SYDNEY – For some travellers, force of habit and membership of the Qantas frequent flyer programme is the only thing that keeps them flying the national carrier.
This is one of the outcomes in a poll of more than 4,000 flyers by leading consumer group Choice.
Virgin Blue was voted Australia’s best overall airline
The survey of 4307 airline passengers who had flown domestically in the last three years found Virgin Blue had an overall satisfaction rating of 68 percent.
Virgin Blue was nominated best airline overall for economy class, rating significantly above average on most counts, including value for money, seat comfort and booking process
The 2007 winner Regional Express was relegated to second-place, followed by Qantas, Jetstar and Tiger Airways.
Seventeen percent of respondents choose Qantas domestically because of its safety record, down five per cent on its 2007 score.
Last year Qantas suffered a series of embarrassing mechanical incidents and it popularity would have dipped even further yesterday when a strike by Qantas baggage handlers stranded thousands of passengers across the country.
Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said that while value for money was the clincher for most travellers, the popularity of Qantas’ frequent flyer program has ensured it continues to dominate local skies.
“However, ask people what airline they would definitely recommend to others and the score is 39 per cent from those who’ve flown Qantas but 57 per cent from Virgin Blue passengers,” he added.
