SYD-OOL on DJ

[cmon0005]

DJ519 SYD-OOL(Gold Coast) Dep- 12:10pm Sat Row 7 Velocity Red

I haven't flown DJ for over 15 months now, since switching to QFF (couldn't be happier btw with QF). I had no choice but to fly with DJ as QF do not operate to OOL.

Some how I was hoping that DJ would have improved somewhat since I last used them, but sadly nothing has changed in my view.

Checked in online the day before, was allocated a seat close to the front. My boarding pass printed out small, so went to checkin desk and got them to print out a new one for me. On the upside the checking agent was fantastic, and checkin was quick and painless.

Then went through sec and waited in the 'cattle feeding cage' aka the Gate area..
It was so crowded and unorderly, seems like everyone wants to be on the plane first, even when families/elderly are called to board.
DJ's boarding process was like an unorganised stampede of rabbits to put it bluntly.

Once on board was greated by my first name only, as was everybody else..

Seated and watched the scurry of people boarding with hand luggage galore to save the $10, this made for slow boarding and annoying as some ppl were bringing their kitchen sink along with them.

Then the usual long safety speil (DJ have too many irritating announcements) with 'funny' words here and there, felt like telling just get on with the announcement so we can take off!

Took off, flight was fairly ordinary, landed in OOL.

FA announced "Please remain in your seats til the seat belt sign has been switched off".
Of course it seems the norm on LCC's for passengers to get out of their seats anyway.
The FA then announced "Looks like we have some volunteers to clean the plane for those who got out of their seats". This made DJ sound kind of childish.

Points didn't come through due to 'System problems' but a call to Velocity call centre fixed that.

So all in all was an OK experience, I just wish DJ would shake its LCC look/feel, get rid of the 'cattle' hearding feel, scrap the baggage charge so ppl will stop bringing their kitchen sink with them onboard and give us free drink/food.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

should have just flown Jetstar. I find they don't do all that cough with the making jokes and making flying 'fun' routine

 

[cmon0005]

should have just flown Jetstar. I find they don't do all that cough with the making jokes and making flying 'fun' routine

I flew JQ on the way back on Monday morning, only reason I chose DJ on the way up was because of timings.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

I flew JQ on the way back on Monday morning, only reason I chose DJ on the way up was because of timings.

Fair enough then.

Did you find JQ better?

 

[cmon0005]

Did you find JQ better?

Yes all in all was better, Checkin was quick and painless, with friendly staff.
The gate wasn't crowded, when the boarding call came along, people started lining up in an orderly fashion and wasn't a 'cattle hearding' rush.

The FA's welcomed me by my last name, and were friendly and professional, everything seemed a breeze, compared with DJ's redtape boarding processes.

Even in the air everything seemed quick and efficient like the food service and rubbish collection.

Once landed in Sydney everyone stayed in their seats until the sign was off and was fast to get off the plane.

 

[anat0l]

Surprised that you don't see similar problems on JQ as they also charge for checked baggage (and no elites can get free baggage).

As for people standing up before the seat belt sign is switched off, a firm reminder of safety directives should be sufficient and not any joking around. Everyone knows that them staying to clean up the plane is clearly a joke, whereas a threat to charge someone for violating the CoC or safety directives is not.

I'm not a fan of the non-serious antics either, which seem to be attributed mostly to DJ in this country. Not that non-serious stuff has never been said on a JQ or even a QF flight, but it has been limited, controlled and mostly at non-critical times/PAs.

Thanks for the TR, although some of the comments point out more than just your assessment of DJ, e.g.:

• The demographic of LCCs, which perhaps can't be helped (unless you fly the full cost carrier, which as you mention doesn't fly to OOL, but at the same time no guarantee that you won't find undesirable characters on said airline either)
• The selfishness of people - families with young children and special assistance pax first, not sure how much simpler it could be (both to do and understand). Mind you, it's not difficult for most domestic queues in Australia to turn into scrums.
• The hand baggage revolution. We like to poke fun at LOTFAP because this happens all the time. Now it's coming to Australia (or is already here). One big reason why people want to board early. In the absence of any sort of priority boarding, it wouldn't be surprising as to why a boarding queue turns into a scrum.
• SYD vs OOL airports. In saying that, I thought SYD T2 would be alright (at least last time I was in there, it seemed OK for space). OOL looks as tight as a sardine can; worse, if they are still doing all that construction.

