Qantas Frequent Flyer - Takeover bid for Qantas has won approval from the Federal Government

The $11 billion takeover bid for Qantas has won approval from the Federal Government, Treasurer Peter Costello said tonight.

Mr Costello said it was now up to the airline's shareholders whether they accepted the $5.60 a share bid from a consortium called Airline Partners Australia.


He said Qantas promised:

* it will stay majority Australian-owned;

* it will not be foreign controlled;

* the majority of its directors will be Australian citizens;

* the airline will remain based in Australia;

* continue its frequent flyer program with no loss of points.

He said the promises were legally enforceable.



http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/qantas-takeover-takes-off/2007/03/06/1173156494747.html

And to think so many people were afraid to lose their points

Im still afraid!

Fleet:
Jetstar 75%
Qantas 25%
...and Qantas keeps its promise:eek: ;)

He said Qantas promised:

* it will stay majority Australian-owned;

* it will not be foreign controlled;

* the majority of its directors will be Australian citizens;

* the airline will remain based in Australia;

* continue its frequent flyer program with no loss of points.

He said the promises were legally enforceable.

As i have stated elsewhere, I never thought that Qantas would close or seriously "enhance" their FF scheme. I am still of that belief.

But I am very curious about something. The media that I have read have said that they agreed to "no loss of points". I'm yet to see anything official regarding that announcement. However, surely that should have been something like "No devaluation of the frequent flyer scheme for X years/months".

If the media is accurate, Qantas could technically devalue their points by a ridiculous amount and still be within the spirit of the agreement.

As I've already said, I never thought this was on the cards - but still interesting to see.

"* continue its frequent flyer program with no loss of points."

As a lawyer myself, this looks suspiciously like careful lawyer speak for "we will not take any points off people, but we make no promises that we will not ridiculously increase the levels required to get an award".

The statement "...with no loss or devaluation of points" would have been easy to make, and it's certainly a factor on people's minds. The failure to rule it out suggests that they, at the least, want to keep that option open...

Just my $.02

"* continue its frequent flyer program with no loss of points."

As a lawyer myself, this looks suspiciously like careful lawyer speak for "we will not take any points off people, but we make no promises that we will not ridiculously increase the levels required to get an award".

The statement "...with no loss or devaluation of points" would have been easy to make, and it's certainly a factor on people's minds. The failure to rule it out suggests that they, at the least, want to keep that option open...

Just my $.02

Exactly what I thought when I read it.

This whole thing was a done deal from the get-go, the fact the govt rubber stamped it shouldn't be any surprise. I doubt MBL et al would seriously make a bid without already knowing how the gov would rule.

The deed is available online here: http://www.treasurer.gov.au/tsr/content/downloads/009_Attachment.pdf

The section about the FF program is:

Qantas customers will continue to have access to a competitive loyalty program and the Transaction will not result in any loss of frequent flyer points for members of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program.

QF can simply reduce the number of Z/U/X Class seats available on every flight. They are not violating any rules, it is just normal business operations?:rolleyes:

I really need to think of a way to burn my remaining 80K asap!

The deed is available online here: http://www.treasurer.gov.au/tsr/content/downloads/009_Attachment.pdf

The section about the FF program is:Qantas customers will continue to have access to a competitive loyalty program and the Transaction will not result in any loss of frequent flyer points for members of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. They make it sound like Qantas customers have a competitive program NOW! :rolleyes:

Dave

They make it sound like Qantas customers have a competitive program NOW! :rolleyes:

DaveThey do; QFF is pretty much average amongst FF plans in terms of benefits ... lots of worse plans exist (even within Oneworld). Some of the past quirks that made QFF very lucrative, such as redeeming Concorde awards for zero premium over F (when other airlines had 50-100% premium), have ben eliminated along with a large increase in the premium for F and J awards. But BA did the same thing, at about the same time, for example. Overall QFF is not a bad plan, even today, and is competitive with 90% of the other FF plans. Clearly there is no intent to move it up and take on the best 10%, however.

Here it would be great to get some experience from the Canadians. After all, they are the pioneers of listed FF programs. Would be interesting to hear how things have changed over there. In terms of points / miles but also in terms of elite recognition. One of the members of the consortium is a Canadian company with lots of experience in the airline sector and it would surprise me if they would bring some of the Canadian experience into Australia.

Actually, it seems to me that the Govt. has taken this opportunity to shore up more than a few issues with keeping Qantas Ozzified. (e.g. JQ can't be sold, major maintenace to remain in Oz).

This more restrictive tack should somewhat reduce the profits APA were hoping to make; wonder how the partners feel about that?

QF can simply reduce the number of Z/U/X Class seats available on every flight.How can they do that? Less than zero is a negative number ...

How can they do that? Less than zero is a negative number ...QF has tons of X availability. Almost every flight I have ever checked has X; it is U and Z that are tough, and even this varies a lot by route. The US demand really shows through in the route distributions. Actually X is easier to get on QF than on AA, for example. QF in its calculations probably wonders what all the fuss is about, lots of empty FF seats (just in the wrong cabin).