Qantas’ reputation has taken a nosedive in Australia since the start of the pandemic, but in particular in recent months. The situation got so bad that former Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce resigned abruptly (two months ahead of schedule), and the company is also facing an unprecedented fine from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Management of the airline realizes that drastic action has to be taken, and to kick that off, the company’s CEO has just published an apology video.
In this post:
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson apologizes
Vanessa Hudson is Qantas’ newly appointed CEO. While I’m happy to see Joyce gone, I feel like she’s just more of the same, given that she has worked side-by-side with Joyce for decades, so she doesn’t exactly have a fresh perspective on things.
Anyway, given the current sentiment in Australia about Qantas, Hudson has published an apology video. In the 95 second video:
- Hudson acknowledges that the airline has let customers down in many ways, hasn’t delivered the way it should have, and has been hard to deal with
- Hudson says she understands why people are frustrated, and have lost trust in the airline
- Hudson says that Qantas is determined to fix its problems, and wants to get back to the national carrier that Australians are proud of, that goes above and beyond
- Hudson acknowledges that she needs to earn peoples’ trust back, not with what she says, but with what the airline does, and how it behaves; this is going to take time, and the airline asks for patience from customers
- Qantas is putting more people in call centers, adding more frequent flyer seats, and reviewing all customer policies to make sure they’re fair, and giving frontline teams more flexibility to help customers when things go wrong
You can see the apology video for yourself below.
My take on this Qantas CEO apology video
It’s good to see Qantas’ CEO issuing an apology and acknowledging that the airline has let people down. As she correctly states, though, actions speak louder than words, and so far we only have words.
Now, I can’t say that the apology video necessarily oozes with sincerity or is terribly convincing. Rather it’s pretty clear she’s reading off a teleprompter, and it gives slight hostage video vibes. I’m about as inspired as I was listening to Tom Brady talk about his vision for Delta.
As much as I’d love to think that Hudson is some new person who is going to turn everything around, she has served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Customer Officer at Qantas, so she has been part of the problem.
Now, this is probably a controversial take, but I’ll go there regardless. Can I just say that I don’t fully understand how the pendulum has swung for Qantas when it comes to perception from the traveling public? Personally I’ve always thought that Qantas is just an okay airline, with some highs and some lows.
But going back five years, when I’d say that, I’d largely get attacked by Australians, claiming the airline is actually fantastic. And now it seems that many of those same people have exactly the opposite opinion. If we’re being honest, most of the issues that Qantas faces are also happening around the globe — issues with refunds, publishing unreliable schedules, not being operationally reliable, etc.
What makes this even stranger is that historically locals are most critical of their “home” airline, but that didn’t seem to be the case in Australia for many years.
To me, not a whole lot has changed about Qantas in recent years:
- When Joyce was CEO, his two biggest skills were lobbying to restrict foreign airlines from accessing Australia (which is terrible for consumers, and keeps fares high), and truly screwing over employees in every way possible
- Joyce took an incredibly conservative approach with the airline in terms of growth, introducing new products, Wi-Fi, etc., which perhaps benefits shareholders, but doesn’t exactly benefit consumers
My point is simply to say that I don’t think Qantas has gone from this five star global airline to a dumpster fire. Rather, I think Qantas went from an okay airline to… an okay airline dealing with all the same issues as other airlines as they ramp up operations after the pandemic. The airline is finally seeing the repercussions of what happens when you spend a decade screwing over your employees in every way possible.
Of course let me acknowledge there are some things Qantas does well — the airline has great lounges (for the most part), solid catering, and mostly friendly employees.
Bottom line
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson has issued an apology for the current state of the airline. It’s not often you see an airline CEO basically saying “sorry we suck,” but that’s very much the tone here. Hudson is saying that actions speak louder than words, so let’s see what those actions look like.
What do you make of this Qantas apology video?
I used to be proud of Qantas, but when in 2011, my wife and I went on an anniversary celebration Perth to Singapore trip, leaving our kids with Grandma. And Joyce grounded the entire fleet. Heard about it from a mate. Then confirmed with Qantas. Had to make our own way home which took several days to find an alternative flight, stressing out ourselves, kids and grandma. I will never forgive him for that. Many...
