How I Saved Qantas Millions Of Dollars

In 2008 I saved Qantas millions of dollars when it claimed to be the world’s most experienced airline and couldn’t prove it to British authorities.

So here is the story and the letter that saved Qantas.

From time to time, I have been banned by airlines participating on media trips or they won’t assist me to get you a general meeting. The reason? They don’t like what I write or say on TV so I fall out of favour for a while.

I have been banned over the years by Ansett, Air New Zealand, Airbus, Cathay Pacific Airways and Qantas – three times.

At this particular time in 2008 I was banned from Qantas, however on April 8, the General Manager of Government and International Affairs David Hawes rang me and said “Geoffrey we’ve got a problem and wondering if you can help us.”

I said certainly David be delighted to help and he explained that the airline was launching an advertising campaign in the UK saying that it is the world’s longest continually operating airline and the Advertising Standards Association of the United Kingdom, the ASA, required proof, which Qantas not provide.

I responded that I could confirm this and did so that afternoon on my Air Transport World letterhead and the campaign went ahead.

But that wasn’t the end of the story and in September of that year, when I was still banned, David rang me again and said that the airline had run into another sticky problem as the airline’s marketing department had added the words “most experienced” to the “world’s longest continually operating airline” slogan.

That “most experienced” claim provoked an uproar in the UK with the ASA bombarded with complaints and was now asking the airline to justify the claim.

Qantas had responded with three reasons – first around the world, first with the 707 outside the US and first woth business class. Those claims didn’t pass muster and thus David Hawes reached out to us.

My wife Christine and I spent the day sifting through our files and came up with 28 firsts or seconds the airline could claim and it won the case.

We didn’t charge the airline for any of the work we did.

Here is the letter listing all the firsts or seconds and restating the claim that it was the world’s longest continually operating airline.