Flying to New Zealand - Who is JetConnect on Qantas site?

[scallops]

Just returned from WLG flew QF171 and 172 in J. Meals were underwhelming, crew very good, wines were good, cabin layout in J just O.K.
The Qantas lounge at WLG is very good and the offerings there were above average.
Enjoyed the first lounge before departing MEL and it is excellent Qantas, staff are wonderful and food is superb but the Jetconnect product for travel, overall, is not worth my hard earned.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

I had my first ever 2 tubs of Kapiti ice cream at the WLG QF J lounge when I did it last Oct.
QF ADL - SYD - WLG - MEL - ADL.
They are very strict about the opening times of the international terminal, the passport control side especially.
So no long suaree in the lounge.
When I did it in October last year, it was raining very heavily. Did it as comfort seat booking that time, not as yet flying J then.
Loved the single layout of the runway though, you know looking out the window which way the plane was going to take.
Flew in the midnight arrival last year, this time am flying into in J WLG during the day with QF via MEL.

 

[BD1959]

Just returned from WLG flew QF171 and 172 in J. Meals were underwhelming, crew very good, wines were good, cabin layout in J just O.K.
The Qantas lounge at WLG is very good and the offerings there were above average.
Enjoyed the first lounge before departing MEL and it is excellent Qantas, staff are wonderful and food is superb but the Jetconnect product for travel, overall, is not worth my hard earned.

Same here - and probably for the same reason ....

Having eaten a good breakfast in the FLounge prior to 171, I only had the small plate and cheese on the way over, the full meal on the way back. I just found the majority of the dishes ... well ... bland.

The tuna ... completely tasteless.

The soup (small plate on inbound) ... thank goodness for the tasty croutons.

The gnocchi (main plate on inbound) ... dry and without taste.

The cheese ... well, you can't really go wrong with cheese. (pics below).

The 30min delay on the outbound turned into an hour - I'd have thought QF would know how long it takes to turnaround a 737 by now. Consequently, the fast-food outlet that doubles as Gate 2 at MEL had become a zoo by actual boarding time and the usual non-enforcement of the priority lane was evident. I disagree with your assessment of the QP at WLG. With two flights worth of passengers it's not possible to get a spot to recharge your phone, I find the offerings there woeful (gin bottles stood around empty, a couple of sandwich options and some pies). When I arrived one of the two on the desk merely held out her hand, took my BP, scanned it and handed it back again. No interaction whatsoever, but then I was interrupting her phone call!! The way one of the lounge ladies rolled her eyes when a guest inadvertently broke a glass took the prize for best emphasizing staff attitude to guests.

Cabin crew were exceptional on the way out - and feedback has been provided to QF per the Bouquets for the FAs thread.

Overall, this was my last JASA and - like scallops - I would consider long and hard before spending my pure hard-earned on J in the future.



Regards,

BD

 

[Deleted member]

I had my first ever 2 tubs of Kapiti ice cream at the WLG QF J lounge when I did it last Oct.
QF ADL - SYD - WLG - MEL - ADL.
They are very strict about the opening times of the international terminal, the passport control side especially.
So no long suaree in the lounge.
When I did it in October last year, it was raining very heavily. Did it as comfort seat booking that time, not as yet flying J then.
Loved the single layout of the runway though, you know looking out the window which way the plane was going to take.
Flew in the midnight arrival last year, this time am flying into in J WLG during the day with QF via MEL.

Not convinced that Soiree is an accurtae way to describe a lounge visit.
but anyway I get your drift

 

[Buzzard]

Having flown JetConnect J SYD - AKL then Emirates J AKL - SYD all I can say about JC is LCC!
YMMV

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

I am sure they do sell Kapiti Coast ice cream elsewhere in NZ, but that was my first taste!
Also my second visit to an NZ based QF "own" lounge, so, soaree or suaree is it.
Considering that the CHC one is run by a partner.
Granted both will never win against the noted QF SYDi F lounge of course, now, that takes the cake. Even just for runway operation views.