I used to be proud of Qantas, but when in 2011, my wife and I went on an anniversary celebration Perth to Singapore trip, leaving our kids with Grandma. And Joyce grounded the entire fleet. Heard about it from a mate. Then confirmed with Qantas. Had to make our own way home which took several days to find an alternative flight, stressing out ourselves, kids and grandma. I will never forgive him for that. Many other Qantas disasters but that was the worse. We hate him.
In Asia airlines are back to being good. The "issues with refunds, publishing unreliable schedules, not being operationally reliable, etc." are really all in the US (and maybe Europe). I have flown on Singapore, ANA, EVA, and Qatar, and all are excellent. The criticism against Qantas is more than founded since those are the airlines it competes against.
My first year university students put more sincerity into their presentations...
Besides making an apology video, Vanessa Hudson seems to be more of the same. Let's see some real improvements to the airline.
I will never give Qantas another penny! They charged me $900 for my suitcase half way through a CONNECTION to Sydney. Never again. I hope Ms Hudson sees this and appreciates how horrible her airline has become to customers. Any CEO that prioritizes stock market results more that customer satisfaction has no business in the job. The priorities are exactly backward. It's ok to turn a profit, but not by screwing customers.
** forgot to put - its Qanats FF program that is 2.17 million points.
You’re looking at Qantas points plus pay offering which takes any commercial fare and converts to points. You’re comparing apples to oranges.
My family lives in Australia, and I live in the US. Whats criminal IMO is that to fly business class 1 way from Sydney to LA on Qanats is 2.175 million points! WTF?!? Whereas I’m fiding tickets under 100k on AA.
I flew Qatar Airways from LHR to DOH for work recently. In the lounge and on the flight, I heard A LOT of Aussie accents, who all seemed to be on their way back to Australia. Seems Aussies have moved on to something better!
Gotta say your critique is pretty good - in fact spot on! QF did IMO ( does ) punch above its weight - especially in a market of 25 m in Aus v 10Om markets OS. Joyce did what many modern CEOs do - gut operations and outsource to increase the bottom line and cash on big time on performance based bonuses ( crap model globally - always the same outcomes) I very rarely fly...
Gotta say your critique is pretty good - in fact spot on! QF did IMO ( does ) punch above its weight - especially in a market of 25 m in Aus v 10Om markets OS. Joyce did what many modern CEOs do - gut operations and outsource to increase the bottom line and cash on big time on performance based bonuses ( crap model globally - always the same outcomes) I very rarely fly QF they are too expensive, they have the corporate fliers. I fly Virgin ( and will prob start flying Rex) Internationally SQ
The best part about all of this is how Aussies start standing on their soap boxes, however it’s exactly the other way round when (I/you) make an observation about something decficient in USA - that’s the funniest part really
PS the new CEO comes over like a wet cloth - it’s the same old routine PR and dameage controls - speaking of which, wasn’t it QF that repaired a write off plane so they could maintain their never had an accident line?
Alan Joyce has spent the last 15 years gutting the airline. Outsourcing, creating a two-tiered pay structure then firing all experienced staff to replace them with people on less wages, let the domestic fleet get old and sad, playing conservative politics to keep foreign airlines out AND don’t forget when he shut the entire world operations down when the employees wanted to bargain for inflation based wage increase (stranding tens of thousands of people around...
Alan Joyce has spent the last 15 years gutting the airline. Outsourcing, creating a two-tiered pay structure then firing all experienced staff to replace them with people on less wages, let the domestic fleet get old and sad, playing conservative politics to keep foreign airlines out AND don’t forget when he shut the entire world operations down when the employees wanted to bargain for inflation based wage increase (stranding tens of thousands of people around the world). That’s even before all the ticketing of cancelled flights and government bail-outs. Joyce is a neo-liberal zealot. And what happens? The experience, the customer service and the fleet suffers. This is Qantas getting it’s just desserts and she is cut from the same cloth. This video is cynical and I hope they remove restrictions on flights through Australia so people are no longer hostage to this airline.
