Overall this is a great example of using PR and email to directly get to those customers that really matter, the frequent flyer.  More companies should use this approach more often.  Overall, well done … not just fix the maintenance issues.

Here is the email in full …

Qantas has recently experienced major disruptions to our international network. You may have been affected directly or indirectly by the disruptions, or seen the media coverage and speculation about Qantas safety and maintenance standards.

As one of our valued customers, I wanted to be in touch with you directly about this. I want to apologise if you were affected personally by the disruptions. I know that Easter is a special opportunity to unite family and friends, and I sincerely regret any frustration and anxiety you may have experienced due to the delays.

We hate disappointing our customers and we do all we can to rectify matters when things go wrong.

I also want to give you my personal assurance that you can continue to fly Qantas with confidence. Despite some sensational coverage recently, safety was never an issue. There were mechanical issues, but they did not represent safety threats. We always respond conservatively to any mechanical or performance issue, and we always put safety before schedule.

Every year the Qantas Group carries 38 million passengers to their destinations safely and home again. We continue to invest in the best fleet, product and service and in being a great Australian company. All of us at Qantas want to thank you for your loyalty and we look forward to giving you a warm welcome when next you fly.

The premise of the show is simple – you get to see a real airline in action and follow what happens to their customers.  Now in the UK, this show, with EasyJet, does well and EasyJet comes off looking great.   For them, it is a form of publicity that does well.

Tiger Airways is Australia’s #4 carrier (after Qantas, Virgin Blue and Jetstar) and a relatively new player on the scene.  They probably saw the Airways show as a way in which they could rapidly build their brand in the Australian market and differentiate themselves from the other played.

However, this seems to have backfired and backfired badly.  Tiger does not come off well in this show.  For 30 min we saw passenger after passenger stranded at Melbourne airport as flights were cancelled or delayed.  Families were not compensated and the Tiger staff came across as condescending and arrogant.  In once case, a group of people who needed to get from Melbourne to Brisbane resorted to driving … 20+ hours door to door.  Any which way you cut it, this is not good PR for the fledgling airline.

The bottom line is if you are going to use PR, make sure you control the complete process (as best as you can) and that the down side is minimised as much as possible.  In addition, you want to make sure that you control who from your company is in front of the camera.  They are the face of your business to the world.  PR can be very powerful and very cost effective (just ask Richard Branson) however, the downside can be equally damaging.  Tread carefully.