thing....

Why then does QF have such a mixed fleet? Is it possible that QF execs like visiting Europe more than Seattle or now St Louis?

What would the QF A380 production line slots be worth today? Is it too late? Alternatively, so as not to start an Airbus vs Boeing session, what are the QF 787 slots worth?

[73to91]

Yes Sunfish

the Board and Management of Qantas that have gotten it into its current situation are, by definition, not the people that will get it out of this mess.

thanks to google, I just looked at when QANTAS announced the 787 order and the board members at the time.

The order:
On Dec. 13, 2005, Qantas decided to purchase up to 115 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, valued at roughly $10 billion at list prices.

The Board:
Margaret Jackson was appointed to the Board in Aug 2000,
(I also found this piece at the same time )http://theferalchook.com.au/news_detail.php?id=317
Geoff Dixon was appointed to the Board in August 2000,
Peter Gregg was appointed to the Board in Sept 2000,
John Schubert was appointed to the Board in October 2000,
Paul Anderson was appointed to the Board in Sept 2002 ,
Patricia Cross was appointed to the Board in January 2004,
James Packer was appointed to the Board in March 2004,
Garry Hounsell was appointed to the Qantas Board in January 2005,
Peter Cosgrove was appointed to the Qantas Board in July 2005,
Mike Codd was appointed to the Board in Jan 1992,
Jim Kennedy was appointed to the Board in October 1995,

Only Cross, Hounsell and Cosgrove are still on it and yet the current group have done nothing (it appears) to address the 787 or 777 issues.

Maybe they are looking at Paris Air show | Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet touches down

[Ken Borough]

Sunfish wrote

Anyway in Australia we would just call you a smart@rse. Now fcuk off and drink your pretentious coffee and leave us in peace.

That, Sunfish, is what many think when you start and harp irrationally about QF's route structure etc.

What goes around goes around!!

[Sunfish]

Ken B:

That, Sunfish, is what many think when you start and harp irrationally about QF's route structure etc.

Kenny baby; I have news for you; it's not just me harping about your route structure.

My concerns were and are grounded in the economic fact that direct international air links are a critical consideration in attracting international business investment into cities and states, and that Qantas, both before and after privatization was hopelessly biased towards a Sydney - centric network paradigm, to the detriment of Brisbane and Melbourne.

As for ASK's, fuel loads, revenue and yield etc, etc. I know not, and you won't hear me carping about those issues.

[unionist1974]

Sunfish , pontificating again , Yawwwwnnnnnn1

[gobbledock]

Sunfish , pontificating again , Yawwwwnnnnnn1

That, Sunfish, is what many think when you start and harp irrationally about QF's route structure etc.

I am pretty sure that Ken B and onanist1974 are married, and if they aren't I am sure they will be soon as they certainly come from the same redneck bloodline and have several chromosones missing.

[Mstr Caution]

Ben Sandilands to be on 2ue 954 in Sydney in the next few minutes.

For those that missed it, nothing new.

Interviewer:

* No positive Qantas stories in years.
* Qantas brand & name use to be everywhere, now it's not.
* No positive Qantas presence in Australia.
* Projects the Qantas brand won't carry the weight it use to.
* Qantas will only be a name in the future, not a brand or Icon.
* Qantas will be nothing to be proud of.

Ben S:

* Will probably see a Qantas branded airline in Asia.
* Expanded alliances with foreign carriers
* Cutting unprofitable International routes, to focus on trunk routes only.
* Feels that Qantas doesn't value the QF brand as much as that of J*
* Stated AJ didn't take any questions at the national Press club regarding the transfer of assets from Qantas to Jetstar.
* The Qantas group has a "fixation" on Jetstar.

MC

[73to91]

Qantas has again slipped down the rankings of the world's best airlines in the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards, but remains in the top 10.

Qantas was named the world's eighth-best airline, down from number seven in last year's awards. The airline has dropped every year since 2008, when it was named the world's third-best airline.

Qatar Airways was named the best airline in the world. The Middle Eastern carrier has climbed steadily in the rankings from eighth place six years ago.

Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted said the award was significant for Qatar Airways, because it "reflects opinions of passengers around the world, and is based on every customer type across all cabins - be they business or leisure, frequent or first-time flyers".

