Let us know your most outrageous thoughts on any topic about flying

[Pleb Status]

Everytime I fly Virgin I get the impression the FAs are there to police which is not a good feeling.

The above was the critical sentence...

As an example, as you stated in the recent J toilet invasion thread, you do not care at all about the paid benefits of the J pax and you will invade and use the J toilets anyway (we got the admission in the end).

VA actually enforce these paid benefits with the 'magic rope' etc and I can see how being forced to follow the rules would 'not be a good feeling' when you are used to flouting them.

The policing of the rules and benefits is actually good customer service. If anything, VA do not police the rules enough for my liking....

 

[JohnK]

I assume that you are posting in the spirit of this thread (i.e. outrageous thoughts) and do not actually believe what you have stated above...

Not outrageous at all. I have stated only facts.

 

[Pleb Status]

Not outrageous at all. I have stated only facts.

'Alternative' facts possibly...

 

[JohnK]

Cue JohnK and his latest outrageous thought. Personally am not sure sure why this whole thread is not dedicated to him, given it was clearly the intent of starting it.

Some people have more luck than others.

Shadows can also be cold.

 

[jakeseven7]

And I definitely think Qantas have friendlier FA's that are streets ahead of Virgin FAs. Everytime I fly Virgin I get the impression the FAs are there to police which is not a good feeling.

To be fair, VA have a different type mix of PAX to QF and adjusts to suit - they have a greater proportion of leisure market flyers , dare I say a higher proportion of brogans too . That does lead to them needing to be a bit more simple and direct/bossy with their PAX I find sometimes. Maybe that’s why you get the policing feeling.

 

[JohnK]

I was completely gobsmacked by their dismissive review of the experience. Emirates F was not as good as they expected... the food wasn't great... the showers were "tiny"... the IFE was just "OK"... the bar was "small"...

When I asked them what they expected they didn't really know but thought it would be better than what they got.....

Obviously anyone that spends any time in the air would know that EK F is pretty good - arguably one of the best and definitely in the top 5. But if it can't impress Bob and Sheryl from Dapto - what's it doing wrong????

I think this: when people who never fly use points to purchase things that would normally cost $10k, they have no appreciation for the actual cost, and nothing to compare it to. Therefore their opinion should be considered fake news.

There. I said it.

An airline places an exhorbitant value on an airfare and some people are happy to pay for that experience. Most wouldn't pay that much.

I can't remember much about the April economy flights to Bangkok. I've almost forgotten the current months economy flights to Bangkok apart from the awful 787 flight.

Flying again in January to Bangkok and current cost of ~$950 per person is too high. I'm hesitant to pay that much for economy. I certainly wouldn't pay 4 x that amount for business and definitely not 8 x that amount for First.

Even if I paid a fraction over the economy airfare for business/first it'd have to be a lot better than very good to give me any significant satisfaction.

My preference is quantity over quality.

There I said it....

 

[Max Samuels]

Even if I paid a fraction over the economy airfare for business/first it'd have to be a lot better than very good to give me any significant satisfaction.

My preference is quantity over quality. ...

Completely true.... I suppose it is where we all draw the line, right?
It used to be quite possible to fly ow on EK MEL-AKL in F for $800-$900..... on the same flight, Y was about $200. So let's call that 4x. Was it worth it? In that scenario, I can say definitely worth it. Of course it depends on what you call "worth". In my case, I could afford it, I like good booze, I like sitting at the bar with traveling companions getting drunk and chatting. If it is purely the bottom line that matters to people, then the discussion of Y v J v F is pointless and airlines that operate multi-class cabins don't even factor into the equation... hence we have the likes of JQ (although the do have "business" class allegedly).

But this concept of value extends to everything, not just airlines. Take for example designer clothes. A few years ago my sister took me into Chanel and she tried on a woolen turtle-neck sweater. The wool had a coloured stripe pattern, and silver threads were woven between different colours. Hard to explain. But it was really beautiful and well-made. And it was also $1600. Was it worth that? I don't think so. But was it worth more than any piece of made-in-china clothing that is literally spewing out the doors at K-mart and Target? Absolutely. The low quality of the cough in those 2 stores just astounds me. How quickly we as a nation we have come to accept this really saddens me. Anyway, my point is... for everyone there is a price-point where something isn't "worth" it.

 

[Pleb Status]

To be fair, VA have a different type mix of PAX to QF and adjusts to suit - they have a greater proportion of leisure market flyers , dare I say a higher proportion of brogans too . That does lead to them needing to be a bit more simple and direct/bossy with their PAX I find sometimes. Maybe that’s why you get the policing feeling.

It is only the 'criminals' who complain about the presence of 'police' (in a non authoritarian society), as demonstrated above...

 

[JohnK]

It is only the 'criminals' who complain about the presence of 'police' (in a non authoritarian society), as demonstrated above...

LOL. Criminals?

I'm sure it's changed now but a few years back FAs used to put their bags above row 3 so when I tried to put my bag above row 2 in an empty business class cabin the FAs rushed to try and make me put my bag above row 17 or something. Now that's childish. I'm not going to sit in row 3 waiting for everyone to disembark.

This happened so often but luckily I don't give up easily.

P.S. Had similar issue on recent HKG-BNE flight with a passenger. We were one of last to board and there were 2 biggish bags above row 45 and similar above row 46. Wife in row 46 put small bag under my row 45 seat and I found space above row 46-47 in window side.

When we got up to disembark someone from row 49 or so rushed up to get their bags.

"Why did you put your bags above my seat?"
"No room above my seat."
"Why didn't you try find a space further back? You invonvenienced me by forcing me to put my bag behind me."

