I flew Qantas

[bean]

I flew Qantas.....and was terribly disappointed. Snacks (cheese and rice crackers..lol) were just as coughpy as Virgins, no IFE, slow boarding and un boarding....really felt like the Q was the LCC.

Back to Virgin I go.

 

[moa999]

Assuming a 737.
Out of breakfast, lunch, dinner hours the snack is just as bed as VA. Inside the meal is way better.

Only 29 of 67 737s have seatback IFE the rest have QStreaming for which you need your own phone, tablet or laptop.

 

[bean]

There was no mention of Qstreaming, is this like Virgin? Does it have TV, movies etc? We did have those coughpy drop down LCDs which are either to far away or too close to see properly.

Really both airlines should just not bother with the snacks, I'd rather the few million they would save went to starving kids somewhere in the world.

 

[newflyer]

I'm not trying to sound like a smart cough, but what were you expecting (assuming you were in Economy)? I know we should probably all expect a bit more but the reality is you're unlikely to find it. Get on, sit down and count the time to destination. Even as a long-term Gold/Plat flyer (10+ years), I'm now beyond expecting anything beyond the absolute basics!

 

[moa999]

QStreaming is normally mentioned on 737s but at a 20Mb app probably too late by then.

As above l, the main difference is during meal times.

 

[straitman]

I flew Qantas.....and was terribly disappointed. Snacks (cheese and rice crackers..lol) were just as coughpy as Virgins, no IFE, slow boarding and un boarding....really felt like the Q was the LCC.

Back to Virgin I go.

From my experience this year they are both good or bad depending upon the individual trip.

Sometimes the a/c is better and the crew worse, sometimes the opposite, sometimes neither or sometimes both. It really is the luck of the draw most of the time. I have even had a few good meals on VA in recent times shock.

LCC. Not really when compared to some real LCC out there.

 

[mannej]

I flew Qantas.....and was terribly disappointed. Snacks (cheese and rice crackers..lol) were just as coughpy as Virgins, no IFE, slow boarding and un boarding....really felt like the Q was the LCC.

Back to Virgin I go.

There was no mention of Qstreaming, is this like Virgin? Does it have TV, movies etc? We did have those coughpy drop down LCDs which are either to far away or too close to see properly.

Really both airlines should just not bother with the snacks, I'd rather the few million they would save went to starving kids somewhere in the world.

Technically those drop down screens are IFE...

 

[bean]

Technically those drop down screens are IFE...

Well if that's the case then Qantas did an even worse job of it-no headphones and as mentioned you can't see what's on the screens anyway-I honestly couldn't tell you what was even playing. Useless...

I'm not trying to sound like a smart cough, but what were you expecting (assuming you were in Economy)? I know we should probably all expect a bit more but the reality is you're unlikely to find it. Get on, sit down and count the time to destination. Even as a long-term Gold/Plat flyer (10+ years), I'm now beyond expecting anything beyond the absolute basics!

What was I expecting-well as Qantas seem to like to portray a premier service I was expecting a point of differentiation, something, anything to Virgin.

IMHO Virgin is a better product. And for transcon J they offer a better product also. International J I haven't flown Q recently so can't comment.

Was an interesting experience/observation for myself.

 

[mannej]

Assuming this was a 737 flight, which flight did you take?

 

[bean]

Assuming this was a 737 flight, which flight did you take?

Melbourne Brisbane

 

[straitman]

If we all made our decisions about who to fly from a sample of one then most of us would never fly again.

In fact I'd probably never fly myself again when I think of a few of my own landings over the years :!:

A few years ago people were bagging VA for their 'cheap' approach to IFE and now the wheel has changed and wifi is the way forward for a whole bunch of practical and technical reasons. (Think how much weight is saved with all those boxes and wiring removed) Qantas is upgrading the fleet but with 67 a/c it's not an overnight job. Remember the dropdown screen were the appropriate way forward when they were first put in.

 

[bean]

If we all made our decisions about who to fly from a sample of one then most of us would never fly again.

