Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has apologized to customers after months of flight cancellations, delays and mishandling of baggage.
The company, which has suffered hard reputational blows in the last year, offered a series of benefits to members of its Frequent Travelers club as a form of redress.
What did Alan Joyce say?
“In the past few months, many of you have had delayed flights, canceled flights and lost bags.
“There are good reasons for that, but when it comes to what you expect from Qantas, it’s not good enough.
“On behalf of the national airline, I want to apologize and assure you that we are working hard to get back to our best.”
What is Qantas doing to fix the problem?
Qantas said it had hired 1,500 new people since April, with a company statement saying “there were more to come”.
Joyce said the company had been adjusting flight schedules to have more crew on standby to back up staff who had to take sick leave.
He said Qantas had seen a 50 per cent increase in crew on sick leave.
The company also said it had invested $15 million in “new technology at key airports to help make the travel experience easier.”
So everything is back to normal?
Not quite.
Here is Mr. Joyce again:
“We’re already seeing sustained improvement in baggage handling and on-time delivery, and while factors beyond our control, like weather, may have an impact on our schedule, we expect things to continue to improve each week.”
What benefits are they offering?
all are for Frequent Flyer Program Members:
- $50 Flight Discount Offer – All Members Based in Australia and New Zealand You will be emailed a promo code for a $50 discount on a Qantas flight.
- Status extensions: Members with silver status and above it will be at that level for an additional 12 months.
- Invitations to the Qantas lounge: Members with Qantas lounge privileges will receive an additional lounge invitation for use by themselves or a “frequent flyer friend, colleague or family member”. That means an invitation to the Qantas Domestic Business Lounge to gold members and an invitation to the Qantas Club or an international Business Lounge for silver members.
- Qantas Points: This is for Platinum and Platinum One Members. However, Qantas has not said how many points it will give.
- Classic Rewards Availability Extension: Qantas is extending its promise of 50 per cent more Classic Rewards seats on popular international, trans-Tasman and domestic routes until June 30 next year. These will be released gradually starting at noon today.
When will these benefits arrive?
Frequent flyer members should receive an email from Qantas with discount codes today.
Is this enough to fix Qantas problems?
Transport Workers Union doesn’t think so — wants Mr. Joyce to resign.
Here is the union’s national secretary, Michael Kaine:
“You can’t buy forgiveness.
“What you have is a company that has been crushing workers for years, most recently when it outsourced nearly 2,000 workers during the pandemic.
“We really could have done it with those 2,000 experienced workers when we were trying to get aviation back up and running.”
The union’s deputy national secretary, Nick McIntosh, criticized Qantas for outsourcing jobs and reducing workers’ hours and conditions:
“This is what led to part of the destruction of what was once a great airline.
“Qantas needs a reset and that has to start at the top.”
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