Qantas, Alan Joyce’s personal play thing.
Yes see the Chairmans lounge bit. Having all these fools then ‘declare’ they are members, subject was then swiftly changed by the chair who then thanked Alan for his CP Lounge access to pollies, listen for the faint ‘im a member too’ in the background…… idiots. I noted the smirk soon after on AJs face.
They want the cake and they want to eat it too.
They want the cake and they want to eat it too.
“I’ve got privacy issues where we will not comment on who’s in who’s been offered (a membership)...I will not be making any comments, or confirming or denying it.” – Alan Joyce.
There’s an old saying that 'A fish rots from the head down', and when an organisation fails, leadership of the organisation is the root cause.
That was certainly on display at yesterday’s Senate hearing.
This is a good read of how the " Leprechaun " has reaped obscenely monstrous benefits from the " Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow "
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-...atar/102783912
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-...atar/102783912
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The destruction of the livelihoods of 1700 hard working Aussies along with their families during COVID particularly galls me. Qantas was found guilty in the Fair Work Commission of unfairly dismissing these people, and what did the Commision do?
Issued a token fine to QF and threw these people to the wolves!
Issued a token fine to QF and threw these people to the wolves!
I say "you" rhetorically however there's usually never a shortage of voters complaining of him to whom they gave their ill-thought out vote.
He’s a hypocrite. Like all Pollies he travels on QF and enjoys Business Class & Lounge access courtesy of us the taxpayers. To make a huge stand against QF he announces loudly & proudly he will not continue using a Company who has the audacity to promote a YES to the referendum. You see, he’s a loud and proud NO.🙄 His “principled “ stand started Aug 17th (see news date) and ended 9 days later on 26th (see twitter post). His followers are supposed to be impressed he wore his NO shirt in the club and on board.
He’s a hypocrite. Like all Pollies he travels on QF and enjoys Business Class & Lounge access courtesy of us the taxpayers. To make a huge stand against QF he announces loudly & proudly he will not continue using a Company who has the audacity to promote a YES to the referendum. You see, he’s a loud and proud NO.🙄 His “principled “ stand started Aug 17th (see news date) and ended 9 days later on 26th (see twitter post). His followers are supposed to be impressed he wore his NO shirt in the club and on board.
Not a bad move wearing his No shirt in the lounge though. Good on him. I look forward to seeing more No shirts around the place as the date draws near.
I don't believe he's a 'pollie' though so it may not be the gov't paying for his travel. Maybe the advocacy group he works for pays for his campaign travel and they have a deal with Qantas and insist he pulls his head in. Maybe his post re Qantas and the lounge was to let everyone know before they get the wrong idea. You don't know.
In the bigger scheme of things his "hypocrisy" pales into insignificance beside that of Albo and Joyce, a love written in the stars. Or at least the sky.
Last edited by tail wheel; 29th Aug 2023 at 20:42. Reason: Remove the derogatory term Abo.
Thread Starter
The next instalment, they just keep getting better and better.
Rear Window
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Monday was a red-letter day for the Qantas-Labor national governing coalition, with federal ministers yet again melting into puddles as they attempted to justify the Joyce-Albanese government’s decision to block Qatar Airways from launching 28 new flights per week into Australia.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones was stoned on truth serum when he told reporters that Qantas – whose international division has been charging customers 52 per cent more by flying 28 per cent less than pre-COVID – is receiving sovereign protection on its Europe and UK routes to avoid “design(ing) our markets in a way which will make it unsustainable for the existing Australian-based carrier.”
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce at the Senate committee hearing. Screenshot Catherine King, the Minister for Qantas, then held her own doorstop and chided, “Well, I wouldn’t have used the same words that Stephen did.”
It was a little rich of King to be huffy. She’s already provided four different reasons of her own for rejecting Qatar’s application, none of which made any more sense than this one.
“When you say you wouldn’t have used those words,” one journalist pressed, “has [Jones] got the wrong end of the stick? Do you disagree with what he said?
“No, no, I think that you should read his full transcript – his transcript in full,” King said.
It’s a pity Jones’ office declined to release a transcript (as it does for every other interview) and referred all questions on the matter back to King’s office!
Then came the main event, Alan Joyce’s first testimony under oath in nearly a decade. And what a performance it was.
Joyce is a data bomber and a black belt ninja of self-removal. When directed to his specific actions and their consequences, he zooms out to spout macro-waffle, droning like an auctioneer, snowing his questioners in a blizzard of selective numbers and irrelevant positives.
Joyce answers the questions he wishes he was asked, or answers previous questions instead of the one at hand. The more personal the question, the more impersonal the response. The more concrete the question, the more abstract the rejoinder. The more simple and verifiable the question, the more complex and unprovable the riposte.
He’s a fatigue negotiator. He talks around everything. “Let me address your question by reframing it. Forget this, you’ve got to understand that.” Every confronting truth is recast as a digestible ego fantasy. He’ll keep repeating his rehearsed assertions no matter how many times they’re proven to be false.
Joyce told 7:30 on Thursday that “when the company does badly, I don’t get paid, so the three years of COVID is an example, no bonuses were paid.” Yet on Monday, Joyce admitted in evidence that this month, he is finally being paid one million Qantas shares (worth $6 million) as his long-term bonus for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, over which Qantas posted total losses of $6.3 billion.
Senator Bridget McKenzie put it to him that, “In actual fact, you’ve just been able to defer [your long-term] bonus until it’s able to be realised… you actually set aside your bonuses, so you can take them later.”
Joyce responded, “That’s not true senator!” , before setting off on a nonsensical ramble about his base salary and his short-term bonus. He inhales reality distortion like the rest of us do oxygen.
You can’t converse with Joyce because he’s never really in a conversation. He’s talking to himself. He’s so detached, so insulated, from normal social reciprocity that it’s virtually impossible for anyone to engage him meaningfully.
Openly contemptuous of Joyce and highly attuned to his bulldozing, the senators did a mighty job of interrupting his implacable cognitive firewall. When you’ve got Jane Hume and Tony Sheldon on a unity ticket against you, you know things are bad.
