Recent disappointing SYD-SIN J catering experience

[lonewolf]

I had a friend fly QF J from DPS to MEL and they had run out of cheese platters. Her seat was broken and her entertainment didn't work. Not good enough for the money paid. After repeated emails she was offered a paltry 5000 points.

I do seem to come across quite a few unhappy passengers on Qantas business as opposed to the other airlines but i guess its also possible its because Qantas is flown a lot more down here and hence more people fly business on it than the other airlines .

 

[Rangalad]

I had a friend fly QF J from DPS to MEL and they had run out of cheese platters. Her seat was broken and her entertainment didn't work. Not good enough for the money paid. After repeated emails she was offered a paltry 5000 points.

Not good enough.

 

[Rangalad]

The seared Humpty Doo barramundi with tamarind sauce, gai lan and jasmine rice, that has been available on some flights has received pretty good reviews.

 

[Dennis Colquitt]

You did pay for the ticket in full. You just paid in points instead of dollars.
Award flights are not some favour or gift from the airline.

Easy Solution. Fly SQ and book the cook. I do it all the time & it's brilliant.

 

[Rangalad]

I do seem to come across quite a few unhappy passengers on Qantas business as opposed to the other airlines but i guess its also possible its because Qantas is flown a lot more down here and hence more people fly business on it than the other airlines .

FWIW Have had very bad experiences on both SQ and MH Business Class. SQ replied but did not offer a resolution. No response from MH.

 

[RichardMEL]

QF International J also has an option to pre-book meal selection of course.
Sure, it's nothing like BTC but it's better than nothing.

And unfortunately in a situation like the OP's none of that matters with last minute changes like this. Same would likely happen if on SQ tbh.

 

[Rangalad]

If you do "book the cook" through the manage booking part of the website, they will have that meal allocated for you. If you are flying out of SIN there are an insane number of options. needs to be booked more than 24hrs in advance.

Book the Cook menu from Singapore | Singapore Airlines

www.singaporeair.com

Had an Eat-on-Q failure on QF41 to CGK.
My meal was presented to the chap in the seat behind me, even though the flight attendant addressed that passenger Mr. Rangalad. My surname is very uncommon. The flight attendant then saw me and was embarrassed but not apologetic. ‘I’m sorry your meal wasn’t loaded Mr. Rangalad’. The lie angered me more than the initial mistake. Second time this has happened.

 

[Ade]

After repeated emails she was offered a paltry 5000 points.

This makes my delayed Y flight due to broken toilet and made me miss work that day and getting 10,000 points as compensation, look, for the lack of a better word, cheap action from QF !

 

[Rangalad]

This makes my delayed Y flight due to broken toilet and made me miss work that day and getting 10,000 points as compensation, look, for the lack of a better word, cheap action from QF !

 

[tuppence47]

I have flown MEL-SIN J class in Qantas and Emirates. Emirates was far better than Qantas re the food, drinks, service.

 

[Sprucegoose]

I don't know why QF always have to start service from the front. Why can't they mix it up a bit?

please no that would be too confusing

 

[Sprucegoose]

I appreciate the issue which is essentially commercial in nature. Therefore I would vote with your feet. Qantas catering has lost its shine for sometime now with me and when or if that becomes a substantial issue I will switch to BA/CX or even back to SQ, all who have refocused on their inflight offerings. Hint - Do&Co and Lobster thermidor......

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

hmm, I didnt realise J seats run out of food , I am flying J for the first time with Singapore Air and for one of my flights on the A380, I chose the rear seat due to the location and privacy / seat quality. I hadnt thought of running out of food.

If they don't account for there being a late add in, **meal wise**, I guess the airline has to make do.
Its not like EK which has a bar onboard its A380, which usually has food left over, have seen it for myself.
SQ though is very good, food wise, they will (like EK), ply you with alcchy, and ask if you want a refill.
Back to Lonewolf though, if your J seat is not a late fill in, 99.9% of the time, SQ will be able to have what you had wanted/put on the booking.
Have flown SQ J ADL - SIN many years ago, and SIN back to ADL, more recently, SQ J MEL - WLG, and even on that short flight, food was very good.
Also had a taste of the KF lounge at MEL T2 and the (Air)NZ Koru, (the just scanned by SQ BP, didn't say anything, I guess as the flight was MEL - NZ, they wouldn't, not sure if access to Koru would be allowed if you were flying Au - SIN).

