An Awful Qantas Experience That Must Be Shared.

[Pushka]

So that you can requalify for WP to get into the F lounge where you won't eat anything because you're in J?

Yes. Well. That is a great point indeed. And will never happen again. And wasn’t my idea in the first place.

 

[Anna]

I agree with the OP that it's really annoying to pay thousands of dollars to fly QF J and then have the crew be snippy about letting you have both dessert AND cheese. I've always been given both, but they act like it's a whole special favour rather than something you might expect a full service airline to provide in long haul J.

I really enjoy having my meal, and then settling down to watch a movie while sipping a nice red and nibbling on cheese, but QF think that's greedy or something

 

[Sdtravel]

Yeh i have asked for an extra pillow in J several times. On a few occasions its taken a while and they have had to find one in Y.

 

[Daver6]

I saw that restaurant - didn’t realize it was a pop up. So our chicken tenders and chips @ $13 was a deal then. I don’t know why Neil Perry is involved in anything other than F. It always ends in tears.

$$$ he makes is your answer. Why would he care how it reflects as long as he is making the big bucks. Aren't the Y meals also Neil Perry inspired?

 

[Pushka]

$$$ he makes is your answer. Why would he care how it reflects as long as he is making the big bucks. Aren't the Y meals also Neil Perry inspired?

Yep. But does it ultimately damage his reputation?

 

[Daver6]

Yep. But does it ultimately damage his reputation?

You'd think so, but clearly it hasn't.

 

[JohnK]

Welcone to AFF Riaan De Jager.

Your comments are valid and many posters on AFF have mentioned similar issues in the past. If you're paying the sort of money that Qantas charges for premium cabins the you have every right to expect more.

Hope Qantas replies to your concerns.

 

[codash1099]

Yep. But does it ultimately damage his reputation?

I guess he figures people flying in Y wouldn't normally eat at Rockpool.

 

[laffer]

I agree with the OP that it's really annoying to pay thousands of dollars to fly QF J and then have the crew be snippy about letting you have both dessert AND cheese. I've always been given both, but they act like it's a whole special favour rather than something you might expect a full service airline to provide in long haul J.

I really enjoy having my meal, and then settling down to watch a movie while sipping a nice red and nibbling on cheese, but QF think that's greedy or something

SQ gave me both recently. Automatic offer. In fact on three different J sectors both was offered every time. No question I could have both.

Maybe QF crew think they can scoff the leftovers

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Maybe QF crew think they can scoff the leftovers

I'd say more than likely it's undercatered. If you saved two dollars for every business class passenger on every QF international flight per year I think you'll find there's one or two million dollars saved. (Just on the 14 A380 sectors per day for 60 J class pax it would come to $600,000 if you price the cheese or dessert at $2 a serve.)

Or perhaps they give some of the cheese or dessert to platinums in lower cabins?

 

[whughes3]

SQ gave me both recently. Automatic offer. In fact on three different J sectors both was offered every time. No question I could have both.

Maybe QF crew think they can scoff the leftovers

IIRC SQ menus show "dessert" separately from "cheese" with the clear implication that you can have both if you want.

 

[drron]

Though on my last award flight on SQ I had the Japanese selection but asked to start off with the Caviar.No problem sir.

 

[TheInsider]

Maybe QF crew think they can scoff the leftovers

They don't. Honestly they would be over the same food every day they fly. Think of it a bit differently before accusing them of that.

 

[SpudOz]

The other option are the daily flights by SAA from PER to JNB. Connections from capital cities provided by VA. Fare is $4500 (from including connections) compared to QF's $4600. Adds about 4 hours onto the journey. But an unfriendly 0435 arrival in JNB.

I commute from Perth but actively choose either PER-DXB-LUN with EK or PER-SYD-JNB-LUN (I kid you not) with QF. Flying J with either of those airlines is better than J with SAA any day.

In response to OP, I fully agree that the J dining experience is awful. I curse Neil Perry every time I’m given the menu. Depending on the aircraft, I choose the old F seats on the non refurbed bird and 5B or 5J on the refurbed. Happily, I have had no issue with the crew either.

Sometimes, it ends up being “time and place” that dictates a less than acceptable trip.

 

[Pleb Status]

IIRC SQ menus show "dessert" separately from "cheese" with the clear implication that you can have both if you want.

Correct. Both are available if you like...

Menu from a recent CDG-SIN J flight -


Cheese...

and dessert...

 

[juddles]

SQ gave me both recently. Automatic offer. In fact on three different J sectors both was offered every time. No question I could have both.

