Qantas...the (former) spirit of Australia?

I officially kicked off my Eurasia trip 2014 with a Melbourne to Helsinki flight (via Hong Kong). As I found out, the once formidable Australian national carrier was no longer the leader in international long-haul flight service, with variances in food and service delivery bringing its rating down a notch in the ever-competitive airline industry.

Flight details:
Date: 11 September 2014
Airport: Melbourne International Airport, Terminal 2 (International Departures), Hong Kong International Airport
Class: Economy
Seat: 54D (MEL - HKG, aisle seat), 52C (HKG - HEL, aisle seat)
Plane: Airbus A330
Rating: 3..5/5 stars (Qantas),  4/5 stars (Finnair). Both flights were on time.

The good - Qantas 

• Helpful and knowledgeable airport staff: My flight had a 6-7 hour stopover in Hong Kong, so I had to clarify if I would need to check in my luggage again or proceed straight through to Helsinki. The Qantas staff member that checked me in was very clear in explaining that the latter applied in this case.


• Friendly flight attendants and customer service: Cabin crew were incredibly responsive to my every need and always had a smile on their face.  On my flight, I asked for two servings of cup noodles and was greeted with a smile and an obvious willingness to keep me happy. They did not get flustered despite a pair of women repeatedly ordering extra food and snacks.


• Bilingual staff and service: Being a flight into Hong Kong, there were numerous Asian passengers so it was great to see a staff member fluent in both Cantonese and English on board the flight. All announcements during the flight were made in English, followed by a translation in Cantonese.


• Investment in mature staff members: It is always nice to see an airline that appreciates the value of experience. I would say there was maybe only one cabin crew member under the age of 40 on my flight, which is in line with the comments of a friend that described Qantas as an ‘oldies’ airline.

The good – Finnair

• Food quality: Compared to Qantas (which conveyed a feeling of cheap eats for economy savings), Finnair’s food had a strong sense of cleanliness and freshness. Flavours were more restrained in line with a European bent, with salad, bread, butter, cheese, crackers and water dominating the menu, and a delicious slice of apple pie with a delicate sweet sauce that had me wanting more. I didn’t feel ill at all after eating Finnair’s food as I had with Qantas (although I do tend to overeat on flights – what can I say, I’m a foodie?) and in fact, it even contributed some way towards improving my upset stomach within an hour or so of eating.


• Bilingual staff and service: Operating out of Hong Kong, there were two staff members speaking fluent Mandarin and English, which made it easy for all passengers to be attended to.


• Very smooth and enjoyable flight: No noticeable difficulties or bumps, as it should be. A good flight is like travel insurance – if things go well, you shouldn’t notice anything at all.

 The bad – Qantas:

• Variable food quality: Food quality was all over the map. The sweet and sugary food tended to be a hit (their Cadbury hot chocolate with marshmallow transported me right back to my childhood, while the dark chocolate mousse with salted caramel fudge was simply to die for) while others were just downright awful (the bread served didn’t taste fresh, and the main meal I chose of chicken and leek pie with peas and sweet potato mash was more than a little gluggy). Overall, it added up to a feeling of ‘good but not great’ when the package is hit and miss rather than a home run for the taste buds.  The food also had a tendency to veer towards the unhealthy end of the spectrum (mousse, hot chocolate, salted snacks when the fresh fruit promised on the menu ran out before I was served!) which wasn’t too pleasing to the stomach, as I found out later while waiting in Hong Kong for my onward flight.

Variable food quality: Featured here are dark chocolate mousse with salted caramel fudge, chicken and leek pie with peas and sweet potato mash, mixed salad and coleslaw, crusty bread with butter and cheese and crackers

• Ignorance of basic tiered passenger status for boarding: Despite clear signage and two distinct queues for economy and first/business class, passengers in the economy line were allowed to board the plane first. This defied basic passenger status rules and the annoyance on customers’ faces was all too plain to see.


• Occasionally jumpy in-flight: Without any notification of any turbulence, I noticed there were instances where the flight became bumpy enough that I had to hold onto the rail of my chair for stability. While I fully expect this feeling during take off and landing, I do not enjoy this feeling out of the blue, especially if there has been no notification of any encountered turbulence.


