If qf offered a status match would you jump ship?

[mannej]

Yep.,it's the 777. The trip to UAE may be alright but no-one deserves the indignity of a EK (or EY for that matter) sardine can onwards after the layover. I'll stick with SQ.

In fact, if VA try to pull the same ME-focused stunt as QF I'll be transferring everything to *A.

Width wise EK do squash 10 into a 777, but they can be generous (in an economy sense) with the seat pitch.

 

[grubbidok]

Width wise EK do squash 10 into a 777, but they can be generous (in an economy sense) with the seat pitch.

As someone normal weight (<25 BMI) but sub-6ft and in possession of broad shoulders and two elbows that I like to be able to move about I'm much more concerned with seat width than seat pitch. I wouldn't say EK are generous with seat pitch at any rate, just standard. And this is more than made up for by the inch or so you lose in width in their sardine cans.

I fear their model is probably the way of the future, unfortunately.

Even their A380 is a full inch less than SQ (and 1/2 an inch less than VA 777). Those EK/EY seats are virtually guaranteed to have some even moderately plus-sized goon ooze over into your space for 15hrs. No thanks

 

[nlagalle]

Yep.,it's the 777. The trip to UAE may be alright but no-one deserves the indignity of a EK (or EY for that matter) sardine can onwards after the layover. I'll stick with SQ.

In fact, if VA try to pull the same ME-focused stunt as QF I'll be transferring everything to *A.

Fair enough there..

VA do with EY, but you have the SQ option too..

 

[mannej]

As someone normal weight (<25 BMI) but sub-6ft and in possession of broad shoulders and two elbows that I like to be able to move about I'm much more concerned with seat width than seat pitch. I wouldn't say EK are generous with seat pitch at any rate, just standard. And this is more than made up for by the inch or so you lose in width in their sardine cans.

I fear their model is probably the way of the future, unfortunately.

Even their A380 is a full inch less than SQ (and 1/2 an inch less than VA 777). Those EK/EY seats are virtually guaranteed to have some even moderately plus-sized goon ooze over into your space for 15hrs. No thanks

34 inches (on the birds that have it, EK have how many different configs?) is definitely at the generous side for economy. 31-32 is the average for most is it not?

 

[grubbidok]

34 inches (on the birds that have it, EK have how many different configs?) is definitely at the generous side for economy. 31-32 is the average for most is it not?

Not that many have the full 34 (I haven't seen it!). Most 'good' airlines would have 32-33. There is a handy chart on Seat Guru (Long-haul Economy Class Comparison Charti - SeatGuru).

It also shows just how arbitrary seat pitch as a measurement can be sometimes -it's often confused for 'legroom' when it is anything but. It measures from one point on a seat in front to the same point on the seat in back. When you look at those UA, AA or DL pitches of 35-37" they look great, until you remember that there's at least 6-7" of seat-back intruding on that as the seats are a lot thicker on those old birds. Width is still width, and it doesn't matter how well designed the seats are you're still going to get nudged in a slimmer seat.

At any rate as I discussed I find the seats 'roomier' on SQ as they have roughly the same legroom (if not pitch) but are a full inch or more wider.

I should note it is not just a QF/EK thing. I point blank refuse to fly EY for roughly the same reasons (with the added incentive that I do not want to support the abysmal working conditions of immigrants in those oil-rich nations and prefer to hub elsewhere).

The EK deal was the nail in the coffin for me with QF, and I can't see myself going back while the relationship is so dominant. I would view an increasing VA tie with EY (at the expense of other partners) in much the same way.

 

[mannej]

Wow - another one of these I don't fly EK but will fly SQ on moral reasons...

Ignorant is bliss hey - what protection does Singapore offer migrant workers? You may be surprised...

 

[grubbidok]

Wow - another one of these I don't fly EK but will fly SQ on moral reasons...

Ignorant is bliss hey - what protection does Singapore offer migrant workers? You may be surprised...

This isn't really the thread for discussing this. There is a relevant thread on that issue, and I've made my comments there. I'm well aware that Singapore is no utopia, but IMO (and it is my opinion just as it is my choice to act on it) simply can't be compared to what happens in the ME. Oz is hardly spoilt for choice though when it comes to beacon of democracy stopovers, but I consider (and it is just my opinion) that SIN is the better option.

I've been to the UAE numerous times, I've worked there, I've had family and friends live there. I consider my opinion as informed as it needs to be. I'm not stopping anyone flying EK/EY. I just won't do it, for both practical and moral reasons.