Would you take 90 minutes of nationally televised ridicule from half a dozen senators in return for $24 million a year? Any day of the week! The hourly rate of pay for the indignity is positively sensational.
Joyce and his two courtiers were also on a unity ticket; a unity ticket to obfuscate. His courtiers even aped their emperor’s delusion.
“There’s been no lack of transparency there,” claimed Andrew McGinnes, the most over-promoted PR weasel in corporate Australia, before the trio spent more than five minutes feigning an inability to provide the remaining total balance of COVID travel credits owing to Qantas and Jetstar customers.
Sheldon had to wrench the secret Jetstar balance – of “around $100 million” – out of Jetstar CEO Steph Tully like wisdom teeth. She’ll be in the deep freezer with Joyce for weeks for that careless moment of honesty.
There’s also more than $50 million – though McGinnes won’t say exactly how much – owing to Qantas customers outside Australia.
Joyce has been saying since Thursday that the balance is $370 million, and he’s now forced to admit that, actually, it’s more than $520 million. Hey, you got me! If this isn’t the most untrustworthy company in Australia, name me a worse one.
Tully added that “about 50 per cent of that [$100 million of Jetstar credits] is held by people and it’s less than $100 [per person] so you can imagine the context of contacting those customers to use that amount.” She almost flapped her hand as if to say: “Let them eat cake.”
Hang on a moment. At the same hearing, Alan Joyce pontificated (again) about “the democratisation of air travel”, which he says he personally ushered in as the first CEO of Jetstar. Joycey’s a dead set ripper bloke because he’s delivered “200 million airfares under $100.”
Think about the logical incoherence here. As supporting data for his self-mythologising, $100 really matters. It’ll buy you a terrific holiday, all thanks to Alan.
Yet when he owes a customer $100 it’s not even worth following up. It’s certainly not worth disclosing. He democratised airfares but he’s sure as hell not going to democratise refunds!
What Tully has also admitted here is that Jetstar owes money to at least500,000 Australians. This is a mass theft event.
“Our absolute goal is that there’s zero credit left by the end of December,” she said.
How about the rampant insincerity of saying we want the balance at zero but we can’t tell you what the balance is. We’ll provide that answer on notice in three weeks’ time, and then there’ll only be 104 days left until we get to trouser that balance as profit. $520 million of expired credits would add 40 per cent to the company’s next half-year profit in February. A proper bonanza.
“We’ve taken out full-page ads reminding people how to claim a credit or refund … so there is absolutely a lot of effort going on,” McGinnes whined.
Did you see that Qantas ad – “Introducing the new Find My Credit tool” – at half-time during the Matildas’ World Cup semi-final? Of course you didn’t.
Instead, you endured the dire Qantas commercial where some 25-year-old gets his siblings to pool $15,000 for a Business Class ticket home from Tokyo (on a 21-year-old A330 held together with duct tape) so the little twerp can haunt his mum’s birthday party. Who else identifies?
Let’s be real here. Qantas is making a noisy show of trying to reunite people with their money, but that’s all it is – a performance. If Qantas was really trying, the remaining balance would be declining at a far greater rate than the current $15 million a month.
The balance is depleting so slowly because you cannot call up and get a refund in three minutes. In most cases, you’ll be told you can’t get a refund, that you can only use the credit to book a flight, which is now double the price you paid originally. You’ll even be told Qantas will charge you a $99 processing fee to book it.
That’s your scenario if you’re a Platinum Frequent Flyer calling Qantas. If you’re Cheryl from Dapto calling Jetstar, don’t even bother.
To this day, Qantas is making it as difficult as they possibly can. A kleptomaniac at scale, a class action waiting to happen. That’s the Spirit of Australia.
Rear Window
Qantas’ grand theft klepto
Joe AstonColumnistAug 29, 2023 – 7.15pmSave
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Monday was a red-letter day for the Qantas-Labor national governing coalition, with federal ministers yet again melting into puddles as they attempted to justify the Joyce-Albanese government’s decision to block Qatar Airways from launching 28 new flights per week into Australia.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones was stoned on truth serum when he told reporters that Qantas – whose international division has been charging customers 52 per cent more by flying 28 per cent less than pre-COVID – is receiving sovereign protection on its Europe and UK routes to avoid “design(ing) our markets in a way which will make it unsustainable for the existing Australian-based carrier.”
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce at the Senate committee hearing. Screenshot Catherine King, the Minister for Qantas, then held her own doorstop and chided, “Well, I wouldn’t have used the same words that Stephen did.”It was a little rich of King to be huffy. She’s already provided four different reasons of her own for rejecting Qatar’s application, none of which made any more sense than this one.
“When you say you wouldn’t have used those words,” one journalist pressed, “has [Jones] got the wrong end of the stick? Do you disagree with what he said?
“No, no, I think that you should read his full transcript – his transcript in full,” King said.
It’s a pity Jones’ office declined to release a transcript (as it does for every other interview) and referred all questions on the matter back to King’s office!
Then came the main event, Alan Joyce’s first testimony under oath in nearly a decade. And what a performance it was.
Joyce is a data bomber and a black belt ninja of self-removal. When directed to his specific actions and their consequences, he zooms out to spout macro-waffle, droning like an auctioneer, snowing his questioners in a blizzard of selective numbers and irrelevant positives.
Joyce answers the questions he wishes he was asked, or answers previous questions instead of the one at hand. The more personal the question, the more impersonal the response. The more concrete the question, the more abstract the rejoinder. The more simple and verifiable the question, the more complex and unprovable the riposte.
He’s a fatigue negotiator. He talks around everything. “Let me address your question by reframing it. Forget this, you’ve got to understand that.” Every confronting truth is recast as a digestible ego fantasy. He’ll keep repeating his rehearsed assertions no matter how many times they’re proven to be false.