• Impression of being old and dated: Unfortunately, the presence of older, 40 plus cabin crew contributes to a feeling of Qantas being past its use by date. I have to admit that I think most passengers prefer to be served by someone relatively young and attractive (taking flights is a people-watching exercise in addition to transport from A to B) so Qantas isn’t doing itself any favours here.

The bad - Finnair:

• Customer service delivery a little flat at times: The menu was unceremoniously half-shoved in my face, with writing in Finnish and English, and an awkward wait for the cabin crew member while I had to decide between a vegetarian or a meat dish. Qantas’s approach in handing out the menu at the start of the flight wins out leaps and bounds here. The male cabin crew member also threw out my tray prematurely, before I had a chance to finish my water. Attention to detail counts!


• Toilets incredibly small: This complaint isn't isolated to Finnair as all airlines tend to have small toilets in principle (space is tight after all), but the Finnair toilet seemed especially small. I'm naturally a small person and I was struggling for room, so I can't bear to think how a larger person might handle such a confined space.

How to improve – Qantas:

• Invest in a younger, more nubile workforce: Having a younger profile in the airline’s ranks might help turn around dated associations of the airline, and inject some much-needed energy into its flights. Currently, Qantas’s age-is-best approach jars with Virgin Australia’s bevy of front-loaded young and attractive staff fleet (featured in a new TV advertisement here) and Jetstar’s now-familiar ‘star jump’ pose. This will also help develop a pipeline of future Qantas leaders for the organisation.


• Get food quality right: I’m a big foodie myself, so food is a massive part of my flying experience. And with a full-service airline, I have high expectations of food. So it’s disappointing to see that Qantas (despite a nicely presented menu card handed out at the start of the flight) is content with occasional stabs at greatness with its food. That just isn’t enough to be competitive against heavy hitters such as Cathay Pacific, Etihad and Singapore Airlines, so it’s worth taking the time to get the ingredients and the taste right.


• Treat your loyal customers properly: Loyalty begets loyalty, or so the mantra should go. Leaving Business/First Class customers stranded while Economy passengers board first is an alarming oversight, indicative of a need for further staff training in customer loyalty marketing and retention. Qantas may have the leading Frequent Flyer program in the country, but any name and brand can be destroyed over time if customers feel like they aren’t being appreciated properly. Your Business and First Class Customers deserve the red carpet treatment once in a while, so give it to them.

How to improve – Finnair:

• Take more time to learn from and understand your passengers: Customer service is ultimately similar to a relationship – the more of an effort you make to get to know someone, the greater the things you notice and hence, the greater the value you are able to add to the customer’s life through helpful suggestions or in-flight recommendations. My water would certainly never have been thrown out by an attentive cabin crew member!

 The obligatory Finnair #wingshot

A passenger remarked to me prior to the flight how empty the gate was for the Qantas 9:35am flight to Hong Kong, At the time, I simply laughed off the concern by telling the lady that we were just very early for the flight and that the crowd would pick up soon. Indeed it did, but only to the point that there were still very pronounced vacancies on the flight – nearly half of the seats were empty. In my row of four seats, the three seats next to me were unoccupied. Needless to say I didn’t complain, as I was able to push up the empty seat rests and sleep with my full body extended. Best sleep ever! Perhaps it is an omen of customer distrust in the wake of Qantas’s recently reported loss of billions of dollars last financial year. Although CEO Alan Joyce says the ‘worst is over’, perhaps the worst is yet to come.

In short: Qantas succeeds overall on its friendly and mature staff base, but outside of this, it is really hard to recommend the airline over its long-haul full-service competitors. Once a reputable pillar of strength in the Australian aviation sector, Qantas clearly has its work cut for itself to regain its former level of greatness and reach the heights it scaled so easily in the past. In comparison, Finnair impressed with its emphasis on clean and fresh-tasting food and smooth flight trajectory, but could improve the warmth and attentiveness of its customer service delivery.