JohnK said:
I don't mean to be rude but away from published sales DJ airfares are almost exactly the same as QF airfares. A couple of months ago I looked at going to ADL over the weekend. I thought why not give DJ a chance as they are sure to be cheaper than QF. To my surprise the airfare was exactly the same as QF. I have at other times looked at DJ airfares to BNE and MEL at short notice. Again airfare the same as QF.
Why should I fly DJ?
Hi John!
I never consider you to be rude, mate.
As for me, well...
Yes,
published fares are almost the same and sometimes QF has a few cheaper fares on certain routes (e.g. when they offer domestic legs on international flights). However I purchase my tickets weekly, often 3-5 days in advance. Virgin Blue is always cheaper at this point in time (by a long shot) unless I am prepared to fly outside of peak time, which I am not - I want to spend a full day in MEL or BNE so I fly at peak times. I never see cheap QF fares at times I want to fly unless I book much further in advance.
As for reasons to fly DJ, for me it's not just the cost. Of course, YMMV but for me:
- Flight crews are better (friendlier, more helpful)
- Ground crews are better (friendlier, more helpful)
- Seat pitch is better
- Aircraft are consistently better quality
- IFE is better
- The Lounge is better (quieter, better coffee, free internet)
- The flights are more likely to be on time or early
The sole point of difference I see is that QF serve food/beverage on board as part of the price. As a Lounge member, I don't need this on short haul because I eat/drink before boarding.
On longer haul, I do need something to eat and drink. When I did SYD-PER a few months back, I flew over on DJ and back on QF. On the way over, I paid $30 extra for blue zone seating. I sat in 15F, there was another pax in 15D and 15E was empty, so great leg room and plenty of lateral space too. For lunch I ate the Asian style beef curry with rice & veg which cost about $7.00 and it was as good if not better tasting than my local Asian restaurant.
Compare with the return on QF. At check-in I ask about seating, hoping my SG will get me something OK. The counter person says "I can get you an exit row". Great, I think to myself. Get on board (747-300), find myself in an A seat where there is no window and the space is restricted because of the door alongside me. I am sitting next to two no-status pax who are backpacking. Ahead of me, I see rows of pax where A & C are taken and B is empty. Did the counter person think to advise me of this? My status counted for nought and I had an uncomfortable flight. The meal that was served was unedible - it was an Italian beef dish with pasta and veg. I could
not get my plastic fork to penetrate the "mashed" potato. People make jokes about airline food - this was the worst I've seen.
Now, I am not trying to bag QF - the crew on my PER-SYD was very good. But compared to DJ it was not worth it. My status did not help, whereas on DJ I selected where I wanted to sit and I'd rather pay for a decent meal than be served up rubbish for free.
I can't fault the QF J flights I've taken this year - crews great, food and wine great. But it costs an arm and a leg on short haul. I keep my eye out for a D fare and occasionally splurge. But as for sitting down the back on QF - I'm way better off on DJ. Of course, YMMV and as a Plat I'm sure you get a better deal.
