Attention: WA Qantas Frequent Flyer members.
Discuss Attention: WA Qantas Frequent Flyer members, on the Open Discussion forum of FrequentFlyer.com.au, the home of frequent flyers.
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Below is an email that I have sent tonight to Qantas re their Frequent Flyer program and the poor showing of offers to WA members. be nice to see if I'm alone on this issue:
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I mentioned this to your office about two months ago and will mention it again today - it is just so disappointing to see the "Special Offers" that are being given to the east coast Frequent Flyer members which are extensive compared to the offers available to the "ex" West coast customers.
I realise that it depends on seat capacities and so forth - but to mention Perth or WA "ZERO" times, smacks in the face of our equally costing membership.
You need to allow some priviledges to West Coast members that are looking to spend their FF points on International or Domestic flights... even if it means just a few seats on selected flights - You didn't even mention Western Australia in the Domestic section once - this is just bizarre! (every State except for WA!!)
Nothing that you have offered in the past four months has been remotely worth looking at and whilst you may think that is an unfair comment - have a look back - a year ago - you offered a trip to Hong Kong for 25,000 points... nowdays the best that Perth customers are seeing is a trip to Paris for 90,000 points (about two months ago).
I'd like the Frequent Flyer department to stop for just a minute and imagine that they live in the West coast and they recieve this newsletter each month and it doesn't even mention WA once in the domestic or international sections...
Please don't respond with a reason such as seating out of the West coast - Make an allocation of seats for WA - even if it costs you - even if it's just a small allocation - but god sake - do more than NOTHING!
A long term FF member from WA..
Bernie
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Bernie, I think the sad truth in all of this is that you are in a captive market. To travel out of Perth domestically is a long haul flight and the aircraft are probably always full.
The deals that QF offer are to fill otherwise empty seats that have in the past proven empty statistically.
In this QF are not being customer centric, it's probably just good business practice.
I think it probably also has a bit to do with the fact that there are a lot of FF points going to FIFO mining employees (Fly-in-Fly-out). Have a look in the Perth QC most weekday mornings at about 6am. More permanent press King Gee than Armani suits and ties!
for a while there qantas had no point specials from brisbane.... i always got a cheapie ticket to syd or mel to use them.
i know perth is a little further, but it sure beats paying full fair right?
also most of the good destinations QF flies to are EAST of perth!
Fellow Sandgropers, I didn't know there was already a thread on this and posted something myself last week at "The Australian Frequent Flyer Forum Index -> Qantas Frequent Flyer" under "Qantas points specials"
Who spends the most time, distance and money travelling from A to B in Australia? That's right, people from WA! The least Qantas can do is give us some FF specials like the rest of Australia.
On the A330s there are usually many spare seats, I have frequently flown to Melbourne or Sydney on half empty flights in the late afternoon.
It is really insulting to receive computer-generated letters or e-mails trumpeting "special offers" that you cannot receive.
But coming from Perth we should be used to being dissed around by Wise Men from the East.
I agree that Qantas's has a bias against West Australians.
For many years qantas used to send me lots of free domestic upgrade award coupons because of my silver or gold status. But unfortunately they were not redemable on flights from perth to the eastern states, so they all expired without being redemed (they were not transferable to other flyers).
Being a business traveller Qantas have no trouble charging $1670 for a next day return trip to Sydney in economy (about the same as an all inclusive overseas holiday), but they have very limited short term award seats or upgrades available for redemption. I currently have over 500,000 QFF points left and I find it very hard to find value for money domestically when redeming these points from Perth compared with paying Virgin's pricing. Internationally the main city I fly to is Kuala Lumpur and Qantas has not flown there from perth for a while now.
I am now back to being a standard bronze QFF, and paying virgin for my flights domestically and Singapore Air internationally.
I will just use up the remaining points on the occasional overseas trip where dates are flexible enough for the mighty qantas awards reservation system to grant me a seat
Peter.
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Just for the record, I'm still waiting for a reply from Qantas - but haven't heard squat.
It must be the same policy on replying to emails as we see with the distribution of frequent flyer specials... perhaps if I had posted the email on the east coast?
Just for the record, I'm still waiting for a reply from Qantas - but haven't heard squat.
It must be the same policy on replying to emails as we see with the distribution of frequent flyer specials... perhaps if I had posted the email on the east coast?
Sir Bernie
Not responding to emails for 6 weeks is a common thing among AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES... if you want good email service, email qantas usa.. those guys have their heads screwed on!
Thank you for your recent feedback concerning Award flight offers, submitted via our web-site on 25 November.
I support your concern re the availability of special Award flight offers
ex Western Australia.
As part of our status within Qantas, my department (Relationship Marketing) is continually looking to maximise the flight opportunities for our Frequent Flyers.
Most importantly, please note that you can also connect with most of the Qantas Award flight offers currently listed on qantas.com from your home
port within Australia.
This means, for example, that you could fly from Perth to Darwin, via Alice Springs and save 5,000 points. Or from Perth to Cairns, via Sydney, and save 5,000 points. Internationally, you could fly Perth to Tokyo, via Sydney, and save 10,000 points, or Perth to Wellington, via Melbourne and save 5,000 points.
This is what we mean we say beside the Qantas Award flight offers on qantas.com, and within our e-newsletters:
"You can also connect with this offer on Qantas Award flights from your home port within Australia"
The flight offers on our web-site are updated every two weeks, so it is perhaps worth checking at different times to see what may have come up. An offer was loaded this morning, for example, between Perth and Melbourne, offering a 5,000 point discount.
Thanks again for your email, and if I can be of any further assistance, please let me know.
My reply to Qantas will recognise their acknowledgement of this issue, however I want to stress to Qantas that this issue is about equality in membership and the disparity of offers...
For me to travel direct to Tokyo is 50,000 points. To travel via Sydney as suggested above (even with the special offer discount of 10,000 points) would require an associated cost of 70,000 points. Probably not one of the best examples from Qantas to notate...
In any case, it's nice to see that Qantas have mentioned Perth (WA) in todays update - perhaps when we next see the Tokyo offer it will read Perth to Tokyo "Save 10,000 points" - rather than (with respect) via Sydney!
I look forward to receiving the special offers each month and I visit the website every week in search of travel locations and special offers... but I remain committed to maintaining an equality for members who pay equal annual membership fees. My final suggestion to the Marketing department of Qantas is to remember what they learnt in university about empathy and place themselves in a WA members shoes when they next write their monthly newsletter...
We currently returned from a trip to Bali from Perth which we had to book 7 months in advance as it was the first available flight.
On departure from Perth, the flight was half full.
When returning home from Bali, we decided to upgrade to Business class.
We were told this was not possible due to redemption points. We then offered to pay cash to upgrade. This was also rejected.
On boarding the new 737, of the 18 business class seats, only 3 were occupied.
Qantas, the silly fools could have taken our money but declined.
We sat in BC anyway but without the privilages.
I've now tried to book our trip for next year, to find out the first available direct flight from Perth to Bali is in October 2004.
There are some flights from Perth to Karratha, Karratha to Darwin, Darwin to Denpasar. Totalling 12.5 hours instead of 3.5.
Am I alone thinking this is unacceptable, or just stupid?
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