QFF Ideas & Suggestions

[Jacques Vert]

Is the JQ Club actually active?

As others have noted it is in OOL & CNS and 2 in NZ. WPs get access in OOL but not SG or QC members. (Not sure about other locations.)

On the 2 or 3 occasions I have paid my way ($15) into OOL it has been almost deserted; so I can't see why they can't open it to more of their elite pax.

JV

 

[samh004]

As others have noted it is in OOL & CNS and 2 in NZ. WPs get access in OOL but not SG or QC members. (Not sure about other locations.)

On the 2 or 3 occasions I have paid my way ($15) into OOL it has been almost deserted; so I can't see why they can't open it to more of their elite pax.

JV

The lounges might be open, yes, but what I was referring to was membership of the club, I haven’t seen or heard anything more about supposed memberships (ala QP) for their 4 lounges.

I normally pay $10 to get into the OOL lounge, prebook

 

[medhead]

The lounges might be open, yes, but what I was referring to was membership of the club, I haven’t seen or heard anything more about supposed memberships (ala QP) for their 4 lounges.

I normally pay $10 to get into the OOL lounge, prebook

The website seems to say the only way to get access is pay per visit. Besides that there is no mention of membership. I dare say that would be why you've not heard anything about such membership. Unless you count your paid visits.

 

[codash1099]

Why does it matter why the plane is late? If it's late it's late, it shouldn't matter why it's late!
By knowing isn't going to make it leave earlier

I'd sure like to know if it was late because they had to find the duct tape to seal up that leaky oil pipe in the engine.

 

[AnonymousCoward]

I am prepared to pay a little extra to ensure on time departures/arrivals.

Given the grumbling here about 3% increases in prices, I find this pretty hard to believe.

30 minute turn around would be about 25% of the time involved in a 1.5 hr flight BNE-SYD. If they increased the turn around time to 60 minutes, then I suppose we'd be looking at a corresponding 25% increase in prices. You prepared to pay that much?

I'm sorry, but you can't have rock bottom prices, and expect a Rolls Royce service.

 

[serfty]

... and expect a Rolls Royce service.

Hopefully not a contemporary RR experience in any case. :shock:

 

[JohnK]

Given the grumbling here about 3% increases in prices, I find this pretty hard to believe.

You need to look at the comments in the spirit they were written.

30 minute turn around would be about 25% of the time involved in a 1.5 hr flight BNE-SYD. If they increased the turn around time to 60 minutes, then I suppose we'd be looking at a corresponding 25% increase in prices. You prepared to pay that much?

If a 25% increase in airfares meant that my on time departure statistics would go up above 50% then I am prepared to pay it.

What is unacceptable to me (and by the way nothing I can do about it as all airlines in Australia think it is OK to have delayed flights but delayed passengers are a no no) is to have very good on time performance on key routes. No point bragging that we have 40+ SYD-MEL flights a day and 30%-40% of them are delayed.

It is not good having the once in a blue moon CNS-PER service on time when 30%-40% of SYD-BNE, SYD-MEL flights are significantly delayed. These routes are the ones with business travellers and commuters who trust the airline will deliver what they promise. On Friday nights it means I am home very late and on Sunday nights delays could mean waiting around another 40 minutes for Coachtrans in BNE.

I'm sorry, but you can't have rock bottom prices, and expect a Rolls Royce service.

So what you are saying is I should not expect the airline to get me to my destination at the time they promise?

 

[straitman]

Knowing the (real) reason an aircraft is late could help establish a pattern of tight flight scheduling, poor crew scheduling, wear and tear, poor maintenance etc.

These factors do get analysed.

I do not like an airline to lie to me about the real reason the aircraft is late.

No do you need a whole lot of unnecessary waffle. Different people have different expectations of what is realistic with this.

I am prepared to pay a little extra to ensure on time departures/arrivals.

I know I can purchase fully flexible tickets so I can move myself around to other flights that look like departing on time but I should not have to. It is up to the airlines to accepet some responsibility for delays and get their act together and stop looking for excuses.

I find these two statements at loggerheads with each other. By paying extra for the flexible ticket you are doing the first.

 

[medhead]

I'd sure like to know if it was late because they had to find the duct tape to seal up that leaky oil pipe in the engine.

I'd be more interested if the duct tape was sealing the pitot tube.

 

[drron]

And everytime Nonews has an article about a QF problem there is almost always a comment from a disgruntled pax saying"QF told us nothing".People do want to know-may not have a good reason for wanting to know but thats life.

 

[AnonymousCoward]

So what you are saying is I should not expect the airline to get me to my destination at the time they promise?

I don't believe that they really do promise this. And they would be foolish to if they did, given the large number of factors that are outside their control (e.g. ATC, weather, engines on other planes bursting into flames causing emergency landings etc.)

If people really wanted the flexibility to ensure that they arrive on time, they would pay $300+ each way for SYD-MEL. However it is shown time-and-again that people do not care enough to pay that.

So, the obvious solution to your problem is for you to pay that price. But it appears that the slight increase in arrival time certainty isn't worth the extra cost to you. That's a perfectly valid choice.

