Airline Experiences 2010

[Dalescott]

Can not agree with ApplesHK, about EK, used them in March, and Sept. KL to Mel, 2 couples in J class, Sin to Mel 7 people in J class. Service both times was great, asked Cabin Manager about numbers on flight to Aus. Into Syd busy, because of the A380 he suspects. But Into Mel bad and according to him getting worse. He said that they are getting asked constantly when there the A380 or new planes are flying into Mel. No problems with the back of the plane, as he said most people who fly economy, expect sardine conditions, and service. 5 out of 10
BA, only used in Europe. In economy, FA's did sweet F.... All. Rude, bad service, and Heathrow what can I say, trust the British, or should I say English, as service in Newcastle and Scotland brilliant. 2 out of 10
SA, must be the best airline in the world, cannot fault, but dear, in J class. It's a hard sell to baby boomers, but Economy on SA is J in most other airlines (except the seats of coarse) 9 out of 10

 

[Cocitus23]

Unlike most posters to this thread, I am not going to talk about all the flights I took during 2010, but simply one: IB6253 from MAD to JFK on 3 September. It was my first flight ever with Iberia, and I would have to say that it was my worst flight ever. As we boarded at Madrid I noticed that the flight was full, and that it was carrying a high percentage of young people, kids typically aged from 10 to 15. At least that's the way it was in our Y compartment, where I had a window seat. The seating configuration was 2,4,2 with most of the kids in the central bank of seats. The kids did not appear to be all in the one travelling party, but in various groups of 3, 4 or 5 each with adult minders. They mostly spoke in American English, but with plenty of Spanish expressions interspersed.

But before the kids forced themselves onto our attention, my wife and I noticed the cabin crew, who seemed sullen and surly, as though they resented being at work that day. Maybe there was some industrial dispute, or maybe they just dreaded the prospect of all the kids.

As we flew westwards we were more taken aback by the surliness of the crew than by the noise of the kids. I have raised 4 kids of my own and know that 'kids will be kids' so I just tolerated the din as I tried to read, and expected the crew to eventually instill a little order, or at least ask the minders to do so. But the situation only escalated and reached a climax when dinner was served about 90 minutes short of New York. Up until then there had been screaming and shouting between groups of kids, and running up and down the aisles from group to group. But at dinner time it degenarated into all out food fights, the length of the cabin.

Now I think I can fairly say that most people would describe me as a mild-mannered gentleman, rarely if ever given to tantrums, but when a jelly (jello to American readers) dessert hit the book of the lady in front of me, I lost it. I jumped to my feet, pointed threateningly, and shouted at the 12 year-old culprit who was standing on his seat, "YOU! BOY! YOU BEHAVE YOURSELF. SIT DOWN IN YOUR SEAT THIS MINUTE AND SHUT UP." I am large of stature, and have a deep voice, and I'll confess that I held nothing in reserve. There is no doubt that every person in the long cabin, passengers and crew, saw my every action and heard my every word.

The impact was amazing. Absolute silence descended over the cabin. Not a word was heard from a single child for the final hour's run into JFK. Surprisingly, not a person said a word to me, not even the crew. I was unsure whether they would thank me for doing their job for them, or rebuke me for being so aggressive towards other passengers. I suspect that other adult passengers thought I was a hero, while the minders were too embarrassed to look me in the eye.

What do you frequent flyers think? Did I do the right thing, or were my actions reprehensible? Be as frank as you like.

Cocitus23.

 

[sunbeamrapier]

What do you frequent flyers think? Did I do the right thing, or were my actions reprehensible? Be as frank as you like.

Cocitus23.

hahahahaha... Good on you! Kids have no idea how to behave today. I can imagine the crew were as annoyed as you, but probably trying not to ruin their day by having a confrontation with the kids, or their minders...

 

[Oneworldplus2]

What do you frequent flyers think? Did I do the right thing, or were my actions reprehensible? Be as frank as you like.

Cocitus23.

Spot on! Well done.
Sounds like your services could have been utilised on this flight


QF - SYD-BNE, mid last year. Pax in front of me were pretty rude to the FA regarding spacing issue in the overhead bin.

