Turbulent year wiped $384m off Qantas brand value: Report

A Qantas Boeing B737-838, registration VH-VXO, taxis from the domestic terminal to the third runway of Sydney Kingsford-Smith Airport, heading to Brisbane as flight QF520.  In the background is the old air traffic control tower, next to the main north-south runway.  In the far distance are residential districts. This image was taken from Shep’s Mound at midday on a cloudy, windy and stormy day on 7 May 2023.

The Brand Finance report has shifted Qantas down its global airline brand rankings after estimating that the last 12 months have decreased the national carrier’s brand value by $384m.The report moved Qantas to 21st place, from 16th last year.

The drop comes after a slew of controversies rocked the airline in 2023, including an ACCC investigation that Qantas was selling tickets on cancelled flights and a high court ruling that it had illegally sacked nearly 1700 ground workers during the pandemic.

This is the first time a monetary value has been applied to the brand damage caused by the controversies.

Quoted by The Australian, Brand Finance Australia managing director Mark Crowe said the 12 per cent decline in the airline brand value from $3.1bn to $2.7bn, was at odds with the average 17 per cent increase across the top 10 airlines.

“This highlights how much Qantas’s performance is trending against the strong recovery in the sector,” Crowe said.

“However, favourable market conditions are expected to uplift Qantas’s investment in customer experience to strengthen its brand, therefore arresting a further decline in value.”

The top ten for brand value was made up of US carrier Delta Air Lines, followed by American, United and Emirates, then Southwest Airlines, British Airways, and Qatar Airways.

Crowe said the brand value was mainly decided by scale.

A spokesperson from Qantas said “We have been listening to feedback from our customers and are focussed on earning back their trust. A significant amount of work and investment is underway to fix customer pain points and restore pride in Qantas, but we know it will take time to turn things around.”

Qantas is currently investing $230 million in customer improvements including working to reduce delays and cancellations

Last month, Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said: “My absolute relentless focus will be to return Qantas to the trust and the pride that we’ve enjoyed before. We have started but it’s a journey. We know it will take time, but we are seeing the results. We’re seeing our customer satisfaction lift.”

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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