Last month I flew non-stop from Brisbane to Queenstown, New Zealand for a ski holiday. I checked in 3 hours early. When I arrived in Queenstown, I checked my Apple Air Tags and got that sinking feeling. My skis were still in Brisbane. They showed up 48 hours later. Every year I fly Singapore Airlines from Brisbane to Europe for skiing. I've never had any problems with delayed luggage. It's interesting to note that during...
Last month I flew non-stop from Brisbane to Queenstown, New Zealand for a ski holiday. I checked in 3 hours early. When I arrived in Queenstown, I checked my Apple Air Tags and got that sinking feeling. My skis were still in Brisbane. They showed up 48 hours later. Every year I fly Singapore Airlines from Brisbane to Europe for skiing. I've never had any problems with delayed luggage. It's interesting to note that during the pandemic, Singapore kept flying those same flights to Europe albeit with a lot of freight and very few passengers according to a discussion I had with the Singapore flight crew. Meanwhile Qantas completely shut down. I would never fly Qantas to Europe.
Don't feel like she was apologizing for anything.
Not owning the mistakes, not even addressing any mistakes.
Donald Trump felt more sincere.
1. This video lacks any sense of sincerity, and Hudson's "on screen" persona is completely the wrong style for the crisis that Qantas finds itself in.
2. The board must roll. Chairman must be sacked. Qantas succession planning is absolutely woeful. They lost significant internal talent while Joyce fought to keep his throne for at least 5 too many years. Hudson is experienced but is part of the problem, and while Joyce's compensation and...
1. This video lacks any sense of sincerity, and Hudson's "on screen" persona is completely the wrong style for the crisis that Qantas finds itself in.
2. The board must roll. Chairman must be sacked. Qantas succession planning is absolutely woeful. They lost significant internal talent while Joyce fought to keep his throne for at least 5 too many years. Hudson is experienced but is part of the problem, and while Joyce's compensation and bonuses are easily available in the media, Hudson has been well compensated at the expense of the consumer for years also. An external candidate would have been a better choice this time around.
2. Qatar should be allowed the extra 28 flights they had applied for.
I flew Quantas is Economy from SFO to SYD 15 years ago and had a good service by the flight attendants and a positive experience. Definitely better as any of the US carriers at that time.
May be a little different 15 years later.
Any data/experience from 15 years ago doesn't mean much.
To be fair Lucky, you seemed to swoon over them in your pretty recent First Class review. Which surprised me as I think it is poor.
My take on all of this is short and simple.
QANTAS announced absolutely bumper profits recently.
If that announcement had instead been for a massive loss, I don't think any of the recent news articles would have made much of an impact.
Australians are fed up with average...
To be fair Lucky, you seemed to swoon over them in your pretty recent First Class review. Which surprised me as I think it is poor.
My take on all of this is short and simple.
QANTAS announced absolutely bumper profits recently.
If that announcement had instead been for a massive loss, I don't think any of the recent news articles would have made much of an impact.
Australians are fed up with average Joe customer paying over the odds for a subpar product whilst the airline only seems to be in business for the top tier management and shareholders.
Most of us understand that Qantas will never have the catering or crewing budget of the likes of QATAR or EK and we're fine with that. What we cannot cope with however is GREED.
Consumers should question why the pandemic wasn't a perfect opportunity to introduce some much needed competition into the field.
Why should Americans subsidize AA, UA, or DL during a time like that. It's not like the pilots can't fly because someone else took over. And FAs, well, they're barely doing a job to begin with.
Same with Qantas. It's beyond insulting to see them ask for patience. Uh, how about you go bankrupt and someone...
Consumers should question why the pandemic wasn't a perfect opportunity to introduce some much needed competition into the field.
Why should Americans subsidize AA, UA, or DL during a time like that. It's not like the pilots can't fly because someone else took over. And FAs, well, they're barely doing a job to begin with.
Same with Qantas. It's beyond insulting to see them ask for patience. Uh, how about you go bankrupt and someone else gets a try? Who decided the current crop of companies is what we must always have? Who does that benefit? (It's not consumers and it probably wasn't meant to).
Finally, could she not have taken a shower or bought a gym pass? I'm all for body positivity, but she looks like she just rolled out of bed.
