Is Qantas in flight service slipping?

[Borisdog]

Maybe Transcon only. Not seen that on shorter flights in economy.

I fly BNE-PER once a month, have had B&E on the menu for quite some time now.

 

[njba]

Wot no (money for) jam?

There are actual cafes near me that can't get poached eggs done right (and still charge $19 a plate). Well done, QF catering.

 

[JohnK]

The difference between say CX and QF on the overnight from HKG is dramatic!! Supper and breakfast were streets ahead on CX last month compared to QF the previous year (and the BKK-SYD flight last year) , and SWMBO has now developed a real phobia towards the "Cafe breakfast" or whatever they call it on QF from Asia.

Meals on any airline will not always be up to the standards of everyone.

Emirates business the other night SIN-MEL and the meal choices were awful. I dismissed all the choices and was left with a lamb dish. You can't go wrong with lamb right? Wrong. Too dry. Too chewy and difficult to swallow.

Only a short flight but then continental breakfast of some yoghurt, fruit and croissant. That's not breakfast. As it turned out missed connection in MEL due to late arrival and then had 2 minutes in lounge before next flight. Grabbed a couple of boiled eggs. I was starving when I got home in SYD after midday.

 

[Flying Fox]

View attachment 76442

My J breakfast SYD-MEL the other week

Was it true bacon or simply warm ham?

 

[kitkatff]

Drinks:
on international in J, don't forget you get the glass of champers on boarding - can even squeeze 2 in if you board early ... So no absolute rush for an in-flight drink from that side for me.
And people can always get up and ask for a drink. I know you can ring, but if the FAs are busy it may be faster to stand up, walk to the galley, ask for a glass of whatever you want, in my experience it's always provided very quickly. Yeah, a pleasure of J is to not have to move at all and have all your whims catered to, but if you're really hankering for a G+T you can get up ... plus bonus exercise and reduction in DVT risks

But really if people are waiting 60+ minutes for a drink, they're not that thirsty.

Re food on international back from Asia, given the short-ish sleep time if you eat dinner + breakfast, these days I try to eat in the lounge(s) - CX's F lounges in HKG have decent menus, and real champagne, if WP - then go straight to sleep after take off, and skip breakfast as I'd rather sleep if I can. That said if I get woken up I'll ask for some food, didn't mind the asian breakfast last time. On the way to Asia it's morning flights, so I'm not in a hurry to get plastered before lunch

Minor things but for ex on CX's 3-4 hour flights in J, the FA came to say hi due to being OWE as WP with QF, so nothing to do with CX, asked my meal order and said they'd make sure to keep one for me in case other people ahead of me in the service would all eat the same thing - very unlikely but nice touch. On EK even when travelling Y I got a personalised greating from the FA. Haven't had that recognition on QF's Y.

So to my limited experience, QF service, food and drinks is good, but little things around status could be done better.

 

[nlagalle]

Was it true bacon or simply warm ham?

Real bacon Flying Fox...

 

[maninblack]

Qantas business class meals are simply dreadful in the main.

 

[bad]

SirFlyAlot, perhaps you are sufferring my syndrome? I also used to enjoy the meals but now can barely stomach anything - but what I feel sure it is is simply that I am sick of airline food!!

I agree on the drinks service though - aboard a plane is one of the few times I get to relax, so I want to have a few drinks and watch a movie - and it does indeed seem that it is just too hard to get those drinks.

Last i looked it was my syndrome how dare take it away from me.........on the otherhand take it I don't want it anymore.:mrgreen:

 

[imipenam]

Recently flew in first class QF9 from Mel to Dubai followed by EK from Dubai to Milan.

The service I received on board QF9 was attrocious. Never would I expect a fully paid first class ticket to come with such disappointing service. Firstly, I was greeted by the attendant who obviously haven't bothered learning the names of the passengers in the cabin. She then forgot to serve my my predinner drinks. Through the trip, she never bothered to top up my drinks or offered to do so. Service was lacking and slow throughout the flight without any warm hospitality. A napkin was dropped on the floor of the cabin (not by me) - laid in the same spot without being picked up (despite multiple attendants walking past) for at least twenty minutes.

Changeover in Dubai - such a difference in the level of service. Attendants actually know what service is and are happy with their job. Even the attendant outside the toilet knew the passengers' names (and even offered to get me a drink as she realised I haven't requested any for quite a while). They put QF to shame easily.

Qantas desperately need some lessons from the likes of EK, SQ or CX if they want to keep up when the race. I would have given up on Qantas ages ago but felt the need to support our only Australian airline. With such declining service levels, one may quickly lose the patience and support.

 

[eminere]

Recently flew in first class QF9 from Mel to Dubai followed by EK from Dubai to Milan.

