Under fire Qantas is dipping into its massive profits to try to win back the trust of disgruntled customers.
A Qantas Group market update released on Monday morning reveals the carrier will use profits to fund an extra $80 million investment in customer improvements, adding to a previously-budgeted $150 million.
“This additional investment is aimed at addressing a number of customer ‘pain points’,” the statement reads.
“(That includes) better contact centre resourcing and training, an increase in the number of seats that can be redeemed with Frequent Flyer points, more generous recovery support when operational issues arise, a review of longstanding policies for fairness and improvements to the quality of in-flight catering.”
Last Friday, new chief executive Vanessa Hudson admitted the embattled airline had “let you down in many ways”, while acknowledging Qantas had become “hard to deal with”.
While the airline will fund the customer improvements out of profits, its expenses are set to take a fair hit as fuel prices continue to rise.
It will spend $2.8 billion on fuel in the back half of 2023 – an increase of about $200 million – after a 30 per cent price spike since May.
“This is driven by a combination of higher oil prices, higher refiner margins and a lower Australian dollar,” the statement said.
“The group will continue to absorb these higher costs but will monitor fuel prices in the weeks ahead and if current levels are sustained, will look to adjust its settings.”
Ms Hudson took the CEO reins from Alan Joyce earlier this month.
She’s got a job to do in repairing the airline’s reputation, particularly after it was revealed it cancelled nearly 850 flights in August.
Source: AAP
