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

[p--and--t]

As an infrequent flyer, I've struggled to find bad service in the air, from any of the airlines I've flown. Everyone who knows anything about flying talks about how bad BA service is, I've only flown BA a couple of times & had no complaints.
And yes, I have flown JQ!

My first reaction was "what a load of bull" - but then my rational mind decided that statistically, just like winning the lottery you may have lucked out on the 2 good flights that they had that year.

 

[p--and--t]

Trivial Pursuit is frankly pretty annoying ...

... srsly though, $4k in J return to London last year. Flat beds, showers along the way, aircraft so quiet that it was easy to forget to switch the noise-cancelling back on when returning to your couch after going potty.

Go back to the 70’s, in terms of the average wage it was like 10x that to go to New Zealand. In Y.

I seem to recall (could be wrong) a single fully flexible last minute return economy seat from ADL-MEL used to cost my employer approx $900 when I was travelling multiple times per week. Now a return to LHR can regularly be bought for <$1k

 

[p--and--t]

Here is just a thought, whilst I and many others appreciated the QF carry on weight increase to 10kg for 1 bag on domestic, how about they do the same for international.

They heard you, and just have done that.

 

[juddles]

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.

Matt, I can beat you. I truly believe I will set a record this year - as the only P1 in history to not set foot in a Qantas lounge during the year

 

[drron]

My first reaction was "what a load of bull" - but then my rational mind decided that statistically, just like winning the lottery you may have lucked out on the 2 good flights that had that year.

But just maybe the problem is that you have bad luck.I have had 13 BA flights in the last 2 years though 11 have been in F.Only one mildly annoying FA but I am yet to have a bad flight-that means the 14th probably will be.
I have a similiar pattern on AA though have not travelled frequently on them for 2-3 years.Only an occasional bad flight and still the best service I have had was a flight JFK-FRA.Absolutely marvellous-a pun as the FA's name was Marvel.

 

[p--and--t]

But just maybe the problem is that you have bad luck.I have had 13 BA flights in the last 2 years though 11 have been in F.Only one mildly annoying FA but I am yet to have a bad flight-that means the 14th probably will be.
I have a similiar pattern on AA though have not travelled frequently on them for 2-3 years.Only an occasional bad flight and still the best service I have had was a flight JFK-FRA.Absolutely marvellous-a pun as the FA's name was Marvel.

YMMV - I was in Y and experienced 3 out 4 flights in a three week period Jul-Aug2019 very bad service failures

 

[JohnK]

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....

Oh like reclining when forced to recline but then complaining about recliners?

Just as well I see the difference as that's all that matters.

 

[Ade]

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

If I may, record my observation on my latest flight from SYD to HKG :

May be it was a language thing, as in, the tourists on board aircraft didn't understand much English and the FA's didn't speak Cantonese/Mandarin;

1. Most of the tourists didn't sit down when the seat belt sign was on - even when there was a turbulence

2. Most of them chose to sit at a different seat than allocated on their BP - just because they want to sit next to someone they like or if they saw an empty row, they chose to make themselves comfortable by lying down even before take off. When the FA moves to the front of the Y cabin, seats are changed at the back of the cabin and vice versa It was funny to see how quickly they move between seats when the FA was not watching It was akin to kids sneaking in to the fridge to get chocolate when mum's not around

3. And the most annoying thing was - my experience - I was on the Exit row, aisle (row 45 J on A330) and I paid $99 for the seat so that I can stretch. Not that I'm tall, but I've always loved that extra leg space when I'm on a seat for a little over 8 hours So back to the tourists, I was sitting on 45 J and even before take off a young guy approaches me and "asks" (read demands and not requests) that I move to a different seat because he wants to sit next to his girlfriend, who is on 45 K. I was like, nope, I'm not moving because I paid for this seat specifically, so that I can enjoy the legroom and I might have if you'd requested me, rather than demanding. He didn't budge and insisted that he sit next to his GF. And the worst part was his English was very basic, so I had to write down what I wanted to say and he took a while to read it and then prepares his attack

Luckily for me, the cabin manager, Brad, a good person and someone I run into twice each month on either legs of SYD-HKG, passed by and recognized me. After exchanging pleasantries, he helped sort the issue and asked that young tourist to go back to the seat allocated on his BP.

After the flight took off, the GF asks if I can move and I politely refused and showed the same text I wrote earlier to show to her BF.

15 mins after that, the GF stood from her seat and managed to *shout* something in Cantonese/Mandarin to a wider audience in the cabin and found a seat next to her BF. The BF was on aisle and she was in the middle seat squished between her BF and someone else. As sweet as it seems what she did (trying to sit next to her BF without minding the dreaded middle seat), what's beyond me is ;

a. Why would someone give up an exit row on a long haul flight

b. If it is important to sit next to someone, why not make sure to mention this to the check in staff, who'd be happy to allocate seats accordingly. I'm sure a genuine request made with a smile is always heeded to

4. The next thing with the tourists was everyone made sure that they visited the toilet just as the meal trolley was out The FA's had a tough time trying to move around and serve meals. And every time someone is behind the FA & the trolley, they start to talk the person on the other side of the FA and the trolley in their language and loud I even saw one of the FA's become tired of this and said, "mam, you need to calm down. We're serving meals here and it's difficult to hear the meal order" Poor guy.

