QF, thanks for looking after my daughter

[OATEK]

My daughter was on QF128 overnight, and sick nearly as soon as flight took off. Only good thing was she took my advice and secured 71D in advance, so had easy access. Was sick may times during the flight and the crew were terrific. Helped her to/from toilets, helped get her carry-on off the flight, called up the people mover to carry her to immigration, and then also fetched her bags off the belt, and out to meet her partner this morning.

Thanks QF! When you get it right you should get the kudos.

 

[Red Roo]

My daughter was on QF128 overnight, and sick nearly as soon as flight took off. Only good thing was she took my advice and secured 71D in advance, so had easy access. Was sick may times during the flight and the crew were terrific. Helped her to/from toilets, helped get her carry-on off the flight, called up the people mover to carry her to immigration, and then also fetched her bags off the belt, and out to meet her partner this morning.

Thanks QF! When you get it right you should get the kudos.

I hope your daughter is making a speedy recovery at home.

Glad our crew and ground team were able to help get her there safely and quickly. I'll pass on your words of appreciation.

 

[Inver]

I would also like to commend the crew on QF128 who looked after J passengers on the 8th of February. They did a wonderful job looking after my family. They were friendly, attentive and had smiles on their faces, making this the best overnight flight I've had with QF.

Thank you.

 

[Danger]

My daughter was on QF128 overnight, and sick nearly as soon as flight took off. Only good thing was she took my advice and secured 71D in advance, so had easy access. Was sick may times during the flight and the crew were terrific. Helped her to/from toilets, helped get her carry-on off the flight, called up the people mover to carry her to immigration, and then also fetched her bags off the belt, and out to meet her partner this morning.

Thanks QF! When you get it right you should get the kudos.

Great story. It's a shame these sorts of things can't be turned into commercials or ads in the inflight magazine. Obviously doing so what come across as arrogant and what-not but it's not the first time a nice comment like this has been noted on AFF.

I agree with some others' sentiments on here who note that the measure of an airline is how you're treated when things go wrong and that applies equally when the adversity is coming from the passenger (such as this story) as well as the airline (like weather catastrophes). No doubt there's nothing in the staff manual that says FAs should escort sick passengers to and from the toilet or that ground staff should go chasing someone else's bag. It's the staff that make an airline great, I tend to think.

 

[OATEK]

I hope your daughter is making a speedy recovery at home.

Glad our crew and ground team were able to help get her there safely and quickly. I'll pass on your words of appreciation.

Thanks Red Roo, she is doing well. Obviously something she ate before boarding because she felt dodgy waiting to board, but definitely OK now. Once again thanks to the crew.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks Red Roo, she is doing well. Obviously something she ate before boarding because she felt dodgy waiting to board, but definitely OK now. Once again thanks to the crew.

i wondered about that... you say your daughter felt dodgy waiting to board... but still boarded... then took up crew time for assistance to the WC and for all sorts of other things? time the crew could have been spending looking after all passengers instead of a single passenger? and it could have been an illness which could have been spread to other passengers?

 

[OATEK]

i wondered about that... you say your daughter felt dodgy waiting to board... but still boarded... then took up crew time for assistance to the WC and for all sorts of other things? time the crew could have been spending looking after all passengers instead of a single passenger? and it could have been an illness which could have been spread to other passengers?

She felt a little queazy while standing in the line, and that was it. Not enough to ring alarm bells. Amongst other things she ate some pigeon at lunch and thought maybe it was just a little rich and had unsettled her stomach and she might give the meals on the flight a miss. But after a take-off the first cramps hit, and it was downhill from there.

Hindsight is a great thing, but no she didn't know what she was going to face on the flight.

 

[timster]

i wondered about that... you say your daughter felt dodgy waiting to board... but still boarded... then took up crew time for assistance to the WC and for all sorts of other things? time the crew could have been spending looking after all passengers instead of a single passenger? and it could have been an illness which could have been spread to other passengers?

Honestly I can think of few places I'd less choose to be when truly ill than on a plane. But feeling 'dodgy' fortunately rarely proceeds to full-on illness.

This does raise an interesting question though. If you fronted up to the boarding gate / checkin desk / rang from the hotel saying you felt too ill to fly, what would happen ? Would the airline put you on the first available flight (after your recovery) without penalty ? Would they require a doctor's certificate to verify that you were 'too' sick to fly ? Presumably if you were already at the airport they'd simply hand you over to the airport medical clinic, which in some airports might not be a very pleasant experience.

But if we knew that airlines such as Qantas would be understanding / assistive / encourage pax to err on the side of caution, without loss, we'd be less likely to risk inflicting a developing illness on other pax and crew.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Honestly I can think of few places I'd less choose to be when truly ill than on a plane. But feeling 'dodgy' fortunately rarely proceeds to full-on illness.

This does raise an interesting question though. If you fronted up to the boarding gate / checkin desk / rang from the hotel saying you felt too ill to fly, what would happen ? Would the airline put you on the first available flight (after your recovery) without penalty ? Would they require a doctor's certificate to verify that you were 'too' sick to fly ? Presumably if you were already at the airport they'd simply hand you over to the airport medical clinic, which in some airports might not be a very pleasant experience.

But if we knew that airlines such as Qantas would be understanding / assistive / encourage pax to err on the side of caution, without loss, we'd be less likely to risk inflicting a developing illness on other pax and crew.

this issue was covered on an episode of the Dubai Airport show - a passenger complained of an upset tummy and the gate crew refused them boarding - saying they needed clearance by the airport medical officer. At the time I thought that was overkill - but I guess airlines have experience (as pointed out by the OP) and the risk is one they don't really want to take. Especially if it can infect others.

The passenger was accommodated on another flight.

 

[Pushka]

I personally know of one couple where the wife was feeling poorly at check-in and asked to be located near the rest room which was accommodated. Just minutes prior to take off security approached them and removed them from the plane. Sometimes airlines are not so accommodating. This happened in Australia but not sure whether Qantas or Virgin.

 

[Magpie10]

Hope your daughter is ok now Oatek there would be nothing worse than coming down with a stomach bug on a flight, it would be horrendous for her, and it was great to hear how the QF crew were concerned for her well being.