Shaping How Australians Travel
Alan Joyce
Former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Qantas Airways Limited
Qantas has made some big announcements recently that will shape our international network. And they will also shape how Australians travel over the next decade.
The changes are being driven by technology (like new aircraft), the weight of global growth (namely Asia) and what customers are telling us they want (make it easier and faster).
In terms of how and where we fly, this boils down to three options.
By 2022, we want to be flying direct from the eastern states to New York and London. In aviation terms, this is a last frontier. We’ve asked Boeing and Airbus to increase the range of their next generation aircraft to make it possible, and both CEOs have told me they are up for the challenge.
From early next year we’ll be flying direct from Perth to London. It’s the first regular direct air link between Australia and any part of Europe, and it’s made possible by the Dreamliners.
And this week we announced that we’re extending our cornerstone partnership with Emirates, which has played a big part in getting Qantas International back on its feet.
Outside Qantas, moving our hub to Dubai in 2012 was seen as a gutsy move. Inside Qantas, we knew it was a no-brainer. As much as Aussies love to see the world, Qantas could never fly to the 40 European destinations that Emirates does. The partnership lets us tap into their network and share some of the revenue it generates.
More than 1.2 million Qantas customers a year now travel on Emirates to Europe via Dubai. It’s trebled in five years. And it’s a travel option that many Australians now see as a no brainer as well.
Because the partnership works for customers, and the fact Emirates has almost 80 flights a week between Australia and Dubai, we’re able to move some of our A380 flying from the Middle East, to Asia.
While Qantas is an “end of the line” carrier with no hub to call its own, we’ve got other advantages. In 2017, we’re on the doorstep of the fastest growing aviation market in the world. Between free trade agreements, a rising middle class and the attraction of Australia as a place to take a holiday, there is a growing tide of goods and people moving between the two continents.
You can see it in where our aircraft are flying. Ten years ago, Qantas and Jetstar had around 30 per cent of its capacity focused on Asia. Now it’s more than 50 per cent.
So ultimately, the future of travel for Australia is shaping up to be a number of impressive choices given its geography. Fly direct to London or (ultimately) New York. Fly via Dubai to access much of Europe in one stop. Or fly via Singapore to access markets in Asia before flying on to the UK.
It’s certainly a far cry from stopping seven times on the original kangaroo route.
First published as an Opinion piece in The Australian, 1 September 2017
Managing Director at Llamablue Pty Ltd
6 年Just enjoyed the inconvenience of checking in my carry on luggage with your mean spirited policy. So to board the plane with a miserly 7kg which saves you money by allowing swifter overall boarding, but by being doubly inconvenienced, what great new policy is that Alan. I guess they need to pay you for your time. Whereas I pay to have my time stuffed around. And people here, right now are trying to wear extra clothes to still get on the plane with under 7kg. What's next? Whole travel weight limit. That would be a money spinner wouldn't it Alan. Further embarrassment for an already humiliated customer base. Hope you enjoy your great policy pronouncements. But don't expect me back at Jetstar any time soon.
Artistic Director @ ECTC
7 年Dear Alan Joyce, Below is an e-mail I sent to you on 3 October 2017. Yesterday I received a call from Hannah, who told me she was looking after your mail and was told to contact me. It was very clear to me she wasn’t interested in hearing anything I was trying to tell her. She made up her mind before contacting me and simply was trying to insist that Qantas agents didn’t do anything wrong and it was my fault. I decided to send this to you via LinkedIn before I contact the ombudsman, as I wasn’t sure my original e-mail reached you. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, Joseph Uchitel Dear Alan Joyce,? I hope as the CEO of the major Australian airline you would be interested in knowing the level and quality of service Qantas provides to its customers. I would be very grateful if you could nominate a person from Qantas who knows and understands the idea of Customer Service to contact me, so I could discuss with that person an extremely unpleasant experience I had with Qantas in June 2017. It started with the incorrect information provided to me when I rang Qantas to book my flights to Israel, which led to a forced and very costly stopover in Bangkok wrongly organised by one of the managers who was changing the original booking. This was a stopover I never wanted and never requested.? My subsequent, dealings with the Qantas Customer Care Executive can only be described as unprofessional. The initial problem was created by the Qantas Call Centre Consultant, when I made original booking. I felt rushed, the Consultant suggested I should make a reservation straight away or I would never get the flights. He didn’t explore various options of searching for available flights on different airlines. His aim was to complete the booking and get me off the phone asap, rather than search for the flights that would suit my needs. At the time of that conversation with the Qantas Consultant, I was very ill, with a very high temperature, fatigue and lack of concentration. However, a few days later, when I realised that the initial information he gave me was wrong, I contacted Qantas again and spoke with another consultant and a number of managers. I believe you have recordings of most conversations, except the very last one, when the booking was finalised and the mistake with the Bangkok stopover was made. How convenient! When I returned to Sydney from my trip to Israel, I contacted your Customer Service Department with a request to rectify the situation. This proved to be an utter waste of time and energy. Customer Care Executive Jennifer (no last name provided) was looking after the case and my request was denied. Jennifer phoned me on 14 July 2017 to advise me that my request for Qantas to cover the costs for my accommodation and meals on my stopover in Bangkok had been denied.?She hoped I would accept her decision to reject my request during our conversation over the phone and walk away. I feel that she was twisting and bending information I originally gave her to