Another blow for Qantas after horror year
Budget partner Jetstar has outperformed Qantas in the latest domestic reliability ratings with one in three Flying Kangaroo flights landing behind schedule, and more than ten services cancelled a day.
The latest monthly data by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics showed only one third of Qantas flights arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled landing time.
Other services all had better on time rankings with rural carrier Qantaslink leading the way with 77.2 per cent of flights landing on time, followed by Virgin at 73.9 per cent and Rex at 73.5 per cent.
Even Jetstar’s less than stellar 68 per cent on-time landing percentage was better than Qantas.
In the same one month period Qantas also cancelled 356 flights, or 4.3 per cent, which again ranked worst among all domestic airlines.
In comparison, Jetstar and Virgin cancelled 4.1 per cent of flights, while budget airline Rex was the best rated with a 2.3 per cent cancellation rate.
New low-cost airline, Bonza, had no data available for the ranking period.
The latest poor performance ratings come following a period of high drama for Qantas, with the High Court recently ruling the company illegally sacked 1700 workers and ex-CEO Alan Joyce’s early exit following a finding the airline sold 8000 tickets on already cancelled flights.
Qantas has stated that bad weather was a major contributing factor to the month’s poor performance with only six days not impacted by stormy or windy conditions.
A pilot strike in Western Australia also led to 42 flight cancellations for the company.
The one plus for the Qantas as a whole was that their rural Qantaslink service was ranked number one for departing and arriving on time for the month.
A Qantas spokesperson told the Daily Mail Australia that the airline is determined to post better figures in the upcoming Christmas period.
“We know how important it is for our customers to get away on time and we’re focused on making sure we deliver on the experience our customers expect,” they said.
jordan.mccarthy@news.com.au | @JordoMc85