 

[RichardMEL]

If they don't account for there being a late add in, **meal wise**, I guess the airline has to make do.
Its not like EK which has a bar onboard its A380, which usually has food left over, have seen it for myself.
SQ though is very good, food wise, they will (like EK), ply you with alcchy, and ask if you want a refill.

How is this relevant?

the EK bar snacks, sandwiches, nuts etc are not catered meals per se - I am sure if someone was in J and wanted the Barra, for example, and they had run out saying "Here, have some of the sangas from the bar would that make do?" that would hardly be treated as acceptable.

Also, EK only fly the 77W MEL-SIN these days so there's no bar on board

Further, the amount of drink - alcohol or otherwise - doesn't seem relevant to food service either IMO.

Back to Lonewolf though, if your J seat is not a late fill in, 99.9% of the time, SQ will be able to have what you had wanted/put on the booking.
Have flown SQ J ADL - SIN many years ago, and SIN back to ADL, more recently, SQ J MEL - WLG, and even on that short flight, food was very good.
Also had a taste of the KF lounge at MEL T2 and the (Air)NZ Koru, (the just scanned by SQ BP, didn't say anything, I guess as the flight was MEL - NZ, they wouldn't, not sure if access to Koru would be allowed if you were flying Au - SIN).

Per Star Alliance rules, just like oneworld, you were allowed into the NZ lounge by flying J on a Star Alliance carrier.
So there was no reason for the agent to say anything to you other than "Welcome" because you were perfectly within your rights to access the lounge.
Just as flying NZ in J out of a UA hub like LAX/SFO/IAH/ORD (and soon EWR) one can use the rather decent UA Polaris Lounges (where having status does not provide entry).

(of course the rules get murky in SIN with SQ, but that's a whole other issue that is even less relevant to this thread but I only mention it for completeness)

 

[lonewolf]

I appreciate the issue which is essentially commercial in nature. Therefore I would vote with your feet. Qantas catering has lost its shine for sometime now with me and when or if that becomes a substantial issue I will switch to BA/CX or even back to SQ, all who have refocused on their inflight offerings. Hint - Do&Co and Lobster thermidor......

Whats Do&Co?

Speaking of lounges, I take it there is a KF lounge in sydney that i can go to once i check in for my flight. Is that the same scenario in Bangkok as well for my return journey.

 

[RichardMEL]

Whats Do&Co?

Very highly regarded caterers.

Speaking of lounges, I take it there is a KF lounge in sydney that i can go to once i check in for my flight. Is that the same scenario in Bangkok as well for my return journey.

Yes, in SYD you can use either the SQ KrisFlyer lounge, or the Air NZ lounge when flying in J on SQ (or have *G status).

in BKK the Thai lounges are probably the best options.

 

[docjames]

I somewhat laughed out loud (?guffawed) when i was presented with my “salad” on transcon J late last year. The FA looked at me funny but i suspect didnt want to ask......

 

[dajop]

The question I have is how much does data come into play into managing what is loaded of the different options? I imagine QF (and indeed any airline) should be able gather good data around what dishes are selected on any given route in any given season, and cater accordingly. Granted on specific flights you could encounter problems, on balance throughout a year it should not be a systematic problem, especially if they overcater by 1 or 2 meals on each dish (or do they just cater the exact number of dishes and not over cater at all?)

 

[Happy Trails]

in BKK the Thai lounges are probably the best options.

I would make that 'lounge' singular, being the newer one on concourse D, which is very good indeed..
The others are mediocre at best.

Eva, SQ and TK might also be worth a look.

 

[Quickstatus]

Same here. When I questioned the crew member, the response was simply ‘ crew meal’.

The barramundi might well be crew meal. I dont think crew get whats left. But someone can confirm.....