The service I received on board QF9 was attrocious. Never would I expect a fully paid first class ticket to come with such disappointing service. Firstly, I was greeted by the attendant who obviously haven't bothered learning the names of the passengers in the cabin. She then forgot to serve my my predinner drinks. Through the trip, she never bothered to top up my drinks or offered to do so. Service was lacking and slow throughout the flight without any warm hospitality. A napkin was dropped on the floor of the cabin (not by me) - laid in the same spot without being picked up (despite multiple attendants walking past) for at least twenty minutes.

Changeover in Dubai - such a difference in the level of service. Attendants actually know what service is and are happy with their job. Even the attendant outside the toilet knew the passengers' names (and even offered to get me a drink as she realised I haven't requested any for quite a while). They put QF to shame easily.

Qantas desperately need some lessons from the likes of EK, SQ or CX if they want to keep up when the race. I would have given up on Qantas ages ago but felt the need to support our only Australian airline. With such declining service levels, one may quickly lose the patience and support.

You should use the Customer Feedback Form to write in and let QF know of your negative experience.

 

[imipenam]

You should use the Customer Feedback Form to write in and let QF know of your negative experience.

Thanks Eminere. I did .... more than one week ago . No reply yet and I am still living in the hope of QF service being on par with the likes of EK.

 

[gaz0303]

QFlink have removed the fresh muffin/pastry service from the first departure flights leaving regional centres (at least from ARM). They have been replaced with bland and cold muffins in a cardboard box.

It always helped ease the pain of the 6:30am departure from ARM to have a fresh, large, warm muffin or pastry served for breakfast.

Hoping the wine service on the final flights of the day still remain.

 

[kermatu]

Thanks Eminere. I did .... more than one week ago . No reply yet and I am still living in the hope of QF service being on par with the likes of EK.

Sadly this says it all. I still faithfully give feedback - positive and negative. I rarely get satisfactory responses. When I have given positive feedback about particular FAs and have then encountered them in future, I have noted I have given positive feedback -- it is quite clear from their responses they never knew or had had it passed on. If positive feedback isn't provided to crew to reinforce good service, my expectations for constructive feedback actually making a difference are now zero -- on any airline, to be fair.

 

[bad]

Recently delayed flight with Qantas by many hours. Missed vital appointments but having put in a feedback letter did get a complimentary 10K points adjustment

thanks Qantas

 

[eminere]

Thanks Eminere. I did .... more than one week ago . No reply yet and I am still living in the hope of QF service being on par with the likes of EK.

Ah that's such a shame to hear! I had a less than positive experience recently and someone called me back the day after I wrote in and promptly resolved the complaint...

 

[Flying mermaid]

Thanks Eminere. I did .... more than one week ago . No reply yet and I am still living in the hope of QF service being on par with the likes of EK.

I had a few unfortunate experiences with Qantas over the last few years (like you I am a paying F passenger) and I found when I complained they were very quick to respond. Lovely, warm, genuine people and I felt they really cared and wanted to make Qantas a top quality airline. Unfortunately they don't seem to be able to fix the inconsistencies. I have recently done a trial SQ flight and it leaves QF trailing in the dust. Sample size is very small, but I really can't see QF being my first choice in future.

 

[maninblack]

I find that generally the onboard service and morale is the best it's been in years. There are always exceptions of course, still the occasional dud experience.

 

[drron]

Late to the thread.I think it is also to do with the classic QF inconsistency.We in fact have had some of our better QF flights this year.In particular the flight from BKK-SYD recently.Beds made up before takeoff.no long wait for drinks or meal.The food somewhat better than the last 2-3 years.Plus a great crew.But flying from NRT-BNE earlier in the year was one of the worst with both food and service including being able to choose either a small or large plate but definitely not both.
This year also was goodbye to the café brekkie on the flights from Asia.A step in the right direction but still not great.
As for PJ's quite a few airlines give them out in J-
Why In-Flight Pajamas Still Matter
Not an exhaustive list as JAL does hand out PJ tops in J.So better not just wear those in flight.

 

[Mattg]

Sadly this says it all. I still faithfully give feedback - positive and negative. I rarely get satisfactory responses. When I have given positive feedback about particular FAs and have then encountered them in future, I have noted I have given positive feedback -- it is quite clear from their responses they never knew or had had it passed on. If positive feedback isn't provided to crew to reinforce good service, my expectations for constructive feedback actually making a difference are now zero -- on any airline, to be fair.

That is really disappointing. I too provide feedback for excellent service. I would like to think that it at least gets passed on to the crew!

 

[kermatu]

That is really disappointing. I too provide feedback for excellent service. I would like to think that it at least gets passed on to the crew!

Perhaps they get quite a lot so it isn't practical to pass on every instance or be specific. Can't remember precisely but I do recollect one instance of a FA acknowledging some comments I made previously - may have been through the old Red Roo or from the CSM onboard that day. I think the generic feedback form on the website is a waste for positive feedback, and the lack of a visible Red Roo presence on AFF provides less incentive to post on the Bouquets for the FAs thread.

In general I find QF staff to be terrific, but there are several areas of service that can be improved.