Qantas Platinum One experiences?

[aus_flyer]

To all the newly-minted Platinum One frequent flyers out there... I'm curious to hear... what's been your experience so far?

Anything different?

Free upgrades?

... or all hype?

 

[Chalkie]

My travel pattern may be different to others - mostly LHR-SYD-LHR in F. I'm not sure how much of this is due to P1 v. fewer people in F, but on my past few flights, I've seen a positive difference. This may sound odd, but I've been treated more like a person. The thing that most annoys me about flying is getting fake excuses when things can't be done, so I find this really refreshing.

Some examples are:
- Being recognised by name without the assistance of a boarding pass or iPad ("see you again soon LM" when I'm leaving the aircraft)
- Having two ladies basically shut down F check-in to help me with my bags because the porter had left for the day
- When we arrived back at (the now unstaffed) check-in with my bags, directing the other people in the queue that had built up to the business check-in while the two of them both checked me in
- And then having one of them personally take my fragile bag to the oversize area because "the machine doesn't really handle fragile items properly "
- Preparing meals for me in minutes in the F lounge when I'm running late and the restaurant is full
- Preparing different meals for me on the flight because I don't like most of the QF meals (I prefer breakfast)
- Recognising that I don't like to be artificially "fussed" over during the flight
- Telling me about themselves rather than always enquiring about my life
- Telling me to come back to the galley for a chat if I get bored
- Setting the cabin temperature to a reasonable level rather than pretending it can't be done
- Remembering things that I'd asked about earlier in the flight and checking they were still OK

Of course I still get the usual QF inconsistencies - being told to ring a non-premium number to find out about a delay as opposed to the SST proactively ringing me, getting invited to events when I'm clearly not in the country, etc.

But overall I think it's a definite improvement.

I'd much rather be P1 than not P1 

Indeed. After a couple of months break from longhaul (which I define as Kangaroo or Transpac) I start again next week. I have a QF-EK F to F transfer at DXB so will keep an eye out for F host (that I've had once before).

I had a lovely flight SYD-BKK a couple of weeks ago. I must confess that I thought the service was really good for QF J; I am now wondering whether the things like being let know by the steward that he'd made a fresh pot of tea were some little P1 things. I didn't pay much attention to whether those around were also enjoying such luxuries. I cannot imagine doing 17 hours in that J "suite" though. And I won't.

I flew back on the EK A380 in J. Simply dreadful and never again. Food awful. Seat barely long enough but not especially comfortable, and the cabin temperature was absurdly hot. I thought I was going to have heatstroke. The QF F cabin always seems to be kept at a much more sensible temperature.

 

[737]

Just in addition to the below comment, I know the crew will usually try their best to recognise the P1 frequent flyers, however it is procedure to keep J drinks/headphones/etc in the J class cabin only. Some crew will offer J class product to P1 or others in Y class, however this goes against what should be done, and can create inconsistencies with the experiences that P1 and other FF receive onboard.

I keep hoping there's some wonderful P1 experience around the corner. But frankly P1 is a nothing experience for me (which actually makes it negative considering the time/cost and huge jump in SCs to hit the tier, and the spin).

Over a dozen flights in the past couple of weeks - domestic and Trans-Tasman; mainly J but a few Y.

-- "You fly more than us" on one flight. Felt fake. Otherwise only one genuine / natural "nice to have you back, I see you are off to Auckland next..." chat, from a CSM I've flown with a couple of times in previous years.
-- No shadows in Row 4 on the 737s (taken by bronze or silvers best I could tell - planes not full).
-- No offers of drinks from the front when in Y. Thankfully though no greeting from CSM and "let us know if we can do anything" after we've started the descent.
-- No bottles of wine (opened or unopened) as a thank you.
-- While I was always near the front of the cabin, on a couple of occasions staff on personal travel (alongside me on the 737s or in front of me on the A330s) had their orders taken first. Not the norm though.
-- Priority baggage a myth.
-- Priority boarding actually OK in the main (international helps). Priority disembarking (eg, allow J customers to deplane first if using the 2nd door only on the A330) only enforced once in 3 or 4 such flights. Frustrating. Especially if in 2K you end up being the 50th person off the plane at best.
-- Zero contact from SST despite several delays. Though to be fair only one of them was a near-missed connection. (I tend to build in enough transfer time.) No escort at gate on the one which was very tight.

