Jeff Kennett: Qantas must learn to put customers first again

The issues facing Qantas are just the latest in a string of events where corporate Australia has been called into question — and the national carrier’s biggest challenge now is how to rebuild customer respect.

As always, life is full of so many different activities and occurrences. Many good, some not so, some sad, and in fact bad.

As always, waking up each morning is the greatest good news any of us can receive.

For those whose teams remain in the finals of various sporting codes there is the excitement and distraction from other issues as you live in hope of what may be.

As a community we are increasingly worried about the increasing incidents of assaults by gangs of young people, men and women, on citizens just going about their lives, and we ask ourselves why, and who will be next.

We are sadly a community divided by a referendum that in my opinion should never have been called in the way it has, and with only one question being put forward that seeks to entrench discrimination within our Constitution.

Finally, there are the continuing examples of greed being exposed in some of our largest corporations.

Hopefully, the result of the referendum will be dealt with in the same way we deal with federal and state elections.

A lot of heat is expended, colourful language used, right up until the result of the election is known.

Ex-Qantas chief Alan Joyce took some tough decisions to save the airline before and during Covid that others might not have had the courage to make. Picture: Getty Images

Then, like an inflated balloon it pops, and everyone accepts the result and goes back to getting on with their lives.

I hope that will be the case with the referendum. The public’s decision must be accepted by all, given that is what a referendum is about. Establishing public opinion.

The issues facing Qantas are just the latest in a string of events over the last few years where certain sections of corporate Australia have been called into question and held to account.

Let me be transparent, my father held a senior position at Trans Australia Airways (TAA) when it was the government-owned airline for travel within Australia before it merged with Qantas in 1992. So, I have always had a deep attachment to Qantas.

Of course, with the passage of time I have used airlines that best suit my time, needs and pocket. I have always found the staff of Qantas and Virgin to be most courteous and professional.

As did I last year when travelling with Qatar Airways to New York — the airline being thousands of dollars cheaper than Qantas.

I suspect that what we are reading now about some of the practices at Qantas have a long way to play out, and I certainly have no information other than what I read about.

What I find totally unacceptable, if true, is how seats for trips can be sold after, and well after, the actual flight has been cancelled.

Qantas was one of the few Australian brands that was internationally recognised with such a good reputation for safety and service.

With our use today of computers and electronic devices, surely once a flight has been cancelled, bookings for that flight would have been automatically closed off. Again, I have no information, but how could this happen? For what reason?

As for the blocking of extra Qatar flights to Australia, it makes no sense. As I said, I flew Qatar only a few months ago because we got much cheaper flights on an excellent airline.

I know extra flights give us customers greater choice and lower fares.

In fact, in the early 1990s my government worked with the head of Emirates, Sheik Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, to get Australian approval for Emirates to start flying to Australia for no other reason than competition, choice and lower fares. Those flights started in 1996.

When booking overseas flights Qantas is always my first inquiry, then it is about flights that fit into my schedule and cost factors.

In the 1990s there was little choice, and always Qantas. From the moment you lowered your frame into a Qantas seat at the end of your travels you felt as though you were at home, even before the plane took off for that final trip.

I hope Qantas can quickly address the issues that have been identified. Qantas was one of the few Australian brands that was internationally recognised. It has such a good reputation for safety, and had one for service.

The latter has clearly been called into question for good reason. Service industries, in particular, are all about the customer, and the customer sadly has not been the top priority for the airline in recent times.

Former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce took some tough decisions to save the airline before and during Covid that others might not have had the courage to make. Do not forget the airline industry is a fickle one. Many in Australia have failed.

The challenge now for Qantas is to quickly and transparently address the issues that have been raised, and start to rebuild customer respect and loyalty.

It will not be done if the size of profits and bonuses are the first priority of the board and management.

Jeff Kennett is a former Victorian premier