Senior executives across Australia’s consumer electronics, appliance and audio industries are abandoning Qantas in growing numbers, citing soaring fares, ageing aircraft, repeated disruptions and a decline in onboard service.

The shift is most visible on the international trade show circuit, where Qantas was once the default carrier for Australian industry delegations to IFA in Berlin, CES in Las Vegas, EuroCucina in Milan and this week’s Hong Kong fair.

“You only have to look at the amount of industry executives attending IFA in Berlin who in the past flew Qantas are now flying with Chinese, Middle Eastern airlines or other Asian airlines,” a major retailer told ChannelNews. “Some are also migrating to the new Turkish Airlines services via Istanbul over Qantas.” one frequent Qantas traveller claimed.

ChannelNews observed executives from LG Electronics, JB Hi-Fi and several distributors travelling to IFA on Qatar Airways business class last month.

The CEO of one major retailer arrived in Berlin to find that Qantas had lost his luggage.

26 Flights And A Loss Of Trust

Tyler McGee, head of Asia Pacific operations at McFee’s, has publicly questioned whether he will remain a Qantas customer after a run of disruptions over several weeks.

Tyler McGee is also the former Vice President of Samsung’s mobile operations

McGee, who has flown internationally with Qantas 26 times this year, detailed the problems in a LinkedIn post.

“I don’t have the profile of Greg Norman, but after my experience with Qantas over the past four weeks, my trust in the airline has been seriously tested. More importantly, I’m beginning to question whether Qantas genuinely values customer loyalty,” he wrote.

His first disruption was QF74, a Boeing 787-9 that was declared inoperable after arriving in San Francisco. After six hours at the airport, passengers were told at 2am that the flight had been delayed by 24 hours. Hotel vouchers Qantas promised to email never arrived.

Qantas later agreed to reimburse his overnight costs, but McGee said the payment has yet to reach his bank account.

A second trip on QF7, the A380 service to Dallas, was cancelled. McGee was rebooked on a flight 24 hours later via Los Angeles.

That service, QF11, was then delayed after the captain was denied access to the aircraft because his Aviation Security Identification Card had expired, causing McGee to miss his onward connection.

“Why are your ground staff seemingly unable to provide effective support? Why are customers left to fend for themselves, pay out of pocket, chase reimbursements and navigate a poor customer care process?” McGee wrote, also singling out aircraft reliability and maintenance.

“Loyalty, however, cannot be a one-way street. It must be earned through reliability, accountability, genuine customer care and the way you treat people when things go wrong,” he wrote. “Qantas, it is time to take a long, hard look in the mirror.”

Norman Joins The Chorus

McGee’s complaints follow criticism from golfer Greg Norman, reported on 11 October.

Norman complained of a departure delay on a Sydney to Dallas flight, a further wait for luggage and no inflight Wi-Fi. He accused Qantas of prioritising profits and said the experience had prompted him to consider other airlines, while praising ground staff who he said were bearing the brunt of customer anger.

Qantas attributed the delay to a fuelling fault and said Wi-Fi upgrades to its A380 fleet were underway.

$10,000 Premium Economy

Pricing is a central grievance. ChannelNews was quoted around $10,000 for a premium economy return fare to Los Angeles for CES, more than business class fares on the route once cost, and on older aircraft.

On domestic routes, ChannelNews was quoted $900 for a one-way economy fare between the Gold Coast and Sydney last week.

Premium Cabins And Points Under Fire

Complaints are also mounting among premium passengers. In an August Reddit discussion, one Qantas business class passenger criticised meals and crew attentiveness, compared to other airlines.

Loyalty value is another pressure point. In July, The Australian reported complaints from senior frequent flyers about the difficulty of securing Classic Reward business class seats. Qantas said at the time that around 1,000 premium Classic Reward seats were booked daily.

ChannelNews has sought comment from Qantas.