Late, late and late again....

[milehighclub]

The fasten seatbelt sign can be safely ignored at cruise. And I say this from experience. Most of the time crew won't bat an eye at passengers getting up from their seats when the fasten seatbelt sign is on, especially if there is in fact no turbulence. Yes there is a risk of turbulence, but there's always a risk of unexpected turbulence bumping you. The key thing is to not dilly dally in the aisle, and keep yourself buckled in when seated.

Terrible advice. The seat belt sign is on for a reason and QF pilots don't do it for giggles. If it's on stay seated, don't see why thats such a hard request. It's also a lawful instruction. And if you stand on QF, they will tell you to sit.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Terrible advice. The seat belt sign is on for a reason and QF pilots don't do it for giggles.

Is it possible that on long flights pilots might forget to turn off such a warning?

If it's on stay seated, don't see why thats such a hard request.

It depends on the context. If it's on for an hour or so sure. But when it is on for 4 or 6 hours on some of the flights I am on it fails to be a warning. Similarly if you badly need to go to the restroom and you have been seated at your chair for 4 hours due to that light, I mean you gotta do what you gotta do. It's either use the restroom or the seat.

It's also a lawful instruction. And if you stand on QF, they will tell you to sit.

You are correct. But I don't think you'll get in trouble for standing when there is in fact no turbulence. If they tell you to sit down, fine, take their instructions. No harm, no foul.

 

[milehighclub]

Is it possible that on long flights pilots might forget to turn off such a warning?

Not at QF - it is on because they expect turbulence. I do know other airlines that almost leave it on the whole flight, so do understand why you'd ignore it, but that isn't a QF policy and so if it's on, something is indicating it could be rough.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Not at QF - it is on because they expect turbulence.

I haven't flown QF long haul yet. However, I've flown AA and AY a few times to/from AU and noticed an interesting red Roo on the tail. From my recollection those airlines didn't keep the seatbelt sign on long.

I do know other airlines that almost leave it on the whole flight, so do understand why you'd ignore it, but that isn't a QF policy and so if it's on, something is indicating it could be rough.

Indeed. I can think of several times flying United where it was on the whole flight so I just ignored it. And something that I think is uncontroversial, something that every pilot would agree with me about is the need to keep your seatbelt fastened when seated. Even if the turbulence sign is off. All it takes is one jolt and you can hurt yourself.

 

[RichardMEL]

I sense a "shower queue" moment potential here.

It's not for the pax to decide to just ignore it. In essence the seat belt sign is equivalent to a crewmember instruction imo. Now, if you think it being on for 2h in clear air is ridiculous (and it may well be) and you're bursting to go, that's when you call the crew, and they can communicate with the coughpit.

While there have been the odd flight (in hundreds) I've experienced where it appears someone's forgotten, in general crews don't keep the SBS on for overly long (the CSM will likely query it too!). As noted above, sometimes there can be indications of turbulence ahead - and some captains may decide that if it's due in 10-15 minutes or so then they may wish to keep the sign on so that people aren't in the middle of doing business when it hits.

@jb747 may wish to chime in (geddit?) here on this particular topic if he so desires.

 

[tdimdad]

This is what special meals are for. It's a way to force Qantas to keep a meal you want on board and as mentioned before you'll receive it before anyone else.

Among not being an cough to other people in the queues, can you please also leave the special meals to those who actually need them for whatever reason? It's futile and annoying when people order or suggest others to order special meals "just because" it's different, you get served earlier, or somehow special. Just be like a normal person when you can, please. The "just for fun" dilutes the seriousness the commercial kitchens should put to them (especially in restaurants, cafes, etc).

Half of the special meals are for health / clinical reasons, i.e. an unsuitable ingredient in a meal messes up the person's body, in the worst cases fatally. The kitchens will need to be able to rely that every single request made is a genuine one (and not "for fun") and needs 100% their attention and care. The other half of the meals are for ethical / religious / similar reasons and deserve the same respect, as well.

Having worked in a hospital kitchen back in ancient times, also preparing these special meals, I appreciate the difficulty of creating consistently appealing and nutritious meals for a rotation. They can be really tricky at times and sometimes results in meals which are a rather dull (guess how many times I've eyed with envy the meals my seat neighbours have had compared to what I have been offered). Any chef who has even a hint of professional pride in their work (even in large commercial kitchens) attempts to create decent meals within the limitations of what the various diets allow (and budget per meal allocated). Lets use that capacity and skill where it's needed.

 

[milehighclub]

One thing I know can assure you get served right away is to order a special meal (i.e. Kosher). Since these have to be prepared separately from everything else they are handed out first.

That "trick" doesn't work in the premium cabins.

 

[jb747]

The seat belt sign is turned on by the pilots, not by the cabin crew. Some airlines do leave it on for far too long. Generally US ones, so perhaps that’s something else to blame lawyers for. But, far worse than having in on for too long, is allowing the cabin crew to keep working whilst it is on. That simply leads to ignorant comments about being able to ignore the sign.

I only ever turned it on when I meant it. The cabin crew had one minute after it came on to be seated, and I would be informed by the CSM when they were all strapped in. But, I also knew how to use a radar, so I was generally pretty successful at threading my way through the weather without encountering too many bumps. But, if we got it wrong whilst going through the storms (in particular the stuff around the equator, where the belts can go on for hundreds of miles), then you‘d have zero additional warning. It would be smooth, then smash. But, I guess you can use the radar feed back at the passenger seats to make your own assessment.

 

[tdimdad]

That "trick" doesn't work in the premium cabins.

Or many airlines in Y, either. QFF (and few others) has a habit of bringing the special meals well before the trolleys are wheeled out. Then you need to wait for your drinks forever. There have been several occasions where I've finished my meal 20 mins before the drink trolley comes.
Clever FA's do realise to ask for your drinks when they hand out the tray but most rush over to the next pax as soon as their hands are off your tray.

I do like the way some airlines do this, which is bringing the special meals together with the general offering and wish QF would adopt that, as well.