support the decision she decided to make. During that conversation Jennifer said she must ‘protect Qantas’ interests’. Amazing! One would think that working in Customer Care she should care for the customer and protect the customer’s interests. When I asked her to check recordings of our conversations, she informed me that conversations with Customer Care are never recorded. Again! Why?! Simple conversations with the booking consultants are recorded, but not conversations when customers ring to discuss their unpleasant experiences with the airline! This is surely not acceptable as it seems to give Customer Care personnel carte blanche to say whatever they want with no record and no way of challenging their report. When I requested her decision in writing, she advised me she needed to discuss it with her manager and would send it to me in a few days.? I wanted to contact you as soon as I received Jennifer’s e-mail, but unfortunately I had a severe accident on 20 July and I have been debilitated until this time. Dear Mr Joyce, I’m aware I could approach the?Airline Customer Advocate (ACA),?write to the NSW Ombudsman, start a social media campaign, contact press, etc… I’d rather not do that. I deeply respect your professional and personal ethics, honesty and integrity. I believe I could reach a satisfactory agreement with the person you nominate to look into this matter. Below is a copy of the e-mail I received from the Customer Care Executive Jennifer I received on 19 July 2017. Copies of Bangkok bills are attached. I will be able to prove to your nominee that this e-mail total misrepresentation of facts.?However, if I have to explore other avenues, I will. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, Joseph Uchitel From:?<[email protected]> Subject:?Qantas Customer Care - Ref No: 2017/117944 Date:?19 July 2017 at 10:38:00 AM AEST To:?<[email protected]> ? Ref. No: 2017/117944 ? ? Dear?Mr Uchitel, ? Thank you for your recent correspondence. ? I am sorry that you remain unhappy with my response to the issues you have raised and the management of your recent booking with Qantas. ? As advised on the 14th?July, 2017 via telephone conversation, your request for Qantas to cover your accommodation and meals on your recent stopover in Bangkok has been denied. ? After listening to the telephone conversations as requested by yourself please see my findings. ? ??????????Original booking was made?by Customer contact consultant?on the 21st?April, 2017? ??????????Booking was made in economy class for all sectors ??????????Customer asked on several occasions if Business class was available, was advised that business class was not available. ??????????Advised upgrades can only be requested 24 hours prior to departure and the request is not guaranteed. ??????????Advised charges can be made with a 5000 point penalty ??????????Flight itinerary advised, taxes advised? ??????????Customer called chasing the email and itinerary spoke with customer contact consultant ??????????Agent identified an issue with the queue processing of the booking amended the error and sent the ticket to be issued. ??????????Customer chased the upgrade request ??????????Request was not received ??????????Consultant added the request ??????????Customer asked about Royal Jordanian flights and was advised the flights were NOT available in Business class ??????????Customer expressed he was not happy with the itinerary not being issued and upgrade request not being put through for consideration ??????????Customer called?and spoke with Customer contact consultant ??????????Customer advised he was not happy and wanted Business class flights ??????????Customer wanted to speak to a supervisor ??????????Customer?put through to senior?consultant?on duty and demanded Qantas confirm business class tickets as he was advised they were available on the phone conversation with last consultant ??????????Customer called and spoke to?Customer contact consultant ??????????Customer advised he had received the updated itinerary and receipt ??????????Customer called to query the return class of the booking ? Mr Uchitel to my knowledge you had many interactions with Qantas customer contact centres and on several occasions flight details and dates were read back to you as confirmation, you also advised you have received the updated itinerary and receipt on the last conversation?with the consultant?so on the basis that you had written correspondence from Qantas regarding your return flight details I have been unable to grant your refund request. ? Thank you again for taking the time to pursue this matter. I’m sorry if I have not been able to resolve this issue more favourably, however trust this confirms our position on this matter. ? ? ? ? ? Yours sincerely ? ? Jennifer Customer Care Executive ? www.qantas.com ? ? Note:?Please do not respond to this email as this is an “outgoing only” service that does not accept incoming messages If you are unable to access the Further Feedback Form with the link provided, copy and paste the following into your browser: https://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/customer-care-further-feedback-form/global/en?token=844ea34e-f7f7-4252-8a20-e3173dc09a6f&number=2017/117944 ? ? ************** PLEASE CONSIDER OUR ENVIRONMENT BEFORE PRINTING ************* ******************* Confidentiality and Privilege Notice ******************* This e-mail is intended only to be read or used by the addressee. It is confidential and may contain legally privileged information. If you are not the addressee indicated in this message (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person), you may not copy or deliver this message to anyone, and you should destroy this message and kindly notify the sender by reply e-mail. 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CEO, RECARO Holding & RECARO Aircraft Seating
7 年Congratulations Alan!
Account Executive
7 年Having flown from Singapore to Newark I am not sure if the quality of long distance flights. Despite flying in business class I got a mild dose of cabin fever after four meals and three movies. If like to see faster planes but accept the technology isn’t there
Owner, self employed
7 年Our geographic Global location (can't be helped), airfields (immovable and hard to build)), aircraft (designed by others) and customers (locked in by these fixed parameters) then, are the chief influencers of where Qantas is heading . A new type of aircraft, not locked into existing airfields could open up access to new customers travelling to new locations then. I would like to gauge Qantas' interest in exploring such a possibility. With whom may I commence such a discussion ?