Joyce told 7:30 on Thursday that “when the company does badly, I don’t get paid, so the three years of COVID is an example, no bonuses were paid.” Yet on Monday, Joyce admitted in evidence that this month, he is finally being paid one million Qantas shares (worth $6 million) as his long-term bonus for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, over which Qantas posted total losses of $6.3 billion.
Senator Bridget McKenzie put it to him that, “In actual fact, you’ve just been able to defer [your long-term] bonus until it’s able to be realised… you actually set aside your bonuses, so you can take them later.”
Joyce responded, “That’s not true senator!” , before setting off on a nonsensical ramble about his base salary and his short-term bonus. He inhales reality distortion like the rest of us do oxygen.
You can’t converse with Joyce because he’s never really in a conversation. He’s talking to himself. He’s so detached, so insulated, from normal social reciprocity that it’s virtually impossible for anyone to engage him meaningfully.
Openly contemptuous of Joyce and highly attuned to his bulldozing, the senators did a mighty job of interrupting his implacable cognitive firewall. When you’ve got Jane Hume and Tony Sheldon on a unity ticket against you, you know things are bad.
Would you take 90 minutes of nationally televised ridicule from half a dozen senators in return for $24 million a year? Any day of the week! The hourly rate of pay for the indignity is positively sensational.
Joyce and his two courtiers were also on a unity ticket; a unity ticket to obfuscate. His courtiers even aped their emperor’s delusion.
“There’s been no lack of transparency there,” claimed Andrew McGinnes, the most over-promoted PR weasel in corporate Australia, before the trio spent more than five minutes feigning an inability to provide the remaining total balance of COVID travel credits owing to Qantas and Jetstar customers.
Sheldon had to wrench the secret Jetstar balance – of “around $100 million” – out of Jetstar CEO Steph Tully like wisdom teeth. She’ll be in the deep freezer with Joyce for weeks for that careless moment of honesty.
There’s also more than $50 million – though McGinnes won’t say exactly how much – owing to Qantas customers outside Australia.
Joyce has been saying since Thursday that the balance is $370 million, and he’s now forced to admit that, actually, it’s more than $520 million. Hey, you got me! If this isn’t the most untrustworthy company in Australia, name me a worse one.
Tully added that “about 50 per cent of that [$100 million of Jetstar credits] is held by people and it’s less than $100 [per person] so you can imagine the context of contacting those customers to use that amount.” She almost flapped her hand as if to say: “Let them eat cake.”
Hang on a moment. At the same hearing, Alan Joyce pontificated (again) about “the democratisation of air travel”, which he says he personally ushered in as the first CEO of Jetstar. Joycey’s a dead set ripper bloke because he’s delivered “200 million airfares under $100.”
Think about the logical incoherence here. As supporting data for his self-mythologising, $100 really matters. It’ll buy you a terrific holiday, all thanks to Alan.
Yet when he owes a customer $100 it’s not even worth following up. It’s certainly not worth disclosing. He democratised airfares but he’s sure as hell not going to democratise refunds!
What Tully has also admitted here is that Jetstar owes money to at least500,000 Australians. This is a mass theft event.
“Our absolute goal is that there’s zero credit left by the end of December,” she said.
How about the rampant insincerity of saying we want the balance at zero but we can’t tell you what the balance is. We’ll provide that answer on notice in three weeks’ time, and then there’ll only be 104 days left until we get to trouser that balance as profit. $520 million of expired credits would add 40 per cent to the company’s next half-year profit in February. A proper bonanza.
“We’ve taken out full-page ads reminding people how to claim a credit or refund … so there is absolutely a lot of effort going on,” McGinnes whined.
Did you see that Qantas ad – “Introducing the new Find My Credit tool” – at half-time during the Matildas’ World Cup semi-final? Of course you didn’t.
Instead, you endured the dire Qantas commercial where some 25-year-old gets his siblings to pool $15,000 for a Business Class ticket home from Tokyo (on a 21-year-old A330 held together with duct tape) so the little twerp can haunt his mum’s birthday party. Who else identifies?
Let’s be real here. Qantas is making a noisy show of trying to reunite people with their money, but that’s all it is – a performance. If Qantas was really trying, the remaining balance would be declining at a far greater rate than the current $15 million a month.
The balance is depleting so slowly because you cannot call up and get a refund in three minutes. In most cases, you’ll be told you can’t get a refund, that you can only use the credit to book a flight, which is now double the price you paid originally. You’ll even be told Qantas will charge you a $99 processing fee to book it.
That’s your scenario if you’re a Platinum Frequent Flyer calling Qantas. If you’re Cheryl from Dapto calling Jetstar, don’t even bother.
To this day, Qantas is making it as difficult as they possibly can. A kleptomaniac at scale, a class action waiting to happen. That’s the Spirit of Australia.
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Thread Starter
The press has now taken to Joyce big time and about time.
Opinion
Jennifer HewettColumnistAug 29, 2023 – 6.21pm
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Jayne Hrdlicka may not be nearly as well known as Alan Joyce, but she’s finally been able to extract political revenge for the imbalance.
The ability of the Virgin chief executive to leverage community irritation about high airfares and reduced service is clearly increasing the turbulence for both the Albanese government and Qantas.
Qantas dismisses Hrdlicka’s claim that international airfares would be much cheaper if only Virgin’s partner airline Qatar had been granted its request for 28 additional flights a week.
The bon homie between Qantas and the Prime Minister is coming under increasing scrutiny. David Rowe But the government’s various clumsy, contradictory explanations about its rationale for blocking Qatar’s application won’t persuade anyone trying to book a flight. That includes the most recent offering from Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones describing Qantas’ $2.5 billion profit as a “good news story” – as opposed to another flashpoint for passenger anger and political cynicism.
“A disappointing statement,” muttered Hrdlicka, as she urged a review of the decision to “get the facts on the table.” Not that most people understand complex bilateral negotiations over international landing rights or protection from competition regularly given to national carriers. They do understand repeated domestic flight cancellations and international fares that have gone up by 50 per cent since COVID – just when they are so keen to travel.
It makes them far more responsive to any suggestion the government is willing to sacrifice their best interests by doing a deal with Qantas to crimp the competition. Even the Coalition is finding rare political traction in its pursuit of Labor over the “protection racket”.