FA to me; Sir, were out of space in the overhead bin and really need to put this other bag up there, could you help us by moving your bag from up here to between your feet for this flight.
Me to FA; (so that the pax in front of me could hear) "No worries, l'm not a ****ing arrogant -beep- like the person in front of me!!! I'll gladly help you. "

Some people, so rude. Why?
As someone said on FT yesterday, honey attracts more flys than lemons do.

Got a class of red out of it.

 

[bossreggie]

Cocitus23...... The ONLY mistake you made was by waiting so long. I would have said something waaaaaay earlier!! But well done!! I hope you are on my flight if it gets rowdy!!

 

[Flying Fox]

Cocitus23

Thumbs up from me.

Shame none of the child minders had better manners to restrain their own children. They should be embarrased.

 

[dfcatch]

It's a reflection on a lot of adults whether parents or minders nowadays.

I have no problem with kids being kids or infants crying etc.

But I expect parents to at least make an effort to comfort said infant, and I expect parents to not pretend not to notice when junior is kicking the #%^* out of the seat in front etc.

Unfortunately, kids' behavior is very reflective of their adults sitting adjacent.

 

[yohy?!]

2010 was my busiest year thus far for flying..

CX Y - The shell seats got the better of me on a night sector and I fainted in the aisle after standing up too quickly, the FAs were all freaking out when I came around but they took very good care of me - moved me to a jump seat and made sure I had plenty of juice. Catering has continue to decline, meal portions are smaller and tasteless. IFE is still consistently good.

VS W - First time stepping up a cabin to PE, loved the extra space in this cabin but not really practical for sleeping. IFE is very dated and slow but suffices. Food was acceptable in terms of taste but not in portion, absolutely starving and the breakfast bacon and egg rolls were a joke! Cabin Crew are very good - relaxed and eager to please they did a good job protecting the cabin from Y intruders.

TG J - After a small taste out of Y I had to take advantage of the US Buy Miles Promo and get myself into a J cabin. TG J on the A346 is good even though the seats aren't lie flat. Cabin Crew are extremely helpful and polite, IFE was adequate but a little dated. Catering was not of a J standard I felt (more PE) but the booze was free-flowing with much variety. The complimentary Royal Orchid Spa at the BKK transfer is also a brilliant idea.

Domestically I continued my trend of mostly flying DJ which I noted the cabin crew finally dropped the occasionally 'song and dance' routines from their past. I'm still happy with the overall DJ product but I think cabin comfort on the 737s could be improved, particularly the seats. My sectors on QF only highlighted this - their cabin's may be drab and ancient (ie 767s) but the seats are comfortably padded. IFE across both carriers continues to let them both down - main screen programming mainly comprised of advertising interspersed with Deborah Hutton closeups on QF and Foxtel drivel on DJ.

I did pop my domestic J cherry also doing a Hobart Express JASA with QF - Overall I found the experience disappointing and shocklingly overpriced for what cash tickets go for! I forsee DJs incoming J product as forcing QF to lift it's game massively, I have seen PE customers on DJ (a rare breed I know) and been jealous of how well they are looked after even though the hard product needs improving.

Fortunately I only endured 1 JQ sector all year of which I paid the princely sum of $12 (thanks TT price beat). I got what I paid for! Surly, half-asleep cabin crew and 28inch bolt upright seats. I wasn't too disappointed when I overslept and missed the return journey and rebooked on QF

 

[DrAndyC]

Mine was quite a strange year of flying.... I flew GL (Air Greenland for the first time) which included flying on their A330-200, Dash7 & Dash8 (although the nearly 3 hour flight on the Dash8 from Nuuk to Reykjavik was pushing it a bit). Most travel was on Qantas, and 4 sections elsewhere were on 757s (which we dont see downunder so i was excited like a little schoolboy)

QF x 18Y/7J
SQ x 2Y
UA x 1J
VA x 1Y
SK x 1Y
AA x 3Y
CO x 3Y/1F
ZL x 4
GL x 3
FI x 1

The new J product on UA was nice and flat (and I will probably fly them in future to SFO as a result / esp with Qantas withdrawing). First time this year for flying CO and I found them very agreeable for an american airline.

 

[DrAndyC]

Spot on! Well done.

