Best and worst experiences in Y class

[kamchatsky]

Best Y:
EK Y AKL-SYD on A380 last year. Very wide and roomy Y, lots of food and also fantastic ICE!
SQ Y SYD-SIN on 77W 2 years ago. Not as much seat pitch as EK A380 but food and IFE is fantastic, not to mentioned the excellent service from FAs!
I haven't put CX Y only because of the hard shell seats .... have good and not so good experience with it. Everything else is good though.

Worst Y:
UA Y SYD-LAX/SFO-ORD, in 2003. It was for work and after the hideous long trip, I started work at ORD next day! Very tired, completely jetlagged, no entertainment and very average FAs. Coming back to SYD seemed to be better for my body as it was all nighter for 14 hours from LAX/SFO. The only saving grace was that on one leg to SFO I got upgrade to E+ and the whole row to myself but I still could not sleep as the B747 was very loud.

 

[solonomad01]

My Husband and I had flown Garuda happily for many years one night arrived at Denpasar Airport in a slow moving queue for a flight to Sydney leaving just over midnight. The check in clerk was in a very bad mood. Annoyed it appeared that we were not ever weight and did not have carry on baggage this seems to increase his irritation. He then took both our passports and issued boarding passes for the centre four blocks of seats in off the corridor in different rows. We at that stage were in our late 70's and my husband said say nothing and accepted the passes this seemed to add to the clerks fury and he thumped our passports and passes back to us. Later when we were boarding - my husband is 6ft 3 so leg room was important. Also at our age to be able to get up and access the loo is important. I worried and my husband said relax all will be well. I was so agitated till we finally boarded - as we did the Senior Cabin Staff took our boarding passes - looked at us and said - please wait over here and made a space for us. The flight was not full and when he got a break in people loading he said just sit here and shortly put us in two seats together and said I will write a report on the officer that gave you these seats and I apologise for the stress involved before boarding. We had a pleasant flight back My husband had bladder cancer and died almost a year ago and still when I can I still fly Garuda and have no complaints and only fly economy. Going over for Easter to attend a wedding and doing a return to Amsterdam later in this year. Find the cabin staff often under pressure and very busy. Yet to find anyone of them not respond pleasantly to a smile and a thank you.

 

[apj01]

I lived in London for a few years and was always shooting off to Euroland for short breaks. Two flights with BA convinced me never to fly them again. Each time I spoke to the cabin crew with my 'colonial' accent, you could almost see the bad smell appear under their nose - and I do not have broad Aussie accent. The cabin crew were just rude and condescending. After that, I happily spent more to fly any other airline. BA really does stand Bloody Awful.

 

[ian_baker58]

Unfortunately, QF has pretty much dispensed with AU crews beyond SIN on the Kangaroo route to London these days - with UK based crews doing the SIN-LHR route nowadays! That said, the UK based crews seem to be pretty good in my experience.

The sad thing about QF these days in Y is that the service depends on the crew. If they are in a good mood - then the service is pretty good. If someone is having a bad day - its a horror flight! (based on 30 plus years of QF experience). Fortunately most of my recent experience has been in J (sometimes F) but the odd occasion I have endured Y - its been 'just' ok...

Pitty the QF management has lost the plot on how good a premium airline can be (in classes other than F and J)...

 

[amaroo]

Worst that turned into pretty much the best!

Continental, BNE-GUM 1989. Over booked, told no seat, complained & then allowed to sit in the bar lounge area (yes, they still had them back then) of the plane Then the bar opened....just about everyone moved to the front of the plane & proceeded to hit it.

We hit turbulence - the lounge area emptied and we were left by ourselves....drinks continued with the crew (some of them) and we landed feeling very happy.....the return flight was close to being the worst when the oxygen masks were dispersed.

 

[Maggs]

I can't believe I am writing this but recently JQ7 Mel - Singapore A330-200. Can't fault it, mind you it was only 60% full, new plane, USB slot to watch my own movies on the IFE etc, spotlessly clean. Mind you coming back an older plane, but got 4 hours sleep so not too bad. Used my Android for entertainment.
Another goodie: QANTAS A380 Row 80A or K...can't complain, had these seats 3 times.Also like Malaysian Airlines, older planes, but great seat pitch.

 

[ozmille]

worst must have been Aeromexico CDG-MEX old aircraft, very unfriendly staff (very un-mexican)
best whY flight... the one where you get the beep at the gate

 

[Shelf]

QF SYD > LAX. We had exit row seats facing a jump seat (?). We got chatting to the FA and received excellent service throughout the flight! Feeling seedy upon arrival was the only downside.

One of my children has some medical issues: every time we fly (usually QF) we always get great service from the FA's.

 

[possumFF]

I fly to Europe at least twice a year, always in Y (I'm paying myself). Emirates & SIN are my favourite, but QF is generally cheapest. I was discussing with a QF purser recently & he claims that there are less cabin staff than other airlines (hence harried staff while cattle are sitting with empty trays for hours) & the removal of toilets to squeeze in extra seats. I have always wondered why the toilet queues on QF seem to be longer - I guessed it was the copious Fosters being supplied!
I prefer to fly QF but struggle to justify sometimes.

