Australia's Qantas Airways plans to cut fares and launch an advertising blitz to win back passengers, a newspaper said, after its showdown with unions caused international travel chaos and left almost 70,000 travellers stranded. Qantas flights returned to normal on Tuesday for the first time since it grounded its global fleet last weekend, a deliberate tactic to gain the upper hand over trade unions in a long-running and costly labour dispute. The tactic succeeded in spurring local authorities to order an end to all industrial action on Monday and should ensure a speedy resolution, but it also hurt the Qantas brand and left many passengers vowing to shun the airline in future. Major rival Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA) , which competes with Qantas on a key Asian route to the UK, said its bookings had been strong since the Qantas grounding, especially for flights from Britain to Australia. “Demand has been particularly strong for flights out of the UK and into Australia in recent days,” SIA spokesman Nicholas Ionides said. Aviation and brand experts say Qantas has a huge job to restore confidence in its brand, which has traditionally stood for safety and reliability. “Qantas will cut prices across its international and domestic network, offer grounded passengers special promotional deals, and take out one of the biggest national advertising campaigns in its 90-year history in a bid to win back disenchanted travellers in the lead-up to the peak Christmas period,” the Australian Financial Review said.