Me to FA; (so that the pax in front of me could hear) "No worries, l'm not a ****ing arrogant -beep- like the person in front of me!!! I'll gladly help you. "

.

We clearly dont need flight marshals on flights in Australia with you both on board. Well done!

 

[AaronBradford]

I don't fly nearly as much as most people on here do - in 2010 I had eight flights. I didn't really have any particularly bad experiences, but one flight BNE-SYD with DJ I wouldn't mind forgetting. It was mainly due to a crowded flight with plenty of children/babies and some bad weather. My best experiences would probably be catching DJ's VH-VBY (50th aircraft) down to MEL and a very pleasant NTL-BNE flight on the E-190, again with DJ. I really enjoy those Embraers despite the lack of IFE (comfort value is right up there). Also, the service was excellent: "Welcome back, Mr Bradford."

 

[JohnK]

98 flights for me in 2010.

QF (70) Mainly in Y except for 3 domestic op-ups and 1 international op-up to Y+. After almost 12 months of no QF international travel returned only to find the inconsistent cabin crew service still exists. I hardly ever ask for anything from cabin crew and hardly ever press the call button but if I need to get a drink from the galley 'DON'T SNAP AT ME'. You are there to work not socialise and gossip. Overall on-time performance poor. Too many delays. Only reason I fly them is for the SCs and seat selection. As for Y+ I cannot see why people are attracted to it. Seats are just as uncomfortable as Y.

CX (16) A mixture of J and Y. Service is OK. Receive a personal greeting on most flights, if not all, in J. Most flights on time. Still no op-up from Y->J and also disappointed to find out my aisle seat in Y was occupied on 1 flight, swapped from a middle seat, to sit a family/group together. The people sitting there expected me to happily to swap to a middle seat. I did not sit down and cabin crew quickly came around and gave me an aisle seat further forward in the cabin. Interesting that the person in that aisle seat moved out of it immediately without being asked or a word being said. Something fishy was going on. There is a reason I have status and take my time to pre-select my desired seats. Why do people who want to sit together, especially on different PNR's, on a ~2:25 hour flight leave everything to the last minute? Get to the airport very early or try to do it over the phone. Don't stuff me around.

DJ (8) Service is OK if you want pay for it. Leather seats are uncomfortable. Too many delays.

SQ (4) Service is good. IFE is extremely confusing to use. Convenient flight times out of Australia and good connections in Asia. In time may move more of my international travel to SQ. Only problem I can see is seat selection, without status, but probably best to pay for exit row seats and not worry about the hassles.

 

[drron]

Cocitus23 takes me back to my childhood.went to the soccer with my Scots uncle-6foot7 and well built.match Apia V Gladesville.The Italian Apia fans were vocal and wild.My uncle drew himself up to full height and in a voice heard around the ground said "apia yourself,now sit down".the ground went quiet and everyone sat.
Now for my 2010 airlines,a few firsts-
AY J.Their longhaul product I loved.Intra europe-one of the better ones.
MA J.The best europe J seat I have had.pity the food and service were atrocious.
LH J.Middle of the road,typical German.
SAS Y.OK but I know why we fly J.
KA-I rate it higher than CX.
CX J-i just dont have the warm fuzzies others have for CX.
QF J longhaul.Really need to do better.Get the impression that pax are just a necessary nuisance.
QF TT Y.Again know why we fly J.
QF domestic Y.Neither good nor bad.
JQ.unfortunately have another sector booked.In future will fly into BNE rather than MCY just to avoid JQ.
DJ.I like them.No bad flights and occasionally great staffers.My preferred domestic carrier.Now if they just join an alliance.

 

[Dougo]

We didn't have much opportunity to fly anywhere at all in 2010 apart from O/S travel to Sth America spanning from 9th Dec 2010 to 28th Jan 2011.

We booked all of our LAN flights through Qantas as the Qantas fares were cheaper than had we booked directly with LAN.

In a nutshell, while I thought the flights with LAN (crew, condition of the plane, food etc) was fine, I wouldn't fly with them again if I could avoid it. Why??

Well their flight times changed so much since making our booking in March 2010 that we had no choice but to leave one city a day earlier than planned in order not to throw the rest of our itinerary out.

Check in was bad. It was very slow for reasons I can't work out - took around 20 mins each time.

