QF crew in J cabin - how appropriate?

[serfty]

Does the same then apply for anyone else that gets an upgrade :?: I am not disagreeing with you just trying to follow your logic pattern. ...

IMHO, the logic is in my post below:

It really is not a good look for Qantas staff in uniform to get preferential treatment over that of other customers when on Qantas flights.

Certainly it's poor advertising, and being so, from a commercial perspective, Qantas should not allow it.

This is irrespective of who paid for the ticket, or why the Staff member is travelling.

PS ->Especially in a premium cabin.

 

[harvyk]

I don't see the need for debate

How come you put this on a public forum, with the words "how appropriate" in the title if you didn't want a debate, isn't that the point of such posts?

Will this thread change the world? Maybe, we get a lot of airline industry people here.
Is that the point of this thread? No not really.

As others have said - don't forget that those deadheading crew are humans as well, and call it a perk of the industry, which you yourself are entitled to join if you wish to share this perk.

 

[straitman]

IMHO, the logic is in my post below:

It really is not a good look for Qantas staff in uniform to get preferential treatment over that of other customers when on Qantas flights.

Certainly it's poor advertising, and being so, from a commercial perspective, Qantas should not allow it.

This is irrespective of who paid for the ticket, or why the Staff member is travelling.

That is the part we all seem to agree on.

The part some of us don't agree on is with regard to treating the deadhead crew as second class citizens :!:

 

[Postcode]

A few years ago during the bird flu scare I arrived from Europe to BKK where I spent a few days. I then resumed my journey to SYD then on to BNE. On arrival in SYD I felt terrible. There were signs in the airport lounges and gates saying if a passenger felt unwell to let the ground staff know.

I did.

The strategy was to seat me in J as there were fewer pax per FA and the little room was shared between fewer pax. I was grateful. And still am.

I was amazed that every other seat was occupied on the SYD - BNE flight by FAs. It appeared I was given the seat of a FA who didn't show up. At no time was I offered water, coffee, breakfast or anything. The FAs on the flight just loved it.

I was just offered looks from the quintessential QF FA. I was made most unwelcome.

Maybe they were missing a behind the curtain gossip mate.

 

[Smackbum]

I've learnt lots of things on this thread.

Deadheading crew have access to Business Class if available.
They are supposed to defer to paying passengers as regards meal choices.
The above does not always happen.

<redacted>

Come to think of it that's not a lot of useful knowledge considering the size of the thread and I have just diluted it further. Ta-ra.

 

[ozavanti]

It's an interesting discussion going on here and for my 2 cents worth i find that personally i don't mind that QF staff deadheading are taking up so called valuable seats in J.

I could be slightly deranged, but as a fare paying passenger i find that there is one surefire way in order to guarantee your seat in J and that's to purchase one straight away, rather than trying to use points to upgrade from Y at a later date. At the end of the day QF have not made any guarantee that an upgrade can occur, but they have made a guaranteed that the next flight has crew.

I also understand in the world we have the tendency to be a focus on the self....as in i missed out on this or i missed out on that. But as a PAX on the sector that is being served by a crew member that has been required to deadhead into position, i want them to be as fresh, alert and attentive as possible - so if this means they take a seat up in J on your flight then !

As for the catering, isn't it up to the operating crew to recognise a staff member in uniform (pretty easy as others have said) and say to them I'll come back to you when im finished serving the other passengers. Because last time i checked as a PAX (and im guessing that deadheading crew are the same), we don't get to see the amount of meals that are onboard.

For the record it's my first post and i dont dislike anyone

 

[anat0l]

An anecdote that I'll toss in.

I was on a flight from ADL-MEL last year. The equipment was a 738 and I was op-upped into 1C. It turned out that the pax in 1A was a QF cabin crew manager on his way to MEL for a cabin crew meeting. Two other pax in row 2 were crew going to the same meeting, but they must have had no other duties for that day because they were in plain clothes.

This was a refreshment service; as it proceeded I was served but not the manager in 1A. I didn't look back to see how the rest of the service proceeded. But when rest of the cabin was completely served, the FA came back to row 1 and then asked what the manager would like to have. From the way she pitched it, it was obvious there was still at least one of each choice (warm or fruit) left.

The whole process happened without any prompting from the manager.

 

[Flashback]

An anecdote that I'll toss in.

I was on a flight from ADL-MEL last year. The equipment was a 738 and I was op-upped into 1C. It turned out that the pax in 1A was a QF cabin crew manager on his way to MEL for a cabin crew meeting. Two other pax in row 2 were crew going to the same meeting, but they must have had no other duties for that day because they were in plain clothes.

This was a refreshment service; as it proceeded I was served but not the manager in 1A. I didn't look back to see how the rest of the service proceeded. But when rest of the cabin was completely served, the FA came back to row 1 and then asked what the manager would like to have. From the way she pitched it, it was obvious there was still at least one of each choice (warm or fruit) left.

The whole process happened without any prompting from the manager.

And that's the way it should be!

 

[straitman]

It's an interesting discussion going on here and for my 2 cents worth i find that personally i don't mind that QF staff deadheading are taking up so called valuable seats in J.

I could be slightly deranged, but as a fare paying passenger i find that there is one surefire way in order to guarantee your seat in J and that's to purchase one straight away, rather than trying to use points to upgrade from Y at a later date. At the end of the day QF have not made any guarantee that an upgrade can occur, but they have made a guaranteed that the next flight has crew.