 

[Forg]

^ Once gained a tiny tweak of schadenfreudey delight when a gaggle of Chinese tourists (an assumption I've made because in my admittedly-limited experience other languages don't sound the same as Mandarin) who'd booked the exit row on a JQ flight (MEL-HBA) weren't allowed to board the 'plane due to not speaking a word of English & hence being unable to follow any safety instructions - being able to follow the safety instructions being one of the most important criteria for being allowed to sit in the exit row.
The flight was full & I didn't see them board at all, so dunno what happened with them in the end.

 

[p--and--t]

If I may, record my observation on my latest flight from SYD to HKG :

May be it was a language thing, as in, the tourists on board aircraft didn't understand much English and the FA's didn't speak Cantonese/Mandarin;

1. Most of the tourists didn't sit down when the seat belt sign was on - even when there was a turbulence

2. Most of them chose to sit at a different seat than allocated on their BP - just because they want to sit next to someone they like or if they saw an empty row, they chose to make themselves comfortable by lying down even before take off. When the FA moves to the front of the Y cabin, seats are changed at the back of the cabin and vice versa It was funny to see how quickly they move between seats when the FA was not watching It was akin to kids sneaking in to the fridge to get chocolate when mum's not around

3. And the most annoying thing was - my experience - I was on the Exit row, aisle (row 45 J on A330) and I paid $99 for the seat so that I can stretch. Not that I'm tall, but I've always loved that extra leg space when I'm on a seat for a little over 8 hours So back to the tourists, I was sitting on 45 J and even before take off a young guy approaches me and "asks" (read demands and not requests) that I move to a different seat because he wants to sit next to his girlfriend, who is on 45 K. I was like, nope, I'm not moving because I paid for this seat specifically, so that I can enjoy the legroom and I might have if you'd requested me, rather than demanding. He didn't budge and insisted that he sit next to his GF. And the worst part was his English was very basic, so I had to write down what I wanted to say and he took a while to read it and then prepares his attack

Luckily for me, the cabin manager, Brad, a good person and someone I run into twice each month on either legs of SYD-HKG, passed by and recognized me. After exchanging pleasantries, he helped sort the issue and asked that young tourist to go back to the seat allocated on his BP.

After the flight took off, the GF asks if I can move and I politely refused and showed the same text I wrote earlier to show to her BF.

15 mins after that, the GF stood from her seat and managed to *shout* something in Cantonese/Mandarin to a wider audience in the cabin and found a seat next to her BF. The BF was on aisle and she was in the middle seat squished between her BF and someone else. As sweet as it seems what she did (trying to sit next to her BF without minding the dreaded middle seat), what's beyond me is ;

a. Why would someone give up an exit row on a long haul flight

b. If it is important to sit next to someone, why not make sure to mention this to the check in staff, who'd be happy to allocate seats accordingly. I'm sure a genuine request made with a smile is always heeded to

4. The next thing with the tourists was everyone made sure that they visited the toilet just as the meal trolley was out The FA's had a tough time trying to move around and serve meals. And every time someone is behind the FA & the trolley, they start to talk the person on the other side of the FA and the trolley in their language and loud I even saw one of the FA's become tired of this and said, "mam, you need to calm down. We're serving meals here and it's difficult to hear the meal order" Poor guy.

Another eye-opener for me a few years back on a flight from Xian to Shanghai.

Besides all the usual announcements, every few minutes during the flight the same computerised voice made the same announcement over and over the tannoy in three languages (my presumption Mandarin, Cantonese, followed by English). The gist of the message was "please don't open aircraft doors while in flight". The westerners on board were understandably a bit bemused by this repeated message.

Then as our flight approaches Shanghai the pilot makes an announcement for the cabin crew to prepare the aircraft for landing which they duly perform and take their seats.

As we make our final preps and line up for landing, the first few rows of passengers stand up, open the overhead bins, get their hand luggage out and queue up at the door in front of 1A.

The flights attendants stay in their seats, no announcement is made and the passengers are still their queued up and as we land and taxi to the terminal.

There was then a bit of an animated discussion as the flight attendants tried to get them to move so they could dis-arm the doors.

 

[Ade]

modern seating that barely covers the lower half of your back is both noisy and uncomfortable even though it looks amazing!

Have to agree with you. Every time I walk into any lounge (especially QF ones) I see that the seats are not comfy enough. I'm not looking for really big, spooky-ly tall chairs, but decent ones on which one can rest their entire back without having to re-position one-self by sliding down so that back of the neck portion stays on top of the back of the chair.

In my eyes, I believe, that the chairs are designed to look like 737 J seats but without the height, just the looks and width, but without the height, it doesn't provide any comfort.

