A380 Galley Refrigeration Fault

[BNEFlyer]

Just got this for tonights QF12 ( I assume with VH-OQB)View attachment 337638

Correct.

 

[Andy72]

I have had 2 flights over the last 6 months with this issue. Got a $20 eftpos gift card

 

[Aceskywalker]

Another data point, flew 1st June in J, QF12. Same spiel by crew, fridge not working only toast for breakfast, ended up being a 17hr flight, diverted to Brisbane due to fog… I thought it strange at the time that crew were so fine with it & not remotely apologetic, now I realise it happens so often they’re use to it. It felt like it gave them an excuse to be even less service orientated, I’ve had better service in economy..

 

[chooms]

21 June. QF11 to LAX. Was in F. It basically meant no hot breakfast. Didn't get any pics, but FAs did their best with what they had. Plenty of fresh fruit and bakery goods. Extra stuff throughout the flight (extra meals from lunch, snacks etc). I was able to jag a steak sandwich somewhere near Hawaii though...

 

[jrfsp]

Can you imagine QR, EK or SQ flying weeks on end with a galley fault such as this.

Paying top dollar for QF to get one hot meal!!!

 

[MrJetset]

Can you imagine QR, EK or SQ flying weeks on end with a galley fault such as this.

Paying top dollar for QF to get one hot meal!!!

No. I'm so glad I ditched my QF11 F for EK F with an abundance of food, Dom P2 and feeling full after the flight with several meals.

That's not even to mention the significantly better hard product.

 

[Fifa]

View attachment 337727

“We have tried to rectify the issue”

 

[BrockF]

I have think I have had 3 or 4 A380 flights since May that hasn’t had a second meal. Got a small surprise when actually served breakfast recently. The crew had a knowing smile when I mentioned this is a bit of a shock to get a second meal that isnt just a muffin!

 

[levelnine]

A dismal amount of compensation being offered by QF. It shows you what they think the food they offer is worth.

Spend $10,000+ on a J ticket, get $20 worth of food.

 

[moa999]

Can you imagine QR, EK or SQ flying weeks on end with a galley fault such as this.

If it's a choice between flying with a broken fridge or having to ground (seemingly multiple) aircraft and cancel flights,

Then I think all those airlines would be doing the same.

 

[jase05]

Then I think all those airlines would be doing the same.

Would be interesting to find out if other airlines are having or have experienced the same issues or whether it’s confined at this stage to a couple of QF birds.
If this was a once off or not a regular occurrence I’m sure most people would understand but seems like QF are happy to operate these aircraft with a reduced service and cough up a pretty pathetic compensation.

 

[stm1sydney]

Qantas doesn't care. Rusted-on customers continue to fly with them and take it gooder and harder.

 

[Quickstatus]

,000+ on a J ticket, get $20 worth of food

Should have been $25?

Goes to show the value of celebrity chefs

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Should have been $25?

$25 Qantas e-voucher to be redeemed within 6 months of issue, only valid on Flex fares and above for flights departing Australia.

 

[eastwest101]

If it's a choice between flying with a broken fridge or having to ground (seemingly multiple) aircraft and cancel flights,

Then I think all those airlines would be doing the same.

Judging by the lack of evidence for EK SQ or QR flights operating with reduced long haul food services I would suggest its a case that these airlines usually take their aircraft out of service and fix them or rectify the issue in fleet downtime. Otherwise, if the problem were systematic on other airlines, then there would be frequent reports of it happening online. There isn't so far, so it stands to reason that its not common or not a frequent issue on those airlines.

Yes its legal and fine to fly with some inoperative galley equipment, but it speaks to the airlines priorities about whether relatively trivial but annoying faults are tolerated or not. Actually its trivial to the staff, accountants and management of QF but maybe not so trivial for paying customers?

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Judging by the lack of evidence for EK SQ or QR flights operating with reduced long haul food services I would suggest its a case that these airlines usually take their aircraft out of service and fix them or rectify the issue in fleet downtime. Otherwise, if the problem were systematic on other airlines, then there would be frequent reports of it happening online. There isn't so far, so it stands to reason that its not common or not a frequent issue on those airlines.

