Who Is Really Flying High on Trust?

You’ve probably seen it before.

A brand dominates awareness. Usage looks strong. The numbers say everything is fine.

And then trust enters the conversation — briefly.

We nod. We agree it matters. And almost immediately, the organisation drifts back to safer ground: Reputation. NPS. Engagement. Satisfaction.

Why?

Because most organisations don’t actually know how trust works and tell themselves another proxy measure is "close enough". So when the result shows up, the conversation stalls — and the organisation moves on.

Our latest TrustLogicTracker, focused on major airline brands, makes this painfully clear.

Awareness looks convincing. Trust shows where the work is

Take Qantas.

Qantas has the highest awareness of any airline in the study. It also has the largest base of regular flyers and the lowest proportion of people who are aware of the brand but don’t fly with it.

That scale matters. It reflects deep familiarity, long-standing relationships, and an enormous opportunity to rebuild.

When we look at reputation and trust more closely, however, we see where the challenge — and the opportunity — sits:

• Among all people aware of the brand, Qantas ranks third for reputation

• Among current flyers, that ranking softens further

• Among non-flyers, Qantas ranks lowest on reputation

This doesn’t mean trust is gone. It means trust expectations are higher — and harder to meet — for a national carrier with such visibility.

Reputation isn’t built only through experience

Now look at Singapore Airlines.

It has one of the lowest proportions of regular flyers in the study. Around half of those who know the brand have never flown with it.

And yet, Singapore Airlines is the most reputable airline — for flyers and non-flyers.

This is where many teams get stuck.

They assume trust is earned mainly through usage. That people must experience a brand before they believe in it.

The data shows otherwise.

Trust forms long before a transaction. It’s shaped by signals — consistency, perceived competence, leadership, and what people believe a brand will do next.

Trust shifts the moment you change the question

Data for current flyers

Ask Australians which airline they trust most overall, and Virgin Australia comes out on top, achieving a trust score of 7 out of 10 — firmly in the “trusted” range.

But overall trust hides what really matters for growth.

When we segment the data into flyers and non-flyers, the picture sharpens — particularly for Qantas.

For current flyers, three trust dimensions matter most:

• Development Trust - confidence the brand will improve and evolve

• Relationship Trust - feeling understood and treated fairly

• Vision Trust - belief in where the brand is heading

This is where Qantas’ trust challenge becomes clear.

Among flyers, Qantas relates well to customers, performing comparatively strongly on Relationship Trust. That relationship foundation is an asset.

However, Qantas ranks as the least trusted airline when it comes to

Development Trust — meaning flyers are least confident in its ability to develop well in the future.

That gap explains much of the current trust tension — and also points directly to what needs to change.

We don’t “just trust” — we trust for specific reasons

This is where trust repair becomes possible.

We don’t trust brands in a single, vague way. We trust for specific psychological reasons.

TrustLogic measures trust across six distinct patterns — the Six Buckets of Trust®. Each represents a different reason people believe in, rely on, or commit to a brand.

When we apply that lens to airlines, the path forward becomes clearer.

For current flyers:

• Singapore Airlines leads on Stability, Competence, and Vision Trust

• Qatar Airways leads on Development and Benefit Trust

• Virgin Australia performs consistently across most dimensions

• Qantas performs relatively well on Relationship Trust, but trails on Development Trust

In other words, Qantas has a relationship to build from — but needs to restore belief in momentum, progress, and future direction.

For non-flyers, Development and Benefit Trust dominate perceptions of future choice. Here again, airlines that signal innovation, improvement, and future value gain the advantage.

If trust drives behaviour, why don’t we measure it properly?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth.

Most of the metrics organisations lead with — Reputation, NPS, Satisfaction, Engagement — are outputs of trust.

Trust determines them. They are NOT proxies for trust.

You can’t lead with the outputs and expect results if the underlying trust isn’t there — or if it’s eroding quietly among key audiences.

That’s exactly what this airline data reveals.

Brands that look strong today may be exposed tomorrow. Others, with lower usage, may be quietly building future advantage.

This matters far beyond airlines

While this study focuses on airlines, the pattern is familiar across many sectors.

For financial services, trust repair often hinges on restoring confidence in future stability and direction.

For professional services, strong relationships must be matched with a clear vision and belief in ongoing relevance.

For not-for-profits, long-standing goodwill can be undermined if supporters lose confidence in future impact.

Qantas’ situation illustrates a broader truth: trust recovery doesn’t start by fixing everything — it starts by fixing the right things.

When organisations understand which trust dimensions matter most to their core audiences, repair becomes focused, measurable, and achievable.

That’s what TrustLogic® helps you do

TrustLogic® is built on the psychological foundations developed with Professor Wilhelm Salber, the father of Morphological Psychology.

It gives organisations a clear view of:

• Where trust has been damaged

• Which dimensions matter most to each audience

• What to prioritise to rebuild confidence in the future

The TrustLogicTracker – Airlines shows that even brands under trust pressure retain powerful assets — if they know how to activate them.

You can explore everything from a two-minute explainer to a one-hour masterclass on our site — or work with us in custom sessions designed for executive teams, brand, CX, comms, and transformation leaders.

Because trust doesn’t recover by chance.

It recovers when organisations understand it well enough to act.

For financial services, trust shapes perceptions of stability, risk, and long-term security.

For professional services, it drives recommendation, credibility, and belief in expertise — often before a conversation even starts.

For not-for-profits, trust underpins donor confidence, advocacy, and sustained support.

In every case, the question isn’t whether trust matters.

It’s whether anyone in the room actually understands it well enough to manage it.

TrustLogic® doesn’t offer warm words or vague sentiment. It provides a precise model of how trust forms, how different audiences process it, and which forces actually drive belief, confidence, action, and loyalty.

You can explore everything from a two-minute explainer to a one-hour masterclass on our site — or work with us in custom sessions designed for executive teams, brand, CX, communications, and transformation leaders.

Because trust doesn’t recover by chance.

It recovers when organisations understand it well enough to act — and when someone in the room knows how to move the conversation forward.

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