Pre-Departure Beverages Gone the Way of the Dodo?

[antycbr]

As a regular VA platinum I tried QF SYD-LST.

Boarding was a zoo. No lane enforcement.

No greeting at the entrance to the aircraft. Self seated myself. Cabin crew fiddling with a cart.

Seated in 1A/C, crew member bag left on 1A.

Nothing offered at all before departure. Crew didn’t even acknowledge our existence.

Crew member eventually appears 20 min after cruise altitude. No introduction, no mention of their name or mine, just offered a choice of two dishes and red or white wine. No topups offered. No offer of tea or coffee.

Think I know which airline I’ll be using on the route in the future, even with no lounge in LST for the return.

 

[RichardMEL]

As a regular VA platinum I tried QF SYD-LST.

Boarding was a zoo. No lane enforcement.

No greeting at the entrance to the aircraft. Self seated myself. Cabin crew fiddling with a cart.

Seated in 1A/C, crew member bag left on 1A.

Nothing offered at all before departure. Crew didn’t even acknowledge our existence.

Crew member eventually appears 20 min after cruise altitude. No introduction, no mention of their name or mine, just offered a choice of two dishes and red or white wine. No topups offered. No offer of tea or coffee.

Think I know which airline I’ll be using on the route in the future, even with no lounge in LST for the return.

Fair enough to make that choice.

I would just say I've found greetings on boarding are fairly consistent in my experience. I mean they are supposed t check BP's (QF seems to be the only one that does this as a double up when boarding.. do VA do this also?). I usually get a welcome aboard or welcome back or "not too far to go to row 1" or something. OK. no biggie either way.

Name use with meal service is pretty consistent* on domestic in my experience. The staff member introducing themselves is much less prevalant tbh... probably under 20% of flights I have been on. I'm not fussed either way. Just the style of certain crews over others. I'd say more senior crews probably do this more than younger ones but that's very much anecdotal.

As discussed in this thread PDB is rare. I know VA does this. definite points there to VA. It's a poor loss by QF to have removed this on most flights.

* As consistent as QF can manage

 

[antycbr]

Fair enough to make that choice.

I would just say I've found greetings on boarding are fairly consistent in my experience. I mean they are supposed t check BP's (QF seems to be the only one that does this as a double up when boarding.. do VA do this also?). I usually get a welcome aboard or welcome back or "not too far to go to row 1" or something. OK. no biggie either way.

* As consistent as QF can manage

My partner remarked that it was the first time in Australian domestic flying he’d never been checked at the aircraft door, so yes, VA usually do it. It was very strange indeed.

The usual greeting on VA will be “welcome back, [because I’m Plat] and welcome to Business Class, I’ll be with you in a moment”

This flight also led to my partner commenting “this reminds me why we don’t fly QF metal… happy to use points on partners but not on QF”

 

[1022]

SYD-LST is a QLink 717 “operated by xx_” service right? Their crews don’t have a dedicated CSM, so service - especially in J - is usually less professional and polished than mainline. It shouldn’t be thus. From a pax point of view flying on a plane with a red tail should mean expectations met of a consistent standard and flow of service.

 

[RichardMEL]

SYD-LST is a QLink 717 “operated by xx_” service right? Their crews don’t have a dedicated CSM, so service - especially in J - is usually less professional and polished than mainline. It shouldn’t be thus. From a pax point of view flying on a plane with a red tail should mean expectations met of a consistent standard and flow of service.

I kinda disagree with this tbh.

I've found the QFLink crews on 717's are perhaps younger and more eager in some ways. I've experienced some really great service standards on these services.

of course everyone's mileage varies but I wouldn't say less professional per se- if anything many are more fresh from training and put in quite some effort. That's just me though.

 

[RooFlyer]

I kinda disagree with this tbh.

I've found the QFLink crews on 717's are perhaps younger and more eager in some ways. I've experienced some really great service standards on these services.

of course everyone's mileage varies but I wouldn't say less professional per se- if anything many are more fresh from training and put in quite some effort. That's just me though.

Yes, having flown a number of 717s out of HBA, I can’t recall any lesser quality service attributable just to the FAs than on the 737s.

 

[1022]

Fair call. I made too much of a sweeping generalisation in suggesting lower levels of professionalism due solely to crews being QLink and generally younger. But in J I think that lack of experience can come across as a less polished offering than what a mainline CSM with many more years of experience might deliver. Granted there’s a mixed bag there as well, as this thread demonstrates!

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Fair call. I made too much of a sweeping generalisation in suggesting lower levels of professionalism due solely to crews being QLink and generally younger. But in J I think that lack of experience can come across as a less polished offering than what a mainline CSM with many more years of experience might deliver. Granted there’s a mixed bag there as well, as this thread demonstrates!

As someone who has flown regional branches of major airlines (i.e. United Express, Air Canada Express), I resent the suggestion that we should expect less from cabin crew of those airlines. Some of the best service I have received on board has been on these regional birds! I have had crews on United Express address me by name and help me with tight connections I have flying into Denver or San Francisco. I've had short intra-European flights on BA with levels of service you'd expect to only find on full service airlines flying 3-4 hour flights.

