Qantas has more work to do

Qantas has 100 customer initiatives under way and planned over the next year as it seeks to restore customer confidence and satisfaction.

Since September 2023, the carrier has completed 120 customer improvement initiatives, spending some $230 million.

While customer satisfaction and on-time performance have improved over the last year under the leadership of CEO Vanessa Hudson, she concedes “there’s more work to do”.

The airline declines to detail the initiatives planned for the coming year, but says investment will continue to focus on operational performance, enhanced food and beverage, frequent flyers and customer recovery.

Initiatives already implemented have focused on the flying experience, digital interactions, making it easier to deal with the airline, and reward and recognition.

In terms of the flying experience, for example, Qantas has established a dedicated team of 50 engineers to refresh cabins; replaced small snacks with hot items on more domestic flights; is serving alcoholic beverages from midday on domestic flights, and premium spirits on international services; and rolled out group boarding to reduce customer wait times.

Digital interactions include a Qantas app update with baggage tracking and passport scanning; inbound flight tracking for improved disruption management; a click-to-call feature via the app to reach contact centre agents; and an enhanced Jetstar app.

In an effort to make it easier for customers to deal with Qantas, the airline has implemented a contact centre training program; recruited 200 people to assist with customer credits and disruption recovery; updated qantas.com to improve booking speed and performance; and digitised and automated customer reimbursements.

More than 20 million international and domestic rewards seats will be added by the end of 2024 through Classic Plus Flight Rewards; more Classic Flight Reward seats have been added during the European summer peak; and more Qantas Points earn and burn partners.

Operational performance and customer satisfaction had improved across the group, Ms Hudson said while announcing a $2.08 billion profit before tax (down 16 per cent on the previous year).

On-time performance was up 10 points for Qantas and 8.8 points for Jetstar, and customer net promoter scores improved 22 points for Qantas and 19 points for Jetstar.

By the fourth quarter, 80 per cent of Qantas flights and 74 per cent of Jetstar flights were leaving on time. According to corporate reputation monitoring specialist RepTrak, Qantas’ reputation score has also improved, to 67 in July.

The amount of mishandled baggage reduced by a third year-on-year, and is better than pre-COVID levels, according to the airline, while domestic fares are 8 per cent lower and group international fares are 10 per cent lower, adjusted for inflation, as capacity continues to normalise.

“Our focus this year has been getting the balance right in delivering for customers, employees and shareholders while building a better, stronger Qantas Group,” Ms Hudson said.

“Restoring trust and pride in Qantas as the national carrier is our priority, and while there’s more work to do, we’ll get there by delivering for our customers and people.”

Meanwhile, the airline has finalised the cabin experience for its new Airbus A321XLR, which will be delivered from next April. Qantas has ordered 28 of the long-range, single-aisle aircraft to replace its Boeing 737 fleet operating its domestic network over the next decade.

The aircraft will offer a more comfortable flying experience with a quieter cabin and will generate fewer emissions per seat than the 737s, says Qantas. The A321XLR can fly 3000km further than the 737, opening up a wider range of direct domestic and short-haul international routes.

The longer and wider A321XLR will feature 197 seats — 20 business class seats in a two-two configuration, and 177 economy class in a three-three configuration, although the first three aircraft will have 180 economy class seats. Qantas worked with Australian designer David Caon to maximise passenger comfort, including new materials and colours to make the cabin feel “peaceful and brighter”.

Onboard, passengers can expect a more comfortable economy class seat, wider than the 737 seat and extra comfort cushioning, although with the same 30-inch seat pitch; a leather six-way adjustable headrest; dual USB A and C charging ports; a drop-down tablet holder for personal devices; and an adjustable meal table.

Business class will feature a 37-inch seat pitch and five-inch seat recline; wireless charging pad; six-way adjustable headrest, calf rest and footrest; dual USB A and C charging ports; in-arm tray table with a built-in tablet holder; and an extendable cocktail table.

The aircraft will also have the largest overhead bins of any single-aisle aircraft, allowing for 60 per cent more bags than the 737; higher ceilings and larger windows delivering a sense of spaciousness; fast and free in-flight wi-fi; and, although no seatback in-flight entertainment, Qantas promises an improved Qantas Entertainment App allowing passengers to stream content to their own devices.

“Nearly half of all the customers Qantas carries each year travel on our 737 fleet so the A321XLR aircraft that we’ve ordered to replace them will be incredibly important for our future,” Ms Hudson says.