Maybe QF crew think they can scoff the leftovers

crew "scoff the leftovers"???? As a very frequent flyer, I am totally "off" most airline and lounge food, even though I travel in the pointy end and get all the great lounges. And as much as I fly, I still don't suffer anywhere near what the crew face, they live/work surrounded by that reality. I am sorry, but a perception that crew would not only wish to ingest that stuff, but "scoff" it, is insane.

Forgive my reaction to your post, but I love the english language, and a term such as "scoff" implies something akin to greedy swine excessively gobbling up some divine morsels.

Absolute rubbish.

 

[juddles]

Just to keep those of you that joined this thread late and still have popcorn leftover, I offer a different take on this whole situation.

The basics to me of this are:

The original flight was unable to land due to weather. They diverted to another small airport, with a plane full of pax who were unexpected there. A mechanical fault was detected that caused a very long ground delay. After all was said and done, the pax arrived at the destinations alive. But suddenly everyone wants "compensation".

Sorry, but at the risk of being accused of being one of those QF fans, I disagree.

1.- The weather is not the airlines fault. Do people expect "compensation" when their dream beach-side wedding gets rained on? Maybe the company should expect compensation from the pax for having to transport them on a day that the Heavens opened? That diversion COST the airline. Why shouldn't pax be asked to front up extra cash for this? Someone please give me a logical answer for this.....
2.- The pilot diverted in the interests of safety. I am sorry that he did not foresee a lengthy mechanical issue, and given the impending delay, instead head to a nearby airfield with perfect weather and a Disneyland park that was eager to receive a couple of hundred unexpected international passengers.
3.- In my experience the detection of a mechanical delay is the start of a process where the airline strives to rectify the fault for the pax safety. And they do it as quickly as they possibly can. When they detect such there is not some magical device that tells them instantly exactly how long it will take to fix the problem.
4.- I suspect that as per (3), the crew did not know that the delay would be so long. If they had a crystal ball that would have helped a lot in their ability to manage the situation.
5.- I understand that to be locked in a plane for so long is horrendous. Have suffered it. But the outrage and expectations against airlines are IMHO so different to what is demanded from every other type of service provider on the planet.

 

[laffer]

crew "scoff the leftovers"???? As a very frequent flyer, I am totally "off" most airline and lounge food, even though I travel in the pointy end and get all the great lounges. And as much as I fly, I still don't suffer anywhere near what the crew face, they live/work surrounded by that reality. I am sorry, but a perception that crew would not only wish to ingest that stuff, but "scoff" it, is insane.

Forgive my reaction to your post, but I love the english language, and a term such as "scoff" implies something akin to greedy swine excessively gobbling up some divine morsels.

Absolute rubbish.

No need for apologies.

The use of the word scoff was tongue in cheek. Your reaction to it is in order.

 

[juddles]

No need for apologies.

The use of the word scoff was tongue in cheek. Your reaction to it is in order.

Thanks laffer - my rage was both misguided and incorrect - and in any case I thank you for making me react - feel a combatitive need this moment

 

[MEL_Traveller]

crew "scoff the leftovers"???? As a very frequent flyer, I am totally "off" most airline and lounge food, even though I travel in the pointy end and get all the great lounges. And as much as I fly, I still don't suffer anywhere near what the crew face, they live/work surrounded by that reality. I am sorry, but a perception that crew would not only wish to ingest that stuff, but "scoff" it, is insane.

Forgive my reaction to your post, but I love the english language, and a term such as "scoff" implies something akin to greedy swine excessively gobbling up some divine morsels.

Absolute rubbish.

If we are going exactly by the English language I'm not sure I'd agree the crew are 'suffering'

3.- In my experience the detection of a mechanical delay is the start of a process where the airline strives to rectify the fault for the pax safety. And they do it as quickly as they possibly can. When they detect such there is not some magical device that tells them instantly exactly how long it will take to fix the problem.
4.- I suspect that as per (3), the crew did not know that the delay would be so long. If they had a crystal ball that would have helped a lot in their ability to manage the situation.

And one solution is this... as soon as you divert you order buses. Air France did that so let's assume there are/were buses available for that purpose. The buses take a couple hours to arrive. If the fog/mechanical gets rectified, you send the buses back. You've invested $10K which you won't get back. And if the delay isn't fixed, you have a timely means of transport available to your passengers.

yes, it's costly, but the airline chooses to fly via a city where fog is known to cause diversions and can cause lengthy delays and cancellations. Problems largely avoided with BKK or SIN. The perception is compounded by a couple of high-profile mess ups at DXB, including switching planes last year.

I don't see a problem with passengers asking for compensation. The hope is that in future, remedial or contingency actions by the airline will be lower than the cost of the compensation, and act as a motivation.