“Positioned to grow”: Qantas new SVP of Asia talks market share, cabin upgrades and the Qantas Channel

Back at the end of June, Qantas unveiled John Simeone as its new senior vice president for Asia and Papua New Guinea, based in Singapore. With a remit to guide the Aussie airline’s commercial, financial and operational performance across Asia (not including Japan), Simeone has moved from his previous role, as Qantas head of business and government sales, to take on the position. 

To find out more about the new role, I snatched a few minutes with the seasoned executive to discuss plans to increase profits in the region, the upcoming cabin upgrade on the A380 and  the new booking platform, Qantas Channel.

A smooth segue

First up, how does your new role differ from your previous position?

I have recently moved to Singapore to lead Qantas’ business across Asia. I was previously based in Sydney where I looked after Qantas’ sales to major corporates and the Australian Government on both international and domestic networks.

Asia is an incredibly important region to Qantas, with Singapore being Qantas’ largest hub outside of Australia. I join the team in Singapore at a particularly exciting time. We have recently opened our Business Lounge at Singapore Changi and a new First Lounge will follow in November. The Airbus A380, which flies through Singapore, is undergoing a major cabin upgrade, with the first aircraft of our fleet to be in service in September.

Has the transition been a smooth segue or a steep learning curve?

Travel is a complex and rapidly evolving industry, so there is always something new to learn. I am fortunate to work with a great team in Asia, and with the strong support of our people at our Sydney HQ, I believe we are well positioned to seize the growth opportunities offered by Asia.

What are the personal qualities, which you think, will make you a success as the new senior vice president?

Having worked in aviation for 25 years in a variety of roles, including Network Scheduling, Pricing and Yield, Tourism Development and Crew Operations, I think that humility and the willingness to keep learning are critical to succeed in an ever-changing environment.  I have always been a people-focused leader, I enjoy coaching and developing capability within my team. Together with my leadership team, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse work environment and making Qantas in Asia a great place to work.

“50% of the 9.3 million international visitors to Australia came from Asia”

What excites you most about the role?

The growth opportunities offered by this region are very exciting. Research shows that Asia Pacific is set to lead the growth of global passengers, making up nearly half of the world’s air travellers by 2037. Asia is also a key inbound market for Australia. In the year ending March 2019, 50% of the 9.3 million international visitors to Australia came from Asia. We want to take advantage of this. And with around 50 percent of the Qantas Group’s international capacity dedicated to Asia (up from 30% eight years ago), we are well positioned to grow our business in Asia.

Market development

What plans do you have in place to maximize Qantas commercial potential in Asia?

First, we will continue to leverage our Singapore hub which offers a great solution for customers travelling beyond through Asia, and to London and Europe (including with our codeshares with Finnair and KLM). With Jetstar Asia and our other codeshare partners, we offer great connectivity across the region.

Across Asia, we are also working closely with Australia’s state tourism organisations to attract more international visitors to Australia. For example, our latest marketing campaign Qantas Passenger Perks offers exclusive discounts on iconic Australian activities to customers flying with Qantas, including 20% off Bridge Climb Sydney to 30% off a surf lesson at the iconic Bondi Beach.

On the distribution side, we are closely working with our travel agents and our GDS partners across Asia to modernise the way agencies book fares and deliver personalised experiences to customers through the Qantas Channel. The launch of the Qantas Channel is pretty exciting and is an important milestone in the transformation of our distribution strategy.

Strategy

How does Asia differ as a market to other regions?

Asia is a diverse region comprising both mature and growth markets. With so many different cultures and consumer behaviors, there is no size one fit all approach in Asia. Each market requires a different strategy to address local specificities and respond to local consumer travel behaviors.

However, there is one characteristic that most consumers share across Asia, they are incredibly digital savvy, which is strongly shaping our marketing approach in the region. We have seen considerable growth in our on-line sales recently, in particular those coming from mobile devices.

Finally, Asia is a vast region, which means we can’t fly to every destination. Having partners like China Eastern is key for us to expand our footprint and serve more customers.

What challenges do you perceive up ahead?

We will continue to manage headwinds including higher oil prices, weaker Australian dollar and instability in some markets. We have the right strategy for Asia, with our Singapore hub services performing strongly, so we are feeling confident about this year ahead.

Lounging

Tell me more about the new First Lounge coming to at Changi Airport

This is a pretty exciting development. With the return of the Singapore hub, we are seeing strong demand for travel in premium cabins and an increase in passengers transiting through Singapore. To respond to this, we announced a multi-million dollar investment in our Singapore lounges which will increase our lounge capacity by 60%. We completed the first phase of the investment with the opening of our expanded Business Lounge at Singapore Changi (above) this month.

And, in November this year, we will be opening our new First Lounge, designed to suit the specific needs of transit travellers, with shower facilities, a cocktail bar, open kitchen and menu offerings reflecting the best of Singapore’s vibrant dining culture. Singapore will join Sydney, Melbourne and Los Angeles as Qantas ports with a dedicated First Lounge (below). Both lounges combined will offer seating for more than 800 customers.

And the upcoming the cabin upgrade on the A380?

There is a lot happening at Qantas this year! A major cabin upgrade for our A380 fleet will see a change in the seat mix on our 12 super-jumbos to meet increased customer demand for premium cabins. The business and premium economy seating will be upgraded and our first-class cabin will be refreshed focusing on privacy and comfort. Our first A380 with an upgraded cabin will be in service later this year, stay tuned!

The Qantas Channel

Why is Qantas launching its own channel? What is the knock-on effect to TAs and, finally, the customer?

With the Qantas Channel, we want to empower our agency partners to deliver more enriched and personalised experiences for our mutual customers. Travel agents who have signed up to the Qantas Channel will, over time, be able to offer customers new content, sourced from the NDC-enabled Qantas Distribution Platform (QDP), which is not currently available via traditional indirect booking systems.

Why have you chosen to use Sabre, Amadeus, Travelport, TravelSky instead of just one GDS for Qantas Channel?

We have partnered with all of the major global distribution systems (GDS) to make the Qantas Channel available to agencies globally and we continue to work with other technology partners to deliver the Qantas Channel and QDP content.  Thousands of agencies around the world have signed up to the Qantas Channel, representing around 90% of Qantas’ revenue from trade partners.