Qatar Airways was followed by 2008 winner Singapore Airlines in second place, with last year's winner, Asiana Airlines in third position. Cathay Pacific Airways retained fourth place from last year.

Thai Airways was the big mover, rising four places to fifth position.

In the Australia-Pacific region, Qantas ran second to Air New Zealand. Jetstar was rated third-best for the region. Air New Zealand's new premium economy offering was also rated the best in the world for that class.

Jetstar was named the best low-cost carrier for Australia-Pacific.

South Korea's Asiana Airlines won for the best cabin crew, while Emirates won the best in-flight entertainment award.

The annual awards by Skytrax are based on surveys with more than 18 million passengers, carried out over 10 months.

The awards were announced today at the French Air and Space Museum at the Paris Air Show.

Read more: Skytrax airline awards 2011 | Qatar world's best airline

THE WORLD'S BEST AIRLINES : 2011
1. Qatar Airways
2. Singapore Airlines
3. Asiana Airlines
4. Cathay Pacific Airways
5. Thai Airways International
6. Etihad Airways
7. Air New Zealand
8. Qantas Airways
9. Turkish Airlines
10. Emirates

World's Best First Class Airline Seat

1. Cathay Pacific Airways

2. Etihad Airways
3. Singapore Airlines

Best Airline Inflight Entertainment
1. Emirates
2. Singapore Airlines
3. Cathay Pacific Airways

World's Best Business Class Airline Seat
1. Oman Air
2. Singapore Airlines
3. Qatar Airways

Best Premium Economy Class Airline
1. Air New Zealand
2. Turkish Airlines
3. Qantas Airways

World's Most Improved Airline
1. China Southern Airlines
2. Air China
3. Aeroflot Russian Airlines

So, no doubt AJ will state that the 8th placing as a positive and ignore that

The airline has dropped every year since 2008

No doubt AJ will talk up that

Jetstar was rated third-best for the region

3rd best for what? AJ must have filled in plenty of voting cards whilst he was in hospital.


No doubt AJ will talk up the fact that

Jetstar was named the best low-cost carrier for Australia-Pacific

and there is how many in the region?

[1a sound asleep]

I think this is a good clue as to where he's heading

[King William III]

My loyal subjects….

Back on track, how to improve the place?

1 - Bring back a staff suggestion scheme with REAL incentives…not the insipid and degrading Excel Awards…..restaurant vouchers, percentage of the saving…etc
2 - Get the LAME's and AME's doing tasks such as warranty and OH&S out of the office and back on the tools. Create permanent, full-time, REAL, positions and if those people want them they can apply for them and get the appropriate salary.
3 - When engineers go overseas for work…pay them their overtime ASAP. Don't sit on the form and quibble about 50c like certain Ops managers are inclined to do.
4 - Get rid of Ops managers and give the D.E.'s their power back. We really don't need both.
5 - Give promotional control back to a peer group like it 'used' to be…well, kinda!! These HR driven interviews tend to promote the best ones at talking the required dribble. The HR driven process has it's place but it sure isn't the be all and end all. If you are to give DMM's their power back you need one's with lots of experience to make the big calls.
6 - Merge Team380 into base ASAP….both sides need it for their own good.
7 - If you want to do heavy maintenance in Sydney then re-open Heavy, don't expect Base to do it on nightshift…you're asking for trouble.
8 - Cut down on the ancillary paperwork. If we didn't have to do endless SIN's, tool to task, memos, read about Fred in accounting getting a new job, etc etc we might actually have time to do our work….and partsmart….don't get me started on how we do the accountant's job to justify our own redundancies…..

there are many more….I just need caffeine to trigger them!!

Yours in Orangeness,

William of Orange

[blubak]

Australian Aviation

Great interview with Borghetti in current edition of AA.What a professional,not too big for his boots to value views of employees,answers straight to the point & is not scared to admit what being 'AUSTRALIAN' means.
Not hard to see why negotiations with this guy produce a result!!
Any thoughts Steve??