Appreciate some of the above aren't P1-specific things. But contribute to the underwhelming feeling. Also show how things I used to get at least occasionally (wine, drinks from the J cabin, met at gate for a tight international-dom transfer) have now been enhanced.

Aside from being able to pick Row 4, pretty sure the only thing I got above any other pax was one free quarter bottle of wine on a mid-arvo flight in Y.

Zero contact from SST in months. Zero offers. Zero invitations (in over 3 years).

All a bit of a joke.

 

[kermatu]

Just in addition to the below comment, I know the crew will usually try their best to recognise the P1 frequent flyers, however it is procedure to keep J drinks/headphones/etc in the J class cabin only. Some crew will offer J class product to P1 or others in Y class, however this goes against what should be done, and can create inconsistencies with the experiences that P1 and other FF receive onboard.

Isn't that the point though - that there is a difference in the service received by P1s vs other FF? Appreciate that it can cause discomfort for crew and pax. But in times gone by when I have received a free drink from J more often than not it would lead to me explaining to anyone next to me why, and singing the praises of how well QF treats those who are loyal and fly with them regularly.

I won't pretend to know the rules and procedures. And I agree that inconsistency of service for the same pax - or tier of pax - should be avoided. The negative effect of inconsistency is in fact a good proportion of this thread.

 

[danielt25]

What "better treatment" would you expect? You're already in J, and it's not like there's an F in domestic.....

None really. Whether I be lifetime Bronze or P1 in domestic J, service seems exactly the same.

 

[JohnPhelan]

None really. Whether I be lifetime Bronze or P1 in domestic J, service seems exactly the same.

As it should be.

 

[RichardMEL]

Just in addition to the below comment, I know the crew will usually try their best to recognise the P1 frequent flyers, however it is procedure to keep J drinks/headphones/etc in the J class cabin only. Some crew will offer J class product to P1 or others in Y class, however this goes against what should be done, and can create inconsistencies with the experiences that P1 and other FF receive onboard.

Well if inconsistency is the name, QF plays the game.. to win!

 

[Matt_01]

But in times gone by when I have received a free drink from J more often than not it would lead to me explaining to anyone next to me why

I must be a rude traveller I avoid conversations with anyone sitting next to me and would not even attempt to explain.

On a lighter side I was offered a free bottle of wine on leaving the aircraft. As I was connecting to an International flight with HLO I declined as I figured security would take it off me anyway.

 

[RichardMEL]

gee it's been a few years since I've been offered a bottle from a QF crew. Not complaining mind you, but it used to happen a couple of times in the past. Pity you had to turn it down(assuming you enjoyed the drop)

 

[Matt_01]

It was out of the ordinary and it has been a long time between drinks (pun intended) since this has happened, only once in the past 2-3 years.

I had made the booking a few weeks earlier MEL-SYD-CHC. Things changed and I realised that I would be in BNE on the day of the flight. After calling QF to see what could be done e.g. BNE-CHC or BNE-SYD-CHC or just not catching the MEL-SYD leg but was advised that if I did this remaining flights would be automatically cancelled. After the calculations were in the price difference in re-routing and change fees it was just cheaper to catch a BNE-MEL flight.

On arrival at MEL I went to the lounge got moved to an earlier flight, on boarding it was the same crew I had flown with from BNE. They more than like just felt sorry for me.

