QF seats in Y

[spiggy_topes]

Has anyone noticed a tendency for seats in Y to recline by themselves? Flew BNE-SIN yesterday in the back of the bus and found the seat kept creeping backwards until it was at full tilt after 30 minutes or so. Must have been annoying for the passenger behind me.

 

[serfty]

It happens, it's a PITA - especially when the FA keeps telling you to put the seat back up.

I guess you can always make the CSM aware of the issue.

 

[Nigelinoz]

Probably the last person who worked on it was the fake engineer.
being serious though it is a pain,I was on a Delta flight a few years ago and as the plane started the take off roll I could feel the seat sliding backwards ! I looked down and noticed that there were two holes where there should have been bolts holding the seat runner to the floor,needless to say I called the FA and pointed it out to her,she just smiled and said 'oh yeah I've told engineering about that a few times,I'll give them a gee up':!:
If I remember rightly it was an MD-90,it wasn't a great deal of backwards movement but it was enough to feel uncomfortable.

 

[spiggy_topes]

Happened to my wife once on Aeroflot - Moscow to somewhere in Africa. Plane took off steeply and half the seats collapsed. (Apparently most of the pilots at the time were ex-military and flew like this as a matter of course to avoid short-range missile fire). Luckily the plane was largely empty, and it was a very cheap fare...

 

[ozimax]

Happened to my wife once on Aeroflot - Moscow to somewhere in Africa.

Flying Aeroflot? You're a braver man than me, Gunga-din!

If the story is true, Aeroflot used to have standing only flights. Serious.

 

[ozimax]

Has anyone noticed a tendency for seats in Y to recline by themselves? Flew BNE-SIN yesterday in the back of the bus and found the seat kept creeping backwards until it was at full tilt after 30 minutes or so. Must have been annoying for the passenger behind me.

I'm finding it rare to get a seat in QF cattle class where everything actually works. Last long haul to the States my video screen didn't work. The flight before that my seat kept collapsing.

If only I could afford business class...

 

[thewinchester]

I'm finding it rare to get a seat in QF cattle class where everything actually works. Last long haul to the States my video screen didn't work. The flight before that my seat kept collapsing.

If only I could afford business class...

Had that happen coming back home from SYD the other week, also in cattle, and the headrest on both mine and my my traveling companions seats weren't attached properly. Kept popping off every 30min if raised, only saving grace was it wasn't a night flight and wanting sleep.

 

[misstam]

I had that happen on an AA flight lately, the chair back was loose & wouldn't lock off to any position. It's a strange feeling to sink into a reclining position during take off/landing.

I mentioned it to the FA and she gave me one of those looks that almost makes you think it's supposed to do that...

 

[Warks]

I've had seats that do the self-recline but often only to the next position so you can't tell it's happened until the FA chips you about it as the cabin is being prepared for landing. As a self-righteous person who looks down their nose haughtily at those who ignore cabin procedures I find it extremely embarrassing!:mrgreen:

 

[Chicken or Beef]

I'm finding it rare to get a seat in QF cattle class where everything actually works. Last long haul to the States my video screen didn't work. The flight before that my seat kept collapsing.

If you know the rego of the plane you're going on, or just flown on, you can often google it and find the history of ownership of the plane. One plane I recently did this for, was a QF 767 (3rd hand) which took its first flight in the US in 1988. So is it any wonder things start breaking down?

In order to fix the many problems with all these planes, they are required to be on the ground which means lost revenue. I think if the airlines think they can get away with it (as long as it doesn't involve major safety), they will turn a blind eye to all those niggling issues, esp in the current US market.

Having said that, I have also heard that there are a few IFE's not working in one of the brand NEW A380's.

If they are marketing long haul flights with entertainment systems on board, and you happen to get one that isn't working and you can't be moved to another seat - I'm sure you could ask for some sort of compensation by writing to their customer complaints area.

 

[Flashback]

If they are marketing long haul flights with entertainment systems on board, and you happen to get one that isn't working and you can't be moved to another seat - I'm sure you could ask for some sort of compensation by writing to their customer complaints area.

