Qantas boosts international capacity, wet lease Finnair aircraft

[Himeno]

Parents have a trip coming up (nov/dec), coming home via Tokyo. They are convinced that they are on one of the AY wet lease aircraft for HND-SYD. No matter how many times I tell them that it's only SIN and BKK to SYD flights, they keep asking about the AY J seats for their HND-SYD flight in Dec.

 

[Spacetravel]

flew QF291 - great crew and food. The Finnair crew seem to be really happy to be doing the Syd flights.

I was quite shocked with departure gate 26 at Syd airport - this is like a Jetstar holding zone for 3 flights (SIN, BKK and Seoul) going all at once by bus to non air-bridge birds, was a mess with ceiling wires all exposed during some kind of renovation. There was business class signs, but no enforcement it was a free for all. I was surprised that everyone got into the right line and right bus...

I flew QF295 (Syd > Bkk) earlier this week in Y and actually had a very different experience.

The boarding gate was a normal airbridge gate and staff actively policed the business class line/ priority boarding. Even rejecting non premium passengers who made it to the scanner.

Once on board, had a very different experience to what ive mentioned previously. First of all, the food. Wow! For Y there was so much. 2 main meals (good filling options) 2 drink services and at least 3 snack services (maybe more while I was asleep). This was both good and bad, we were well fed but the staff seemed really busy doing some food service all flight. They would start at the front and by the time they made it to the back of the plane they would start at the front again. This caused a problem with collecting plates, it was VERY slow. So slow pax started putting trash/ plates in strange places. I went to the lavs and it was the messiest lav I have ever seen on a plane. Pax had left their dirty plates from meal service stacked in the lav. By the time we arrived in BKK the flight looked like the aftermath of a wild party with trash throughout the aisles in the plane.

In addition to this, as a Platinum besides the ground benefits, on board I had 0 recognition. No intro and no advanced meal order. Which usually on this flight the crew have been pretty good about. However, I was near the front so the advanced meal order didn’t matter.

 

[Spacetravel]

I flew QF295 (Syd > Bkk) earlier this week in Y and actually had a very different experience.

To follow up I returned on 296 BKK > SYD in Y.

Almost identical experience but with drink + snack service after take off. Main meal, snack, breakfast.

0 platinum recognition again. The meal service including plate collection took 3.5 hours until the plate was cleared and almost 4 hours until the cabin lights were dimmed for sleeping. I’m not sure what the staff were doing between bringing out the meals and collecting the tray as it was about an hour until they collected the tray.

This service was pretty good when it launched but now appears to be lowering to the standards of the QF operated service. I don’t understand why this route always has low standards compared to other QF routes. This is almost feeling like a Jetstar flight.

Also I wish they would do something about the pillow/ topper situation in J. Borrow some stuff from Finnair. It’s ridiculous the products don’t fit the seat. I normally fly J but I won’t do it again on this route due to the not enough pillows/ topper that doesn’t fit situation. As the seat doesn’t recline the correct bedding is more important on this seat than any other J product that exists.

 

[Lynda2475]

Also I wish they would do something about the pillow/ topper situation in J. Borrow some stuff from Finnair. It’s ridiculous the products don’t fit the seat. I normally fly J but I won’t do it again on this route due to the not enough pillows/ topper that doesn’t fit situation. As the seat doesn’t recline the correct bedding is more important on this seat than any other J product that exists.

Don't expect it to be any better even if you fly this aircraft on a Finnair route where they have the Finnair mattress topper and pillows. The mattress toper is extremely thin (doesn't make the hard seat any softer) and it simply lays on the seat, there is no velcro or ties to keep it in position, so the first time you move or roll-over it stops doing its job.

The Finnair pillows are small and unsupportive. I much prefer the large pillows you get on BA J on their 787s.

I think if I were to fly on their aircraft again, Id bring my silk sleeping bag liner, to eliminate the risk of ending up laying directly on the scratchy seat because the mattress toper doent stay in place.

 

[RooFlyer]

Would a few squares of double sided tape or Velcro squares help, at all? Doing this in December.

 

[N860CR]

The meal service including plate collection took 3.5 hours until the plate was cleared and almost 4 hours until the cabin lights were dimmed for sleeping. I’m not sure what the staff were doing between bringing out the meals and collecting the tray as it was about an hour until they collected the tray.

I believe the crew were rumored to have done a “QF service standards” training course. Maybe the crew you got paid attention in said course?