An Awful Qantas Experience That Must Be Shared.

[love_the_life]

Yea

h Pushka, i thought twice about putting it like that, but i don’t normally find the males of any age grumpy and disgruntled, or the younger ones of any gender. I have had some wonderful service experiences from middle aged females, but the weighting of unfriendly service definitely lands in the court of the aforementioned group.

Oh I have had some awful male FAs - basically throwing the pre-departure drink, amenity kit and PJs at me before I had even managed to stow my luggage or sit down. Then meal slapped down on tray, slow clearing so left with dishes for ages, then never to be spied again! I don't think you can make a blanket statement about either gender or age when discussing service levels. That's what makes QF such fun - you never know what it's going to be like.

 

[drron]

LTL we have different ideas on what constitutes fun on aircraft.

 

[Quickstatus]

Even in J and F, I would rather they “feed the chooks and turn the light off”

 

[Quickstatus]

Sorry the large font is unintentional. I’ll correct it when I get home

Thanks for fixing the font:

I had written this on the phone using the Notes app and for some reason when I cut and pasted it was too big

 

[serfty]

Even in J and F, I would rather they “feed the chooks and turn the light off”

I'm the opposite - worst is ex LAX back to Oz when it's generally early evening in MEL; I like to stay awake for 3-4 hours. Many times I have experienced (generally) subtle pressure to get to sleep after just a couple.

 

[Quickstatus]

Many times I have experienced (generally) subtle pressure to get to sleep after just a couple.

Yes compliant passengers generally do as their told by the lights. However the personal IFE should allow one to retreat into their little world. Nothing like the lights of an LCD screen to help reset the clocks to load destination time.

I’m always intrigued by the number of people who put on the Jim Jams + eye cover and go right off to sleep as soon as the seat belt sign goes on (not even bothering to eat anything). They would be guaranteed of extra strength jet lag at the other end.

 

[Forg]

I’m always intrigued by the number of people who put on the Jim Jams + eye cover and go right off to sleep as soon as the seat belt sign goes on (not even bothering to eat anything). They would be guaranteed of extra strength jet lag at the other end.

Apart from dehydration, eating never has any effect on my jet lag.
My better half (who's the one who really should be on this forum - I'm not categorisable as "frequent" ) feels ill if she eats a lot of what is served-up onboard, so if she's got access to a lounge with reasonable food she always eats there first.

 

[serfty]

I’m always intrigued by the number of people who put on the Jim Jams + eye cover and go right off to sleep as soon as the seat belt sign goes on (not even bothering to eat anything). They would be guaranteed of extra strength jet lag at the other end.

It can be tough, especially if one has flown from East coast USA/Caribbean that same day.

 

[Melburnian1]

Did the OP ever receive a substantive QF reply beyond the former's specified 15 day timeframe?

 

[Riaan De Jager]

Did the OP ever receive a substantive QF reply beyond the former's specified 15 day timeframe?

Not a peep from Qantas, no.

 

[jb747]

You might be onto something here Riaan - word around the traps is that even senior QF pilots won't fly QF post retirement.

Which has nothing to do with any of the OP’s issues, but lots to do with the fact that staff travel is not what most outsiders believe it to be.

And AFAIK CASA ETOPS requirements mean they have to fly the 747's

My understanding is that even the 380s may have issue on this route. Not from ETOPS, but from cargo hold fire containment limits. Nothing is as simple as it seems

And for the OP, I’ve never met any member of the staff who thinks that anything Neil Perry is any good.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

I guess I should have inserted a as it was very much tongue on cheek as ATPIT I think you were contemplating SQ inter flts rather than QF

 

[Melburnian1]

...My understanding is that even the 380s may have issue on this route. Not from ETOPS, but from cargo hold fire containment limits. Nothing is as simple as it seems...

I may have missed this elsewhere, but on the long routes SYD to JNB and SCL, what equipment will QFi use once its six B744s are no more?

B789s at an increased frequency? Which of these two routes sees an end to B744s first? What date in 2020 will this occur?

Or will QFi also fly PER to JNB and reduce flight frequencies ex SYD?

 

[jase05]

I may have missed this elsewhere, but on the long routes SYD to JNB and SCL, what equipment will QFi use once its six B744s are no more?

B789s at an increased frequency? Which of these two routes sees an end to B744s first? What date in 2020 will this occur?

Or will QFi also fly PER to JNB and reduce flight frequencies ex SYD?

I was under the impression that the A380’s will service SYD-JNB and the 789’s for SCL

 

[Melburnian1]

I was under the impression that the A380’s will service SYD-JNB and the 789’s for SCL

..which begs the question: If the aviator's comment about A388s having at least one unresolved issue for JNB are correct - see above - where does this leave this route?

