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’.
So what is a Sydneyporean? Perhaps it’s a Singaporean who was left grounded in Sydney when Qantas slashed its services to the Little Red Dot four years ago? A quick search of the newly-coined expression reveals it is what Qantas has dubbed Singaporeans who have chosen Sydney as their new home.
To capitalise on the ‘Sydneyporean’ theme, the airline has released three well-produced episodes that follow the lives of some Singaporeans now residing in New South Wales.
While the campaign does help make Sydney feel more familiar to new visitors, it does however hit turbulence given the context of how Qantas has treated Singapore since 2012.
As an Australian expat now residing in the Lion City, it feels as though Australia’s international airline might have badly under-estimated just how ripped off most of us ‘Singa-Aussies’ feel about Qantas’ short-lived affair with Dubai.
This may come as a surprise, Qantas, but by no means are we anywhere near the point of ‘forgive and forget’. Call me traditional, but if you want to make up with an old flame, I believe you need to consider that old-fashioned notion of an apology first. Sure, it might have been too much for Australia’s then-Prime Minister, John Howard, to grasp, but Victoria Bitter (VB) provided a textbook case study in marketing when it made a heartfelt apology to Australia’s beer-guzzling public back in September 2012.
For those who can’t recall, VB had reduced its alcohol content to 4.5% in order to lessen the amount it was paying in excise duties to the Australian government. VB’s loyal subjects were less than amused by this tax-minimisation antic and, eventually, the brand’s custodians made the wise decision to return the alcohol content to 4.9%. – although, not before saying a genuinely well-intentioned “sorry” to the disgruntled masses.
So, if an apology by an iconic, successful brand like VB is good enough for Australia’s favourite beer, why are we not seeing a similar approach by the country’s national flag carrier? At best, it may because the airline is blissfully unaware of just how jaded a number of expat Australians feel about Qantas dumping Singapore.
At worst it’s due to a trait that has beleaguered the airline in recent years: arrogance. Regardless of which it is, Qantas would do well to realise that brands are just like friends. When they behave unexpectedly and disappoint us, we stop trusting them. And here’s the thing about trust: it can take years to earn, but can be gone in the swipe of a boarding pass.
So while all may not be lost for Qantas, they have deeply misjudged the Singa-Aussie sentiment if they think they can win back our hearts and minds through all this well-meaning, but ultimately disingenuous chitter-chatter about Sydneyporeans.
Nick Foley is the president of Landor South East Asia, Pacific and Japan.
They probably feel the same way Melburnians are feeling about Qantas removing its direct routes from Tullamarine as well …
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Methinks Qantas is going the Singapore stopover to compete with Canberra’s direct route to Singapore.
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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.
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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
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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.
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“‘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.
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Gawd, if that is all you have to gripe about …
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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.
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One of those rare occasions where far more intelligence is on offer in the comments, than the article.
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