Demise of the hot towel and the lavatory hand towels

[Febs]

I had hot towels in J on both SYD-ADL and ADL-SYD over the past few days?

Also the bathroom handtowels were there too, although I've never liked those things...

Cheers,
- Febs.

 

[serfty]

Is it just the "Golden Triangle"?

 

[medhead]

Im pretty sure I've seen either on the newspapers or where you can pick them up from, in the PER QP a note suggesting to leave them in the lounge. Hmmm...perhaps I was just imagining it? Also in PER never seen any papers handed out or available to pick up at the exit to the QP. Sometimes see them at the start of the air-bridge though.

I'll pay more attention on Thursday when I'm next there.

Can I say something about reading ability of the average PER customer?

 

[medhead]

I had hot towels in J on both SYD-ADL and ADL-SYD over the past few days?

Also the bathroom handtowels were there too, although I've never liked those things...

Cheers,
- Febs.

Indeed. Hot towels on ADL-BNE-tsv, SYD-ADL over the last few days. But not BNE-SYD. Of course the BNE-tsv one was more cold and slightly moist.

 

[ajw373]

Yes you're right, I hadn't noticed but thinking about my last J DOM flight just before Christmas, there were no hot towels.
After losing the newspapers early in 2013 there's not much left about the J service that's different to Y now. How long until the "water-or-juice" pre-flight drink is enhanced as well I wonder!

They must have learnt something from BA afterall. Short haul BA J isn't much different to down the back, indeed even the seats are the same.

 

[Daver6]

Can I say something about reading ability of the average PER customer?

Need the paper for the comics of course

Actually, The Australian is great. A do it yourself privacy screen in Y

 

[Kieran2274]

31 Dec QF23 SYD-BKK hot towels and F amenties kit.
04 Jan QF24 BKK-SYD no hot towels and new J (pencil case) amenities kit.
J travel both ways. Same seat as well.

So you got an F kit as well Hvr. I got an F kit on the SYD-CGK service this week in J, which I was bemused with given no F cabin on A330, but I certainly am not complaining. I'm stoked actually as I like the Payot Optimale toiletries. Thank you Qantas!

 

[muppet]

They must have learnt something from BA afterall. Short haul BA J isn't much different to down the back, indeed even the seats are the same.

Usually I just mutter to myself (fortunately) but I can't this time.

What utter nonsense!

Enjoy down the back!

My last BA J to Marseille for breakfast had spacious old VA Y+ style seat. Curtained off J class rows (curtain closed thanks QF). J class dunny security (despite full Y and only me in J). Full hot english breakfast: ham, eggs, sausage, croissant, fruit and other cough i don't recall. Plus a mini bottle of Pommery.... And a second "it may be 8am Mr Muppet, but you're on holidays!"

All this for £69 more than cramped nonsense back in Y for 2 odd hours. (Plus 40 credits)

Very happy with the BA short haul J equation.

Sorry for the OT.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

TBH I had a nice flight in BA J on LHR-PRG this week. Had 2 piccolos of Pommery and a reasonable meal and very well looked after throughout.

 

[Longrass]

Can I just say RE BA J "Club Europe".... What a joke. We flew LHR to VIENNA and it was literally a disgrace.

We were ignored on entry, then sat for 10 minutes until we were asked for our coats. Meal service was breakfast and consisted of a split breakfast cherio of sorts, half a roast cherry tomato and literally 3 teaspoons of scrambled egg. The coffee was watery and vaguely resembled an espresso that has been poured from the same coffee for the 3rd time.

The seat was a Y seat with a tray over the middle seat. The service itself was typical pommery snobbery. Very sad and slightly depressing.

One thing that was great was the curtain was actually used AND a pax turned back to Y who tried to use the forward lavatory....

Sorry for going OT

 

[Mal]

Aah yes, BA Euro J. Fly it often. Trust me, Qantas still has a long way to fall to meet the 'high' standards of this airline.

 

[Robbi]

They must have learnt something from BA afterall. Short haul BA J isn't much different to down the back, indeed even the seats are the same.

I had 4 flights before Christmas and hot towels on them all, one even smelt like it had been soaked in hot Jet A-1 to add to the authenticity.

On all 4 flights Y-pax were allowed to use and queue for the J loo, which I thought was odd considering they'd made announcements on each flight about the different toilets for the two cabins.