 

[mannej]

This isn't really the thread for discussing this. There is a relevant thread on that issue, and I've made my comments there. I'm well aware that Singapore is no utopia, but IMO (and it is my opinion just as it is my choice to act on it) simply can't be compared to what happens in the ME. Oz is hardly spoilt for choice though when it comes to beacon of democracy stopovers, but I consider (and it is just my opinion) that SIN is the better option.

I've been to the UAE numerous times, I've worked there, I've had family and friends live there. I consider my opinion as informed as it needs to be. I'm not stopping anyone flying EK/EY. I just won't do it, for both practical and moral reasons.

Considering you have mentioned you wouldn't fly with QF according to that reason, it is fair game. You are not the only one with views such as that, and it is a pity, as 1 stop EK does serve Europe much better than having to go to LHR and tracking back.

 

[grubbidok]

Considering you have mentioned you wouldn't fly with QF according to that reason, it is fair game. You are not the only one with views such as that, and it is a pity, as 1 stop EK does serve Europe much better than having to go to LHR and tracking back.

I do go to LHR a bit, and SIN-LHR is the 'brand-name' route, but I rarely back track as SQ has direct flights from SIN to FRA, ZUR, CDG on the A380 as well, and also have 1 stop to AMS, ATH, BCN, CPH, DMO, FCO, IST, MXP and MUC. Most of my European business is in the UK, Germany and France so it suits me well. If it stopped doing so I guess I'd definitely have to look for new options, and be less fussy about it.

 

[R36snowbound]

I am VA Platinum & have no status with QF, however I do have Qantas club membership through work.


QF v VA is an interesting debate, I prefer VA & would not jump ship for the following reasons:


* I feel VA treat me better and are more happy to assist me when needed than QF previously was. VA have previously rectified booking mistakes that I have made free of charge, when they could have easily charged a penalty fee, as per their T&C's.
* I value the 4 confirmed complimentary domestic upgrades that VA offers their Platinum members each year, this was a godsend on a recent SYD - PER trip.
* VA are better at redeeming points. Provided I book 6 months in advance (which I am able do able for a family holiday), VA guarantee 4 reward economy seats will be available for a return flight to a destination of my choice (AUST domestic & International short haul I think).
* I prefer the newer VA planes.
* I am not a fan of the QF management team.
* I like the kerbside valet option for the VA lounge at SYD.
* VA wireless entertainment system is good.
* VA Airfares are generally cheaper than QF.
* General reward seat redemption (and upgrade options) seems easier and cheaper with VA than QF.


My view is based on doing 100+ domestic flights per year and enjoying holidays in New Zealand (ex SYD) once or twice per year.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Provided I book 6 months in advance (which I am able do able for a family holiday), VA guarantee 4 reward economy seats will be available for a return flight to a destination of my choice (AUST domestic & International short haul I think).

All international destinations, not just short haul! (Hopefully, as I want to avail myself of this feature to enable me to accrue some more points before booking a redemption.

Platinum members are guaranteed four economy return Reward Seats to any domestic or international destination when flying with Virgin Australia or our international airline redemption partners

 

[TheCityLane]

I'd certainly be more inclined to use Qantas/One World partners for my international flights if I had matched status.

 

[DaveB]

I definitely wouldn't bother unless able to fly a lot of QFd in lieu of JQd and were a binge lounge lizard.
Despite having considerable QF points stored for many years, have always had a cheaper and more available alternative flying family of four in J/F on same flights with at least two on points. A mix of SQ, VA and EY with the odd CX flight have served us well.
With the girls now working, did a few short stay trips involving only wife and I taking the opportunity to use up some QF points with the last of the online JASA's bookings to SYD-ADL and SYD-SIN. The dreaded row 3 issues struck on the QFd flight and the 330 product considerably inferior to flights the past two years on CX, SQ, VA and EY and comparable with a DL flight we took though the 77 metal and cabin layout was superior.
The QF product hasn't really changed much since the last time I used it 5 or 6 years ago and that is perhaps its biggest problem besides price. Dragging out the meal service on a long leg afternoon departure is perhaps acceptable. Why it takes over two hours to serve supper on an overnight 7.5hour flight home from SIN and then lightup the cabin when you are still west of Broken Hill to serve a croissant is beyond me. The QF experience is best described as quaint with the one paced service delivery seemingly making no consideration of flight times or sleeping patterns.
Flights we took on a 319 Silk Air to Koh Samui were a stark contrast to the QFd service delivery despite the flight being 100k or so shorter in distance than the Adelaide trip. For those that way inclined, constant drink top ups were provided without asking, hot towels before and after the meal, choice of 4 or 5 warm breads, two choices of main dish with side salad, desert with coffee or tea and all finished with plenty of time to flick through the paper and golf magazine provided.
Our two girls are now VA platinum and gold with wife and I now QF silver following the JASA flights with no VA status.
Dont see any reason to status match if made available. SQ and VAd have our next three bookings based on product, price and availability. Did not bother ringing to see if a JASA was available for SYD-MEL and JQ no match for the 4 of us flying VA to Hamilton Island for the June long weekend.

