The boss of Australian flag carrier Qantas blamed being overly ambitious emerging from the COVID pandemic for the service problems the airline encountered.
Speaking on a panel of airline chief executives at IATA’s 80th AGM in Dubai, Vanessa Hudson, admitted the airline “let customers down multiple times”.
Asked about taking over at the iconic brand after 30 years at the firm, she said: “One of the first things I did was spend more time listening and less time talking.”
Hudson said there were many factors behind the chaotic emergence from COVID. “When we came out of COVID we were really ambitious.
“Australia was one of the most locked down countries in the world. The impact that had on our operations was significant. We had ambition get back flying as quickly as we could.
“When we started that process COVID was starting to run through a population that has not been exposed to it.
“Sickness levels went up, there were supply chain issues and ultimately a shortage of resources that impacted our ability to recover.”
Hudson said on-time performance was bad and call centre delays over an extended period meant customers were given a “seriously bad” experience.
“The most important thing is to focus on what’s important for your customers, but more importantly your people, your pain points.
“Firstly, getting on-time performance right is the single most important part. We invested hundred of millions of dollars fixing those pain points.
“We also improved the quality of the in-flight service. We know things aren’t always going to go plan but when they don’t we plan to recover better than we did in the past.”
Qantas has focussed in loyalty and has recently relaunched its point programme giving member more flexibility over when and in which class they fly.
Hudson added: “You have got to focus on the consumer. We have both low cost and premium airlines and if consumers are not getting good value for money that’s trouble sets in.
“You also have to focus on your people. Consumers fly Qantas because the service that they get while onboard.”
Qantas profits are higher today than in the airline’s history, and Hudson said the company was proud of that.
“That’s driven by delivering for our customers but also be driving efficiency and productivity. It’s also about looking forward to the next phase we are in now with new aircraft, new capability.”
Sustainability is the “next big challenge”, Hudson said, and with next gen aircraft opening up new potential routes and destinations it’s essential to operate a really efficient business.
