Qantas calls in McKinsey consultancy to help fix flight delay issues

Qantas has appointed a prestigious management consultancy to focus on reducing flight delays and cancellations, as the airline strives to rebuild its brand and reputation.

Qantas has appointed a second consultancy firm to focus on reducing flight delays and cancellations, as the airline strives to rebuild its brand and reputation.

Months after hiring “transformation specialists” Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Qantas has confirmed prestigious management consultancy McKinsey has been brought in for a 12-week special project.

It’s understood McKinsey’s role is to focus on lifting the airline’s on-time performance, which remains well below what it was pre-Covid, at around 70 per cent instead of in the 80s.

Despite leading competitor Virgin Australia, Qantas is adamant it can do better and believes McKinsey will help it get there.

Through McKinsey’s global network, Qantas hopes to tap into world-best practice, given the firm has done similar work for other airlines.

The appointment is intended to demonstrate Qantas’ commitment to returning to its former status as a reliable, well-regarded airline – revered by competitors and loved by customers.

Upon taking over from former CEO Alan Joyce last year, new chief executive Vanessa Hudson pledged $230m to invest in customer service and fix “pain points”.

BCG was brought into assist with that and the transition from Mr Joyce to Ms Hudson, as part of “Project Dawn”.

That project is now considered complete, with Qantas reporting a doubling in its key measure of customer satisfaction from November to December.

Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson. Picture: Britta Campion

In a note to staff last week, Ms Hudson thanked employees for their “fantastic work” over the festive season, and said there was “a lot to be excited about in 2024”.

“Our fleet renewal program continues with QantasLink’s second A220 touching down next week,” Ms Hudson wrote.

“Jetstar welcomed two more A321NEOs over the holiday period, bringing the fleet to 11. And preparations are underway for Qantas Domestic’s A321XLRs arriving from the end of this year.”

The new aeroplanes are unlikely to be enough to stave off other headwinds for Qantas, including court cases and a hefty compensation bill.

An Australian Competition and Consumer Commission lawsuit is set to play out in court this year, alleging Qantas sold tickets on already cancelled flights over several months in 2022.

The airline is also the subject of a class action by customers who were left with difficult-to-use travel credits, following thousands of Covid-related flight cancellations.

Then there is the illegal outsourcing matter, with Qantas facing a huge compensation bill for the 1600 workers affected, plus a big fine.

Aircraft engineers are also pursuing the airline in a beef over payment of employees in Los Angeles.

And last week Qantas was back in the headlines after releasing a new safety video, which was slammed by flight attendants who deemed it to be sexist and elitist, as well as dismissive of important safety information.

Flight Attendants Association of Australia federal secretary Teri O’Toole said she had written to Ms Hudson asking her to can the six-minute video, filmed over 40 days across 10 countries.

The video is being rolled out progressively on domestic and international flights in the place of the centenary video, used by Qantas since 2020.