What do you want/expect on board?

[david870mdg]

737, welcome to AFF.



(I myself don't have a good record with call bells being answered. I usually avoid using them.)


.

+1
Heres my averages from a select sample i've flown on random airlines
(all in Y)

DOM
3mins
8mins
30sec
2mins
No answer *3

INT
2mins
5mins
25mins
30mins
No answer
5 calls, 75 mins (no kidding), thought the restavit had me dreaming...
10mins
10 seconds (80A!)...

Just varies but if everyone dings the bell they cant expect 145 or whatever have you FAs to attend to EVERY pax a the same time.
Would you like it as a pax if the FA came to you every two minutes telling you to put your seat up?

 

[koro25]

G'day mate,
For most part, the attitude of the FA is what most passengers remember after the flt. If the FA is rude/unfriendly, this vibe is picked up by passengers and thats what they talk about all the time. Equally if the food/drinks are limited, but the crews do all they can at 35000 ft to assist, passengers feel appreciated and valued. Understand food and drinks services are set by the company but the attitude of the crews are their own making. I guess as long as the FA's are welcoming and not in "i am doing you a favor by letting you in the plane" attitude, travelers like me would be happy.

 

[dajop]

International flights is where QF might be able to lift their game. The service is still satisfactory, but it lacks the lustre that you might be able to find on domestic flights. ...

One big rule is don't hide too much behind that curtain or in the galley. I find this a bit on other airlines when there are pax in the cabin that mightn't mind another drink, .

Actually I think these two are linked, domestically frankly I find on most sectors the FA's just don't have the time to "hide .. behind that curtain", and even if they do, and someone calls they respond quickly and courteously. Never had a problem domestically at all in this regard.

I don't know on international if its the roster, dealing with sleep deprivation crossing time zones etc or just dealing with a cabin full of riffraff in Y (me included!), but they do tend to hide a lote more, and I've had some real attitude that you just don't get domestically.

 

[harvyk]

For me, I simply want to see happy FA's.

One of the best flights I have ever had (and I gave feedback to QF about this FA) the FA was attentive, he made his way around to every pax in the cabin (ok so lower J cabin on a 747, I guess it would be a little harder in a Y cabin on a 737 with a quick turn around) and introduced himself as Ben and that he would be our FA on the flight and that if we need anything he would be happy to oblige. When I asked him about the self serve bar next to the stairs his reply was it was, but don't worry about self service as he would be more than happy to get anything I needed.

Better still he then lived up to his promise. My glass barely spent more than 30 seconds empty, if I wanted something such as a snack he got it (again in less that 30 seconds from me pressing the bell). Each time he came over he was smiling and happy, and when I left that flight all I can think is that was the best flight I'd ever had.

Whilst I wouldn't expect quite that level of attentive service on a short haul domestic flight in Y. The fact he was happy, polite and seemed to love his job showed big time.

The other improvement I can suggest is bringing back hot meals on all flights (especially the ones which the flight time does go into a "standard meal time" even if the meal can't be given out in the standard meal time, but flights such as MEL-CBR is more than long enough to have a decent meal in, as I have had a decent sized meal on that very flight on QF of old. I remember that a decent meal used to be one of the staples of flying, and IMHO one of the things which differentiate QF from the LCC's.

Just finally bring back softdrinks on SYD - CBR (vv) runs. I've been told that there is no time to give out can of coke but for some reason a can of beer is no problem. The only problem is I usually have to drive when I get back to CBR, and I have probably just had a few G&T's in the QP.

Something that you could do as a cost saving measure which would not reduce the customer service at all is ask the pax when booking if they would like a meal or not (still include in as part of the fare). (Like they used to ask if the pax wanted smoking or non-smoking). That way the pax who just don't like airline food can nominate no, prior to leaving the ground, thus it's one less meal which need to be prepared and then carried on-board.

 

[medhead]

Hi Welcome to AFF

Overall, I'm pretty happy about the overall service in terms of the standards. I do like getting a paper in the back if there are left overs. But then I also usually lift one from the QC. (Actually, I was not sure about this; there is no longer a sticker saying property of the lounge and in the afternoon the supply of papers can be minimal at best. So I've assumed we're allowed to keep them now, please correct me if wrong)

I also would rate myself as indifference to the personal welcome for status. But then I've never got one.