 

[dk4]

SEAT BELT SIGNS: Qantas Group owned airlines use a completely different approach to the other airlines when it comes to this sign. On QF (excluding 717) & JQ; when the seat belt sign is on, all passengers & crew must be seated. On other airlines, only passengers must be seated. This causes some confusion if you see the FAs freely moving about the cabin while the seat belt sign is lit (and you are not use to this occurring).

CARRY ON BAGS: I have been on many QF flights (mostly peak business times) where the overhead bins, in the first section of the economy cabin, are completely full - and late comers have nowhere to store their bags directly overhead. This is NOT a phenomenon exclusively of low cost carriers, it is also perceivable on all fully loaded Cityflyer flights at peak business traveller times. (i.e. many business travellers do not want to check luggage; and have the extra wait for it at the other end, let alone the queue to start with.)

SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENTS: Both QF (non 717) and JQ use pre-recorded announcements, which means that there is no opportunity for deviation, unless the incorrect PA is played. At TT FAs stick strictly to their written scripts, meaning little deviation. Of the majors, only DJ offers its staff some small amount of latitude, to make their announcements a little less monotonous.

IN AIR SERVICE: IMO Jetstar FAs are the slickest of all the majors. (For comparative purposes; I think that the added effort of ala carte menus balances those airlines that don't BOB but offer some small complimentary morsel [during the day] to everyone.)

 

[nlagalle]

IN AIR SERVICE: IMO Jetstar FAs are the slickest of all the majors. (For comparative purposes; I think that the added effort of ala carte menus balances those airlines that don't BOB but offer some small complimentary morsel [during the day] to everyone.)

I have to agree that JQ are very slick in the cabin. I flew them a month ago from OOL - MEL and they were really up there. i was in 1A and had a good chat to the CSM and he had the PA drills down pat.

Your TR just re-inforces to me why i should keep sticking with QF and JQ where required.

Nick

 

[markis10]

I have found that while JQ maybe slick in the cabin, post service there is little service, on numerous 4 hour flights the crew seem to ignore the call button once the service is completed.

 

[Bundy Bear]

You were lucky you actually got on the Virgin flight you wanted.

 

[haydensydney]

Then went through sec and waited in the 'cattle feeding cage' aka the Gate area..
It was so crowded and unorderly, seems like everyone wants to be on the plane first, even when families/elderly are called to board

How is this DJ's fault?

Once on board was greated by my first name only, as was everybody else..

What did you want to be called? It hardly seems like a deal breaker to be called by your first name??

Then the usual long safety speil (DJ have too many irritating announcements) with 'funny' words here and there, felt like telling just get on with the announcement so we can take off!

DJ are trying to become more "professional" rather than laid back - so perhaps you got a crew that hadn't received the memo? Again - doesn't seem like a deal breaker.

Took off, flight was fairly ordinary, landed in OOL.

Well thats a relief

So all in all was an OK experience, I just wish DJ would shake its LCC look/feel, get rid of the 'cattle' hearding feel, scrap the baggage charge so ppl will stop bringing their kitchen sink with them onboard and give us free drink/food

As mentioned above, DJ are going through a mid life crisis and it should eventually become the airline you want it to be - personally, I find DJ miles ahead of QF - but this is (as usual) up to personal preference.

 

[cmon0005]

How is this DJ's fault?

It's all about the process, the way they announce the boarding process and the cramped gate lounges, so yes it is their fault in a way.
A few things they could do to improve this: They need to reduce the amount of seats at the gate area to give more standing/queue space, implement some ropes so that premium economy and special needs guests have their own line.

What did you want to be called? It hardly seems like a deal breaker to be called by your first name??

If they really want to be a Business airline and have a more professional image they should be calling people by their last name or at least Welcome on board Sir/Madam.
It may seem like a small thing, but it can really create an image of a Business airline, or a LCC.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

It most certainly is much more appropriate to be called MR ..... rather than by a first name. I do quite like airlines that adopt this greeting.