 

[RichardMEL]

Having flown JetConnect J SYD - AKL then Emirates J AKL - SYD all I can say about JC is LCC!
YMMV

Absolutely but the crews are pretty good given what they have to work with. TBH you'd only really consider them based on schedule flexibility compared to flying EK, or possibly NZ on their widebody a/c (I am speaking of J travel now).

Obviously EK beats the other two by a wide margin (and the AKL lounge is fantastic and makes the QF lounge look like the poor excuse that it is IMHO) but you only have limited options for flight times etc.

Honestly for a ~3-4 hour flight if schedule is a requirement it's not HORRIBLE (again, in J I am talking) but obviously given a choice most would obviously go for EK or the NZ widebody product and service (they do a decent spread on the trans-tasman on the 777/787 that I've flown on).

 

[BD1959]

Absolutely but the crews are pretty good given what they have to work with. TBH you'd only really consider them based on schedule flexibility compared to flying EK, or possibly NZ on their widebody a/c (I am speaking of J travel now).

Obviously EK beats the other two by a wide margin (and the AKL lounge is fantastic and makes the QF lounge look like the poor excuse that it is IMHO) but you only have limited options for flight times etc.

Honestly for a ~3-4 hour flight if schedule is a requirement it's not HORRIBLE (again, in J I am talking) but obviously given a choice most would obviously go for EK or the NZ widebody product and service (they do a decent spread on the trans-tasman on the 777/787 that I've flown on).

Which is all fine *if* flying SYD-AKL *but* neither EK nor the NZ wide-bodies are options for MEL-WLG ... !!

Regards,

BD

 

[RichardMEL]

Which is all fine *if* flying SYD-AKL *but* neither EK nor the NZ wide-bodies are options for MEL-WLG ... !!

Regards,

BD

True, but NZ flies their wides from BNE and MEL to AKL then one could connect (yeah I know). or again you could take EK from BNE and MEL to AKL and connect. Not really worth it compared to a direct flight for 3-4 hours, but it is an option.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Bit off topic, but to connect from a **wide body**/J class on (Air) NZ, the MCT to transfer from an international flight, to a domestic flight at AKL, for them is quite narrow, 1.5 hrs not including immigration processing, (yes, for an Australian citizen, its quite short, but still-quite short), especially if on the same booking, and you want to earn VR FF points and SC from the NZ flight, esp in Economy - Flexi or J.
Havent looked at the MCT from QF's Jetconnect to JQ NZd though, maybe the MCT is longer for that one.
Granted its good that JC does have J class from Australian to 3 of the major NZ cities, but still flying a wide body plane does have a real flying experience of an international flight, rather than JC/NZ/JQ narrow, which gives an impression of an Australian domestic flight.

 

[Mattg]

Bit off topic, but to connect from a **wide body**/J class on (Air) NZ, the MCT to transfer from an international flight, to a domestic flight at AKL, for them is quite narrow, 1.5 hrs not including immigration processing, (yes, for an Australian citizen, its quite short, but still-quite short), especially if on the same booking, and you want to earn VR FF points and SC from the NZ flight, esp in Economy - Flexi or J.
Havent looked at the MCT from QF's Jetconnect to JQ NZd though, maybe the MCT is longer for that one.
Granted its good that JC does have J class from Australian to 3 of the major NZ cities, but still flying a wide body plane does have a real flying experience of an international flight, rather than JC/NZ/JQ narrow, which gives an impression of an Australian domestic flight.

Sorry, but what's your point exactly?

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

MCT is my point.
Thanks for telling me off!

 

[BD1959]

True, but NZ flies their wides from BNE and MEL to AKL then one could connect (yeah I know). or again you could take EK from BNE and MEL to AKL and connect. Not really worth it compared to a direct flight for 3-4 hours, but it is an option.

NZ - not really an option given I have no Star and very little VA allegiance. Which leaves EK ... the price would need to be right and who would I connect to for AKL/WLG??

