Qantas has defended its record after consumer group Choice gave the airline a “Shonky Award” for being the “Spirit of Disappointment” earlier this week.
In a statement sent to Karryon, a Qantas spokesperson said the data Choice had used was “itself a bit shonky”.
“We had several months of poor performance earlier in the year, but it’s improved significantly since August, and we’re back to our pre-COVID level of service,” they said, calling the awards “clearly out of date”.
“We’ve been very transparent with our performance figures, both good and bad, but Choice is using figures that are just wrong.
“We’ve beaten Virgin for on-time flights eight out of the past 12 months, and in some months, that’s been by a significant margin.
“Our call wait times are less than half of what Choice is claiming.”
The spokesperson added that customers had redeemed more than $1 billion in COVID-related flight credits.
“The conditions for these are the same or better than they were pre-COVID and we’re actively encouraging our customers to use them,” they said.
While admitting to having “issues earlier this year”, Qantas said it was “disappointing that Choice failed to acknowledge the impact that COVID and border closures have had on the entire aviation industry.”
Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) data released last month shows Qantas and QantasLink recorded 69.2 per cent for on-time arrivals in September, while Virgin Australia and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines recorded 68.2 per cent.
According to the data, the Qantas network recorded 69 per cent for on-time departures in September, while the Virgin Australia network recorded 66.7 per cent.
Qantas makes its case
Addressing claims it says are not correct or misleading, Qantas asserted:
-On-time performance had improved by 30 per cent since July, and flight cancellation rates were back at pre-COVID levels (Choice claimed that Qantas performed worse than all other Australian-based airlines).
-Call wait times had averaged seven minutes since June (Choice claimed wait times were, on average, 21 minutes).
-Information on using flight credits is on its website and available through online bookings (Choice claimed that it was difficult and confusing for customers to use flight credits, and they are unable to be used online).
Meanwhile, Qantas will host Aussie travel advisors at the first in-person Qantas Distribution Platform Technology Partner showcase in Sydney later this month.
Visit Qantas for more information or visit its trade site.