 

[dajop]

It most certainly is much more appropriate to be called MR ..... rather than by a first name. I do quite like airlines that adopt this greeting.

I like the ones that call you "MR {FIRST NAME}" ... Actually, thats more likely to happen in some hotels.

I'm ambivalent. In fact airlines and hotels are the only people that ever use my surname (apart from a couple of colleagues, but they don't bother with the Mr. bit).

 

[JeniSkunk]

DJ519 SYD-OOL(Gold Coast) Dep- 12:10pm Sat Row 7 Velocity Red

What aircraft make/model did you fly on?

I haven't flown DJ for over 15 months now, since switching to QFF (couldn't be happier btw with QF). I had no choice but to fly with DJ as QF do not operate to OOL.

Some how I was hoping that DJ would have improved somewhat since I last used them, but sadly nothing has changed in my view.

Checked in online the day before, was allocated a seat close to the front. My boarding pass printed out small, so went to checkin desk and got them to print out a new one for me. On the upside the checking agent was fantastic, and checkin was quick and painless.

You should have properly configured your printer so it prints data from web pages at full size, and made certain of that before attempting OLCI.

Then went through sec and waited in the 'cattle feeding cage' aka the Gate area..
It was so crowded and unorderly, seems like everyone wants to be on the plane first, even when families/elderly are called to board.
DJ's boarding process was like an unorganised stampede of rabbits to put it bluntly.

Whilst waiting at the gate at SYD DOM T2, did you notice any elderly or families make themselves known to the staff at the gate before boarding?
When I did my first flight on Thursday of last week, that was reccommended to me by the DJ greeter when I got to BNE DOM for my flight to SYD DOM T2. I would venture to say that the greeter at SYD DOM T2 would tell families and the elderly similar.
Of course getting the rest of the pax on a flight to a Tourist Destination to wait for families/elderly to board can be problematic.

Once on board was greated by my first name only, as was everybody else..

As has been mentioned I think in the Dear John thread, boarding greeting preferences would be nice to have.

Seated and watched the scurry of people boarding with hand luggage galore to save the $10, this made for slow boarding and annoying as some ppl were bringing their kitchen sink along with them.

Tourists trying to save a dollar, so they travel hand luggage heavy.

Then the usual long safety speil (DJ have too many irritating announcements) with 'funny' words here and there, felt like telling just get on with the announcement so we can take off!

Took off, flight was fairly ordinary, landed in OOL.

Having the DJ FAs do the safety talk is actually good. There are no distractions trying to concentrate on what the FAs say/show while a flight safety video is playing.

FA announced "Please remain in your seats til the seat belt sign has been switched off".
Of course it seems the norm on LCC's for passengers to get out of their seats anyway.
The FA then announced "Looks like we have some volunteers to clean the plane for those who got out of their seats". This made DJ sound kind of childish.

The FAs need to come down serious and hard on pax who try to move before the light has been switched off, and not treat it in a light hearted manner.

Points didn't come through due to 'System problems' but a call to Velocity call centre fixed that.

So all in all was an OK experience, I just wish DJ would shake its LCC look/feel, get rid of the 'cattle' hearding feel, scrap the baggage charge so ppl will stop bringing their kitchen sink with them onboard and give us free drink/food.

Good to see that you got your points for flying DJ. Hope you actually find a use for them.

On DJ economy fares, Velocity nothing reds such as you and I get no free checked baggage allowance. Silver get 23Kg free allowance and Gold gets 32Kg allowance on those fare types.

As for the free food and drink, I prefer being able to choose what I want if I want, instead of having the costs for it rolled into my fare and taking what is given hoping it's something decent.

Jenifur Charne

 

[pauly7]

A classic comment from my grandfather the other day which reflects some of the comments above on JQ v DJ.

'that Jetstar airline quite a classy airline, much better service and planes than that grubby bransons red caravan'

Me 'are you sure you don't mean Qantas being the classy one?!'

'oh no I love jetstar'

Think we have found a first true Jetstar fan!