It was a nice gesture, the wine was nice so I was a bit disappointed not being able to accept it.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

I take the view that the tiny things will never be fixed at many airlines because the folks running the program are not frequent flyers. I'm doing 8 hours/week of flying in Y and what I value in these flights is vastly different to what I want from a SYD-MEL.

Hopefully with a new CEO of QF Loyalty there will be an evolution of the P1 product too.

 

[kermatu]

I must be a rude traveller I avoid conversations with anyone sitting next to me and would not even attempt to explain.

On a lighter side I was offered a free bottle of wine on leaving the aircraft. As I was connecting to an International flight with HLO I declined as I figured security would take it off me anyway.

Only if they asked.

I've probably had 4 bottles (all unopened) as free gifts on disembarking or discretely provided on descent. All in my first 2 years - none in this current stint. Sounds like it has been almost completely enhanced.

 

[RichardMEL]

I'm honestly not bothered if I don't get offered a bottle, though a couple of flights have had wonderful wines I'd have seriously been super happy to get offered one. I'm not shy to say when I really enjoy a drop offered in J (which isn't often!) maybe they think it's a hint though I never mean it that way. Knowing my luck next flight I'll get offered a bottle of Shaw & Smith just to rub it in !!

 

[juddles]

Feeling jaded.

Not bashing Qantas, as I love them, but "small" things that in my mind that should be simple seem unattainable.

I have only been P1 for a year, Qantas is, by my flight records, my third most frequent carrier (after Avianca and Latam - am based in South America). But Jesus Qantas!! - one of the perks of P1 is those invites to random events. I got my first today - an email inviting me to a wine thing in Brisbane in September. Really nice touch - I enjoy wine. But how on earth do you offer that to "you plus another" when I will be in a Qantas 747 above the antartica at that time, on a flight I must have booked at least three months ago???????

 

[RichardMEL]

Feeling jaded. Not bashing Qantas, as I love them, but "small" things that in my mind that should be simple seem unattainable. I have only been P1 for a year, Qantas is, by my flight records, my third most frequent carrier (after Avianca and Latam - am based in South America). But Jesus Qantas!! - one of the perks of P1 is those invites to random events. I got my first today - an email inviting me to a wine thing in Brisbane in September. Really nice touch - I enjoy wine. But how on earth do you offer that to "you plus another" when I will be in a Qantas 747 above the antartica at that time, on a flight I must have booked at least three months ago???????

oh yes. I've had this too a few years back. I know the SST is only small, but it's funny how it wouldn't take much to check booked flights. I can understand if you're booked on another airline not linked (eg: SQ or VA) of course they wouldn't know, but if you're booked on a flight 3 days before across the pacific not returning till 2 days later.. chances are you won't have a chance to make the event. It seems the idea is to throw the invites out there, but dotting the i's and crossing the t's doesn't happen. Maybe we expect a bit much but there does seem to be, at times, a lack of care.

 

[Matt_01]

I got my first today - an email inviting me to a wine thing in Brisbane in September. Really nice touch - I enjoy wine. But how on earth do you offer that to "you plus another" when I will be in a Qantas 747 above the antartica at that time, on a flight I must have booked at least three months ago???????

Your experience is not dissimilar to mine, I have not been able to attend a single event due to travel.

I have only been to the simulator, and QF was proactive in arranging that.

 

[boomy]

Unbelievable, it's so ridiculous that it makes me lough when I read posts about events. The person or group who is in charge on P1 invites can't possibly do a worse job! At first I thought it's only by bad luck but reading this thread I can say it's definitely a trend to send invitations when members are traveling overseas on QF. Most of my Int flights are actually with other carriers (whoever offers the best points redemption) but somehow, almost every time I'm booked to fly QF Int they send an invite to some event that I won't be able to attend. This is beyond incompetence, they just don't care.

