My first op-up and I had to decline it...

[Altair]

Tomorrow's NZ A320 domestic flights scheduled are

AKL-CHC 0900, 1300
AKL-WLG 1700
CHC-AKL 0655, 1100, 1500
WLG-CHC 1845

Ah now I see, Flight numbers 900 series.:idea: Oh the weekly timetables give aircraft type
Oh well I tried to convince policy gatekeepers that we should fly NZ because if we miss QF the next flight is 20:30, rather than NZ everu 30 minutes....the answer was no, so I hope we make it to the airport in time....

 

[JohnK]

Our policy is that the starting point for all travel is Y. Travel in J requires VP and Finance approval. So any J travel requires justification for each trip. Now for an ATW itinerary with around 100 hours of flight time in a 3 week period it is fairly simple justification if you can find a VP who is willing to pay. In my case, the Australian VP will never approve business class travel, so all my business class trips are approved and funded outside Australia. Any travel to Asia (as a standalone trip, not part of a ATW itinerary) is approved and funded by Australia or Asia regions, so is always economy.

I wasn't really complaining just about travel in cattle class but rather cattle class mixed in with the silly policy that employee travels in their own time. As I said before they expected you to reach destination at 3:00am flying cattle class and 3 hour taxi trip and front for work at 7:00am and when returning from Asia at 5:00am to front for work at 9:00am back in Sydney.

My rules are not difficult at all. Couldn't care less about business class travel for any duration flight. If I am required to work in Asia on Monday morning then you fly me up there on Saturday, all expenses paid, giving me a full day of rest. Again if I am needed back at work in Sydney on Thursday then you fly me back on Tuesday giving me a full day of rest. Similar rules for domestic travel, absolutely no morning flights if you want me at work or meetings at 9:00am, fly me up the night before and I will be at work or meeting in the morning.

My rules are very simple. If the company accepts them I am available for travel. Strictly no compromise.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Ah now I see, Flight numbers 900 series.:idea: Oh the weekly timetables give aircraft type

Yes, when the shifted A320 exclusively into Freedom Air they renumbered all A320 flights in 800 and 900 range. However this still doesn't preclude last minute change of aircraft type for operational reasons.

I recently posted how I almost gave away a business seat when my flight had been changed from 737 to A320 - it was seeing the flight number on my BP that prompted me to check a/c type.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

My rules are very simple. If the company accepts them I am available for travel. Strictly no compromise.

You are lucky if you have a reasonable option to do this. Most people aren't so lucky. Then again, how much longhaul business travel do you have?

 

[kpc]

I get a fixed travelling allowance per year, and can use it to fly J or Y, regardless of duration of flight. Obviously, if I fly J, then I get to fly less. Up till recently, I would always fly J on both domestic and international routes, but I have now come to the conclusion that QF J domestically is just not worth the money for the short flight times, and now fly (flexible) Y domestically (and with the money saved, I can do a few extra flights each year )...this is another raeson why I didn't care much to wait 3.5 hours for the op up J seat...it really isn't too much of a big deal for 1 hour...more legroom, better seat, slighty better meal, that's all!

 

[Tooner]

Afternoon All.

Our Policy is best fare on day (although we have gone back to fully flexible after people had to change super savers at great cost), with all domestic Y, and offshore J. Domestic includes all of OZ and LOTLWC, and between.

Also, you can't fly offshore without GM approval, and you better have a good reason to go!

It is interesting to see the variety of policies in place. I have seen discussions in other threads (when I just lurked), and this variety is huge! Some seem to acknowledge that long distance travel can wipe you out, while others seem to think we are robots. At various times, senior people in this establishment have insisted that you should travel in your own time, not your employers. Seems a bit unreasonable to me!

Cheers

 

[oz_mark]

You are lucky if you have a reasonable option to do this. Most people aren't so lucky. Then again, how much longhaul business travel do you have?

I am probably in the lucky category then. But then my employer would rather fly me a day early than put me in in J Company policy on international travel is to not work on day of arrival.

 

[JohnK]

You are lucky if you have a reasonable option to do this. Most people aren't so lucky. Then again, how much longhaul business travel do you have?

I am lucky I am grounded at the moment with part time work but I have had an offer of employment that may require regular domestic and overseas travel.

It is physically and mentally draining, and almost suicidal, to travel these distances on a plane and be expected to work at your peak for 14-20 hours per day while you are overseas and then do the same when you return home without a proper break. Any company with a decent OHS policy would not condone this sort of practice.