I also understand in the world we have the tendency to be a focus on the self....as in i missed out on this or i missed out on that. But as a PAX on the sector that is being served by a crew member that has been required to deadhead into position, i want them to be as fresh, alert and attentive as possible - so if this means they take a seat up in J on your flight then !

As for the catering, isn't it up to the operating crew to recognise a staff member in uniform (pretty easy as others have said) and say to them I'll come back to you when im finished serving the other passengers. Because last time i checked as a PAX (and im guessing that deadheading crew are the same), we don't get to see the amount of meals that are onboard.

For the record it's my first post and i dont dislike anyone

ozavanti,

Welcome to AFF and thanks for your insight. A good first post IMHO.

 

[jb747]

This was a refreshment service; as it proceeded I was served but not the manager in 1A. I didn't look back to see how the rest of the service proceeded. But when rest of the cabin was completely served, the FA came back to row 1 and then asked what the manager would like to have. From the way she pitched it, it was obvious there was still at least one of each choice (warm or fruit) left.

The whole process happened without any prompting from the manager.

Which most likely means that the manager was travelling on a standby ticket. In that case catering is not assured, and you end up at the back of the queue. On a confirmed duty ticket, you should have the full range of meals available. In many cases there will not be another avenue to have a meal (i.e. the meal on the paxing flight will have replaced one that may have been due on an operating service). And obviously, in the case of paxing pilots, they must have some meal options.

I agree that paxing crew should not have long discussions with those operating. It annoys me too.

 

[markis10]

This may be slightly OT but I noticed at least two DRW airport workers having lunch in the QP yesterday, they were displaying their ASIC's which indicated to me they were on duty as opposed to seeing a friend off. Anyone who has been to the DRW lounge at midday would know it has capacity issues, so I was a tad surprised to see this sort of thing going on.

 

[QF029]

In many cases there will not be another avenue to have a meal (i.e. the meal on the paxing flight will have replaced one that may have been due on an operating service). And obviously, in the case of paxing pilots, they must have some meal options.

Hi JB. Can you explain what facilities exist for pilots at international terminals on your routes?

 

[Siegfried]

...Anyone who has been to the DRW lounge at midday would know it has capacity issues...

Does it? I thought that sitting on someone else's lap or shoulders was just being friendly in the NT :mrgreen::mrgreen:

 

[harvyk]

JB, something I've wondered, do deadheading crew ever sit in on pre-flight briefings, or wait with the rest of the crew (who aren't actively preparing the plane \ flight)?

 

[jb747]

This may be slightly OT but I noticed at least two DRW airport workers having lunch in the QP yesterday, they were displaying their ASIC's which indicated to me they were on duty as opposed to seeing a friend off.

Very few staff have access to the Qantas Club (though nothing would stop them from becoming normal members I guess). Basically, they shouldn't be there.

 

[jb747]

Hi JB. Can you explain what facilities exist for pilots at international terminals on your routes?

Nothing other than the facilities available for the passengers.

 

[jb747]

JB, something I've wondered, do deadheading crew ever sit in on pre-flight briefings, or wait with the rest of the crew (who aren't actively preparing the plane \ flight)?

They might catch the bus to the airport with the operating crew, but they never go to the briefings. Normally they are totally separate, and the operating crew may not even know anything about them.

 

[Alanslegal]

The customer always comes first.

I totally agree.

Without customers, QF (or whatever airline) staff won't be flying anywhere.

 

[Cocitus23]

Hi Folks,
I've just read with interest 10 pages of this thread, and would like to throw in a relevant, but slightly different experience. Last Saturday I took QF415, SYD - MEL, having just flown into SYD on the overnight service, QF042 from CGK. I was a paying J passenger, and was allocated seat 2F. (767 with 2/2/2 seating configuration, AB/EF/JK). I was very tired, and was rather surprised and a little annoyed when what I took to be an unaccompanied minor, a boy about 6 years old and very talkative, sat in 2E beside me. As it turned out, he was a delightful little kid, and as he engaged me in game after game, I soon learned the entire family story. I discovered that he was not alone, and that Dad, Mum and an older sister were scattered around the J cabin. I also was told that Dad was a Qantas pilot and that they were all going down to Uncle Brian's in Melbourne for a party. Clearly, they had been on stand-by, and given whatever four seats remained prior to boarding. In fact, both Dad and Mum paid the boy a visit early in the flight, and to both of them I offered to exchange seats (I didn't care where I sat, I really just wanted some peace and quiet). In both cases I got this instant reply of "Oh, no, no, no, I wouldn't think of it," and I sensed that they were reading from some company guideline which said that paying passengers must not be disturbed.
Look, the flight was short, and as I say the child was delightful, but he could have been a monster, in which case I thought their instant refusal of my offer was not really well-considered. Let's suppose for a moment that the child had been a monster. Would you have accepted the situation with a grimace, or asked to be repositioned? Would you have a right to be repositioned?

Concerning other discussion on this thread, I feel that generally Qantas do very well in handling customer service and after a lifetime of flying with them I have had very few grounds for complaint. Yes, the OP did have a case for some (minor) dissatisfaction, but I feel that he is being a bit precious with all his strident remarks, and perhaps should loosen up a bit.

Cocitus 23

 

[jb747]

Let's suppose for a moment that the child had been a monster. Would you have accepted the situation with a grimace, or asked to be repositioned? Would you have a right to be repositioned?

If he had been a little monster I'm sure they would have arranged the moves. Certainly well within your rights to ask if necessary, though I would expect that the operating crew would have taken it all in hand anyway.