Qantas
4,582 reviews
AI reviews summary
Recent feedback for Qantas indicates a significant divide between high-quality in-flight service and a systemic failure in customer support and operational reliability. While individual crew members are frequently praised for their professionalism and empathy, these positive experiences are overshadowed by recurring reports of technical glitches, unresponsive offshore call centres, and a perceived lack of accountability regarding cancellations and refunds.
Pros
- Exceptional Frontline Staff: Multiple reviewers highlighted specific cabin crew and ground agents who went "above and beyond" with genuine kindness, particularly when assisting parents with infants or managing medical situations.
- Premium Lounge Experience: The First Class and Business lounges in major hubs like Singapore and Melbourne continue to receive high marks for food quality and atmosphere.
- Efficient Domestic Recovery: In some instances of domestic cancellations, the airline was praised for "seamlessly" rebooking passengers and providing ground transport to alternative airports.
- Operational Smoothness: When flights proceed as scheduled, users noted "impeccable" boarding processes and "stunning" landings on newer aircraft routes.
Cons
- Inaccessible Customer Service: A dominant complaint involves offshore call centres with long wait times (often exceeding 2 hours), language barriers, and agents who lack the authority to resolve complex booking errors.
- Frequent Flyer Program Devaluation: Long-term members report significant frustration with the "Classic Plus" changes, citing "worthless" points, hidden fees for reward bookings, and a lack of transparency regarding seat availability.
- Operational Instability and Cancellations: Recurring issues with "ghost flights," last-minute cancellations without notification, and being "palmed off" to Jetstar flights despite paying premium Qantas fares.
- Substandard Cabin Maintenance: Numerous reports of "ancient" aircraft with broken seats that won't recline, non-functional entertainment screens, and unreliable onboard Wi-Fi.
Verdict
Qantas appears to be struggling with a disconnect between its premium branding and its actual service delivery, with many loyal customers now viewing it as a "budget airline at premium prices." While the "Spirit of Australia" is still occasionally felt through its dedicated frontline employees, the airline's reliance on dysfunctional digital systems and offshore support has severely eroded consumer trust.
Booked a Business Class flight from the Gold Coast to Heathrow, connecting through Sydney. Upon arrival at the Sydney Domestic Terminal, I was advised that a transfer to the International Terminal would be arranged. However, after approaching the Qantas desk, I was simply told to take the T2 bus myself. The staff member at the desk appeared… Read more
uninterested in assisting and made no effort to organise the transfer that should accompany a Business Class booking. This is not the level of service one expects when paying for a premium fare.
Unfortunately, this experience seems consistent with Qantas’ declining reputation, so perhaps this is now standard. Nonetheless, it was disappointing and far below the service level advertised for Business Class travel.
Did complete their end of trip survey and again, they could not be bothered to respond.
Photos show the appalling state of the toilets and showers in the Business Class Lounge at Sydney Airport. Dirty stained toilets, mouldy showers and dirty sinks....felt cleaner before I went in! Show details
- +4
I recently took four Qantas flights - two regional on a Dash 8 and two between capital cities. In three of the four flights, one of which was business class, the tray table had not been cleaned - in the two Dash 8 flights they were disgusting. Also on one of the Dash 8 flights the magazine was torn and dirty, and so was the safety information card… Read more
which had some kind of dried goo clumped on the bottom edge.
I don't appreciate being wedged into a seat and having to face that kind of filth for an entire flight, let alone eat a snack off it. Qantas seems to have abandoned its commitment to providing a sanitary space for its passengers.
Reviews with attachments
Qantas, no longer the spirit of Australia – Qantas used to be my airline of choice, though in recent times each of my flights in recent times have been delayed. Today flying out of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, my Qantas flight was delayed due to 'sever weather' in Perth, the very same weather than had no impact on two Virgin flights departing and landing and leaving on time from the same destination. Maybe this is why all our flights are delayed. Show details
What has happened to one of the greatest Australian icons? – I’ll start my review with summing it up - I’m ashamed about what has happened to our national airline - the face of Australia in the skies. Let’s start with a good - there is only one thing - safety record. That’s about it. The bad: 1. They are significantly more expensive than competition 2. They don’t care about their customers and employees.… Read more
3. If you ever will try to contact their customer support you either won’t get through or will not be helped. 4. 4. One of the poorest customer support I ever experienced. 5. If you have no straightforward easy resolvable problem they won’t help you and there are no ways to escalate problems within Qantas. 6. Some of their services are not linked and they won’t take accountability for that. E.g. you may buy a lounge pass, the lounge might need to close (during your allowance to be in there). They will kick you out and won’t reimburse you. 7. They will sell you a ticket on their website with QF number which may be share coded with another airline and Qantas will take no responsibility if anything will go wrong with that flight and logistics around it.
