Poor old Qantas. Indeed, it is almost literally both those things. It just announced a massive collapse in this year’s earnings, and it is the world’s oldest continually operating airline.
It also used to be (arguably) the best or nearly the best airline in the world, with an enviable record of safety and service admired by all who enthusiastically enjoyed flying on their planes (this writer included).
But these days, Qantas is an airline beset with problems. Customer service problems. Employee problems. Competitive problems. Financial problems. Old plane problems. And – some might say – management problems too.
Although Qantas’ 100th anniversary is less than a decade away, its ability to survive barely eight more years – once an unquestioned and unquestionable certainty – is now looking far from assured.
So, The Travel Insider rides to the rescue! Read now our article about the uncertain future survival of Qantas, and see our innovative suggestion for what Qantas needs to do to regain the market share it has been steadily losing over the last decade or two.
Maybe they should get away from the horrible partnership of BA/
AA. It might help.
Maybe they should get back to doing what we as ex Cabin Crew members enjoyed, flying. Giving the finest service possible to the paying public, run by people who knew how to run an airline. In short, get rid of useless CEO’s and management, they are a drain.!!!
I wonder if the wine and roses years were before they had any real competition. Even now, very few US airlines fly into Sydney (government restrictions??) — I think United has 2 or 3 flights and Delta one. BA has one. But I think Virgin and Emerates are new. Of course, being at the end of a route is not as easy as being in the middle, such as LA or London thru which many travel onward.
And the mystery of airlines makes it difficult to come to any easy solution. Management can make poor decisions, unions can be inflexible and demand too much, governments can control airport rights and entry, etc. New routes are not easy to obtain – especially in popular cities.
I hope they improve and become more stable, but historically airlines have not been the most successful business ventures.