 

[r0bs]

I'd certainly take it up.

I've been Platinum (earned, not matched) for four years with VA. Love them to death, but the VA shop for redeeming points is pretty poor compared to QF shop. I do a lot of overseas trips every year and would probably try out QF again. I stopped flying with QF about 4 years ago after witnessing an old (late 50's early 60's?) male CS dressing-down a hostess in a disgustingly degrading manner on a SYD-SIN leg in front of everyone in J class. I wrote a letter of complaint to QANTAS but never even got an acknowledgement of my letter, so I stopped flying them on principal.

I may be able to get at least GOLD for life with QF which would be worthwhile???

 

[SQ421]

I have VA Plat till May 2015, I have Qantas Plat till end of this year (and I will requalify for 2015). If Qantas lets me put my 15 remaining months of VA Plat "in the bank"; I'd switch all my VA flights to QF.

 

[leetripper]

Although in theory it doesn't happen, at least one acquaintance was given complementary QF Gold Status to match his VA Status. Back in the Ansett days I sometimes noticed my (infrequent)Ansett boarding pass had printed on it QFF GOLD. Not sure how they got the information - maybe checkin saw the luggage tags.

 

[big al c]

My company switched default carriers from QF to VA a few years back. At the time I was QF silver, but VA matched me to Gold, and I soon improved that to Plat through flights. The big benefit I found was the direct kerbside entry at Sydney straight into the lounge which saved a lot of time on the early morning starts.
Sadly when we switched back QF didn't welcome us back with open arms and my VA Plat was not matched - in fact there was no status match, so everyone in the company who had been QF plat was now at the back of the plane... luckily for me I had done lots of personal travel which had boosted me to QF Gold, and now with my status run on Saturday I should make Platinum

 

[greglow]

I don't think so. We moved to VA before the airline grounding for QF. I'd been a plat QF member for many years yet you still always felt like they were doing you a favour letting you fly with them. The staff attitude needs a major wake up call. I always thought they needed to spend time flying with some airlines in more cut-throat environments to understand what they have going for them here.

But the bigger issues were:

1. We found QF more unreliable. They pride themselves on maintenance but we had so many maintenance issues, many that were completely avoidable or just downright silly. We had flights where mid-pacific they found they hadn't loaded water on board so the toilets didn't work, etc. and we had 5 1/2 hours of please don't use the toilets, etc. We had a flight out of Singapore where we lost a generator on takeoff and the captain had to explain that unfortunately we were already flying with one broken one and weren't allowed to fly with two broken. I've lost count of the number of flights I've been on where hardly anything electrical seemed to work in our sections. It was hilarious watching the staff trying to pretend to be surprised whenever the entertainment systems didn't work on long haul flights, etc, etc. etc. etc. By comparison, we've had almost nothing on VA flights in the last two years. What's more, when we've had issues, they actually talk to us and tell us what's going on. I've lost count of the number of times I've been standing at QF gates way past boarding time but not a hint coming from the staff as to why.
2. We got fed up waiting for baggage. QF offer premium bag tagging yet it hadn't really worked for many, many years. With VA, we rarely get to the carousel before our priority tagged bags. With QF, we often had nights where it was 45 mins in MEL for the first bags to appear.
3. We got fed up with how inflexible QF were. None of the their staff have the authority to avoid problems. They'll try to fix them once they've occurred but they will never be allowed to do something sensible to avoid the problems in the first place. We had days with forecast snowstorms and they still wouldn't let us change flights as they weren't yet cancelled yet blind Freddie could tell they wouldn't actually be flying. By comparison VA staff seem to both own the problem and have the authority to make sensible decisions to avoid problems. I love the way that the people we deal with also seem to retain ownership of the issue until its solved too. QF staff can't wait to push us onto the next staff member.
4. We got fed up with wanting to fly QF but being forced to fly with Jetstar. We do go to regional locations like Launceston, Newcastle, etc. With VA, we can fly with the same airline and be treated the same way. With QF, we got duckshoved onto Jetstar. The day we stood for 2 1/2 hours in the Jetstar bagdrop queue in Melbourne, we decided we were never flying Jetstar again. As a QF member though, no matter what status, you don't get that choice if you need to go anywhere but major cities.

and so on and so on and so on. I could go on for hours about the differences.