With my approach to support local/Australian made goods first after having a couple of significantly negative experiences with Qantas I’m making my conscious decision to stop purchasing any of their products and services. I also do not recommend using them to anyone else until they will change their corporate attitude. Some of my experiences I detailed in attached to this review video.
Qantas would not cancel 2pax for one leg of our booking to fly a week later due to a broken arm 2 days prior and needing surgery. Only offered $1000 to cancel all flights for 2pax that cost almost $6000 (4pax). But on return they cancelled our flights (4pax), couldn’t give extra leg room seats we paid for, only offered a refund and then if we… Read more
cancelled only offer $360pp.
Seems they can partially cancel a booking when suits them but only for absolute min. That you can’t fly home for without more $$$$!
Our flight to destination was fantastic and as booked but the lack of service has made us NEVER choose Quanta’s again! Qantas never notified us of our changes - Bangkok Airways had to!
May as well go with the cheapest carriers!!!!
Another claim for damaged baggage rejected. Unbelievable. We are grateful that the luggage made the tight connection from New Zealand but we are getting regular damage flying Qantas and not other airlines. Show details
I would like to thank the ladies on flight qf133 a very special flight as it was my first and my birthday the ladies made a fuss over me gifting me a key ring and a slice of cake and making sure I was comfortable and calm for the whole flight it’s a credit to qantas having this kind of staff on board it was truly amazing they all did a wonderfull job. Ty Show details
Sydney to Christchurch Overpriced and terrible service. Both flights delayed for over an hour. Ran out of food options on outward flight. Business is truly rubbish TIP : Fly Emirates for same price and massively better experience. Never again! Show details
As a passenger I am always treated as if I am invisible by the airline employees of Qantas. I get on the aircraft and no acknowledgment. I get off the aircraft and no acknowledgement as the hostie always turns to another hostie to talk to them when I approach. I wear neat and good clothes. Qantas is Just a rude airline to do business or travel… Read more
with, in my opinion. This airline I have seen decline in quality customer service since mid eighties where you were respected as a paying passenger to what it is today - a total shame. I have seen some of the rudest interactions ever with passengers and Qantas employees especially in the last ten years - over such small and insignificant matters - way more than I thought I ever would. This review has been made by myself, a former Senior Commercial Pilot, now retired.
- +1
Qantas drop with the quality. Who ever thought that Hot dogs ar good option for meal on the plane? I had stomach problems after this. Show details
Simply one of the worst customer service experiences I've ever had. I spent 3 days calling to add my baby to my flight, almost 2 hours per call, and they resolved my problem? No! Show details
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We recently took a regional Qantas flight from Port Hedland, WA to Perth. Despite the extreme heat at boarding (44 degrees), all of the flight attendants were incredibly kind, patient, and professional. One flight attendant in particular, Claire, truly stood out. She was exceptionally helpful, warm, and thoughtful. After I accidentally spilled… Read more
red wine on my fiancé, Claire promptly assisted us with wipes and soda water, making the situation far less stressful.
Throughout the flight, she went above and beyond, even surprising us with a handwritten card accompanied by chocolates and chips. The card was so personal and detailed, especially considering our brief interactions, and it really made our day.
It’s employees like Claire who create memorable experiences and keep customers coming back. Thank you, Claire, and thank you Qantas for such a wonderful flight experience.
Thanks Claire!
A beautiful experience after a long time in my long haul flight. The crew set tone by being hospitable and emphatic. Cheery and positive crew in economy - Silva, Donna, Melinda and Narelle were absolutely outstanding as they dished out our meal and made our journey memorable. As I stretched my leg they were very hospitable and spoke to me as I… Read more
stood forlorn. Being a cancer patient stretching is important and I for once didn’t feel like I was invading anyone’s space. They spoke to my family and were very hospitable ensuring everyone once was comfortable in the flight. There interaction with everyone was polite and enthusiastic. The plane itself was as every other economy plane so like a car and bus it was a fantastic ride.