Blank looks.

 

[jakeseven7]

It is only the 'criminals' who complain about the presence of 'police' (in a non authoritarian society), as demonstrated above...

Huh? Are you accusing John K of being a criminal lol

 

[Forg]

Huh? Are you accusing John K of being a criminal lol

JohnK may not be a Recliner, but her sure talks like one …

 

[jakeseven7]

JohnK may not be a Recliner, but her sure talks like one …

Ha! ok.
Well I personally wouldn't use 'police like' to describe VA hosties.
More like 'school teachery' sometimes due to their more leisure flyers.

 

[Pleb Status]

I'm sure it's changed now but a few years back FAs used to put their bags above row 3 so when I tried to put my bag above row 2 in an empty business class cabin the FAs rushed to try and make me put my bag above row 17 or something. Now that's childish. I'm not going to sit in row 3 waiting for everyone to disembark.

I have rarely had any problems sitting in row 3 (which is >99% of my flights) and have never needed to use the J overheads when sitting in Y. Luckily things have changed now and (if the rules are 'policed' correctly) you will not be able to sit forward of row 6, making the above situation redundant for you in the future. Problem solved...

P.S. Had similar issue on recent HKG-BNE flight with a passenger. We were one of last to board and there were 2 biggish bags above row 45 and similar above row 46. Wife in row 46 put small bag under my row 45 seat and I found space above row 46-47 in window side.

When we got up to disembark someone from row 49 or so rushed up to get their bags.

If QF had 'policed' the situation better, you may not have been 'inconvenienced' to the same extent. Can you state for the record that you have never stored your bags forward of your seat assignment (for any reason, including bags over your seat)? If you have, it makes the above complaint a bit hypocritical...

Huh? Are you accusing John K of being a criminal lol

With respect to breaking the rules outlined by the airlines... Yes, he has already pleaded guilty to multiple charges.

 

[JohnK]

If QF had 'policed' the situation better, you may not have been 'inconvenienced' to the same extent. Can you state for the record that you have never stored your bags forward of your seat assignment (for any reason, including bags over your seat)? If you have, it makes the above complaint a bit hypocritical...

How is that relevant and how does that make me a hypocrite?

I'm usually one of the last to board and if there is no room above my seat then I have every right to store bags forward of my seat if space exists. I'm not inconveniencing anyone so not a hypocrite.

To store bags forward of your seat when you're not one of the last to board is a totally different story and that requires you to have no consideration for others.

 

[Ade]

How about these for truly outrageous thoughts (mainly in respect of flying J):

* Qantas is a very good domestic airline

* Qantas is a very mediocre international airline inasmuch as it charges high prices for an average product

* People who look at Qantas international starry-eyed and remain 'loyal' to it, don't fly the top tier international airlines so don't know what they are missing

* With QFF, you are not the object of the scheme to be looked after, you are the product, whose personal preferences go into a massive database to be sold by Qantas to anyone who buys their points wholesale. These points buyers are the actual 'customers'. Qantas gives you lounges and a few other things just like you'd give a rat an occasional treat to keep it engaged while you did other things to it. But ultimately the individual rat is unimportant, as there are plenty more where it came from.

I agree 100% to 100% of what is mentioned in this post. My thoughts are exactly the same, however, I was unable to articulate it as crisply and accurately as @RooFlyer did in this post

Hats off to you, good sir

 

[Forg]

^ Mind you, that last bullet-point could replace "QFF" with "Airline Loyalty Scheme", and "Qantas" with "the Airline". All "loyalty schemes", for anything & not just airlines, are about information gathering & targeted sales & encouraging repeat business.

 

[Ade]

This is really outrageous. How about airlines providing enough food so that every passenger is able to have a meal without the ‘sorry, we’ve run out’. Heard that much too often these days on Qantas, Qatar and Jetstar.

Especially if you're someone who can't eat a certain item on the menu (for any reason) or had your eye on a specific menu item and you have, in your busy schedule, forgot to pre-order your meal and if you're seated at the back of the plane, where, by the time the FA reaches, your meal option has run out and you are left with an extra helping of crackers and cheese and orange juice !!

 

[Matt_01]

Here is another. When a QF P1 spends more time looking for reward flights on other OW carriers rather than travel with QF. Said P1 knows if he was to call QF they would most likely just release the seats for him.

 

[Pleb Status]

How is that relevant and how does that make me a hypocrite?

To state the obvious, you are doing exactly the same thing that you are complaining about!

A few nonsense caveats does not make it any better....

 

[p--and--t]

Americans really do make the worst tourists. Embarrassingly, Australians are only marginally better.

Wrong wrong wrong.

Chinese have usurped USA by several lengths. I find myself increasingly biting my tongue whenever I travel now as they really get under my skin.

• Walking straight past the maitre'd in restaurants and throwing the reservation sign off whichever table they decided they want.

• Walking into the restaurant, push aside your stuff on the table or move it onto an adjacent table and claiming your table for themselves.

• blowing their nose and/or spitting onto the footpath immediately in front of you as you are walking

• Hip and shouldering you out of whichever queue you happen to be standing in in any location

• Standing alongside you and screaming at the top of their voice in mandarin at the receptionist/check-in agent/restaurant server/ticket office or wherever as soon as you get to the front of the queue

• Blowing their nose on the edge of the table cloth on the table alongside you in the restaurant.

• Sitting at opposite ends of the tour bus to the rest of their family group proceed to scream observations back and forth to each other in mandarin while the guide is trying to give important information to the whole group in English.

....that's enough for one post