Almost had enough. Is VA flight service sliding?

[lovestotravel]

IMO the crew do the best they can with what they have. Lets remember these guys do more than what we see. They clean the toilets and the cabin on turnarounds, theyre expected to check catering and prepare and present the cabin for the next sector, run from aircraft to aircraft, do this and that, much of which QF crew are never expected to do. Infact I was told that VA instructs the pilots to turn off the Air Con on the ground during a turnaround to save fuel. Poor crew having to clean and tidy up after us in those conditions. By the time we arrive at the door, I cant imagine what is going through their heads! Its to be expected they the minute they can eat or have some privacy behind a curtain that they do. They probably do feel like theyd prefer we weren't there - but thats not their fault. We have to fault management.

Do the VA crew really still have to clean the aircraft themselves ?

If so that's very poor and stinks of a LCC and explains why the FAs seem so tired

Inconsistent crew/food is the main reason I gave Virgin the flick and I haven't looked back (except for a few flights where they were 1/2 the price of Qantas)

 

[jetlagger]

Very well said AirlineGuy - you make some great points there... a perfect summary really! I will just add that I particularly agree with "the crew do the best they can with what they have" - they're always polite, but whenever I speak to them, they always seem to have their mind in two or three other places (and kudos to them for having the ability to do that) - they are just overextended, and it's now easier to observe than ever.

I totally agree & always suspected that case..

Sure hope someone from VA with some sensibility & nous is reading & absorbing these important points of concern.

 

[lovestotravel]

Sure hope someone from VA with some sensibility & nous is reading & absorbing these important points of concern.

Not sure anyone from management is going to care!

Are loads and yields increasing ? Yes, so VA is doing something right....

 

[jetlagger]

Not sure anyone from management is going to care!

Are loads and yields increasing ? Yes, so VA is doing something right....

Yes.. For the detriment of the staff & less than satisfied clientele it appears.

 

[lovestotravel]

Yes.. For the detriment of the staff & less than satisfied clientele it appears.

Which is sad but then again it's not like Qantas is really looking after their staff or long-haul staff in particular....

 

[AirlineGuy]

Not sure anyone from management is going to care!

Are loads and yields increasing ? Yes, so VA is doing something right....

Imagine what they could achieve with a little bit of tweaking and listening to the Customer. Listen to their staff as well for that matter!

 

[Blackswan]

I've also noticed a decline in service standards on the Coast to Coast service, particularly in J.

When it was first rolled out, the crew were enthusiastic and engaged. On the last few flights I have taken with them, I got the impression that the crew couldn't have cared less, and wanted the service over as quickly as possible to eat in the galley.

Recently took a J PER-MEL-PER trip with QF (first in a while) and was pleasantly surprised.

 

[DAC1]

Im glad someone brought up the moving seats on VA issue. After flying almost exclusively in QF J for over 10 years up until last year, I gave VA some business. I bought a flexi fare and selected 5A and everyone on my side of the plane A-C (im pretty certain from memory it was the same on the other side too) between rows 5-10 had a spare seat in the middle (B). It was great, no one else intruding on our space. I was then shocked to see whilst the aircraft was pushing back the passenger in 5C left and swapped with 2 other passengers who would have at least been 10 rows back. I had never seen this before in all my flying. They also both took flexi meals. I didn't think too much of it until I was on my next two DJ flights (SYD-NAN) and the same switching seats business happens. There is only a plethora of reasons I can think of as to why passengers should be required to remain in their assigned seats as on their boarding pass. Until I hear of a substantial improvement I think I'll have to stick to QF, where I've never seen anyone switch seats ever.

 

[anat0l]

Might need some old veterans to comment on this, but in the QF/AN heyday (well before AN was regarded as being in trouble), is the current colourful clashing dichotomy we are seeing between QF and VA a replication of those days?

In those days, did people often b***h and moan about their "own" carrier and always want to jump? Or was it a very different (perhaps more passive) dynamic (possibly also a function of the infancy of alliances, Any Seat Awards, online check-in and other facets that we enjoy today)

 

[RWJ777]

I agree with the sentiment here. I have noticed that VA is becoming increasingly hit and miss in the J stakes, whereas I've had some terrific QF experiences in last few months. Is VA losing their mojo -- or maybe QF finding a little Celtic charm?

The outcome is that I won't fly VA J again for a while -- too unreliable a proposition whereas QF is consistent.

 

[jetlagger]

Might need some old veterans to comment on this, but in the QF/AN heyday (well before AN was regarded as being in trouble), is the current colourful clashing dichotomy we are seeing between QF and VA a replication of those days?

In those days, did people often b***h and moan about their "own" carrier and always want to jump? Or was it a very different (perhaps more passive) dynamic (possibly also a function of the infancy of alliances, Any Seat Awards, online check-in and other facets that we enjoy today)

But 'back in the day" there was a tremendous amount of reciprocated loyalty between (in this case) the customer & chosen airline,, much as perhaps were you a Holden or Ford man/woman.
The choice factor for products & services were limited in comparison of today.
Evidently, fast forward a century & generation, where loyalty & building up a long term & well respected repore between clients & businesses is sadly no longer the normal MO, & the modern day consumer has evolved into a price savvy strategist with limited consideration for the longevity of the business & or service employees.
& this theory realistically operates in reverse as we well know.