Our Qantas FF membership numbers disappeared and had to be re-entered every time and checked for correctness. Our last flight (the one home), we asked the check in person to see if they were in the system, they weren't, she confirmed the numbers for the two of us, and then entered only my number...thing was, it was an entirely different number - lucky I checked. So I showed her the correct number again and asked her about my partners number which was missing from the boarding pass. That time only one membership number was added correctly. So again she had to re-do mine.

To make matters worse, we couldn't get seats together on several flights but at the Gate, we were able to get seats together either by the LAN rep or by doing a swap directly with a fellow passenger - we weren't the only ones with this issue !

Also, as we had paid some $20K for all of our LAN flights, we asked for an upgrade but the first time we were told that because we weren't Top Tier FF's, it was not their policy to upgrade in those circumstances. The second time we were told business class was full (it wasn't) and the third time, BC was full (it was).

The only other airlines we used in Sth America was Aerogal (fine if you're sitting in the Celebrity X seats but if in cattle class at the back, no pillows for you !!), and Pluna which is a Uraguayan airline. Pluna is a "cheapo" airline and sells food and drinks on board at a fairly high $US rate IMO. Their cabin staff (just two of them) weren't the friendliest and needed some customer service training IMO.

 

[Rono]

Well you got me.

102 flights this year

Medhead, read your sign offs.... all I can say is "video et taceo"!!

 

[Timba-Jet]

Well my trip down 2010 memory lane is good one. 2010 was by far my grandest flying year to date!
First:
- time ventured on a OW DONE
- trip to Europe & Sth America
- time redeeming QFF award flight
- time flying: BA, AA, LA, MX, CX, AC, GOL
- time SG status
- time in SYD QF F lounge

Highlights:
CATHAY: Y-J OP-UP on return leg HKG-SYD CX, my first trip with CX, lucky lucky lucky. Found the Y shell seats very uncomfortable. In J once in the seat/bed, felt very comfy, great service, average food, being a Asian carrier was looking forward to their Dim Sum brekkie, very average.

LAN: Overall very good.
J long-haul: LAX-xLIM-SCL / SCL-xGRU-GIG / LIM-MEX. Loved their J cabin on the 767 very spacious & exclusive feel to it, amazing the difference between a new 767 vs QF's old ducks. White doonas were fantastic, good food & wine.

Y Sth America short-haul: This is where it gets entertaining. Priority boarding for OW E & S even on domestic legs, but at times poor staffing meant they could not enforce this, and became free for all. Baggage claim at airports is a mess, really need to hold your ground or will end up back of the pack. Food only seemed to have the same offering be it morning, afternoon, evening flight. makes me appreciate what QF gives us even more! I would sum up LA as good intentions but sometimes lack the execution.

MEXICANA: got in before they went bust: Friendly service. In Y short-haul they manage to do 2 drink runs back to back, very impressed! MX Lounge dragon in CUN refused to let me in as OW Sapp flyiing LAN, stating only allowed if flying MX. Too jet-lagged to keep on arguing.

AA: J LHR-LAX / F DOM across the country as part of DONE. Friendly but casual service, FA not the most discreet when chatting in galley. Seat belt sign constantly on even in the minute turbulence, but FAs continue to walkabout, and eventually passengers got up and used the loos, with no questions asked by FA.
Red-eye SFO-DFW J in 757 was toture, seat had no head support at all, give me QF Y seat anytime!

My bags went MIA on: MEX-xORD(MX)-xSFO-xDFW-JFK. at ORD was told nothing could be done until final destinattion in JFK (fair enough). Arrived JFK 4 hours late and JFK was a mess as airport had just re-opened after storm/flash floods. hundreds of luggage had arrived without their owners and stacked all around the baggage claim area. MX-AA kept bouncing me to each other to make lost luggage claim, finally AA accepted responsibility but kept bouncing me back between DOM & INT claim counters. Only thing that kept me from loosing it was sympathy for the staff who had to deal with luggage mess and other angry passengers.

QF: J JFK-LAX-SYD, only my second time flying J with QF. very impressed with cabin service.

Looking ahead tgo 2011!

 

[gumpy]

man... i thought 61 flights for a calendar year was a lot...

=/

I blog about four of them,

I do 90% QF...