The Qantas chief who brought a new travel disruption term to Australian vernacular
To be “Joyced” is a new term that has crept into the Australian vernacular to describe being severely inconvenienced at an airport by flight cancellations or luggage going astray. It is a reference to Alan Joyce, the long-serving chief executive of national carrier Qantas, who has become the conduit for criticism of an array of customer service problems at the “flying kangaroo”. While airports and airlines around the world made steep staff cuts during the pandemic and have struggled to cope with the return of international travel as a result, some are taking drastic measures in response. Qantas, for one, took the unusual step this week of asking senior managers to volunteer to fill 100 ground handler jobs for three months while it tries to recruit more people. It has also said it will lengthen the connection time for passengers changing between domestic and international flights by half an hour to 90 minutes, to act as a buffer for transiting luggage and delayed flights. Joyce has always had a high profile in a country that still feels a strong sense of ownership toward its national airline. But his recent troubles started at the baggage carousel. Qantas itself says it is mishandling — or losing — nine of every 1,000 pieces of luggage, roughly twice the normal rate. This is adding to flight delays because passengers are trying to cram more bags into the cabin instead. These problems, along with unusual levels of flight cancellations because of staff shortages and absences due to illness, mean that passenger frustration is running high, particularly after Joyce commented in April that travellers were “not match fit” and that there were long queues in airports because people were forgetting to prepare their hand luggage properly for security.Other statements have been much more emollient. Earlier this week he admitted: “While there are lots of good reasons why, the simple fact is our operational performance hasn’t been up to the standard our customers are used to, or that we expect of ourselves.” Story has more.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2022-08-15/oneworld/the-qantas-chief-who-brought-a-new-travel-disruption-term-to-australian-vernacular
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The Qantas chief who brought a new travel disruption term to Australian vernacular
To be “Joyced” is a new term that has crept into the Australian vernacular to describe being severely inconvenienced at an airport by flight cancellations or luggage going astray. It is a reference to Alan Joyce, the long-serving chief executive of national carrier Qantas, who has become the conduit for criticism of an array of customer service problems at the “flying kangaroo”. While airports and airlines around the world made steep staff cuts during the pandemic and have struggled to cope with the return of international travel as a result, some are taking drastic measures in response. Qantas, for one, took the unusual step this week of asking senior managers to volunteer to fill 100 ground handler jobs for three months while it tries to recruit more people. It has also said it will lengthen the connection time for passengers changing between domestic and international flights by half an hour to 90 minutes, to act as a buffer for transiting luggage and delayed flights. Joyce has always had a high profile in a country that still feels a strong sense of ownership toward its national airline. But his recent troubles started at the baggage carousel. Qantas itself says it is mishandling — or losing — nine of every 1,000 pieces of luggage, roughly twice the normal rate. This is adding to flight delays because passengers are trying to cram more bags into the cabin instead. These problems, along with unusual levels of flight cancellations because of staff shortages and absences due to illness, mean that passenger frustration is running high, particularly after Joyce commented in April that travellers were “not match fit” and that there were long queues in airports because people were forgetting to prepare their hand luggage properly for security.Other statements have been much more emollient. Earlier this week he admitted: “While there are lots of good reasons why, the simple fact is our operational performance hasn’t been up to the standard our customers are used to, or that we expect of ourselves.” Story has more.<br/>