 

[JohnK]

Some seem to acknowledge that long distance travel can wipe you out, while others seem to think we are robots. At various times, senior people in this establishment have insisted that you should travel in your own time, not your employers. Seems a bit unreasonable to me!

It is totally unreasonable. But it depends on the person on how much you can tolerate or how badly you need to do the job.

As I explained earlier if I had to be on a plane for 9 hours and then in a taxi for another 3 hours and get to destination at 3:00am there is no way known that I would be able to start work at 7:00am. I would need at least 24 hours to recover. So if the company wants me to do this type of travel then they will need to consider my demands and plan accordingly. Strictly no compromise.

 

[kelpie]

I managed to snag an op-up a couple of years ago when me and mrs kelpie were travelling from CNS to SYD on award flights. Both got punted up to the pointy end. Was WP at the time but was still surprised that free flights would get upgraded, especially as it was school holiday time too.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

It is totally unreasonable. But it depends on the person on how much you can tolerate or how badly you need to do the job.

As I explained earlier if I had to be on a plane for 9 hours and then in a taxi for another 3 hours and get to destination at 3:00am there is no way known that I would be able to start work at 7:00am. I would need at least 24 hours to recover. So if the company wants me to do this type of travel then they will need to consider my demands and plan accordingly. Strictly no compromise.

So you don't work the day after you return from BKK holidays either then? If I did likewise I would need a lot more leave to fit in my leisure travels.

 

[mainly tailfirst]

So you don't work the day after you return from BKK holidays either then? If I did likewise I would need a lot more leave to fit in my leisure travels.

I find that different thing to being back at work after a biz trip. After holidays I'm always mentally refreshed (and looking forward to get back to work) even if I'm physically drained. Plus the first day back from holidays is usually spent catching 'up with stuff', which is not as taxing as a regular work day.
Having started had work trips that involve a transpac in Y, arrive late at night and start the next day at 8AM, I can empathise with JohnK. It's not fun.

Methinks we should give this a thread of it's own. Maybe "Most unreasonable business trip you've had to do".

mt

 

[JohnK]

So you don't work the day after you return from BKK holidays either then? If I did likewise I would need a lot more leave to fit in my leisure travels.

No I don't.

Last trip I returned on a Saturday morning, the trip before on a Friday morning. Next trip I will be returning on a Thursday afternoon. I like to have a few days off to recover before returning to work.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

That sure beats arriving 5:30am and heading straight into work. Then again, I get to fit more in to my holidays by doing this.

 

[JohnK]

That sure beats arriving 5:30am and heading straight into work. Then again, I get to fit more in to my holidays by doing this.

I know many people that try to save as much time as possible and head straight to work after a long flight. Most of these people put in a full days work before the outbound flight also. Good luck to them.

For me a 2 week holiday is a relaxing time and no point in trying to fit in more than I can handle and I don't want to be rushing around worrying about tight connections. I like to relax on the day of the outbound flight and I always plan 2-3 days recovery time when I get home. YMMV.

My expectations from my employer would be very similar to what I plan for my holidays.

 

[simongr]

No op-ups for me as yet but a couple of comments on travel policy. We are menat to have a BFOD policy but that is complemented by a over 6.5 hours in J and under that in Y. But that policy is flexible depending on your level in the organisation. For our UK business one senior finance staff travels J throughout europe so now my equivalent there (who flies a lot of short flights) is booking J always.

My boss is very good and will basically do whatever it needs for us to get the job done. For my asia travel I fly up the day before in J, but when I went to the US I flew in 2 days early - partly as boss wanted to have dinner with his team the night before a conference.

The hardest part of the policy is that they will only fly companions in Y so if mrssimongr wants to travel with me to the US we have to work out a more effective way of getting her there in J

Its given me a real appreciation for when I change jobs that I want to have a job with travel (similar profile as this would be good) but I need a guarantee of J flying and oneworld carriers...

 

[NM]

The hardest part of the policy is that they will only fly companions in Y so if mrssimongr wants to travel with me to the US we have to work out a more effective way of getting her there in J

It is very generous that the will pay for your spouse to travel with you at all.

 

[simongr]

It is very generous that the will pay for your spouse to travel with you at all.

I have a good boss - which is why he gets to ask me to travel for 5 weeks at 20mins notice