I cannot comment on SQ given the fact that they aren't a traveller friendly airline (just ask valued PPS member who got screwed when they dropped lifetime status, the fact that miles expire based on time since accrual, etc.). But certainly for the Middle East airlines, what I will say is they have a high and exacting standard of service and so something like skimping on a meal because refrigeration doesn't work is a no go. If anything, I think airlines like Emirates may very well swap to another (working) aircraft or find an alternative to cater the meals (i.e. bringing on Eskys filled with dried ice) than to skimp on what is considered an important part of the onboard experience. But the difference with Qatar and Emirates is they have a reputation, a good reputation might I add that they want to maintain. Once your reputation is tarnished, then the bean counters will come in and say, well if we skip this one meal we'll save loads of money and it'll only slightly tarnish our already tarnished image.

Yes it's legal and fine to fly with some inoperative galley equipment, but it speaks to the airlines priorities about whether relatively trivial but annoying faults are tolerated or not. Actually it's trivial to the staff, accountants and management of QF but maybe not so trivial for paying customers?

I'm guessing that inoperative galleys are fine on 4 engine aircraft like the A380 where you don't have pesky things like ETOPS to worry about.

 

[eminere]

If it's a choice between flying with a broken fridge or having to ground (seemingly multiple) aircraft and cancel flights,

Then I think all those airlines would be doing the same.

Yes, but are these same problems occurring on those airlines too?

 

[kangarooflyer88]

If it's a choice between flying with a broken fridge or having to ground (seemingly multiple) aircraft and cancel flights,

That is totally understandable if it was a one-off thing. But when we are talking about an ongoing issue that seems to have stretched now for many months, a line needs to be drawn here. I am not an engineer or mechanic, I cannot possibly tell you how long it takes to repair a faulty refrigeration unit in the galley of an airplane. But I think it is reasonable to assume that it could be rectified sometime within the span of 6 months.

You are correct that there is a systemic issue throughout the airlines of over scheduling flights despite the airlines not having the crew nor fleet to support such a schedule. Put another way, many airlines have put out the most optimistic schedules, which will work if there isn't a single aircraft maintenance issue, crews don't call in sick, etc. Of course we don't live in such a fantasy land which is why we are seeing issues of cancellations across the board. There really needs to be penalties on airlines who conduct such optimistic scheduling policies that ultimately leave many of their customers high and dry. This is what regulations like EU261 and Canada's APPR are designed to do, and perhaps something other nations like the US and Australia should consider. I do also remember in the good ol' days (i.e. 2019, pre-COVID) that airlines would have plenty of excess capacity and could easily deal with mechanical issues. I've been on flights back then where they literally swapped aircrafts at the gate and we were delayed maybe 30 minutes. Airlines don't have that flexibility now that every aircraft is being used on scheduled service, there simply isn't a spare to share.

Anyway those are my 2 pennies on this larger issue.

-RooFlyer88

 

[TheRealTMA]

Surely all this shows that one should chose airlines such as EK (and others) who have more reliable maintenance schedules and spare aircraft, rather than QF, especially with the price margin when booking QF?

 

[Danger]

I'm looking forward to the Executive Traveller exclusive on this ongoing issue.

Agree - but you should gave seen the scathing whinges online. It was an 8 hour flight after all, no-one was going to starve...

Actually, it was 50% longer than that, a 12-hour flight, which means at least two meal services.

For those who have flown QF recently I think a $20 food voucher to spent at an airport restaurant would greatly exceed the catering quality one would find on their flights!

-RooFlyer88

I have had 2 flights over the last 6 months with this issue. Got a $20 eftpos gift card

Imagine the size of the mesclun salad you could make with that sort of coin!

A dismal amount of compensation being offered by QF. It shows you what they think the food they offer is worth.

Spend $10,000+ on a J ticket, get $20 worth of food.

Indeed. It's a joke.

“We have tried to rectify the issue”

Tried so hard we've now developed a template response we can cut-and-paste for every flight.

If it's a choice between flying with a broken fridge or having to ground (seemingly multiple) aircraft and cancel flights,

Then I think all those airlines would be doing the same.

I think the insinuation is those other carriers would actually put their shoulders to the wheel and got a fix quick smart.

25 Qantas e-voucher to be redeemed within 6 months of issue, only valid on Flex fares and above for flights departing Australia.

"Must be redeemed in one purchase. Residual value forfeited."