Alan Joyce, chief executive at Qantas Airways, has told a Sydney conference that the airline’s plans to improve its business class services, is not a defensive strategy. Joyce said that the decision to revamp the flag carrier’s menus, lounges and business class cabins was a way of improving the overall service Qantas is able to offer its customers. The airline also aims to introduce new technology to make the whole process of moving through the airport easier and more convenient.
The announcement comes after rivals Virgin Blue hinted that it would like to increase its share of the corporate market to at least 20 percent. The airline is currently looking at the viability of upgrading its premium services to do this. Virgin Blue will want to take more of a share of the business market away from Qantas as Tiger Airways and Jetstar, the Qantas budget off-shoot, continue to encroach on its low-cost business.
Whereas Virgin Blue is looking to improve services it can offer corporate customers; Tiger is hoping to grab its share of the business market by offering no-perk budget fares. In a recent interview, Crawford Rix, head of Tiger in Australia, said customers who wanted value will gravitate towards the airline.
Tiger has had little impact on the business market so far, and recently found itself excluded from a list of airlines approved by the government for bureaucrats, advisers and politicians. Virgin Blue, Qantas and Jetstar were all included.
Rix recently announced that in order to boost the number of passengers Tiger could fit onto an aircraft the airline would consider installing vertical seating. He also said that Tiger might start charging passengers to go to the toilet during some flights.