Perhaps I'll tell you what I do like, by saying what I don't like. Occassionally, I experience a vast gaping chasm between the FA and me as a passenger. An interaction like this: "Would you like a meal?"; "Yes", handed the snack box/tray. (I've even once literally had a snack box thrown to me.) No other words said and even a swift moving on so that I can't ask for a drink of some kind.

This could be due to me having earphones in, but I always stop whaetever I'm listening to and mostly remove one earphone. I also realise that the crew are there for my safety not as glorified serving staff, and that you probably have a thousand other things to do. But what I appreciate the most is just that little bit of time to offer the meal and then offer a drink, or to have the chance to ask for a drink. Ohh, and my usual tipple is Coke, heavy. None of this namby, pamby, double decaf, soy, Coke Zero, with a twist of lemon for me.

Having said that, judging by your question here, I reckon you would be one of the FA's who do give that attention.

Something that you could do as a cost saving measure which would not reduce the customer service at all is ask the pax when booking if they would like a meal or not (still include in as part of the fare). (Like they used to ask if the pax wanted smoking or non-smoking). That way the pax who just don't like airline food can nominate no, prior to leaving the ground, thus it's one less meal which need to be prepared and then carried on-board.

I can't see this working very well, I can barely tell if I want to eat from one day to the next, let alone for a flight booked 3 weeks to 2 months in advance.

 

[N860CR]

I also realise that the crew are there for my safety not as glorified serving staff

That is true... however service still makes up a large part of their job. I really hope we don't get to the stage that it is in the States where FA's think that good service isn't one of their responsibilities (generalisation I know... but roll with me!)

I flew SYD-BNE the other day and the CSM announced "Remember the crews are mainly here for your safety, however we'll try to assist if you need anything else" which smacked of AA and I found a little against the usual QF "higher service" norms.

 

[harvyk]

I can't see this working very well, I can barely tell if I want to eat from one day to the next, let alone for a flight booked 3 weeks to 2 months in advance.

So in your case you'd say yes I'll have a meal, or you can advise the airline at anytime upto checkin. There are some people who just won't touch airline food full stop (allergies, don't eat on planes, expect to be heavily sedated the whole flight thus won't be awake during meal times). My sister in law is a perfect example of this.

This is just a "cost saving measure" they can do which they can then funnel the savings into a better meal service even on short hauls.

 

[browski]

What is it that we can do to go over and above to make sure that you have a more than positive experience with us?

OK, here you go......

1. Sometimes I request a points upgrade and have been declined either on-line or at check-in. Upon boarding, if there are actually spare seats in J or PE, I expect you to go through your list of WPs and SGs and automatically offer them an upgrade - even if it is only the seat and not the meal.

2. If you are serving breakfast and it consists of a piece of pastry and a cupcake, I expect you to publicly apologise to the passengers and beg their forgiveness - alternatively you can just bring us all bacon and eggs.

3. When you ask me to remove my noise cancellation headphones during landing, I expect that you make a public display of making the same silly request of the pilot.

4. Before you commence the meal service, I expect you to make a public announcement for all passengers to return their seats to the upright position. If they have not done so, I expect you to beat them to within an inch of their lives.

5. If you are about to provide coffee that has been deemed "undrinkable" by the the Food Standards Association of 78 countries, I expect you to make us aware of this fact in advance.

By the way, Welcome to AFF.........

 

[drewbles]

That is true... however service still makes up a large part of their job. I really hope we don't get to the stage that it is in the States where FA's think that good service isn't one of their responsibilities (generalisation I know... but roll with me!)

I flew SYD-BNE the other day and the CSM announced "Remember the crews are mainly here for your safety, however we'll try to assist if you need anything else" which smacked of AA and I found a little against the usual QF "higher service" norms.

Wow. That's almost as bad as the old boiler I had on AA in October. Was in first row of F, Heard her pickup the PA phone with a sheet of flight info. She says the announcement like a robot, clicks the phone away and mumbles 'bloody hell i have to do that blurb another 4 times today' and sighs, all of around 1.5m from me with no attempt to hide her disdain in any way. I was tempted to pass comment, but it was a 40 minute segment. I didn't want to make a short flight uncomfortable.

 

[drewbles]

So in your case you'd say yes I'll have a meal, or you can advise the airline at anytime upto checkin. There are some people who just won't touch airline food full stop (allergies, don't eat on planes, expect to be heavily sedated the whole flight thus won't be awake during meal times). My sister in law is a perfect example of this.

