QAN rallied 4.8% on Monday as new CEO Vanessa Hudson looks to revamp its loyalty (points) program. They offered 20 million new reward seats in an effort to win back a disgruntled public – the estimated cost being $120mn in FY25. One such person was our very own Research Lead, Shawn, who brought tickets to Tokyo straight away. He commented that the points had been devalued around 8 times, but at least he could now use them. They are no longer useless when it comes to buying plane tickets during school holidays. It’s a net rare win-win, in his opinion, as the liability can slowly come off the balance sheet while customers feel much happier than they did a month ago, i.e. she’s already gaining in popularity!
We believe the new CEO has started off well and looks on track to restore the airline’s damaged reputation – all they need now is to be more competitive on price! Since Alan Joyce’s abrupt departure, regulators and the press have fortunately been focused on the supermarkets, allowing Hudson to do her job and start steadying/turning the ship as she looks to balance customer satisfaction with shareholder returns.
- We like what Hudson brings to QAN, but there is plenty of work to do, and we were not excited by the stock as it edges towards $6.
MM is neutral toward QAN
Add To Hit List