[Going Nowhere]

Qantas offers free Sydney-Dallas business class upgrade (and yes, there's a catch)

In brief: Heading to Dallas in August or September this year or December to March 2012? Want to book a premium economy fare on Qantas' 747-400 and get a free bump into business class?
That's the deal on offer from Qantas and American Express. Book a premium economy return ticket in July for the QF7-QF8 services between Sydney and Dallas/Forth Worth, with travel from August 1 to September 30 or December 2 to March 31 2012, and for one of those two legs you'll be upgraded to business class.
You'll find all the details at https://enroll.amexnetwork.com/US/QAN07-001.

Now here's the bad news: according to the fine print, this promotion is limited to American Express cards issued in the USA.

Well, it's good news if you happen to have a US-issued Amex card. But we'd much rather see this great deal offered to Qantas' Australian customers... you know, the ones that Alan Joyce complains are not flying in sufficient numbers on the Red Roo?



Qantas offers free Sydney-Dallas business class upgrade (and yes, there's a catch...) - Flights | hotels | frequent flyer | business class - Australian Business Traveller

[Taildragger67]

Sorry, I can't resist:

Qantas offers free Noumea stop-over on Dallas-Brisbane route

Yes I know, I'll show myself out, thanks...

[Collando]

How the hell can the Dallas route be profitable operating a 747 ER at max range with a maximum of only 280 pax allowed. Have not checked the fares yet but it can't be cheap if it's to make a profit. Maybe an honest and ruthless eye should be cast at the genius who thought of this route.

[Nassensteins Monster]

To the Qantas Board, institutional investors and management

I strongly recommend you pick up the July Australian Aviation Magazine. You, the Board, lost the opportunity to select the right candidate for CEO. You failed to reward a man with 30 years of loyal service, a man committed to improving Qantas Mainline. Instead, you chose the protégé of a man who would’ve helped dismember QF, a man who spoke of Qantas mainline as “legacy” instead of “premium”; a man who did not believe in the word “morale”; a man who left his workforce disengaged. You chose a man who talked the talk on re-engaging with staff, but is not walking the walk and has instead fallen back on the methods of his mentor. You chose a man on whose watch the share price has retreated below issue price. You have a responsibility to the shareholder: pay a dividend and/or provide capital growth, sustainably and consistently. On this man’s watch the shareholder has received neither.

Here are a few quotes from the man you cast aside. Contrast this with the man you chose: a foreigner whose CV contains the word “Ansett” – a word synonymous with “senior management failure”; a man who ran an airline not satisfied with sucking at the teat of it’s mother but ate of it’s flesh, and continues to do so. You, the investor, must start asking questions about your investment: accounting methods, IR strategy, staff engagement, fleet decisions, route decisions, cabin config decisions, short-sighted management remuneration methods.

You, the senior management, need to get out of your office and follow Borghetti’s example: talk to the people on the front line. Don’t listen to the filtered, massaged and glossed versions of the corrupted, narcissistic, self-serving, incompetent and nepotistic among the mostly honest and hard-working lower and middle management. You, the vast majority of lower and middle management must disown the dishonest, short-sighted, and strategically flawed policies, methods and practices rammed down your throats by those above you: that includes the internationally discredited short-term KPI remuneration policy. There are better ways to be remunerated, ways that encourage the long-term survival of the airline without foregoing financial reward.

The following posts are extracts from an interview with Mr John Borghetti, the man who has sworn to rip a 20% hole in the most significant part of one half of the two remaining profitable arms of the Qantas Group: domestic business class.

[Nassensteins Monster]

On recognising staff:

“So whilst we had to cope with all these events [floods, cyclones, computer shutdowns, downgrading, fuel, currency] we didn’t let them get in the way of doing what we did [ the Game Change Strategy] and the only reason we have been able to do it is frankly we have a great team, and by a team of people I don’t mean in management, but we have a great team of employees and staff and that make the job a little bit easier. To be honest I’m staggered at what we have achieved given the hurdles that have been thrown at us, and I’m immensely proud of what we have done.”

“These guys are fantastic. I’ve said it a hundred times but I really mean it, these cabin crew are brilliant…. And if you look at the pilots… they are a very professional bunch of guys and girls, and you just let them do it…”

By contrast AJ makes cabin crew redundant, calls Qantas engineers “rogues” and pilots “kamikazes”.