Hrdlicka attracted headlines for suggesting on radio, for example, that airfares could be up to 40 per cent cheaper if Qatar was permitted one more flight a day to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The airline later clarified this percentage was 40 per cent of the 50 per cent increase in international airfares, making the improvement more like 20 per cent – and with no promises of an impact on domestic fares.
But such details register less with an annoyed public than last week’s announcement of record Qantas group profits, including a big jump in its domestic profit margin from 12.1 per cent to 18.2 per cent.
Virgin is also making plenty of money again, of course, following years of financial losses and its collapse into administration at the start of COVID. Yet, this has been achieved more quietly given the airline remains in private hands after a planned IPO this year was indefinitely delayed.
Virgin’s profit margin is in the high single digits, and it deliberately keeps its fares on the busy Brisbane Melbourne Sydney route around 30 per cent lower than Qantas on average. Nor do Virgin’s own regular flight cancellations and unredeemed flight credits seem to spark the same level of resentment.
To Joyce’s frustration, it means Qantas’ enviable market dominance, shareholder returns, surging share price and popularity with analysts now come with a big cost in terms of community perception and reputation.
Under current flying conditions, even Hrdlicka’s more cautious style in justifying delays and promoting Virgin’s honest intentions seems to play better than Joyce’s ebullient swagger about Qantas’ superior performance.
As he exits a tired fleet with an additional $24 million in his luxury hand luggage, Joyce’s previous ability to sell the Qantas good news story has instead become a story symbolising corporate greed rather than consumer interests – or the national interest.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is thought to have overruled his Transport Minister over the extra Qatar flights, which Qantas boss Alan Joyce admitted lobbying against. David Rowe That’s a remarkable turnaround from the sentimental national embrace traditionally afforded Qantas. New boss Vanessa Hudson will be under pressure to renovate the airline’s reputation as well as its ageing planes.
Flight Centre chief executive Graham Turner turned up that pressure Tuesday, demanding the government provide a reason for blocking Qatar when more capacity was clearly needed.
That’s particularly awkward to explain when the entire travel industry knows various government departments and agencies, including the department of transport, supported Qatar’s proposal for increased flights.
“In the travel industry ... it’s generally felt that [Transport Minister] Catherine King was overruled or her department was overruled from higher up in the Labor government,” Turner told Sky on Tuesday.
“It is generally suggested that it was probably the PM, and it’d be interesting to hear from both Catherine King and the PM whether that’s how it happened.”
Neither King nor Albanese seem to think this is at all interesting. King has been reduced to repeating the line the decision on Qatar was taken in the national interest while simultaneously scolding Qantas for “needing to do better”.
According to a Qantas spokesman, Joyce has regular conversations with Anthony Albanese – just as he has had with every Prime Minister over the years and as is natural for the boss of the national carrier.
According to Hrdlicka, there’s been no response to Virgin’s repeated requests for a meeting with Albanese.
Everyone from crossbencher David Pocock to ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott – struggling with his own competition approvals over Suncorp bank – question Canberra’s logic. It certainly jars with Jim Chalmers’ review of competition policy: aviation is excluded.
Virgin argues Qantas’ claim it only has 18 per cent of the international market is misleading given Qantas and its partner Emirates have 43 per cent of the highly lucrative Australia Europe route via the Middle East. That’s double the percentage of Virgin and its partners, including Qatar with its broad range of direct flights to European cities.
Virgin’s self-interest is obvious. Any increase in Qatar’s landing rights would increase its ability to fly those passengers domestically.
It would also reassure Australians about its ability to offer international service through partner airlines like Qatar. But the key to Hrdlicka’s ability to make herself heard is the damage the government, and Qantas, have done to their own credibility.
Opinion
Qantas’ enviable dominance now comes with a big cost
Virgin’s political fight back against Qantas is gaining traction with a community irritated by high fares, poor service and record profits.Jennifer HewettColumnistAug 29, 2023 – 6.21pm
Save
Share
Jayne Hrdlicka may not be nearly as well known as Alan Joyce, but she’s finally been able to extract political revenge for the imbalance.
The ability of the Virgin chief executive to leverage community irritation about high airfares and reduced service is clearly increasing the turbulence for both the Albanese government and Qantas.
Qantas dismisses Hrdlicka’s claim that international airfares would be much cheaper if only Virgin’s partner airline Qatar had been granted its request for 28 additional flights a week.
The bon homie between Qantas and the Prime Minister is coming under increasing scrutiny. David Rowe But the government’s various clumsy, contradictory explanations about its rationale for blocking Qatar’s application won’t persuade anyone trying to book a flight. That includes the most recent offering from Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones describing Qantas’ $2.5 billion profit as a “good news story” – as opposed to another flashpoint for passenger anger and political cynicism.“A disappointing statement,” muttered Hrdlicka, as she urged a review of the decision to “get the facts on the table.” Not that most people understand complex bilateral negotiations over international landing rights or protection from competition regularly given to national carriers. They do understand repeated domestic flight cancellations and international fares that have gone up by 50 per cent since COVID – just when they are so keen to travel.
It makes them far more responsive to any suggestion the government is willing to sacrifice their best interests by doing a deal with Qantas to crimp the competition. Even the Coalition is finding rare political traction in its pursuit of Labor over the “protection racket”.
Hrdlicka attracted headlines for suggesting on radio, for example, that airfares could be up to 40 per cent cheaper if Qatar was permitted one more flight a day to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The airline later clarified this percentage was 40 per cent of the 50 per cent increase in international airfares, making the improvement more like 20 per cent – and with no promises of an impact on domestic fares.
But such details register less with an annoyed public than last week’s announcement of record Qantas group profits, including a big jump in its domestic profit margin from 12.1 per cent to 18.2 per cent.
Virgin is also making plenty of money again, of course, following years of financial losses and its collapse into administration at the start of COVID. Yet, this has been achieved more quietly given the airline remains in private hands after a planned IPO this year was indefinitely delayed.