This is just a "cost saving measure" they can do which they can then funnel the savings into a better meal service even on short hauls.

Airlines have meal management down to a pretty fine art, much like seat yield management. They more often than not will run out of a selection than have extras available.

The extra weight saving and reduced cost of catering would make life more difficult for the crew, needing to check against a manifest every time they serve a meal down the back of the bus. On a short segment, that's not really a viable option.

 

[browski]

OK, here you go......

1. Sometimes I request a points upgrade and have been declined either on-line or at check-in. Upon boarding, if there are actually spare seats in J or PE, I expect you to go through your list of WPs and SGs and automatically offer them an upgrade - even if it is only the seat and not the meal.

2. If you are serving breakfast and it consists of a piece of pastry and a cupcake, I expect you to publicly apologise to the passengers and beg their forgiveness - alternatively you can just bring us all bacon and eggs.

3. When you ask me to remove my noise cancellation headphones during landing, I expect that you make a public display of making the same silly request of the pilot.

4. Before you commence the meal service, I expect you to make a public announcement for all passengers to return their seats to the upright position. If they have not done so, I expect you to beat them to within an inch of their lives.

5. If you are about to provide coffee that has been deemed "undrinkable" by the the Food Standards Association of 78 countries, I expect you to make us aware of this fact in advance.

By the way, Welcome to AFF.........

6. Beer. It's not that hard really. Coopers, Little Creatures, even Cascade.
7. Sleep. When I am asleep in the aisle seat, can you manage to turn your enormous hips sideways as you pass me so that you do not continually bump me.

 

[medhead]

7. Sleep. When I am asleep in the aisle seat, can you manage to turn your enormous hips sideways as you pass me so that you do not continually bump me.

Ohh. I've always taken that as a display of interest. I always silently and internally rage about how these FA should notice my wedding ring and stop using their mating rituals on me. Lucky I'm happily married or I could have been in a lot of hot water.

 

[737]

Thanks everyone for your feedback, it is amazing the response of everyone on here, and I am glad to hear of so many of the positive responses. I think its amazing on how much so many of little things that count.

We have so many avenues in place to ensure that we are delivering our product and service correct, but unless the individual takes the effort to make it extra special, then I guess thats worth nothing.

I will take all of these comments in my stride and all of those that I can personally address I will endeavour to with the best of my ability.

Once again, thanks, I hope to welcome you on board one time, and happy and safe travels with whoever you chose to fly

 

[anat0l]

7. Sleep. When I am asleep in the aisle seat, can you manage to turn your enormous hips sideways as you pass me so that you do not continually bump me.

Ohh. I've always taken that as a display of interest. I always silently and internally rage about how these FA should notice my wedding ring and stop using their mating rituals on me. Lucky I'm happily married or I could have been in a lot of hot water.

I was planning on latching on browski's 7th point in a manner which you have done, but I couldn't come up with an eloquent response. Well done, medhead.

I was probably thinking how many QF FAs would I actually want to......oh, never mind.

 

[straitman]

737,

I hope you have had a look further around the forum as I am sure there are a few other areas that will interest you.

... and please come back from time to time and give us your perspective on a few other things.

 

[Postcode]

Hi 737 and so good to hear from a hard working FA. Pity we don´t hear QF management asking similar questions here or anywhere else. Whatever happened from the poster saying they were a QF representative who disappeared ?

As previous contributers have said, it´s the FA on the flight that gives so much of the overall impression of the flight and airline and how the experience has been.

I think the biggest gripe with people is how FAs disappear behind the curtains when they can. A drink run a bit more often would be most welcome. Asking parents to be parents and silence their noisy uncontrolled brats would make life much more pleasant for everyone.

As for passengers with status. Surprise us. We´ll appreciate it.

 

[harvyk]

Once again, thanks, I hope to welcome you on board one time, and happy and safe travels with whoever you chose to fly

I'm sure we will meet at one stage or another (laws of probability suggests so)... How often do you fly out of CBR?

 

[NYCguy]

OK, here you go......

1. Sometimes I request a points upgrade and have been declined either on-line or at check-in. Upon boarding, if there are actually spare seats in J or PE, I expect you to go through your list of WPs and SGs and automatically offer them an upgrade - even if it is only the seat and not the meal.