 

[QF029]

So what you are saying is I should not expect the airline to get me to my destination at the time they promise?

It's not a promise it's a scheduled time of arrival.

 

[JohnK]

No do you need a whole lot of unnecessary waffle. Different people have different expectations of what is realistic with this.

I do not believe it is waffle. Knowing that the aircraft has an engine problem, and it had the same engine problem last week is worth knowing. I believe it is also important to know the estimate for how long we will be delayed.

If people choose to ignore this information then that is entirely up to them.

I find these two statements at loggerheads with each other. By paying extra for the flexible ticket you are doing the first.

I do not believe so. There is a big difference between paying a little extra on an airfare as opposed to spending double to get a slightly flexible or triple/quadruple to get a fully flexible ticket.

Why should I have to purchase flexibility to ensure that I get to my destination close to scheduled arrival time? Flexibility should be for people who finish work/meetings early/late and need to adjust the flights.

If I turn up to the airport at 5:35pm for a 7:15pm flight then the airline should do everything in their power to get me on an earlier flight not force me on to a later flight.

I am at a loss to understand all the people who are actually sticking up for the airlines. Am I the only who puts emphasis on departure/arrival times? I have better things to do than sit around at airports while the airlines try to get their act together day after day. If I was this incompetent I would not have a job now....

 

[simongr]

And everytime Nonews has an article about a QF problem there is almost always a comment from a disgruntled pax saying"QF told us nothing".People do want to know-may not have a good reason for wanting to know but thats life.

I think though that is more often when they are stuck on board rather than simply delayed.

 

[straitman]

I'd be more interested if the duct tape was sealing the pitot tube.

... or the static vents :!: :shock:

 

[futaris]

I am at a loss to understand all the people who are actually sticking up for the airlines. Am I the only who puts emphasis on departure/arrival times? I have better things to do than sit around at airports while the airlines try to get their act together day after day. If I was this incompetent I would not have a job now....

Book - Flights - Conditions of Carriage
If travelling on Qantas, we will use all reasonable efforts to depart on time, but we do not guarantee flight times. If your flight is delayed or cancelled, you may in some circumstances be entitled to assistance and/or compensation depending on your journey and applicable law.

They abide by their conditions of carriage, re: departure/arrival times. If you want to experience real delays, try flying on a LCC, ala Tiger or Jetstar.

I'd like to see any form of transport that has guaranteed arrival and departure times.

 

[JohnM]

I can understand people getting annoyed about delays but given the enormous array of factors at play, it would be a surprise if they didn't occur. The problems of catering to a demanding world constantly seduced to over-expect, I guess.

For that reason, I always travel with the expectation of delays. I never, for example, use default connections.

But as a SFSC travelling almost exlusively for leisure I admit that I have the luxury of time to while away in the J or F lounges - although sometimes delay of the incoming flight that I'm on may eat into that :mrgreen:.

 

[AnonymousCoward]

I am at a loss to understand all the people who are actually sticking up for the airlines. Am I the only who puts emphasis on departure/arrival times? I have better things to do than sit around at airports while the airlines try to get their act together day after day. If I was this incompetent I would not have a job now....

No one is "sticking up for airlines" - we simply do not have unrealistic expectations of service for a given price. Some people also have expressed that they don't really care for detailed announcements about why a problem occured.

As for incompetance: you've never finished a task late in your life? Sometimes "stuff happens", and whilst you might tell your manager why (and I'm sure that happens in QF as well), that doesn't mean that someone's who 10 degrees-of-separation from you (e.g. someone reporting overall project progress in a status meeting) knows the details of the delay - they will probably just report that the project is delayed. It happens in all large organisations.

 

[JohnK]

They abide by their conditions of carriage, re: departure/arrival times. If you want to experience real delays, try flying on a LCC, ala Tiger or Jetstar.

No thanks.

I'd like to see any form of transport that has guaranteed arrival and departure times.

No form of transport is perfect and there will be delays. The trick is to try and keep the delays to a minimum.

Having tight schedules just adds to the already growing number of factors that could cause delays.

 

[medhead]

... or the static vents :!: :shock:

Yes, my bad. One day I might stop using generic terms instead of the actual specifically correct term. Well that is my intention anyway.

No one is "sticking up for airlines" - we simply do not have unrealistic expectations of service for a given price. Some people also have expressed that they don't really care for detailed announcements about why a problem occured.

I'd like to see any form of transport that has guaranteed arrival and departure times.

I think the problem is not so much unrealistic expectations but that there is a contract with the airline. The airline basically says pay us $x and we'll put you on an aircraft that is going to leave point A at this time and arrive at point B, Y hours later. If I pay that fare, there is a contract that includes the timings specified when booking. Some people see no problem with an airline not meeting the conditions of a contract but then also get upset if the passenger might also seem to ignore the conditions of the contract. Sure, I understand that stuff happens but it's a 2 way street; it's a bit rich to only insist of enforcing the contractual arrangement when it suits the airline.