 

[juddles]

Unbelievable, it's so ridiculous that it makes me lough when I read posts about events. The person or group who is in charge on P1 invites can't possibly do a worse job! At first I thought it's only by bad luck but reading this thread I can say it's definitely a trend to send invitations when members are traveling overseas on QF. Most of my Int flights are actually with other carriers (whoever offers the best points redemption) but somehow, almost every time I'm booked to fly QF Int they send an invite to some event that I won't be able to attend. This is beyond incompetence, they just don't care.

boomy, I agree. i believe we are not talking a mass market here - it is meant to be the elite of the elite. Although the SST team is small, so is their clientele. How on earth do you (Qantas) have a concept of offerring fixed date events when (a) you don't even check if they are airborne, and (b) you disregard the very fact that P1's are most likely to be travelling a hell of a lot and thus attending such functions is a game of dice.

I wish they would ditch the frivolous and impossible wine invitations and offer something more meaningful. Upgrades, etc etc etc.........

 

[mviy]

I wish they would ditch the frivolous and impossible wine invitations and offer something more meaningful. Upgrades, etc etc etc.........

If you fly enough to get P1 you're probably a captive market in their opinion. Unless they see too high drop-off rates from P1 back to WP they'll likely consider they're offering all they need to.

 

[juddles]

If you fly enough to get P1 you're probably a captive market in their opinion. Unless they see too high drop-off rates from P1 back to WP they'll likely consider they're offering all they need to.

Am testing that this year.

i suspect I am in a minority in that almost all my QF travel is international - where there are many alternatives to QF. I got an email the other day from them explaining that my P1 status was due for consideration (renewal) soon. Four months out???

When I started reading the email I expected some sort of offer (DSC?) but no, it just went through the paucity of P1 guaranteed benefits, all of which are meaningless to me as an international flyer. But yet again QF does stuff without easily available info - I already have flights booked this year to retain P1 ?????????

 

[RichardMEL]

Am testing that this year. i suspect I am in a minority in that almost all my QF travel is international - where there are many alternatives to QF. I got an email the other day from them explaining that my P1 status was due for consideration (renewal) soon. Four months out??? When I started reading the email I expected some sort of offer (DSC?) but no, it just went through the paucity of P1 guaranteed benefits, all of which are meaningless to me as an international flyer. But yet again QF does stuff without easily available info - I already have flights booked this year to retain P1 ?????????

Oh that's the automated thing I've been getting for years now. bottom line is, so far, P1 don't care if people jump ship (just look at someone like TonyHancock - a high yield, high value ful F fare paying customer leaves them for BE and IIRC nothing from QF about this - sorry if I'm wrong on this TH!) if clearly high value customers depart without so much of a how do you do from QF then it seems they just don't worry about that very much. Others earlier in this thread had reported just as much. indeed I didn't fly QF for 6 months this year (now I had retained P1 by then, but still)... not an email or call from QF. Not that I am at all a valuable customer in the vein of TH, but still... I do think the majority of P1's are very much a captive audience, through probably corporate contracts, or just stay with Q for their own reasons, and the overall yield value is probably making it worthwhile for QF to keep the program, but not worry too much if some go. Maybe as a TH type departs, another comes over to QF. point being that as a CRM exercise, P1 fails on many levels in my view. but I think this is a function of which umbrella the SST/P1 program fall under (Marketing).... Somehow I feel if Loyalty actually ran it (I seriously do not think QF Loyalty have a lot to do with the P1 program per se) they might make more effort to retain, to use the data they have on our travel and spend patterns etc to notice things like when we drop off the radar, or to target things more specifically, or to be aware when we're booking, or.... etc P1 reads glossy, but the execution, as we all know and experience, is below what many others do. I'm happy to be corrected on my views that P1 is more or less a marketing exercise though - it certainly seems to me like it is. Gloss... not so much substance. There's probably intent from several corners, but execution is poor.. or seems it from the outside as the customer... who knows what goes on internally in terms of competing forces within QF (eg: marketing vs. loyalty vs. the bean counters vs. yield/revenue managers vs. operations... and so on). my 2 cent (as always)