I have never heard QFi criticise SYD to JNB for being unprofitable. Having a monopoly does not guarantee profits but it's easier to charge QFi's notoriously high fares when alternatives are SQ via SIN or struggling SA via PER.

 

[harls]

I was recently on QF27 from SYD-SCL with my wife (21st December). We paid PE and successfully upgraded with points to J on the 747 upper deck.

We were not unreasonable with any of our requests but service was really mediocre and the flight attendants really made us feel like that they didn’t want to be there (understandable but do your job).
Some Examples:
- we had to ask our drinks to be refilled when it was obvious that glasses were empty and they didn’t even ask
- I asked for a beer and some chips two hours after the initial meal service and was given a weird look. Was told to follow the flight attendant to the gantry to pick what I wanted because “they change their selections all the time”. FYI the only option was Smiths Original.
- meal service was definitely rushed

Compared to the Asian and ME carriers, Qantas definitely isn’t offering a premium product. I do believe that not only do they know this they also know that they can get away with this given their market power within the Australian market and majority of Australian’s inability to move away from the QFF program (myself included).

 

[Melburnian1]

I was recently on QF27 from SYD-SCL with my wife (21st December). We paid PE and successfully upgraded with points to J on the 747 upper deck.

We were not unreasonable with any of our requests but service was really mediocre and the flight attendants really made us feel like that they didn’t want to be there

I was recently on QF27 from SYD-SCL with my wife (21st December). We paid PE and successfully upgraded with points to J on the 747 upper deck.

We were not unreasonable with any of our requests but service was really mediocre and the flight attendants really made us feel like that they didn’t want to be there (understandable but do your job).
Some Examples:
- we had to ask our drinks to be refilled when it was obvious that glasses were empty and they didn’t even ask
- I asked for a beer and some chips two hours after the initial meal service and was given a weird look. Was told to follow the flight attendant to the gantry to pick what I wanted because “they change their selections all the time”. FYI the only option was Smiths Original.
- meal service was definitely rushed

Compared to the Asian and ME carriers, Qantas definitely isn’t offering a premium product. I do believe that not only do they know this they also know that they can get away with this given their market power within the Australian market and majority of Australian’s inability to move away from the QFF program (myself included).

(understandable but do your job).
Some Examples:
- we had to ask our drinks to be refilled when it was obvious that glasses were empty and they didn’t even ask
- I asked for a beer and some chips two hours after the initial meal service and was given a weird look. Was told to follow the flight attendant to the gantry two I wanted because “they change their selections all the time”. FYI the only option was Smiths Original.

Compared to the Asian and ME carriers, Qantas definitely isn’t offering a premium product. I do believe that not only do they know this they also know that they can get away with this given their market power within the Australian market and majority of Australian’s inability to move away from the QFF program (myself included).

Last paragraph absolutely correct. However remember that with Qfi market share of about 25 per cent of passengers overall, even if we falsely assumed that its only passengers were Australians, that would mean one in two of us travelled internationally to or from Oz on a competitor given the roughly 50:50 split as to whether passengers originate here or overseas. It varies by route but on some to Asia and Europe, most Australians do not use QFi, contrary to what the media might imply.

 

[knightfall88]

Good rant and I hope you pass this onto Qantas. The points I believe we can all agree with here is that the hard product for Qantas is extremely weak. Flown with them a couple of times in the last 12 months, they really need some huge improvements. Just echoing OPs points with some details for future flyers.

1. The seats are dated and not very good space wise, storage and arrangement. Worst thing is I hate flying and being in a window seat and not being able to enter the isle when my neighbour is in sleep mode because of the 2-2-2 format.
2. The Sydney International Business Class Lounge is unfortunately one of the worst out there. Extremely crowded, unclean, lacks good food and drinks. The Qantas Domestic Lounges (particularly Melbourne) are superior and the Sydney Lounge should be of this standard.
3. Amenity kit is a write off.

However what I do find acceptable and reliable is the service and food on the flight itself. It's always been quite good for me everytime I fly.

 

[V Singh]

@knightfall88 Looks like Alan Joyce has heard you. In response to your point 2, both Sydney Q-Bus Lounges are to be upgraded soon

Here is Qantas’ lounge roadmap for 2024

Look forward to a series of all-new lounges plus long-overdue refreshes…

www.executivetraveller.com

 

[harvyk]

@knightfall88 Looks like Alan Joyce has heard your point 2. Both Sydney Q-Bus Lounge is to be upgraded soon

Here is Qantas’ lounge roadmap for 2024

Look forward to a series of all-new lounges plus long-overdue refreshes…

www.executivetraveller.com

I'll believe the international J lounge when I see it.
Given SYD is supposed to be the "gateway to Australia", it's rather a shabby experience when you consider what some people are paying for a J ticket.