 

[Robmn]

Worst, 747 Domestic leg BNE-SYD, had a very large person with my wife (at the time) and I seated together, was pushed up against the Window for the whole flight.
Best Y experience, anytime I get two spare seats beside me and a call button that gets responded to.

This is interesting situation what can you do about it? As a customer you pay for the space and if someone large encroaches into your space.

Looking back over the trips don't thing I have used the call button.

r

 

[Robmn]

Why is it that no matter which airline or travel class the cabin crew always bundy off on flights LAX -SYD. This has happened on four occasions - its not an isolated incident - on one the QF crew were down stairs having a cough session (stewards).

Best trips always depend on the crew. I don't expect much from the crew or have them running after me.

The one that does linger JFK - LAX I think the crew were looking for something to do as there were only a few pax down the back, everyone had 3 or 4 seats to sleep across, Remainder LAX - Syd we had a spare seat between us on a packed plane out of LAX. That started at the counter and seat allocation.

Having used JA on a couple of trips to HNL noticed there service (Star) has deteriorated over time, plus the sparkling planes look tied, bits and pieced falling off around the place. Like the centre console lid.

Worst trips both with BA 747 BKK - LHR and LHR - JFK truly uncomfortable with pathetic crews and true airline food?.

 

[Kit traveler]

Best experience with SQ, worst experience QF

 

[Fantic125]

I must have low expectations. Haven't had a bad flight yet.

 

[ozmille]

I must have low expectations. Haven't had a bad flight yet.

It's easier that way I think, expect nothing and you are happy when you do get something

 

[Allan R]

My bad experience was last July travelling QF from London to Singapore with my wife. The plane was 100% full. The flight attendants (except one) were rude and uninterested in passenger service. My entertainment system didn't work, so I reported it to a male attendant, who I likened to a barman at the Hicksville Pub. He said that he had more important things to do and if he had time he would come back later. Two hours, still no assistance, so I reported it to attendant #2, who at least tried everything to fix it. Then at meal time, I was told that they had run out of meals. After everyone had eaten (except me), Attendant #2 went to business class and got me a meal. He also reported to the Customer Service manager about my entertainment syestem. Just before we landed the CSM came to see me and offered me a gift from duty free as compensation.
Since then, I have flown to Shanghai with QF on 3 occasions and have had excellent service. I continue to fly QF only for FF points (for upgrades) and because I am in the Qantas Club, otherwise I would have flown with another airline long ago. QF still have a long way to go to get their reputation back on track.

 

[sammm]

Worst, 747 Domestic leg BNE-SYD, had a very large person with my wife (at the time) and I seated together, was pushed up against the Window for the whole flight.
Best Y experience, anytime I get two spare seats beside me and a call button that gets responded to.

i'vealso been on a flight home from Israel y class, and had two spare seats. that was one of the few times that i have slept on a plane

antoher time flying to aisa and i had the all the middle seats free. fantastic.

 

[Stephen65]

Worst - Olympic Y class flying Athens - Melbourne: FA's not only spent the whole trip hiding in the galley but when water started running short on the aircraft one stole the bottle of mineral water I had brought!

Best - MAS Y class KL to Melbourne - aircraft almost empty and I had a row of middle seats to myself, slept the entire way

 

[eosphoros]

I rarely fly Y anymore: sometimes for domestic and also for trans-tasman. I find the Y service on Jetconnect really quite good. I would say better than QF mainline. Also Y on QF A380 is not too bad either, especially if you get 80A/K or 71D.

If I had to pick a worst, it would have to be IB from MAD-JFK-MAD. There was no enforcement of rules, kids running wild throughout the cabin, people standing on other peoples' seats, food was exactly the same as in the J Lounge (minus the sauce!!!!! so it was completely dry!!), service was barely there, no AVOD, etc. Never flying them again for mid-long haul if I have a choice. Didn't really have a choice in flying them when I did. They offered QFF points and SCs, lounge access, good connecting times, and it was also the cheapest.

 

[Jmrocky]

Best - South African Airways from NBO to JNB. A340, about 20 of us in the back. Food was great, IFE quality and overall it went like clockwork. Got to see some fantastic lightning storms on the way down to JNB as well.

Worst - BA from SYD to BKK (Recurring theme this seems to be). Crew uninterested, aircraft excruciatingly hot (trying to prepare us for Bangkok?), IFE volume had me holding the headphones to my head for 9 hours, food ordinary, packed to the brim, delayed on the tarmac in SYD for 1 1/2 hrs, turbelence (of course) from pretty much Darwin to BKK meaning sleep was nigh on impossible and the seats just seemed incredibly uncomfortable. Swore off BA after this unless I could help it (well, I have one flight currently booked with but it's only an hr thankfully).

 

[Richard Ling]

Best - SQ from Adelaide to Singapore and then onto Male. Same with return flights. All Airbus 330, and service and food is very impressive. Seats all have 10" screen, USB port, plus power points. For the 4 hours flight from Singapore to Male, they squeezed refreshment and also a full meal in.