Short turnarounds: Have you flown back from your destination with the same crew?

Joined
Aug 21, 2011
Posts
15,159
Qantas
Platinum
Virgin
Platinum
SkyTeam
Elite Plus
Star Alliance
Gold
Have you ever spent such a small amount of time at your destination that you had the same cabin crew (or even the same plane) when you flew back?

I'm sure a few people here would have done immediate turnarounds at the destination where you didn't even leave the airport, e.g. for a status run or to pick up the first sector of a different ticket. Or perhaps you only spent 24-48 hours at your destination and the same crew was flying back with you.

For those who have done this - why were you flying back so soon and did the crew recognise you when you got back on board?
 
Yes, flying CX HKG-ICN-HKG, back when CX had super cheap J class fares originating in S Korea.

In fact I made a point of telling the crew I’d see them in half an hour for the return trip!

Which meant it was really - really - annoying when I got back on to the flight and the crew said ‘welcome back, you left your sunglasses’…

… but rather than giving them to me they said ‘we handed them in to the ground staff, you’ll be able to get them from lost and found’. 🤷‍♂️
 
Two recent ones:

MEL-LST-MEL - outbound in J (1A), return in Y(4F). Crew didn't recognise me as I reboarded. Same plane turn around.

SYD-ICN-SYD (Y) - outbound lightly loaded and talked to CSM for a while. Return leg two days later - packed and fractionally delayed flight, but he still came by to say hello again.
 
Last edited:
A few times this has happened

1. MEL-OOL-MEL on QF as part of a SC run to NZ
2. SYD-HKG-SYD (QF127/128) - CSM Brad recognised me at the door and kept checking on me a few times during the flight
3. CBR-SYD-CBR on VA and QF - recognized both times at the door
 
Status run from Adelaide - Kangaroo Island - Adelaide.

Same aircraft, crew and seat both ways. Crew recognised me and were lovely and we had a great chat from row 1. Was given bonus snacks to take home to my children for their school lunches.

At KGC airport I got off the aircraft, walked into the terminal, around the gate, used the bathroom and back on board for the return flight.
 
Last edited:
We had the same crew and plane on three legs of a CBR-SYD-HBA run. As we boarded in Hobart the crew looked at us, laughed and waved us on saying "we don't need to see your boarding pass".
 
Have had same aircraft turns a number of times. Often on BA LHR-DXB-LHR.
Had same aircraft and same crew on a JL NRT-ICN-NRT overnight turn.
 
Not a turn around but a couple of times have flown MCY-SYD-ADL. same plane and crew on both flights. On one occasion the MCY flight was full. i had talked to one of the FAs saying how i like a window seat when i fly by myself. The crew welcomed me back saying no one is seated in 5A would you like to sit there. Yes please. There were actually many empty seats and a few with a window.
 
Same as drron above, I've had the same plane/crew when going PER-MEL-SYD or something similar (booked like that to get more sectors rather than going non-stop).
 
Status run to get over the line BNE-ROK-BNE, turnaround on the same plane. Likewise said to the crew on leaving that I would see them shortly for the return.
 
CBR-SYD-ADL return on a DSC JASA back in the day. I must have figured that the same plane was doing SYD-ADL-SYD so figured I couldn’t miss my connection back to SYD! I then realised the same crew was heading back and said I’ll see you shortly while deembarking 😁

That was the one and only time I’d ever done a pure short turnaround status run and probably never again.
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Yes, I wish I had better reasons but it’s always been status runs. I try to think of a witty reply in case they comment on it, something like “Darn need to go back, forgot my toothbrush” or “Too warm here” (runs are often to Qld)
 
Several years ago, QR operated DOH - YUL less than daily, so the crew on my inbound flight were operating my outbound flight 72 hours later. The cabin supervisor and I were talking about what we respectively be doing in that time. We greeted each other like old friends when I boarded the flight back to DOH and onto CBR.

Unfortunately for the crew their hotel was one the generic North American ones in the airport car park. Makes getting around Montreal that much harder.

This was a work trip for a international working group 6 monthly face to face meeting I was part of. There and back with rest periods in least than a week.
 
Syd-Bne-Tsv rtn multiple times for SCs when JASAs were still around....sometimes the crew recognised me, most time not!
 
Never did it myself ( I was too late for it) but heard it was quite common to do by quite a few AFF'ers back when AA status runs out to SJU were done.
 
When I was working in Latrobe Tasmania I always took the last flight on Sundays into DPO and usually the first flight on Monday back to MEL.
It was the same crew virtually every flight as they lived in Devonport. Got on very well with them.
 
Treated my wife and me to a night at the Gold Coast using our Accor Plus free night. Flew MEL-OOL on Saturday and OOL-MEL back on Sunday. Cabin manager and I recognised each other from the day before.
 

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and enjoy a better viewing experience, as well as full participation on our community forums.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to enjoy lots of other benefits and discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.
Back
Top