I know people that flew Qantas PURELY because they were the world’s safest airline. They were nervous passengers or had nervous partners and the extra price on the ticket was worth it because you were confident nothing would go wrong. That competitive edge has been eroded and will take years to regain, if it’s even possible.

I agree with Ailsa, Qantas have taken what they had and shoved it squarely down the toilet by totally misunderstanding that price is not everything. I think Funkyg has misunderstood that too – there is a high price associated with quality (and in aviation, the measure of quality is related to safety).

The next few years for Qantas will be crucial if they can regain their reputation they might just make it. Otherwise they’ll become another mediocre airline and someone else will move into their spot.

What always surprised me was how positively Australians thought of Qantas despite paying huge amounts of money for flights that in Europe would have cost very little.

Now that was really good marketing to pull that trick!