 

[amagz]

To be honest I'm not sure what the issue is. I always get a "welcome back Mr Amagz" when boarding. I never had my name and status announced over the PA and had a standing applause by those in the plane, nor do I expect it. I have always received flexi meal and mostly my J experiences have been great. Especially on the A330 MEL-PER which was amazing. IMHO for every 19 flights with VA are great and 1 something will not go my way. Take the mostly good with the occasional bad. Send them a constructive email and you may be pleasantly surprised. Prefer that than the 10min self indulgent pre flight travollta/Olympic video and some nasty women wearing a boomerang silk dress demanding me to turn of my iPhone off despite the cabin doors being open and waiting another 20mins for the "paperwork to arrive". VA is making some changes for hopefully the better. My only criticism would be a lack of communication on some of the bugs. All they need to do is say yeh it's stuffed but where trying to fix it.
Personally I am happy to work through some minor frustrations. I am on my way now to the airport for my Y trip MEL-PER and I am looking forward to it.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Imagine what they could achieve with a little bit of tweaking and listening to the Customer. Listen to their staff as well for that matter!

Like?

It seems from what you have said, the crew are stuffed. The fix would appear more staff (cleaning staff perhaps) but across all flights every day, this would be a huge expense, not just a little tweaking. Even going full F&B for all would be an expense that would have an impact (but I have to also say, they're charging the full service fares so it's more than time for them to change that).

 

[Deleted member 29185]

in the QF/AN heyday (well before AN was regarded as being in trouble), is the current colourful clashing dichotomy we are seeing between QF and VA a replication of those days?

It was very different back then. AN and QF were essentially an identical product. Identical routes, identical flight times, identical fares, identical F&B etc. As has been commented upon, it really came down to a Ford or Holden type decision. I wasn't a status pax back then, so I cannot comment on lounge offerings, but the on board offerings on both carriers for all Y pax were very similar to what is now offered up as these "special" J meals. Mind you, fares were very expensive as well and I don't want to go back to those days.

 

[eosphoros]

FWIW, I also can't stand the audio recordings that are used (particularly the one to prepare the cabin for landing). It just feels so impersonal and mundane - as opposed to one of the crew making the announcement, which adds a personal touch.

I don't fly VA often but when I do, I find this irks me as well. I'm not sure if they still do this, but what is worse is the advertisement for their car hire partners; or rather, the advertisement reminding me that they really aren't a full service carrier just yet, no matter how many times they call themselves one.

 

[serfty]

It was very different back then. AN and QF were essentially an identical product. Identical routes, identical flight times, identical fares, identical F&B etc. As has been commented upon, it really came down to a Ford or Holden type decision. ...

More to the point, fares were artificially high, so there was a lot of money to be apportioned between profit, catering, facilities, employees etc.

In 1985, these cheapest "Super Apex" fare between MEL and SYD was ~$210 return - back then $210 would buy a lot of Big Macs ...

 

[Deleted member 29185]

More to the point, fares were artificially high, sol there was a lot of monoy to be apportioned between profit, catering, facilities, employees etc.

In 1985, these cheapest "Super Apex" fare between MEL and SYD was ~$210 return - back then $210 would buy a lot of Big Macs ...

Yes indeed, the dreaded duopoly! I remember Flying MEL-PER rtn for my friends wedding in '83. The cheapest of cheap fares I could buy was $560 rtn (that was on TN and there was no point looking for cheaper with AN). That was 30 years ago, I'd hate to think what inflation has done since and I can even now buy cheaper than that and the only extra I got was a dinky airline meal!

 

[pangwen]

Had a mixed experience this morning in J from BNE->SYD. I was travelling with SWMBO (both in casual clothes - me in a polo, jeans and sneakers; her in something similar). The other two J passengers on the flight were in business shirts and pants.

Pros:
- Lounge was great, I was particularly impressed with the pancake machine. The staff were very courteous, and very willing to help. In particular, the staff were very patient with my SO making her extra-complicated coffee order (don't ask)
- Priority boarding worked very well. We came to the gate in the middle of boarding, and managed to skip the entire queue. The PB queue was self-policed, and we jumped straight to the front.
- Priority baggage worked reasonably well. While we weren't the first bag, we were among the first 10.

Cons:
- When checking in, I went to the priority check-in counter. The agent checked my card (I'm still a PS with Velocity), typed a few things and said "Sorry, you're not allowed to check in here. You have to be at least Gold". Say what? I persisted, and said that I was allowed due to flying business. Perhaps it was the early hour, but we managed to get that sorted.
- On board, the other two passengers were offered (and given) newspapers. We were a little puzzled why we weren't asked. When we politely queried this a few minutes later, the crew seemed surprised, and said that they had run out of papers. We eventually received a copy of The Australian (no choice of paper was provided) with a torn front page. I wasn't fussed, but my other half said she felt a bit insulted at the snub (which I thought may have been inadvertant).
- Things weren't going too well for my SO, she's allergic to milk and macadamia nuts. We tried putting in allergy info into our booking earlier, but with the system meltdown caused by Sabre and the SEQ storms, we didn't have time to chase this with the call centre and decided that there would at least be one option suitable for her. Unfortunately, both J meals had dairy products, as did many of the economy menu options offered. We tried ordering the muesli bar, but that had macadamia nuts in it. In the end, she settled for eating the fruit from my J meal (the fritatta, which wasn't anything to write home about).

 

[oz_mark]

More to the point, fares were artificially high, sol there was a lot of monoy to be apportioned between profit, catering, facilities, employees etc.

In 1985, these cheapest "Super Apex" fare between MEL and SYD was ~$210 return - back then $210 would buy a lot of Big Macs ...

with a 3 day minimum stay, one of which had to be a Saturday, etc etc etc

 

[jetlagger]

with a 3 day minimum stay, one of which had to be a Saturday, etc etc etc

Oh gosh.. You are making me feel nostalgic.. inspiring flashbacks to a bygone era, of certain rule & higher airfares, though attractive unhurried airports & kind FA's & much fewer delays.
I only have the memories..