The worst customer care absolutely no answer when you complaint I will never book an international flight again in my life. Show details
Current state of Qantas Customer Service wait time: 1 hour 2 mins. This is the current waiting time for a call being put on hold. Highly suggested to use Call Hold Assist (iPhone users) whilst waiting for calls to be answered. Photo evidence attached of time elapsed in calling Qantas phone number 131313. Show details
Disgusting putrid feral food! Paid $1,700 for 2 people to fly ONE WAY from melbourne to darwin and disappointed to say the least! Got food that wasn’t even hot, the potato’s tasted like they had been frozen for 3 years and the chicken honestly made me gag. You can’t tell me this food isn’t left over garbage from somewhere else. I wouldn’t be… Read more
surprised if everyone got sick after this meal!! Worst flight for money. i’ve had better food on every single other airline for 3 times less than this price!
Horrible is an understatement. I transferred points into my Qantas account to book a flight. Their website keeps throwing me a generic error message and won't let me complete my booking. I downloaded the app and it won't let me log in to my account. I've been on hold for over an hour now. I wish I could give 0 stars.
Latest follow-ups
I felt that I should share my terrible experience with Qantas money - they treated me appallingly! I recently applied for a credit card and whilst completing the application was understandably asked to submit either copies of payslips or bank… Read more
statements to prove my salary submission. It also clearly said not to submit personal details such as tax file numbers, etc. At the time I was away in the outback of Australia with at times barely an internet connection / phone signal. I therefore used my initiative by copy and pasting (without any personal information) bank details from two different banks clearly showing 3 weeks worth of my salary for my 2 jobs.
Then I began receiving endless phone calls, SMSs and emails from Manilla telling me that I needed to send them PDF copies of all documents already submitted. I may be female but am not totally st^pid! No way was I sending PDFs of documents containing bank details / tax file number, etc. etc. I had no way of deleting or printing the information, whilst I was away, but the Qantas Money team could not understand what I was saying and continued to endlessly harass me, to the extent where I was left with no option but to raise a complaint to Qantas Money Credit Cards, which was not even responded to correctly!!!! They completely ignored the fact that the complaint was to do with harassment and based the complaint on the rejection of my application - I TOTALLY REST MY CASE! THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY THAT I WAS SENDING THEM 'BY EMAIL TO MANILLA' COPIES OF MY PERSONAL DETAILS CONTAINING DATA THAT THEY DID NOT LEGALLY REQUIRE - THERE WAS NO NEED FOR ME TO SHARE MY BANK DETAILS / TAX FILE NO. ETC - THESE PEOPLE ARE BREAKING THE LAW BY INSISTENTLY REQUESTING THIS INFORMATION!
I am therefore left with no option but to take this matter further to AFCA and OAIC as well as spreading the word on social media (from where I have read some most interesting comments regarding the Qantas outsourced centres, particularly that they do not understand potential customers and simply reject their applications, such as mine.
I have repeatedly requested recordings / transcripts of each and every call I made to / received from Qantas Money as well as a physical copy of the credit report that was run for me - under the data protection laws in Australia, I am fully entitled to receive this information but they simply ignore me. Last Friday I was told the following by [Name Removed], Head of Qantas Money (allegedly!):
"Dear Emma
Thank you for copying me on your email. I appreciate that this experience has been extremely difficult, and I understand your frustration.
I have asked my team to investigate this matter further with the bank, and address your requests. This will take some time, and given the weekend, it will not be resolved before close of business today.
I will reach out to you with an update by COB Tuesday.
Thank you for your understanding as we work through this matter.
Kind regards, [Name Removed] -- [Name Removed] Head of Qantas Money" .......... but you guessed it, I've not heard a word from anyone and still haven't received the paperwork or call recordings!
Please please please stay away from this dreadful company, all they are doing is exasperating potential customers, who will in turn spread the word and tell hundreds of 'non' potential customers, thus damaging the Qantas brand - they disgust me!
I have since applied to Virgin Money and should receive the credit card within the next few weeks - No Manilla outsourcing for them!
Follow-up · Well, as you can imagine, I have got nowhere!!!! I sent the following email to them making it clear that i wanted nothing to do with them from a potential customer point of view, but still wanted copies of my personal information and call recordings and also brought to their attention that the alleged 'Head of Qantas Money had broken ever data… Read more
Setting the bar ever lower! – Recent return international trip on Qantas was remarkable in the fact that with each successive interaction Qantas manages to lower the bar. Far from improving they manage to demonstrate total lack of understanding as to what customers want.… Read more
Management shake their heads (still collecting obscene salaries), while Qantas ratings slide ever downward. Next OS trip already booked with competitor! Congrats, you have trashed an Australian icon!
Follow-up · We have flown Internationally on a number of occaisions since this review each time with a carrier other than Qantas and each time the experience was superior to Qantas. Never going back!
