What’s in a brand?

My family and I flew on a Qantas from Sydney to LA and back in May for a short holiday.

Remarkably, both flights left on time, they weren’t cancelled due to the discovery of rats on the aircraft, we didn’t divert into Noumea on the way home, all our bags came out at both ends unscathed, and we experienced no engine failures, or any other mechanical mishaps.

For all the misadventures of Qantas in the media of late, the flights were a showcase for all that is good about Qantas. Both flights were on A380s, which were clean, modern, comfortable (well, as comfortable as economy class for 14 hours can be), the Panasonic IFE systems worked perfectly (and were loved by our kids), the cabin crews, especially the crew going over to the US, were friendly, professional, and engaging with our young daughters, and the checkin staff were cheerful and proficient.