This point has been debated ad nauseum both here and elsewhere. Why cheapen the product to the point where, a la UA, passengers come to feel entitled to an upgrade every time they fly, and therefore don't buy a ticket in F or J at all? If you desperately want to sit up the front, then buy the ticket, otherwise join the upgrade lottery and be gracious in defeat if your numbers don't come out of the barrel.

As for my personal expectations, well, we could be here all day, but I'll try not to waffle too much. I don't fly Y, so my comments are all regarding the F and/or J cabins. Here we go:

1. SMILE at the customers. 'Customer Service 101' stuff. I don't give a rat's cough if you're having a bad hair day, or your cat just died, or your car got stolen last night. If you're not able to smile at the customers and be pleasant and professional, then you need to call in sick for the trip, or find yourself a new career.

2. Be QUIET in the galley. The banging-around of plates, glasses and flatware, plus loud talking and laughter, has no place in the galleys. Especially in the middle of the night. Keep the curtains pulled to reduce light-pollution in the cabin. Remember that passengers in F and J pay many, many thousands of dollars for the privilege of restful peace and quiet.

3. DON'T make a fuss of me because I'm a "super-elite" FF passenger. This is embarrassing, and my ego doesn't need stroking. All of the passengers in F and J deserve the best you can deliver.

4. REFRAIN from letting Y pax trudge up through J to use the rest-rooms. No excuses. If the facilities in Y are busy, or one of them is u/s, they have to queue.

5. ATTEND promptly to call-bells, and also to passengers with crying babies. I'm not suggesting babies should be banned from F and J, but as soon as there is a disturbance, the FA should be straight down to that seat, in "warm smile and calm voice" mode, to find out if there is anything they can do to help with the situation. Immediately. Likewise, the parents of the occasional toddler who ignore Junior's roaming of the cabin causing mayhem need to be softly reminded to control their child. A $20K ticket entitles me to be shielded from spoiled brats on a rampage.


6. IF I wake up late, say an hour before landing, and request some fruit, yoghurt and coffee, I expect you to bring it for me. Yes, you can smile and say "that's fine Mr NYCguy, but I just need to remind you that we'll be landing in an hour, and I have to prepare the cabin for our arrival". I fly enough to know that means "eat quickly and there won't be any trouble". Passengers who fly all over the world for a living know how to read between the lines, and most of us know how far we can push our luck.

7. KEEP an eye on who is stowing what and where during boarding. Pax in Y shouldn't be putting their carry-on in the F or J overheads. If you see them do so, intervene and insist they stow their bag in Y. If they refuse, have the item sent to the hold. Or throw them off the aircraft. Do whatever you have to do to send the message that this is not acceptable behavior.

I think that will do for now.

 

[Katie]

NYCguy's post has reminded me, if there are activity packs and there's a child under the recommended age for that pack, please let the parent's decide if it's appropriate. Travelling with my daughter, the domestic FAs gave her a plastic Freddo pack in 2007 (she was under 1) for her to chew on/wrestle with, and let me decide whether to let her have anything inside it.
International flights to/from LHR when she was 18months, she got nothing and we'd paid for a seat for her (she did get meals, I'm just talking activity packs here). That same trip we flew on BA, Air France, and Lufthansa in Europe, where she sat on our laps for all flights, and all of those airlines offered her an activity pack or something. Very much appreciated, even though I had toys, games, books, etc packed for her.

And I apologise in advance if my daughter (to 737 and NYCguy - tho we normally fly in Y, so NYCguy shouldn't be bothered by her) is one of the kids walking around. We don't let her walk around without one of us with her, and generally find letting her walk is better than having her scream for beign restrained. Yes, there are medication measures we can take, but I try not to dope her up too frequently. She's also a really curious child who likes exploring and meeting people. I steer her away from people who obviously aren't interested in meeting her.

 

[Travel Guru]

So in your case you'd say yes I'll have a meal, or you can advise the airline at anytime upto checkin. There are some people who just won't touch airline food full stop (allergies, don't eat on planes, expect to be heavily sedated the whole flight thus won't be awake during meal times). My sister in law is a perfect example of this.

This is just a "cost saving measure" they can do which they can then funnel the savings into a better meal service even on short hauls.

I think its a novel idea, but I honestly dont think the cost savings would make the hassle and additional expense incurred to manage it worth it.

TG