And next is those chairs that are put in front of small tables to nibble off. what's the deal with them. The chairs are super comfy if you lay back on them. But you've got the table in the front ... If I've got a table in the front, I'd like to eat and I can't eat comfortably if the chairs are designed to lean back ....

May be it's just me !!

 

[Matt_01]

They heard you, and just have done that.

Can I claim "it was all my idea" and QF listened to me. Additionally, from this point moving forward can I claim the title of "the person responsible for increasing QF international carry on limits"

Now that I have made a significant contribution to the flying community who support QF maybe it's time to move on and if there is value I can add with other carriers.

 

[p--and--t]

Can I claim "it was all my idea" and QF listened to me. Additionally, from this point moving forward can I claim the title of "the person responsible for increasing QF international carry on limits"

Now that I have made a significant contribution to the flying community who support QF maybe it's time to move on and if there is value I can add with other carriers.

This is the "most outrageous thoughts" topic after all

 

[Ade]

ADL is one of the worst airports in AU when it comes to traveller issues going through security. I have started a few and my primary home is in ADL.

Just read this couple of days ago, it seems, ADL is the number 1 airport in AUS

Adelaide Airport named Australia’s best airport: World’s best airports ranked by Stasher | escape.com.au

For years the title of Australia’s best airport has been hogged by the big cities on the east coast. But a new list ranks a surprise spot at the top.

www.escape.com.au

 

[Ade]

I think I love Qantas more now than ever. Every single airline I have travelled on has issues. At least when I have these issues with Qantas I am dealing with Australians

+ 1, I agree with this

 

[Matt_01]

Just read this couple of days ago, it seems, ADL is the number 1 airport in AUS

Adelaide Airport named Australia’s best airport: World’s best airports ranked by Stasher | escape.com.au

For years the title of Australia’s best airport has been hogged by the big cities on the east coast. But a new list ranks a surprise spot at the top.

www.escape.com.au

"I called this one out as well" I am on fire today for making the "most outrageous thoughts" and now "claims".

 

[Ade]

I do believe that there is some MEL chef called George looking for a new gig.

Ha Ha guess he is and 2 of his mates too

 

[Ade]

The hilarious thing is that the ad features a family of 4 with the bags all packed, smiling away..... I just don't think they are going anywhere on 15,000 points... seems a bit sad really - they look so excited :-(

With 15K points, they're packed to move into an AirBnB for the night because the power company failed to transfer their service properly and there is no power supply at their home

 

[Max Samuels]

Another eye-opener for me a few years back on a flight from Xian to Shanghai.

Besides all the usual announcements, every few minutes during the flight the same computerised voice made the same announcement over and over the tannoy in three languages (my presumption Mandarin, Cantonese, followed by English). The gist of the message was "please don't open aircraft doors while in flight". The westerners on board were understandably a bit bemused by this repeated message.

Then as our flight approaches Shanghai the pilot makes an announcement for the cabin crew to prepare the aircraft for landing which they duly perform and take their seats.

As we make our final preps and line up for landing, the first few rows of passengers stand up, open the overhead bins, get their hand luggage out and queue up at the door in front of 1A.

The flights attendants stay in their seats, no announcement is made and the passengers are still their queued up and as we land and taxi to the terminal.

There was then a bit of an animated discussion as the flight attendants tried to get them to move so they could dis-arm the doors.

It's really hard to talk about these things without someone pulling out the tired old "R" card..... but it is true.
Many of these people who are now international "jet setters" were as recently as 5 years ago little more than humble farmers and probably didn't have electricity.

I can remember in 1990 when I first went to Korea it was quite similar - people behaving dreadfully on planes - completely unaware of any international social "norms". I was flying on Korean Airlines once and was already seated and a couple of old ladies came up beside me, screaming at each other in Korean (at least sounds like screaming to me), open the overhead locker to put their stuff in - find it full - so take my stuff out, drop it on the floor, and then put theirs in!!!!

The Koreans turned out to be OK - so I guess we can just hope and pray that the Chinese follow suit!

 

[clipped_wings]

It's really hard to talk about these things without someone pulling out the tired old "R" card..... but it is true.
Many of these people who are now international "jet setters" were as recently as 5 years ago little more than humble farmers and probably didn't have electricity.

I can remember in 1990 when I first went to Korea it was quite similar - people behaving dreadfully on planes - completely unaware of any international social "norms". I was flying on Korean Airlines once and was already seated and a couple of old ladies came up beside me, screaming at each other in Korean (at least sounds like screaming to me), open the overhead locker to put their stuff in - find it full - so take my stuff out, drop it on the floor, and then put theirs in!!!!

The Koreans turned out to be OK - so I guess we can just hope and pray that the Chinese follow suit!

I grew up in a housing commission estate. My parents were poor, but absolutely the most loving and responsible disciplinarians. They had basic education themselves and raised four kids on the smell of money. But I can say this: Not ONCE, did they ever behave like those mentioned above.

Being wealthy doesn't always guarantee decorum. But being poor doesn't entitle you to exercise a lack of it.