Ill-judged and arrogant: Why Qantas and the NSW government fail to impress with ‘Meet the Sydneyporeans’
Qantas and Destination NSW’s well-meaning campaign to promote its return to Singapore stopovers badly misjudges the sense of betrayal and disappointment Australian expats felt when the carrier moved to Dubai four years ago, writes Landor’s Nick Foley.
Qantas recently surprised a number of its lapsed frequent flyers by announcing it will once again start using Singapore as its stopover point for flights from Australia to the UK, ditching its four-year relationship with Dubai.
It is not unusual for an airline to alter its flight path or schedule. However, when the said flight path has substantial history attached to it, and is fondly referred to as the ‘Kangaroo route’, the reintroduction of such a service may be met with some raised eyebrows from those who care to remember Qantas turning its tail fin on Singapore in favour of the desert state back in 2012.
To make matters more intriguing, Qantas have connected the reactivation of its Sydney-Singapore-London flights with an online campaign titled ‘Meet the Sydneyporeans’.
They probably feel the same way Melburnians are feeling about Qantas removing its direct routes from Tullamarine as well …
Methinks Qantas is going the Singapore stopover to compete with Canberra’s direct route to Singapore.
I may now consider flying to England with Qantas as they no longer stop in Dubia. Singapore is hardly an example of real democracy if you follow what they’ve done to their opposition leader. At least they treat women with a much greater equality compared to the arab states we pander to because of their oil.
What’s up? You just have a consumers choice, Qantas has maintained many flights to Singapore all the time. Things change, get real sir, you are a person of good standing, just support a strong Australian company that pays and treats it people properly please
There are some valid points here. But I disagree overall. Sure, the campaign is a little corny, but it’s not targeted at Aussies (who will always fly Qantas). This is clearly aimed at Singaporeans.
Strategically, the business hasn’t exactly abandoned Singapore. Jetstar (and Qantas to be honest) still fly there regularly. And it’s not hard to get to Europe from Singapore, especially with One World connections.
I’m not convinced this gripe is across the board. There are only around 20,000 Aussies in Singapore and I never heard any complain about Qantas being absent.
Does it mean they have to apologize to Aussies in Dubai now? They are likely be more stranded than Aussie Singaporeans.
“‘Lapsed’ frequent flyers”. Soon as I read that I knew this was going to be an alternative fact article.
A few things to note: QF Loyalty is as profitable as its ever been. QF only shifted its hub from to Dubai for flights to London and to better connect to Emirates superior network. It still flies to Singapore and changed its flight times to cater to corporates.
There’s more to add, but the advertisement is clearly aimed at Singaporeans, not expats. My last point is completely obvious and I have to question whether or Mumbrella’s editors actually read this article considering its poor analysis.
Seriously, this is an embarrassing article.
Gawd, if that is all you have to gripe about …
Though I understand the complaint, Qantas can’t seem to catch a break. If they even perceived to be off-the-mark for a moment, they catch hell from all sides. It’s not really fair given the airline ranks as one of the best in safety, reliability and customer satisfaction in the world today. They’ve also made some astute financial decisions over the past 5 years that have put them in excellent fiscal standing.
They never ceased service to Singapore, only reduced it. In airline terms, this happens all the time. It’s not meant as a personal insult to Australian expats or Singaporeans. Qantas recognise Singapore as a valuable part of their network, so continued to be present in the market. I doubt that many Aussie expats in Singapore gave it more than a passing thought, contrary to the author’s claim.
The decision to leave and subsequently return to Singapore as a stop along the Kangaroo Route is undoubtedly the result of careful analysis and considerations such as ROI and customer feedback, but to see it as anything more than an intelligent business decision is unrealistic and unfair.
One of those rare occasions where far more intelligence is on offer in the comments, than the article.