Would make for a very, very boring flight though...

 

[NM]

If you know the rego of the plane you're going on, or just flown on, you can often google it and find the history of ownership of the plane. One plane I recently did this for, was a QF 767 (3rd hand) which took its first flight in the US in 1988. So is it any wonder things start breaking down?

Which aircraft was that? As far as I can tell, all current QF 767 aircraft are either 767-338 (i.e. originally built for and delivered to Qantas) or 767-336 (i.e. originally built for and delivered to BA and moved to QF several years ago).

I cannot identify any that would have been through through three ownerships ... unless one of the -336s had been on lease from BA to someone else for a period while under BA ownership.

All 767s take their first flight in the USA .

But yes, I agree some of the 767s are showing their age. QF had planned for them to begin retirement before now but have had to delay that process due to delays in new aircraft deliveries.

Qantas has always had a policy of holding onto aircraft for expended periods. This is a different policy to an airline like SQ. SQ buy new and typically move the aircraft on around the 5-10 year mark. QF buy new and hold onto the aircraft for more like 15-20+ years. These are different models and also reflect maintenance procedures. SQ move them on before major maintenance costs are incurred, while undertake a long-term view of aircraft ownership that includes multiple cycles of major maintenance (C and D checks). Both models seem to be working for the respective airlines, though each does have its issues. For Qantas the issue is that the aircraft look tired at the end of their life and delays in new deliveries results in the old aircraft being retained longer than planned and the associated maintenance costs and reliability that ensue. For airlines that cycle their fleet more quickly, there is a financial burden and a perception that their second hand aircraft may not have been maintained as well as the operator knew they would be selling them before long-term maintenance procedures were required.

 

[JohnK]

Would make for a very, very boring flight though...

So what did people do on flights back in the 90's with no IFE, iPods, dvd players, mp3 players, laptops, mobile phones, blueberrys, blackberrys, pdas? I don't exactly remember if there was even a movie on the big screen on my first ever long haul flight with QF SYD-ATH in September 1990. I do remember the flight path was on for most of the time and it was an unusual flight path that went over Russia and then Turkey to avoid the Persian Gulf.

Ahh the good old days! Just like when we were kids we would go to the park and you would always find someone you knew there. Take a football to kick around in the winter and a bat and ball to play cricket in the summer. These days there is hardly any social interraction between people as most are constantly glued to Facebook and MySpace and they call this social networking.

Hmmm....

 

[ozimax]

In the good ol days (eg DC10s etc) I would sleep on the floor...

 

[Warks]

In the good ol days (eg DC10s etc) I would sleep on the floor...

Then have a tour of the cabin and a chat with the pilots?

 

[misstam]

Then have a tour of the cabin and a chat with the pilots?

.. and then wander down to the back of the bus with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other...

 

[ozimax]

Yep, it was pretty casual. One movie if you were lucky.

Nowadays, "Please don't queue near the loo...."

 

[Fifa]

On our QF flight from JFK last year, my husband's Y seat kept reclining on takeoff and returned to the upright position while he was trying to sleep!!!

We mentioned it to the FA who removed the seat cushion and tinkered with something but it made no difference. The flight from LAX was full so no chance of changing seats.

On the same flight the IFE was stuck on the same loop of a couple of shows and no amount of rebooting would fix the system. Got a bit boring after a while but at least we slept for a lot of it.

 

[Moody]

A few months back I had an involuntary recliner who was most apologetic but could not get his seat to stay upright. The FA came over and pushed the recline button whilst pumping the seat back and forth. This was both amusing (in a pathetic sort of way) and effective. It must have performed a function similar to bleeding the brakes on a car.

 

[clifford]

I'm sure you could ask for some sort of compensation by writing to their customer complaints area.

I was on a UA flight SIN-NRT in C recently and my IFE was playing up (though not totally US).

I mentioned it to a FA and was given a "voucher" for 7,000 miles FF credit. The miles were credited to my MP account within a couple of days. UA looks after its 1K members.

And Qantas????