rtyuiop
Active Member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2009
- Posts
- 680
Hi folks,
I'm one of the folks who DJ very kindly status matched to velocity gold (from QFF gold) earlier in the month, so I thought I'd write some quick notes on my first couple of DJ flights in about 4 years. Routing was BNE-DPS (then over to Surabaya and back on Garuda)-BNE, then a few days later BNE-CBR-BNE.
First experience was good - premium check in at BNE international saved me a long wait. Also scored a blocked seat next to me in the first row of economy. I also think I actually prefer the V-licious menu to most QF food - better a passable sandwich than a terrible curry! I do think an option to pay for food and drinks as part of the ticket would make business travellers happier - if I buy some food and a couple of drinks spaced throughout the flight, that's three more receipts I need to carry and expense.
Bit disappointed in the lack of lounge at BNE international. I realize it's not the biggest airport in the world (and the QP there isn't great), but it's not exactly small...
The flight itself was very pleasant, thanks to the empty seat. I'm not sure I like leather seats on a 6 hour flight, but that's a minor complaint. I'm not a huge fan of live2air (the chances of finding something you want to watch at a random hour on foxtel never appeal to me), but these days I mainly keep my IFE on an iPad anyway, so no great loss.
Flight back had two issues - firstly, couldn't check in early in DPS, even though there were DJ counters open for another flight, so had to sit around the landside area for several hours due to a long connection time. Really a DPS issue I suppose rather than DJ, but it still didn't put me in a good mood!
Lack of lounge (or at least lack of obvious lounge for DJ Gold folks) was a bit sad again, but one of the paid entry lounges looked more comfy than sitting around the terminal, so went for that.
Flight back was 99% full, so didn't get an empty seat next to me. I can't sleep on planes, so a crowded overnight flight in a normal Y seat is just about hell on (above?) earth, and this was no different to any other... Premium econ completely empty, so a seat upgrade would have been nice, but QF wouldn't have bumped me up either so I suppose I can't complain.
Flights to CBR and back were I guess a bit more representative of the normal DJ experience - I like the Lounges more than QPs (better food options, and *way* quieter), and I like Embraers more than either 737s or Dash 8s... So altogether pretty pleasant!
We did have a slightly weird occurence on the flight down, where both I and another pax had boarding passes for 4D, and were both allowed to board. To make matters worse, another guy had sat down in 4F instead of 4A, then the original 4F occupant sat in 4A, all without telling anyone. By the time we got all that sorted out I was in 3D, premium econ, with a little extra room.
I'm about to start a thread over in the DJ forum to check if that sort of shenanigans is a regular event. Weird.
So, generally - I'm pretty happy with my first few DJ flights in a while. particularly the domestic services were, if anything, a better experience than QF would have been... I'm guessing DJ has already gotten their money out of status matching me, but I think I'll continue to steer some business their way.
Danny
I'm one of the folks who DJ very kindly status matched to velocity gold (from QFF gold) earlier in the month, so I thought I'd write some quick notes on my first couple of DJ flights in about 4 years. Routing was BNE-DPS (then over to Surabaya and back on Garuda)-BNE, then a few days later BNE-CBR-BNE.
First experience was good - premium check in at BNE international saved me a long wait. Also scored a blocked seat next to me in the first row of economy. I also think I actually prefer the V-licious menu to most QF food - better a passable sandwich than a terrible curry! I do think an option to pay for food and drinks as part of the ticket would make business travellers happier - if I buy some food and a couple of drinks spaced throughout the flight, that's three more receipts I need to carry and expense.
Bit disappointed in the lack of lounge at BNE international. I realize it's not the biggest airport in the world (and the QP there isn't great), but it's not exactly small...
The flight itself was very pleasant, thanks to the empty seat. I'm not sure I like leather seats on a 6 hour flight, but that's a minor complaint. I'm not a huge fan of live2air (the chances of finding something you want to watch at a random hour on foxtel never appeal to me), but these days I mainly keep my IFE on an iPad anyway, so no great loss.
Flight back had two issues - firstly, couldn't check in early in DPS, even though there were DJ counters open for another flight, so had to sit around the landside area for several hours due to a long connection time. Really a DPS issue I suppose rather than DJ, but it still didn't put me in a good mood!
Lack of lounge (or at least lack of obvious lounge for DJ Gold folks) was a bit sad again, but one of the paid entry lounges looked more comfy than sitting around the terminal, so went for that.
Flight back was 99% full, so didn't get an empty seat next to me. I can't sleep on planes, so a crowded overnight flight in a normal Y seat is just about hell on (above?) earth, and this was no different to any other... Premium econ completely empty, so a seat upgrade would have been nice, but QF wouldn't have bumped me up either so I suppose I can't complain.
Flights to CBR and back were I guess a bit more representative of the normal DJ experience - I like the Lounges more than QPs (better food options, and *way* quieter), and I like Embraers more than either 737s or Dash 8s... So altogether pretty pleasant!
We did have a slightly weird occurence on the flight down, where both I and another pax had boarding passes for 4D, and were both allowed to board. To make matters worse, another guy had sat down in 4F instead of 4A, then the original 4F occupant sat in 4A, all without telling anyone. By the time we got all that sorted out I was in 3D, premium econ, with a little extra room.
I'm about to start a thread over in the DJ forum to check if that sort of shenanigans is a regular event. Weird.
So, generally - I'm pretty happy with my first few DJ flights in a while. particularly the domestic services were, if anything, a better experience than QF would have been... I'm guessing DJ has already gotten their money out of status matching me, but I think I'll continue to steer some business their way.
Danny