 

[opusman]

No hot towels on MEL-ADL yesterday morning. Too bad, so sad.

 

[ajw373]

Usually I just mutter to myself (fortunately) but I can't this time.

What utter nonsense!

Enjoy down the back!

My last BA J to Marseille for breakfast had spacious old VA Y+ style seat. Curtained off J class rows (curtain closed thanks QF). J class dunny security (despite full Y and only me in J). Full hot english breakfast: ham, eggs, sausage, croissant, fruit and other cough i don't recall. Plus a mini bottle of Pommery.... And a second "it may be 8am Mr Muppet, but you're on holidays!"

All this for £69 more than cramped nonsense back in Y for 2 odd hours. (Plus 40 credits)

Very happy with the BA short haul J equation.

Sorry for the OT.

Yes OT, but not nonsense. When I lived in the UK between 2007 and 2010 I flew about 60 return trips short haul on BA in J, or should I say Club Europe (thanks to the company I wouldn't waste the money myself). The seats on the short haul a/c (737/A319/320/321 and 767) are actually the same in the whole a/c, with a 17" pitch throughout. The seats towards the front (the number varies on a/c type but A321/767 for example it is the first 17 rows) are convertible to make them a little wider and a 2+2 config, a bit like the old Qantas 734 J seats. On the 767 only the middle seats were convertible to make 2+2+2 vs 2+3+2 in economy. Have a look at the Club Europe seat maps below. I should also add when I first started flying BA the business cabin on the single isles was sold as 2+3 and 767 2+3+2, though they changed to 2+2 and 2+2+2 circa 08/09.

So not sure how you work out down the back is cramped when it is basically the same seat, minor extra width and very much the same seat pitch.

Yes the have a curtain to divide the classes and yes they offer a meal, provided you are flying at meal times. Outside of that it is morning tea of scones or afternoon tea comprised of cucumber sandwiches or the like. In fact not unlike Qantas domestic J, who offer hot meals at meal time (even on the CBR-SYD run) and refreshments outside normal meal times.

BA no IFE except on flights over 4 hours (basically Moscow and Athens), this includes audio, though I flew to both places 3 or 4 times each and got a 50/50 hit rate of being on an a/c with IFE fitted.

British Airways - Club Europe seat maps

Now getting back OT a little bit but still comparing to BA, in Club Europe not once never once did I get a hot towel and the dunnies just had the standard paper hand towels and sandpaper to wipe your cough with, despite it being segregated from the cattle, but rarely enforced might I add (you must have been lucky or there has been a policy change since 2011 when I last flew Club Europe).

But yes the credits were worth it, 4 years of flying with them took my Qantas account from just under 7,000 life time points to just under the magic 14,000 required for LTG, which I got not long after coming back to live in Aus.

 

[samh004]

Hot towels offered on this mornings QF609 BNE-MEL service.

 

[Daver6]

In the QF lounge, you are certainly allowed to take the paper with you. In fact at the J lounge quite often someone is handing them out as you leave.

VA lounge have papers marked as Lounge copies..

As I thought. Currently in the PER QP and this:

 

[DC3]

I would have thought that there were more inconsiderate things going on in that lounge than removal of newspapers.

 

[Jimmy124]

No hot towels on MEL-ADL yesterday morning. Too bad, so sad.

Seems there is a lack of consistency opusman - have done 8 domestic legs in J in the last two weeks, my most recent two no hot towel (same CSM on those two legs). Once you have read the newspaper, and your hands are tarred and grubby a nice hot towel is a nice refreshing cleanse. Am thinking of taking my own anti-bacterial gel in lieu of the hot towel.

 

[Robbi]

Seems there is a lack of consistency opusman - have done 8 domestic legs in J in the last two weeks, my most recent two no hot towel (same CSM on those two legs). Once you have read the newspaper, and your hands are tarred and grubby a nice hot towel is a nice refreshing cleanse. Am thinking of taking my own anti-bacterial gel in lieu of the hot towel.

I did ADL-BNE-TSV status run on weekend 11/1-12/1 and only got a hot towel on the BNE-TSV link. I always take Wet Ones but it was disappointing.

The flights were all lightly loaded except the last; ADL-BNE half full J, BNE-TSV half full J, TSV-BNE 3 in J, BNE-ADL not a spare seat in J.

You do have to wonder why QANTAS would strip away these little features...

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Hot towels and hand towels available on syd-cns-syd b767 services this week