Virgin’s profit margin is in the high single digits, and it deliberately keeps its fares on the busy Brisbane Melbourne Sydney route around 30 per cent lower than Qantas on average. Nor do Virgin’s own regular flight cancellations and unredeemed flight credits seem to spark the same level of resentment.
To Joyce’s frustration, it means Qantas’ enviable market dominance, shareholder returns, surging share price and popularity with analysts now come with a big cost in terms of community perception and reputation.
Under current flying conditions, even Hrdlicka’s more cautious style in justifying delays and promoting Virgin’s honest intentions seems to play better than Joyce’s ebullient swagger about Qantas’ superior performance.
As he exits a tired fleet with an additional $24 million in his luxury hand luggage, Joyce’s previous ability to sell the Qantas good news story has instead become a story symbolising corporate greed rather than consumer interests – or the national interest.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is thought to have overruled his Transport Minister over the extra Qatar flights, which Qantas boss Alan Joyce admitted lobbying against. David Rowe That’s a remarkable turnaround from the sentimental national embrace traditionally afforded Qantas. New boss Vanessa Hudson will be under pressure to renovate the airline’s reputation as well as its ageing planes.Flight Centre chief executive Graham Turner turned up that pressure Tuesday, demanding the government provide a reason for blocking Qatar when more capacity was clearly needed.
That’s particularly awkward to explain when the entire travel industry knows various government departments and agencies, including the department of transport, supported Qatar’s proposal for increased flights.
“In the travel industry ... it’s generally felt that [Transport Minister] Catherine King was overruled or her department was overruled from higher up in the Labor government,” Turner told Sky on Tuesday.
“It is generally suggested that it was probably the PM, and it’d be interesting to hear from both Catherine King and the PM whether that’s how it happened.”
Neither King nor Albanese seem to think this is at all interesting. King has been reduced to repeating the line the decision on Qatar was taken in the national interest while simultaneously scolding Qantas for “needing to do better”.
According to a Qantas spokesman, Joyce has regular conversations with Anthony Albanese – just as he has had with every Prime Minister over the years and as is natural for the boss of the national carrier.
According to Hrdlicka, there’s been no response to Virgin’s repeated requests for a meeting with Albanese.
Everyone from crossbencher David Pocock to ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott – struggling with his own competition approvals over Suncorp bank – question Canberra’s logic. It certainly jars with Jim Chalmers’ review of competition policy: aviation is excluded.
Virgin argues Qantas’ claim it only has 18 per cent of the international market is misleading given Qantas and its partner Emirates have 43 per cent of the highly lucrative Australia Europe route via the Middle East. That’s double the percentage of Virgin and its partners, including Qatar with its broad range of direct flights to European cities.
Virgin’s self-interest is obvious. Any increase in Qatar’s landing rights would increase its ability to fly those passengers domestically.
It would also reassure Australians about its ability to offer international service through partner airlines like Qatar. But the key to Hrdlicka’s ability to make herself heard is the damage the government, and Qantas, have done to their own credibility.
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The adverse comments about Qantas and its egregious behavior are ramping up ....
Qantas and Australia's skies clouded by soaring airfares, anti-competitive behaviour, and nepotism
ROGER MONTGOMERY
https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wire...r-and-nepotism
The skies above Australia have long symbolised freedom, exploration, and connection. Yet, in recent years, these skies have become shrouded in clouds of anti-competitive behaviour, sky-high airfares, and nepotism, threatening the very essence of Australia's aviation industry.
Once a source of national pride, Qantas, the national carrier, has evolved into an emblem of profit-driven opportunism, leaving millions of Australians to bear the brunt of exorbitant fares and diminished customer service.
Amidst this disheartening scenario, the questionable ties between Qantas' Chief Executive Officer and senior Government figures further highlight the alarming extent to which vested interests have taken precedence over the well-being of the nation's people.
As airfares soar to unprecedented heights – this week’s Qantas financial results indicate that average airfares are 38 per cent higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic and 30 per cent higher than last year – Australians face the harsh reality of exorbitant travel costs.
The Qantas Group, once renowned for its commitment to serving the public, now reaps super-profit margins at the expense of both domestic and international travellers.
The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the issue, with the airline industry's challenges providing Qantas with a reason to increase prices while reducing the quality of service.
Despite the plight of Australia’s citizens, the Australian Government's actions have perplexingly favoured Qantas' interests. After taxpayers extended $2.7 billion to Qantas during the COVID-19 pandemic, [NP1] the airline returned the favour by keeping the money, sacking 12.5 per cent of its workforce and jacking up airfares to unprecedented levels.
Qantas claims it is unable to provide pre-COVID levels of international capacity for at least another year, due to a lack of aircraft. But let's keep in mind its CEO, who has been at the helm for 15 years, has had every chance to buy planes but has passed that expensive and profit-crushing job to the next CEO. In the meantime, unsurprisingly, Qantas has just reported colossal profit margins.
Earlier this year, relief appeared in sight. Middle Eastern airline, Qatar Airways applied to operate an additional 28 weekly flights between Doha in Qatar and Sydney and Melbourne. Notably, Qatar was one of only two airlines that never stopped repatriating Australians during the pandemic. The Albanese Government’s Transport Minister, Catherine King, however, refused that application, raising questions about the extent of Qantas' potential influence over governmental decisions.
As has been reported elsewhere, Catherine King has demonstrated a pattern of decisions favouring Qantas, arguably at the expense of democracy, equity and impartiality. In June 2020, then-Treasurer Josh Frydenberg directed our competition watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), to monitor and report on the domestic airline industry for three years. This year ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb, requested funding from the Government to continue that work, given “a lack of effective competition... has resulted in higher airfares and poorer service”. Catherine King refused that funding.
Most recently, the ACCC told The Australian Financial Review that Qantas was the most complained about company in Australia in the year to 30 June 2023.
King’s rejection of Qatar’s application, originally on the back of an inexplicable conflation of air rights and a detestable but unrelated incident involving the Qatar police, showcases the Government's eagerness to accommodate Qantas' wishes over the interests of Australian consumers and the broader economy.
