justin_krusty

Most interesting idea I've read here in a while actually...

lokijuh

I just flew SIN-MEL-SIN on QF codes (QF metal SIN-MEL and EK metal MEL-SIN), in economy. Interestingly QF/EK were both cheaper (by 10% + add on luggage meal fees etc ) than Jetstar and about 60% of what SQ wanted to charge.

One thing really struck me about the QF metal service - the almost complete absence of passengers of Asian ancestry. Nearly all pax were caucasian. EK had a larger number of such pax (its timetable, at least MEL-SIN, I guess is better suited to SIN originating pax).

However, it strikes me that for QF to be successful now that they're not filling aircraft with Europe bound pax, they need to engage with customer bases at both ends of the route, not just the Australian end. Something they really aren't doing.

ermen

Wonder if an all business service like the BA001 A318 will work SYD - SIN if loads are so full.

Only what 32 J seats needed?!

With the rest of Y pax onto JQ!

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

I'm guessing there's a substantial freight market between sin and au to support a larger plane?

og

The old BA 1 & 2 managed to delight the ~ 80 passengers with the best of everything BA could offer. And it only really did great things for BA's bottom line when the last flight was scheduled. Sadly the Concorde is now a museum attraction

Awesom Andy

They are making an attempt, by selling ex-SIN tickets at $688 SGD for Y, and $1175 SGD for Y+ from now till mid Nov. However, I'm now starting to think that they simply can't fill the planes (the back half at least) no matter what price they charge. My peers would fly SQ if they can afford it, and Scoot if they want to be cheap. Scoot isn't doing all that well during the quieter periods either, so the 2x QF daily SYD-SIN services are pretty much like pouring money down the drain. I would be very interested to see if they'll keep the 2x dailies by the time after Chinese New Year next year.

Isochronous

They need to do a partnership with credit card issuers in SIN and HKG.

lokijuh

I saw the $688 and thought that's cheaper than I expected, but that's to SYD. Interestingly the MEL special is $748 SGD - which is actually netting $78 more to QF than SYD (MEL has $18 less in airport charges), and BNE fare is $648, netting $124 less to QF than MEL. Which begs the question - why does BNE get the 744 and MEL the 332? I guess MEL gets the mirror capacity on JQ, but it puzzles me why does JQ duplicate the QF timetable?

Anyway these fares got me on to QF to MEL, but I guess as an expat LTG with QF I get benefits on flying QF that many locals wouldn't. Next time though I will probably do the EK metal 77W in both directions - still on QF code - instead of QF for SIN-MEL and EK metal on return.

House

There is an incredible level of loyalty to SQ among locally based passengers in SIN and surrounding region. As another poster has said, for many people SQ and Scoot are the default choices because they are locally owned and perceived to have good service. People will pay a substantial premium in many cases to stick with SQ.

To take an example, I know of corporate travel agencies here who will blindly put passengers onto SQ even where the company concerned has a generous corporate deal with QF. QF only gets selected when the passenger asks specifically.

CX are a good example of a carrier who knows how to play this:

1. Unashamedly discount - all the time - not by advertising this in your website but by running special offers through selected travel agents and other partners - for example my bank here will periodically offer "two fly for the price of one" deals in Business and Economy.

2. Get local credit card partners. Lots of them. CX don't have a co branded card as far as I am aware, but this doesn't matter because almost every local bank allows you to transfer your bank loyalty scheme points to Asia Miles.

3. Promote brand awareness - run adverts, sponsor events, etc - and not just among he expat community.

4. Get a decent level of cargo traffic - looks like QF already have this one.

igel

I have boycotted SQ since 2001 with no regrets.
I will not touch Scoot within a mile.
Anyway between SIN and Eastern part of Australia, JQ business class is a reasonably cheap and comfortable way to fly for that little extra comfort, or QF PE if I am paying for myself, and the JASA status credit runs on QF metal to/from SIN.

travelislife

Well when you can get QF MEL/SYD/BNE-SIN return for under $400 I don't know why you would choose SQ or especially JQ in Y.

pjensid

I fly frequently between Melbourne & Shanghai and considering that China is our major export market the QF options are woeful. QF has given up on Asia (and most of the rest of the world) & is consigning itself to oblivion.

Isochronous

I flew MEL-SYD-PVG and was happy with the service, although the A330s need a major refresh. Whereas HKG-MEL the other day was also an awful A330 and service was OK, but no WP benefits.

There's no way I'm buying a QF codeshare on MU to fly MEL-PVG direct. Surely MEL can justify more Asian destinations than just SIN and HKG.

Lucky_man

Mel is doing better than Adelaide. We've finally been deleted from the QF international map.

I could accept an argument that eventually as cities get smaller they are going to have less direct connectedness. The only problem with that is that SQ, CX, MH can make direct international flights to this backwater but QF can not.

Granted these carriers have an advantage that they only have one airport to seriously consider in their home countries.

I am not sure that embracing the Asian Century and giving up to Asian competitors are quite the same thing.

Perhaps QF could pioneer the 1 airport model for an airline.

Amelorn

I am going to echo my perception that QF commitment to Asia is weak. On my end, I see older, less appealing planes going to Asian destinations. On an off-topic note, I also have noted very poor brand awareness. QF suffers from a bit of navel-gazing: satisfy the Australian market and that's it. Sorry. Unless QF can/wants reinvent itself into a boutique carrier a la our OW partner AY, it is making a poor showing at being a major international carrier that is the preferred option for non-Aussies. When the only staunch QF-only fliers are 70+ Aussie pensioners, there's a problem.

Back to topic, the more Asians (mostly Hongese, Singaporean, and Japanese) I speak with, the worse my outlook for QF becomes. QF is a non-entity or a last resort. Why would it be anything else? Home carriers (NH/JL, CX, SQ) and regional competition (MU, MH, TG) offer better options at a variety of price points. And that's just the legacy competition!

Edit; addendum: I was somewhat shocked to see SIN relegated to a lesser outpost while QF chases traffic to Europe. (armchair CEO mode) Were I in charge, I'd rather expropriate my portion of Asia-OZ traffic rather than go after traffic into/from the economically beleaguered Eurozone.