Many Australians would beg to differ.
Could "what changed?" be the Australian government's particularly draconian reaction to Covid?
Yes, I know that's the government not the airline, but what Australians experienced, particularly if caught out being abroad at the beginning, was airlines (predominantly Qantas) flying only small numbers of passengers, so charging unprecedentedly high fares stranding people abroad for months.
One can see how that would change many people's attitude to specific issues from "yes, but overall they are...
Could "what changed?" be the Australian government's particularly draconian reaction to Covid?
Yes, I know that's the government not the airline, but what Australians experienced, particularly if caught out being abroad at the beginning, was airlines (predominantly Qantas) flying only small numbers of passengers, so charging unprecedentedly high fares stranding people abroad for months.
One can see how that would change many people's attitude to specific issues from "yes, but overall they are good" to "tpyically bad".
"Hostage vibes" hahaha.
One easy action Qantas could do right now to improve their image is to publicly support Qatar Airways application for additional flights to Australia "in the spirit of competition and passenger choice". It would have almost no impact on Qantas profitability yet might win back some customers.
As an Aussie who LOVED Qantas I'll give my 2 cents. Given Australia's very remote location, Qantas was traditionally synonymous with seeing the world, and was a great example of Aussie softpower overseas. The kangaroo-tail had such recognition and with the impeccable safety record and being such a major employer was revered by us Aussies who were so proud of what it represented. My previous company let me fly Qantas even though the airfares were...
As an Aussie who LOVED Qantas I'll give my 2 cents. Given Australia's very remote location, Qantas was traditionally synonymous with seeing the world, and was a great example of Aussie softpower overseas. The kangaroo-tail had such recognition and with the impeccable safety record and being such a major employer was revered by us Aussies who were so proud of what it represented. My previous company let me fly Qantas even though the airfares were often double Virgin simply because they knew I loved the airline, doesn't make any sense, but they didn't care - it was almost a given in corporate Australia that you flew with Qantas.
Fast forward to the pandemic with Joyce blaming travellers for forgetting how to travel properly (creating delays at security checkpoints, etc), the sacking of those baggage handlers, withholding flight credits, selling tickets for cancelled flights and they paying Joyce enormous bonuses during all these problems sent the public reeling. The Australian Financial Review has been particularly scathing, so much so that Joyce banned the papers from QF lounges. The public know that management have trashed the beloved brand and are furious. If Hudson does make good on her commitment then I think things can get back on track but needing to engage an external consulting group (BCG) to help with the revival is not a good sign - they should be well aware of what the problems are and how to improve things. I believe a lot of frequent flyers have moved to Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines, I have been flying with SQ to Europe and am happy I did, similar airfares but modern fleet, great catering, very good lounges and staff with high morale (those bonuses certainly helped!).
You are absolutely right JK - what Qantas was able to capture way back pre Joyce etc was it was a piece of Australia when you were a long way from home.
Qantas is probably the only TV ad you’d see where you shed a tear because it found an ability to tap into the emotion of Aussies.
I have many memories of jumping on QF at Heathrow, or in Singapore or other...
You are absolutely right JK - what Qantas was able to capture way back pre Joyce etc was it was a piece of Australia when you were a long way from home.
Qantas is probably the only TV ad you’d see where you shed a tear because it found an ability to tap into the emotion of Aussies.
I have many memories of jumping on QF at Heathrow, or in Singapore or other places after years living overseas or working for months and the walk onto the plane and hearing the Aussie accent by flight attendants suddenly felt like you’re back on Aussie soil - even though it was still 24 hrs away.
Thats why Aussies have always been so protective of the airline. It isn’t rationale, but it was a brand that really tapped into national pride.
I think too the loyalty program really benefited from that - the majority of Aussie Adults are members, and I think everyone dreams of that holiday on points - but if you can ever get seats - well, that’s the issue.
I hope they can rebuild. I do wonder if having someone with an Aussie accent as CEO will help with the perception of it being an Aussie Icon. I actually don’t think they need to do much except for switch on some new loyalty benefits and the Aussie public will forgive and welcome them back with open arms. It isn’t logical, it’s emotional for the average Aussie.