Here's what a 50 minute evening flight from Dublin to Manchester in BA Club Europe got me:



And lest you think that is a fluke here's what my BA flight from Zurich to London City looked like in business:

 

[p--and--t]

As someone who has flown regional branches of major airlines (i.e. United Express, Air Canada Express), I resent the suggestion that we should expect less from cabin crew of those airlines. Some of the best service I have received on board has been on these regional birds! I have had crews on United Express address me by name and help me with tight connections I have flying into Denver or San Francisco. I've had short intra-European flights on BA with levels of service you'd expect to only find on full service airlines flying 3-4 hour flights.

Here's what a 50 minute evening flight from Dublin to Manchester in BA Club Europe got me:

View attachment 312734

And lest you think that is a fluke here's what my BA flight from Zurich to London City looked like in business:

View attachment 312735

Wow.

BA must have upped their game in the last 3 years. On our 7hr overnight from Africa to LHR pre covid they served sandwiches in J for late dinner, and not very appealing ones at that, and the staff attitude was appalling.

I guess as per every thread on this site, every flight on every airline is experienced differently by every traveller.

 

[antycbr]

SYD-LST is a QLink 717 “operated by xx_” service right? Their crews don’t have a dedicated CSM, so service - especially in J - is usually less professional and polished than mainline. It shouldn’t be thus. From a pax point of view flying on a plane with a red tail should mean expectations met of a consistent standard and flow of service.

I cut some slack for crews on props, but it was the way the crew member interacted with my partner and I (or didn’t, in this case).

Conversely we had an excellent experience on QF operated by QQ ASP-DRW so QF is being QF - consistently inconsistent. This is why I left QF a decade ago.

 

[jase05]

BA must have upped their game in the last 3 years.

This was the rubbish I was served on BA only a couple of months ago

 

[RichardMEL]

BA only reasonably recently reversed a bunch of their covid catering cuts didn't they?

 

[Cessna 180]

I flew QF163 SYD WLG yesterday eve in J. PDB of water or sparkling offered.

Then nothing for over 60 mins. No pre meal drink or anything offered. Eventually she wheeled the cart to row 3 and started there, then on to us in row 2 and row 1 last.
Food options were good and wine offered then. Pretty slow with the top ups. Other pax were using the call bell to get re filled.
Then just prior to decent another hostie from the back arrived and started topping everyone up!

Seemed a very strange service.

 

[MH_fan]

Over the past year, I have not received a PDB on any domestic QF business class flight and this included the transcons. Definitely gone from QF. However, VA have consistently offered a PDB in their business class. Service standards on VA also much better. This is why VA is my first choice for domestic travel.

 

[JK1964]

I flew QF163 SYD WLG yesterday eve in J. PDB of water or sparkling offered.

Then nothing for over 60 mins. No pre meal drink or anything offered. Eventually she wheeled the cart to row 3 and started there, then on to us in row 2 and row 1 last.
Food options were good and wine offered then. Pretty slow with the top ups. Other pax were using the call bell to get re filled.
Then just prior to decent another hostie from the back arrived and started topping everyone up!

Seemed a very strange service.

Sounds like our QF147 SYD to AKL except it was an A330. PDB offered plus top up. Then nothing for 50 minutes. Everything on one tray, no entree, only two choices (pork fillet or lamb salad), boxed dessert and a slab of chocolate. Frankly it looked like an economy meal on any other airline. Drinks topped up on request. Not QF flyers but choose this for price back in March (J fare at half the price of NZ economy)

 

[Quickstatus]

Their crews don’t have a dedicated CSM

I’m not sure how a CSM would change things. Likely the more senior would be doing the service in J. But Experience does not necessarily make for the best service. Maybe more experience comes with a jaded FA?. Whereas new in job comes with enthusiasm. But many factors are involved.
To be absolutely clear I don’t want to be ageist - age has nothing to do with customer service quality.

Re this topic-
Im one of those who think they can enhance the service by removing PDB on short flights. And I don’t care if they don’t remember my name.

 

[Cessna 180]

Sounds like our QF147 SYD to AKL except it was an A330. PDB offered plus top up. Then nothing for 50 minutes. Everything on one tray, no entree, only two choices (pork fillet or lamb salad), boxed dessert and a slab of chocolate. Frankly it looked like an economy meal on any other airline. Drinks topped up on request. Not QF flyers but choose this for price back in March (J fare at half the price of NZ economy)

Yea, I don’t really like to whinge about these things. However looking back it was pretty poor.

As a semi regular flyer in economy with occasional J points redemptions or upgrades, I like to still think it is something special in business.

This really was a poor service thinking back.
I would have been extremely disappointed if I paid the extra over economy as apart from a marginally bigger seat, there really was no difference. Having to politely ask for drink tops is not really on in my opinion.

I felt like we were all an imposition to the girl looking after us.

 

[PineappleSkip]

I like to still think it is something special in business

It is. In QF you get a fancy pants seat with noone in the middle butted up against you.

I had a superb J meal in an LH flight FRA-TBS-GYD, selected from a tiny menu card, seated in the most awful Y seat I ever sat in. Our ironing board has more padding. The meal lasted an hour if you spun it out, the seat torture lasted six. Give me the fancy pants seat and ordinaire catering any day.

Cheers skip

 

[AIRwin]

Priority boarding worked this morning for a BNE-SYD flight but nothing offered prior to departure

Same on my return

 

[RichardMEL]

so international, even relatively short haul, is a yes generally on PDB and domestic is pretty much no these days. seems clear enough (with the very odd exception)