WORST EXPERIENCE EVER – WORST EXPERIENCE EVER....Lost $400 because of their staff stupidity and I am the victim...I cancelled my ticket only after getting confirmation from them that I will get only tax amount refunded(as it was a non-refundable ticket) which they… Read more
confirmed it to be $59.. Later after cancelling the ticket they only refunded $7 and they say it was a mistake from their agent.. Later they listen to the recording and promised that I will get the refund back.. After multiple calls they say they cant do anything.. I need to fill up a form from their website and do the whole process from the beginning.. ..They showed me a nightmare just for $50... Never again with them and I will make sure none of my friends travel with them..
Follow-up · No follow up from them and I still stick to my review of 0 star … worst service ever .. never going back to them and will spread this in my groups too
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Positive reviews
Upon arriving in Sydney after 2 flights which originated in Chicago, I approached a security agent for directions. He did not hesitate, but took my suitcase and showed me where to check it. This agent set my suitcase on the conveyor belt. It was at that time that Agent Jasna Belovukovic began to check me in to my next flight. She then asked me if… Read more
I would like a window seat. I said i would. After Jasna saw that my final destination was Perth, she asked if I would like to fly straight there and not stop in Adelaide. I was so greatful that I began to cry! Before my trip, I was going over my itinerary with an agent in the United States and requested this same change. The agent told me it would cost an additional $900. At that point, i resolved to make the best of my itinerary. Therefore, I wish to thank the Security Agent and Agent Jasna. I reached my destination, Perth, at 3pm not after 9pm.I am very happy with Qantas Airlines and especially the Sidney Staff. Thank You, Rebecca Swerdon, 6881 Trailside Ave. Portage, Indiana 46368
We arrived home early morning very exhausted on a non Qantas flight The check in staff at Qantas Sydney and the supervisor present changed us to a much earlier flight home. They were so helpful and friendly which was greatly appreciated by us Show details
Been travelling with Qantas since 2005 and have been a loyal customer in all my travels accept for the 1 time my brother in law insisted we travel ANZ because we're Kiwis living in Oz and it was a cheaper fare to LA/Vegas in 2013. That was the last time we used the disgusting ANZ and have faithfully used Qantas since around the world and 6 more… Read more
times to the US. As a diabetic and recent stroke recipient, Qantas have been amazing in the delivery of first class service in flights, connecting international/national and general care of their customers. Keep up the great work Qantas, you're a credit to your country!
Negative reviews
Booking a return flight 1 passenger with qantas brisbane to bali $1880 Flight is operated by Jetstar their parents company Jetstar charging $1100 same flight Im a qantas gold member and this is how they treat their loyal members charging $750 more even thought qantas are the carrier Qantas told me to ask jetstar why their price is cheaper than… Read more
qantas....[Content Removed]....Qantas are the ones who should be justifying their prices, ripping off qantas users.
What a disgrace!!!
A flight from Christchurch to Melbourne on a 747-800 plane. I am not sure why Qantas would still use this plane? There was a lot of minuses and a few pluses. Not kidding you, many of the seats were ripped at the top and frayed. No charging ports in economy. Oh yeah, no entertainment system either, as the plane is so old. There were drop down… Read more
mini tvs like in the old days to show emergency and safety messages.
The Qantas app was offered on your own devices for entertainment. Issue was, I needed to charge my device and with no port on the old and frayed seat. Not possible.
The meals have definitely been subjected to shrinkflation. The main meal was nice a chicken salad, a cracker box and that’s it. You received a Kit Kat later for dessert.
Lucky for me, my flight was purchased early and on sale. If you were paying business class or top dollar for economy. You would have felt even more disappointed.
On the plus side, the crew were amazing.
Bear in mind when booking trans-Tasman flights. I would avoid the 747-800 planes. It was like the plane had been purchased from the op shop. Worn and tatty but stilled worked ok.
Just amazing, flying QF409 this morning. Flight is literally 50-60% full and I am forced to check my carryon (which is within dimensions and fits under the seat in front of me) because it weighs 11kg, 1kg ‘overweight’. I get carryon is an issue for airlines. In my experience as a FF it is the people with oversized carryon who also have a briefcase… Read more
backpack and sometimes a personal handbag the size of an IKEA bag. One bag and ‘overweight’ by 1kg ….. sorry I could not give you zero stars
Recent reviews
I booked a Qantas flight using Points + Pay expecting a reduced cash fare. Qantas deducted my points, but I still charged the full cash amount no discount applied. Extremely poor system!!!
Qantas international lounge refusing guest passes because the lounge is undergoing renovations. As always, highly dissapointing staff interactions and corporate decisions. Show details
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