In fact I'd probably never fly myself again when I think of a few of my own landings over the years :!:

A few years ago people were bagging VA for their 'cheap' approach to IFE and now the wheel has changed and wifi is the way forward for a whole bunch of practical and technical reasons. (Think how much weight is saved with all those boxes and wiring removed) Qantas is upgrading the fleet but with 67 a/c it's not an overnight job. Remember the dropdown screen were the appropriate way forward when they were first put in.

So cheese and crackers isn't the normal snack? And there is inflight entertainment normally-what are they upgrading their fleet to? No being a SA, just curious if my flight was an excretion to the norm as u have suggested.

 

[straitman]

So cheese and crackers isn't the normal snack? And there is inflight entertainment normally-what are they upgrading their fleet to? No being a SA, just curious if my flight was an excretion to the norm as u have suggested.

I'm not actually suggesting anything, just that they both do it better or worse on occasions.

I've had worse snacks on VA and better snacks on Air Asia (at least once)

 

[mannej]

So cheese and crackers isn't the normal snack? And there is inflight entertainment normally-what are they upgrading their fleet to? No being a SA, just curious if my flight was an excretion to the norm as u have suggested.

They have installed Q-Streaming, which you need to bring a device to utilise it.

As for a snack flight v meal flight, it is advertised at the time of booking.

 

[codash1099]

You're obviously a VA fan. You've taken one QF flight and you bag it.

Hardly a convincing argument.

 

[bean]

You're obviously a VA fan. You've taken one QF flight and you bag it.

Hardly a convincing argument.

Lol it's funny how easily people get their knickers in a knot.

Explain where my experience was not the norm and would be changed by additional flights?

As I've clearly stated-I was expecting a point of differentiation, there wasn't one. I got cheese and crackers-asked if this was a normal snack, is it? The plane had coughpy drop down LCDs and no mention of streaming IFE (and saw no one else using it) again--is this normal? Boarding was excruciatingly slow due to forward door only-is this normal?

How about you explain how what I experienced was a exception to the norm instead of getting personal?

They have installed Q-Streaming, which you need to bring a device to utilise it.

As for a snack flight v meal flight, it is advertised at the time of booking.

Yes, but whether I was expecting a meal versus snack was not the question. The question is whether cheese and crackers is the normal snack, or if I flew Q more my opinion would change due to better snacks?

Do all the 73's have streaming?

Do Q normally only board from the front?

 

[andyhui01]

I honestly don't understand why VA gets bagged when QF is basically the same (with less consistent service/aircraft/service). At least Wireless entertainment is on all 737 and E190's, you don't have a lottery of what you'll get. The only thing that QF has an edge is newer terminals.

This is coming from someone who was a Oneworld Emerald when I started flying domestic in Australia and I still flew Virgin and worked my way to get status.

 

[mannej]

Yes, but whether I was expecting a meal versus snack was not the question. The question is whether cheese and crackers is the normal snack, or if I flew Q more my opinion would change due to better snacks?

Do all the 73's have streaming?

Do Q normally only board from the front?

To set some context, what is your expectation of a snack on a 2hr flight?

 

[bsb]

I suggest the OP gets on a domestic flight in the US or Europe on any legacy carrier and then reassess. We get it VERY good here on either carrier from check in right through to leaving the airport. (Although I do believe QF is a better experience overall)

 

[moa999]

Yes, but whether I was expecting a meal versus snack was not the question. The question is whether cheese and crackers is the normal snack, or if I flew Q more my opinion would change due to better snacks?

Do all the 73's have streaming?

Do Q normally only board from the front?

if you fly during breakfast, lunch or dinner hours, QF >>>> VA. During snack time you get, well a snack

38 have streaming, 29 have seatback IFE. The rollout was complete about a month ago. WiFi rollout will start next year.

Historically yes -- it's more premium, although they have been trialling rear door boarding at some airports and will seemingly introduce it to shave 5 min off turn around times.

One thing QF generally can't get right is priority boarding.