As an aside, more recently, King has cited ‘decarbonising the transport sector’ as her reason for blocking Qatar Airways.
How can Qantas have such a stranglehold of influence on a Government that is meant to represent those who voted it into power?
Qantas' anti-competitive behaviour and its consequences
Qantas’ anti-competitive behaviour is evident in that stifle competition. The Qantas-Emirates alliance, for instance, effectively operates as a single entity, reaping the benefits of reduced competition and monopolistic pricing. The alarming fact that Qantas and Emirates boast over 50 per cent market share on flights between Australia and the UK, and more than 30 per cent market share between Australia and Europe underscores the dire need for increased competition in the aviation sector.
The adverse impact of Qantas' anti-competitive practices on airfares cannot be understated. By stifling competition, Qantas maintains the ability to set exorbitant prices that Australian travellers are forced to pay. These practices not only lead to record-high airfares but also deter potential tourists from visiting Australia due to inflated travel costs.
According to leading investment blog, MacroBusiness, “Catherine King recently argued the additional Qatar flights were not in Australia’s “national interest” and would have reduced jobs for Australians – a claim rejected by the tourism and aviation industries.”
While some argue safeguarding Qantas protects jobs, they forget the job cuts Qantas has already made. They also ignore the positive benefits more affordable travel would have on our skills shortage and revenue for the tourism sector. Just ask the storekeepers in the tourist-reliant town of Kuranda, Queensland, for example.
In Qantas’ latest results, analysts noted; “Qantas expects to recover the cost of recent increases in A$ jet fuel by altering capacity, notably domestic capacity for 1H24 has been cut to 103% from 108% of pre-COVID.” In other words, not only does Qantas defend egregious airfares by leaning on our Government to block reasonable competition, but it also cuts its own capacity after doing so.
Nepotism and cronyism: Qantas and the Prime Minister
The widely reported close relationship between Qantas' CEO Alan Joyce and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raises eyebrows and fuels concerns of nepotism and cronyism. The alleged granting of a privileged membership to the Qantas Chairman's Lounge for the Prime Minister's 23-year-old son perhaps epitomises the intertwining of political power and corporate favours. This seemingly small gesture may cast a shadow on the Prime Minister's integrity. It also underscores the lengths to which Qantas may have infiltrated the highest echelons of power, to reinforce its self-interest.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister's apparent unswerving support for Qantas, despite its questionable practices, raises concerns about whether public officials are truly representing the interests of the Australian people or catering to the demands of corporate entities who can in turn, grant them favours. The Qantas-Emirates alliance, further highlights the seemingly unbreakable bond between political power and corporate interests.
Australia's aviation industry is at a crossroads, thanks in part to the release of Qantas’ latest annual profit announcement. Inflated airfares and anti-competitive behaviour are reflected in the company’s record results. The actions of Qantas, under the helm of its CEO, coupled with the alarming alignment of political and corporate interests, have led to a scenario where the interests of Australians at least appear to be sacrificed for the benefit of a select few.
The future vision for Australia's skies should be one of fairness, competition, and accessibility, where air travel remains a source of pride and connection for all Australians. It is high time the Government re-evaluates its relationship with Qantas and takes meaningful steps to ensure a transparent and equitable aviation landscape.
Qantas and Australia's skies clouded by soaring airfares, anti-competitive behaviour, and nepotism
ROGER MONTGOMERY
https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wire...r-and-nepotism
The skies above Australia have long symbolised freedom, exploration, and connection. Yet, in recent years, these skies have become shrouded in clouds of anti-competitive behaviour, sky-high airfares, and nepotism, threatening the very essence of Australia's aviation industry.
Once a source of national pride, Qantas, the national carrier, has evolved into an emblem of profit-driven opportunism, leaving millions of Australians to bear the brunt of exorbitant fares and diminished customer service.
Amidst this disheartening scenario, the questionable ties between Qantas' Chief Executive Officer and senior Government figures further highlight the alarming extent to which vested interests have taken precedence over the well-being of the nation's people.
As airfares soar to unprecedented heights – this week’s Qantas financial results indicate that average airfares are 38 per cent higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic and 30 per cent higher than last year – Australians face the harsh reality of exorbitant travel costs.
The Qantas Group, once renowned for its commitment to serving the public, now reaps super-profit margins at the expense of both domestic and international travellers.
The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the issue, with the airline industry's challenges providing Qantas with a reason to increase prices while reducing the quality of service.
Despite the plight of Australia’s citizens, the Australian Government's actions have perplexingly favoured Qantas' interests. After taxpayers extended $2.7 billion to Qantas during the COVID-19 pandemic, [NP1] the airline returned the favour by keeping the money, sacking 12.5 per cent of its workforce and jacking up airfares to unprecedented levels.
Qantas claims it is unable to provide pre-COVID levels of international capacity for at least another year, due to a lack of aircraft. But let's keep in mind its CEO, who has been at the helm for 15 years, has had every chance to buy planes but has passed that expensive and profit-crushing job to the next CEO. In the meantime, unsurprisingly, Qantas has just reported colossal profit margins.
Earlier this year, relief appeared in sight. Middle Eastern airline, Qatar Airways applied to operate an additional 28 weekly flights between Doha in Qatar and Sydney and Melbourne. Notably, Qatar was one of only two airlines that never stopped repatriating Australians during the pandemic. The Albanese Government’s Transport Minister, Catherine King, however, refused that application, raising questions about the extent of Qantas' potential influence over governmental decisions.
As has been reported elsewhere, Catherine King has demonstrated a pattern of decisions favouring Qantas, arguably at the expense of democracy, equity and impartiality. In June 2020, then-Treasurer Josh Frydenberg directed our competition watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), to monitor and report on the domestic airline industry for three years. This year ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb, requested funding from the Government to continue that work, given “a lack of effective competition... has resulted in higher airfares and poorer service”. Catherine King refused that funding.