But the final thing that confirmed our choice was the arrogance. We were buying on average about two flights per week from them over many years. Then since we stopped, they still have never even asked why. I presume they already know why but they didn't even bother to ask. All they do each year, is move me from Plat to Gold, then to Silver without wondering why we stopped flying with them. I was very close to lifetime gold yet I can't be bothered achieving it because I see QF as a terminal airline (pun intended).

 

[r0bs]

1. We found QF more unreliable. They pride themselves on maintenance but we had so many maintenance issues, many that were completely avoidable or just downright silly. We had flights where mid-pacific they found they hadn't loaded water on board so the toilets didn't work, etc. and we had 5 1/2 hours of please don't use the toilets, etc. We had a flight out of Singapore where we lost a generator on takeoff and the captain had to explain that unfortunately we were already flying with one broken one and weren't allowed to fly with two broken. I've lost count of the number of flights I've been on where hardly anything electrical seemed to work in our sections. It was hilarious watching the staff trying to pretend to be surprised whenever the entertainment systems didn't work on long haul flights, etc, etc. etc. etc. By comparison, we've had almost nothing on VA flights in the last two years. What's more, when we've had issues, they actually talk to us and tell us what's going on. I've lost count of the number of times I've been standing at QF gates way past boarding time but not a hint coming from the staff as to why.
2. We got fed up waiting for baggage. QF offer premium bag tagging yet it hadn't really worked for many, many years. With VA, we rarely get to the carousel before our priority tagged bags. With QF, we often had nights where it was 45 mins in MEL for the first bags to appear.
3. We got fed up with how inflexible QF were. None of the their staff have the authority to avoid problems. They'll try to fix them once they've occurred but they will never be allowed to do something sensible to avoid the problems in the first place. We had days with forecast snowstorms and they still wouldn't let us change flights as they weren't yet cancelled yet blind Freddie could tell they wouldn't actually be flying. By comparison VA staff seem to both own the problem and have the authority to make sensible decisions to avoid problems. I love the way that the people we deal with also seem to retain ownership of the issue until its solved too. QF staff can't wait to push us onto the next staff member.
4. We got fed up with wanting to fly QF but being forced to fly with Jetstar. We do go to regional locations like Launceston, Newcastle, etc. With VA, we can fly with the same airline and be treated the same way. With QF, we got duckshoved onto Jetstar. The day we stood for 2 1/2 hours in the Jetstar bagdrop queue in Melbourne, we decided we were never flying Jetstar again. As a QF member though, no matter what status, you don't get that choice if you need to go anywhere but major cities.

and so on and so on and so on. I could go on for hours about the differences.

But the final thing that confirmed our choice was the arrogance. We were buying on average about two flights per week from them over many years. Then since we stopped, they still have never even asked why. I presume they already know why but they didn't even bother to ask. All they do each year, is move me from Plat to Gold, then to Silver without wondering why we stopped flying with them. I was very close to lifetime gold yet I can't be bothered achieving it because I see QF as a terminal airline (pun intended).

I'd actually just about forgotten how arrogant they were..... Their staff were about the worst around..... Maybe you are right. Let them die their natural death...

Makes me wonder if Alan Joyce isn't a VA plant!! You couldn't run an airline any worse than he has...

 

[Fishhead]

I do 95% of my flying in international economy for work and I dumped Qantas platinum to go to Virgin after Qantas dropped the free exit rows for Platinum flyers (I used to spend about AUD25 000 each year on Qantas and One World providers). I get free exit rows on Singapore Airlines but the lounge access is not as good as Qantas and I can't check in online or pre-book a seat which is pretty irritating. I could be wooed by a 'come back - we miss you' incentive but I think Qanta would rather spend its dollars partying with the hoi poloi in Los Angeles than looking after mug customers.