Regards,

BD

 

[Christoo]

I hate the surrender of different Routes to JQ.

It's very difficult to fly MEL to CHC without going JQ or via Sydney.
Even if you slum it on Jetstar with the hordes of footy short wearing bogans, the flight leaves at 11pm and arrives at 5am in the morning, which is an appalling time to arrive anywhere.

I have taken the EK codeshare from AKL to MEL numerous times, the QP in AKL is tragic, even the "First" lounge.
Anyway, I flew it weekly for 7 consecutive weeks and got comped into Business 4 or 5 times, no points no anything... It was a nice gesture.
I guess it was a sales pitch for the 380 J class.
It's happened to me a few times on HKG to MEL via ADL, they upgrade you at ADL to PY or J based on status.

 

[RichardMEL]

NZ - not really an option given I have no Star and very little VA allegiance. Which leaves EK ... the price would need to be right and who would I connect to for AKL/WLG??

Regards,

BD

Fair call. I would think if one booked a QF code on an EK flight you'd connect to JQ in NZ, though honestly one could always purchase a separate domestic fare on whatever carrier you liked - a few months back I flew CHC-AKL on NZ coming off a SYD-CHC EK flight but that wasn't an online connection and I had plenty of leeway in there. Far from ideal for the business passenger or someone to whom schedule and time is a real issue as opposed to other priorities that some here (like me, and I suspect the pooch) may have such as maximising SC's, or the EK F cabin, or something that isn't JQ etc.

Clearly everyone's goals will vary.

 

[BD1959]

Fair call. I would think if one booked a QF code on an EK flight you'd connect to JQ in NZ, though honestly one could always purchase a separate domestic fare on whatever carrier you liked - a few months back I flew CHC-AKL on NZ coming off a SYD-CHC EK flight but that wasn't an online connection and I had plenty of leeway in there. Far from ideal for the business passenger or someone to whom schedule and time is a real issue as opposed to other priorities that some here (like me, and I suspect the pooch) may have such as maximising SC's, or the EK F cabin, or something that isn't JQ etc.

Clearly everyone's goals will vary.

EK J to JQ .... let me consider that ... nope!

Regards,

BD

 

[madrooster]

EK J to NZ domestic Y isn't exactly much better...

FWIW QF does offer interline onto NZ domestics. I've seen on quite a few occasions a QF trans tasman flight connecting to a NZ domestic is cheaper than connecting onto JQ NZ domestic.

 

[Altair]

I am considering a JQ WLG-AKL EK First AKL-SYD vv. as my next trip. It cannot be booked online as a single itinerary.
For most of my trips I am happy to pay the I fare for the QF services out of WLG as the schedule and overall travel time suits me, any other Busienss Classfare does not represent the approppriate value IMO.
SO for a WLG based flyer the widebody offerings via AKL just do not really interest me and even if I was AKL based I would be more interested in schedule than waiting for an appropriate widebody eg. LA/EK if it meant wasted time at the destination or return journey.
FWIW since the QF/EK alliance I have noticed and it was confirmed by the CSM that the WLG services have received a good bump in load factor in both cabins, every Business Class flight I have taken has been 9-12 pax in the cabin compared to the average 4-7 previously experienced 3-5 years ago.
Regarding on board catering, yeah the meals generally are bland, but I have had the occasional good meal but I have often forsaken the main on QF163, love soup so always have a bowl, due to filling up in the First Lounge dining room.

 

[Cessna 180]

Travelled last evening on the 737 SYD to CHC.

Was able to secure row four window and had a spare seat in the middle. There were very few empty seats on the trip and one was next to me.!
The crew were friendly and they knew my name and gave me a fancy headset which I presume was from business.

Didn't have the dinner option as had been eating all day and could not fit another thing in. From looking at my seat neighbour it looked the same as the domestic offering on the Perth to east legs with the little wine bottles being freely handed out.

Was pretty content with the service over all.