Most recently, the ACCC told The Australian Financial Review that Qantas was the most complained about company in Australia in the year to 30 June 2023.
King’s rejection of Qatar’s application, originally on the back of an inexplicable conflation of air rights and a detestable but unrelated incident involving the Qatar police, showcases the Government's eagerness to accommodate Qantas' wishes over the interests of Australian consumers and the broader economy.
As an aside, more recently, King has cited ‘decarbonising the transport sector’ as her reason for blocking Qatar Airways.
How can Qantas have such a stranglehold of influence on a Government that is meant to represent those who voted it into power?
Qantas' anti-competitive behaviour and its consequences
Qantas’ anti-competitive behaviour is evident in that stifle competition. The Qantas-Emirates alliance, for instance, effectively operates as a single entity, reaping the benefits of reduced competition and monopolistic pricing. The alarming fact that Qantas and Emirates boast over 50 per cent market share on flights between Australia and the UK, and more than 30 per cent market share between Australia and Europe underscores the dire need for increased competition in the aviation sector.
The adverse impact of Qantas' anti-competitive practices on airfares cannot be understated. By stifling competition, Qantas maintains the ability to set exorbitant prices that Australian travellers are forced to pay. These practices not only lead to record-high airfares but also deter potential tourists from visiting Australia due to inflated travel costs.
According to leading investment blog, MacroBusiness, “Catherine King recently argued the additional Qatar flights were not in Australia’s “national interest” and would have reduced jobs for Australians – a claim rejected by the tourism and aviation industries.”
While some argue safeguarding Qantas protects jobs, they forget the job cuts Qantas has already made. They also ignore the positive benefits more affordable travel would have on our skills shortage and revenue for the tourism sector. Just ask the storekeepers in the tourist-reliant town of Kuranda, Queensland, for example.
In Qantas’ latest results, analysts noted; “Qantas expects to recover the cost of recent increases in A$ jet fuel by altering capacity, notably domestic capacity for 1H24 has been cut to 103% from 108% of pre-COVID.” In other words, not only does Qantas defend egregious airfares by leaning on our Government to block reasonable competition, but it also cuts its own capacity after doing so.
Nepotism and cronyism: Qantas and the Prime Minister
The widely reported close relationship between Qantas' CEO Alan Joyce and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raises eyebrows and fuels concerns of nepotism and cronyism. The alleged granting of a privileged membership to the Qantas Chairman's Lounge for the Prime Minister's 23-year-old son perhaps epitomises the intertwining of political power and corporate favours. This seemingly small gesture may cast a shadow on the Prime Minister's integrity. It also underscores the lengths to which Qantas may have infiltrated the highest echelons of power, to reinforce its self-interest.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister's apparent unswerving support for Qantas, despite its questionable practices, raises concerns about whether public officials are truly representing the interests of the Australian people or catering to the demands of corporate entities who can in turn, grant them favours. The Qantas-Emirates alliance, further highlights the seemingly unbreakable bond between political power and corporate interests.
Australia's aviation industry is at a crossroads, thanks in part to the release of Qantas’ latest annual profit announcement. Inflated airfares and anti-competitive behaviour are reflected in the company’s record results. The actions of Qantas, under the helm of its CEO, coupled with the alarming alignment of political and corporate interests, have led to a scenario where the interests of Australians at least appear to be sacrificed for the benefit of a select few.
The future vision for Australia's skies should be one of fairness, competition, and accessibility, where air travel remains a source of pride and connection for all Australians. It is high time the Government re-evaluates its relationship with Qantas and takes meaningful steps to ensure a transparent and equitable aviation landscape.
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It’s becoming quite obvious now that this Qatar thing is cash for comment. Qatar could lower airfares tomorrow if they chose, but they don’t. You know why, because it’s all BS, and they are paying media outlets to spread that BS. Qantas may not be the bastion of honesty, but please, Qatar put your money where your mouth is, cut your fares in half today.
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It’s a bit rich for QR to claim that the Australian government is interfering in the market to aid their own airline, it’s the government of Qatar that bankrolled QR to fly near empty 777s around the world during Covid to maintain a flag carrier presence. Any carrier operating those flights under free market principles would’ve gone bust within days.
Middle Eastern carriers tried to make a dent in the US market in about 2015, there was a lot of talk as the US carrier banded together and successfully lobbied their government to restrict the expansion of the ME3 into the US to protect local jobs and profits. US aviation unions also have a lot more sway and influence than Australian unions in pushing that protectionism for their local industry, but I can’t deny that at some level behind the scenes local Australian unions are lobbying for more protectionism for local jobs.
Thread Starter
So why should Emirates have 65 flights a week into Australia but not Qatar? Could it be because they have a marketing deal with Qantas, it’s rank hypocrisy. The reality IMO is that the middle eastern airlines should have been treated like the Canadians treated them and given f**k all rights.
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Thread Starter
[img]data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7[/img]
Eric Johnston and David Rogers2 min read
August 30, 2023 - 10:31AMThe Australian Business Network
The Federal government is still under pressure to explain its reasoning behind why Qatar Airways was blocked from adding extra flights to Australia. Virgin Airlines has demanded a review into the decision after Qantas helped scuttle the request.Former treasurer Peter Costello says Qantas is one of the most powerful players in Canberra and can’t fathom why a decision was made by the Albanese government to restrict rival international carrier Qatar from increasing flights into Australia.
“(Qantas) has a very strong brand and puts a lot of effort into advertising and lobbying … And I would say as a company it is one of the most powerful players in Canberra,” Mr Costello said.
The former treasurer was speaking in capacity as chairman of the Future Fund at a briefing.
“It is hard to fathom why the government would not allow more flights into Australia at a time when fares are so high and volumes still down on pre-Covid levels. And of course by not allowing further international flights into Australia you’ll have less competition, you’ll have higher fares, you’ll have higher inflation,” Mr Costello said.
“So it’s very hard to fathom what the thinking behind that was.
“The suggestion that the government somehow had a responsibility to protect (Qantas’) profit? I just can’t understand — the government is not there to protect anybody’s profit.”
