¨I still call Australia (Qantas), home!¨

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juddles

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G´day all,
this thread is to chuck in a view of Qantas that is getting lost in the endless debates comparing service levels, routes, SC earn, etc etc etc. It is to explain why some of us have an emotional attachment to the Flying Kangaroo. I have posted it here as it has nothing to do with the ¨QFF¨ program.
I live and work in Colombia. It has been almost a year since I have made it back to Australia, my homeland. Am taking my usual route, which is flying LAN from Medellin through Bogota, Colombia, and down to Santiago in Chile. In Santiago I get to board a Qantas flight direct over to Sydney.
This is a long trip for me. First I have to do a full day driving through the Colombian outback. Always challenging. Then the combo of flights/stopovers from Medellin down to Santiago is another 12hrs. With the connection, another 7 hrs in Santiago airport, followed by the 13+ hr flight to Sydney, more stopover, then up to Brisbane, then a drive further north. An epic trip.
After a year away one gets homesick. You miss all the things that make Australia what it is. And when it is so so far away, you value the opportunity to catch that QF flight from Santiago. Because those QF flight staff, who some on here don´t seem to appreciate, are the extension of Australia overseas. I may be boarding in Chile, but the moment I set foot on that beautiful Qantas jumbo, I feel I am safe back in Australia again.
Sure, there are airlines where the staff may respond to the call button quicker. They may smile deeply and bow when they serve you. But what I want in an international service is the chance to extend Australia, so that I am not so far from ¨home¨.
And they have always done that for me.

Thank you Qantas.
 
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I was born/raised in Melbourne area...currently live/based in Sydney area....but Melbourne will always be my 'home' (that's where my beginnings/roots/foundations are)
 
I certainly think they do. Don't confuse the need to restructure a company that has been weighted down with employment agreements and ownership rules that no other airline or Australian enterprise would have to be burdened with, as evidence that they do not call Australian home. If Qantas does not restructure and make the most of its opportunities in Asia there will be no Qantas and we will all have to fly on carriers predominantly owned by the middle east. I hope this thread can keep the theme that the original poster aimed for - rather than another reason to bag Qantas.
 
Placing "Bags" and "Qantas" in the same sentence isn't wise :cool:
 
Back on topic, I certainly know what you mean, it's pretty rare that I do fly other carriers back home, but when I do the "I'm home" feeling doesn't start until arrival at SYD, where as the "I'm home" feeling starts as soon as I've sat down on the QF plane.

Of course, my trips have never been longer than a couple of weeks, and certainly not a year away.
 
I like shrimps, Croc Dundee, Qantas and tossing poison dwarfs. Qantas makes me feel right at home :cool:
 
Don't fly them very much, but yes hopping on a Qantas plane can be a pleasant experience when you are starting your ride back home...
 
I remember years ago after spending a year in Finland as an exchange student getting on a QF flight in Singapore and the feeling of "home" was overwhelming. Combined with the fact that I hadn't heard a lot of English spoken for a year, let along an Aussie accent, it elevated my level of excitement to be back home.
 
Nicely put, juddles.

My sister lived in the USA for 7 years and every time she headed back to OZ for holidays she would always remark that she felt at home as soon as one of the FAs said "G'day" as she boarded.
 
... and seeing the big kangaroo tail at the gate after a long time away from Australia.
 
Get that feeling when boarding a QF flight in LAX. For some reason though boarding a QF A330 in SIN doesn't engender the same feelings for me. Maybe there's enough Australians around , Australian style restaurants and you can buy Vegemite/lots of Australian fresh produce from supermarkets that you don't feel so removed from home. Or maybe the A330 just doesn't feel that special!
 
Get that feeling when boarding a QF flight in LAX. For some reason though boarding a QF A330 in SIN doesn't engender the same feelings for me. Maybe there's enough Australians around , Australian style restaurants and you can buy Vegemite/lots of Australian fresh produce from supermarkets that you don't feel so removed from home. Or maybe the A330 just doesn't feel that special!

I'm going with the A330 just isn't that special. 4 burners are where it's at. :cool:
 
I only have that association/feeling with a QF 747, an A380 just feels like any big plane. I think that is probably from growing up with that iconic red roo 747 and song on the ads/videos.
 
Couldn't agree more juddles!

I have that same feeling, "I'm home", each time I step aboard a Qantas aircraft overseas.
 
I can very much appreciate the feelings and sentiments of juddles. If one has been away from home for a long time (be it weeks, months or more), then hearing the Oz accent and seeing (hopefully) Oz papers aboard has great resonance. I certainly was in that boat in my early flying 'career', when I might go away once a year and as soon as you sat down you knew you were 'almost home'.

Now, with numerous trips away a year for work, I'm somewhat less attached. Flying TPAC is a chore and I go for whoever is going to get me over / back with the least hassle and best prospects of sleep. The accents can wait.

Its when the wheels hit the tarmac in SYD or MEL that I know I'm home these days.
 
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I'm going with the A330 just isn't that special. 4 burners are where it's at. :cool:

I am going to Thailand for my birthday in February. It is going to cost extra but I am going via HKG for the simple reason of flying the 747 again. I just cannot get enough. It will be a sad day.
 
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