Off the back of the Skytrax Awards this week (also known as the aviation industry’s Oscars), there was surprise throughout the media that Qantas Airways managed to claw its way up 10 spots from the dismal 24th ranking it got last year – it’s worst ever.
It’s a pretty interesting result given the overall ranking comes from customer satisfaction surveys and the Flying Kangaroo has had a rather turbulent relationship with travellers in recent years.
I spoke with aviation analyst Keith Tonkin for his thoughts on what led to Qantas’ resurgence in the list.
“The departure of Alan Joyce, progress towards resolving various controversies and the commitment of significant resources and effort towards meetings its customers’ needs will have contributed to the improvement in customer satisfaction,” he said.
While a 10-step leap is certainly impressive, there’s still plenty of room for improvement and Tonkin noted that there is still a sense that the airline is providing a lower value offering to its international travellers compared to leading airlines.
Tonkin also made the interesting observation that the top five airlines are from either Asia or the Middle East, and are also not the largest by number of aircraft or capacity.
“If customer satisfaction is a relevant metric for the ongoing success of an airline, then some of the other carriers might take a look at what these airlines are doing to achieve their class-leading results,” he suggested.
Moving on from Qantas, the Australian travel industry is mourning the loss of local icon, APT founder Geoff McGeary, who passed away on Wednesday a week before his 84th birthday.
McGeary was just a plucky teenager when he took the reins of his father’s bus company and evolved it into a global travel empire, which is now run by his children and co-owners Rob McGeary and Lou Tandy.
Tributes from the industry have flown in for McGeary, including from CATO Managing Director Brett Jardine who said, “Geoff’s innovation, tenacity, and deep commitment to quality and customer experience helped define the modern Australian touring landscape.”
“Beyond business success, Geoff was a generous leader and mentor whose legacy is woven into the fabric of the travel industry. His contributions were formally recognised with the Medal of the Order of Australia.”
Details for a memorial are forthcoming but in the meantime, the family have requested that in lieu of flowers, donations are made to APT’s foundation, OneTomorrow.
It’s certainly been a rollercoaster of a week in this current geopolitical landscape and yesterday, we covered the news of the Australian Government sending defence personnel to evacuate Australian citizens and travellers from Israel and Iran.
The move follows Smartraveller elevating its official warning level for Qatar and now urging Australians in Doha to “exercise a high degree of caution”.
We’re keeping an eye on the situation and how it may impact travel in and around the region.
Speaking of challenging geopolitical landscapes, Editorial Director Damian Francis has recently returned from Chicago, which hosted IPW this year, the US’ largest inbound conference.
Damo heard from a few US industry pundits and operators about their thoughts on how the nation is being perceived by international tourists, including US Travel Association’s President & Chief Executive Officer Geoff Freeman.
“It is no secret that in some parts of the world, there is a growing perception that the United States might be difficult or even unwelcoming – that perception is costing us, we need to flip the script,” Freeman argued.
“We need to be loud and clear that America is open for business – we want your business and we are ready to welcome the world.”
Back on home soil, we sent out a breaking news earlier this week that Rex Airlines’ administrators are requesting an extension of the voluntary administration period, so they can sort out a number of offers from interested parties in relation to the recapitalisation of the business, or its sale.
If they can’t find an appropriate suitor, thankfully, the Australian Government has agreed to purchase the carrier to ensure key regional air connections are maintained.
In other news, flights to and from Bali were cancelled earlier this week due to the ash from a volcanic eruption in Indonesia’s east. However, by Thursday, they had all resumed.
Meanwhile, The Travel Corporation (TTC) unveiled a new strategic growth plan, highlighting three different investment streams focusing on youth (Contiki), mainstream (Trafalgar, Insight and Costsaver) and luxury segments (Uniworld and Luxury Gold).
The new strategy also focused on a major investment in TTC’s Travel Agent Portal, white labels and APIs to improve access to tour brand and river cruise inventory and simplify the booking process.
On that note, enjoy the weekend.
Jo-Anne Hui-Miller
Associate Publisher