Future Fund chairman Peter Costello says private companies are supposed to compete. Picture: Josie HaydenHe said the private sector companies were supposed to compete with each other.
“It’s up to them to protect their own profits within the framework that’s been set by the government and regulatory authorities.”
Mr Costello demanded the government come clean on why it made the decision to knock back the international carrier.
“I think we need a much clearer explanation of those comments,” he said.
The federal government knocked back Qatar’s application for more traffic rights in July, following Qantas’ objection.
The Herald Sun's Business Commentator Terry McCrann says saving money benefits not just Qantas but all airlines flying into Australia with slots, at the expense of consumers who face high fares on any airline flying in or out of the country.
Transport Minister Catherine King told parliament this month that the government considered the extra 28 flights a week sought by Qatar were “not in the national interest” but refused to elaborate.
But the Australian on Wednesday revealed that senior members of the government were not informed of the decision taken by Transport Minister Catherine King, with *Anthony Albanese saying on Tues*day he was not responsible for knocking back the Qatari bid.
Last week Qantas boss Alan Joyce told investors the argument to restrict capacity was made in a submission to the Department of Transport last October that was weighing up the Qatar application.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce during a senate hearing into the cost of living on August 28. Picture NCA NewsWire / Aaron FrancisMr Joyce said that at the time Qantas had feared the additional flights “could actually distort the market”.
“That’s proven to be correct, because capacity has essentially doubled in that period of time,” the Qantas boss told investors.
“From July 1 this year to June 30 next year 6.4 million seats will be added to international capacity”.
”In fact in the last few months, China Southern and Singapore Airlines have announced additions to capacity that are way above what Qatar was asking for”.
Parliament pressure grows on Qantas over Qatar ruling
Qantas sitting on bigger pile of unused Covid credits
At the same time capacity between countries with “open skies” agreements including the US and Japan has also increased sharply. Mr Joyce added.
The Qantas boss said flight access rights between countries are dictated by governments and bilateral discussions and governments take in a lot of considerations and ask for submissions in different forms.
“There’s a lot of reasons why the government can consider granting or not,” Mr Joyce said.
Qantas is ‘most powerful’ player in Canberra: Peter Costello
Former treasurer Peter Costello says the airline puts a lot of effort into lobbying and he can’t fathom the Albanese government decision to restrict Qatar from increasing its flights.Eric Johnston and David Rogers2 min read
August 30, 2023 - 10:31AMThe Australian Business Network
The Federal government is still under pressure to explain its reasoning behind why Qatar Airways was blocked from adding extra flights to Australia. Virgin Airlines has demanded a review into the decision after Qantas helped scuttle the request.Former treasurer Peter Costello says Qantas is one of the most powerful players in Canberra and can’t fathom why a decision was made by the Albanese government to restrict rival international carrier Qatar from increasing flights into Australia.
“(Qantas) has a very strong brand and puts a lot of effort into advertising and lobbying … And I would say as a company it is one of the most powerful players in Canberra,” Mr Costello said.
The former treasurer was speaking in capacity as chairman of the Future Fund at a briefing.
“It is hard to fathom why the government would not allow more flights into Australia at a time when fares are so high and volumes still down on pre-Covid levels. And of course by not allowing further international flights into Australia you’ll have less competition, you’ll have higher fares, you’ll have higher inflation,” Mr Costello said.
“So it’s very hard to fathom what the thinking behind that was.
“The suggestion that the government somehow had a responsibility to protect (Qantas’) profit? I just can’t understand — the government is not there to protect anybody’s profit.”
Future Fund chairman Peter Costello says private companies are supposed to compete. Picture: Josie HaydenHe said the private sector companies were supposed to compete with each other. “It’s up to them to protect their own profits within the framework that’s been set by the government and regulatory authorities.”
Mr Costello demanded the government come clean on why it made the decision to knock back the international carrier.
“I think we need a much clearer explanation of those comments,” he said.
The federal government knocked back Qatar’s application for more traffic rights in July, following Qantas’ objection.
The Herald Sun's Business Commentator Terry McCrann says saving money benefits not just Qantas but all airlines flying into Australia with slots, at the expense of consumers who face high fares on any airline flying in or out of the country.
Transport Minister Catherine King told parliament this month that the government considered the extra 28 flights a week sought by Qatar were “not in the national interest” but refused to elaborate.
But the Australian on Wednesday revealed that senior members of the government were not informed of the decision taken by Transport Minister Catherine King, with *Anthony Albanese saying on Tues*day he was not responsible for knocking back the Qatari bid.
Last week Qantas boss Alan Joyce told investors the argument to restrict capacity was made in a submission to the Department of Transport last October that was weighing up the Qatar application.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce during a senate hearing into the cost of living on August 28. Picture NCA NewsWire / Aaron FrancisMr Joyce said that at the time Qantas had feared the additional flights “could actually distort the market”. “That’s proven to be correct, because capacity has essentially doubled in that period of time,” the Qantas boss told investors.
“From July 1 this year to June 30 next year 6.4 million seats will be added to international capacity”.
”In fact in the last few months, China Southern and Singapore Airlines have announced additions to capacity that are way above what Qatar was asking for”.
More Coverage
Parliament pressure grows on Qantas over Qatar rulingQantas sitting on bigger pile of unused Covid creditsAt the same time capacity between countries with “open skies” agreements including the US and Japan has also increased sharply. Mr Joyce added.
The Qantas boss said flight access rights between countries are dictated by governments and bilateral discussions and governments take in a lot of considerations and ask for submissions in different forms.
“There’s a lot of reasons why the government can consider granting or not,” Mr Joyce said.
So why should Emirates have 65 flights a week into Australia but not Qatar? Could it be because they have a marketing deal with Qantas, it’s rank hypocrisy. The reality IMO is that the middle eastern airlines should have been treated like the Canadians treated them and given f**k all rights.
Thread Starter
They are all hypocrites but the fact is that today it’s the labour government despite their pre election crap about a more open and transparent government. A pox on them all.
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