GO WEST! Midweek
So, it's looking like a full bus in Y. OLCI not working for the booking, Velocity online telling me booking didn't exist, Plat customer service apologise.
I get 3A locked in, with assurances of notes on the upcoming booking(s) referencing OLCI gremlins with my profile (unable to use on any O/S or platform of late), and that I'd get the booked seat, even if checking in 30 mins before wheels up.
In the days prior, I was also told at length that I can't use the Plat complimentary upgrade from a flexible far as my work travel provider negotiates bulk travel discounts.
All well and good, but I asked them to demonstrate that in the Velocity T&C, and they were repeatedly unable to reference the relevant section- though I'm perfectly willing to be proven wrong here on that point by other users and/or the DJ rep. The problem for them will be that my nominally discount fares which preclude me from using those upgrades, were not in fact discounted at all- they were rack rates. DJ, for reference, a discount usually refers to a lesser cost.
I conceded the point anyway, knowing an upgrade was a fair chance with Y standing room only on the 73H. This far from forlorn hope was my main reason for not flying QF, as well as their similarly timed not being a 332 or 763, but rather, another 73H...ah, the art of similar difference.
Meanwhile, a couple of Velocity Plat supervisors agree with my read that this isn't kosher, before they find themselves being overruled, trying but failing to succeed in bamboozling efforts by way of fare bucket references.
Result: Op Up on arrival. As ever, ground staff an order of magnitude friendlier than QF counterparts. And, blessedly for the frequent flyer, they're large garment bag friendly.
East coast lounge in question (SYD and MEL are neck and neck on this), revamped or not, remains the last word in mixed bag. The decor is redolent of a QF J lounge, the service and food echoes the Perth QP's high-school- canteen-on-a-bad-day feel, while the excellent bathrooms are a highlight, decked out like the east coast CLs/CBR J lounge.
VERDICT: SINGLE AISLE J
Virgin Virgin J crew. Seven pax, five ticketed as J by my read. FAs noticably working off a PPT printout showing what goes where, what's served when.
A few points:
1) You really, really, don't need to load wine on a pre-dawn flight. The flight and cabin crews were quite unimpressed by the fact that this was loaded. It's not light. It costs money to lug all that booze across the continent, and all for nothing.
The arguments over this appear to have helped lead to a delayed departure. I get that it's 5 o'clock somewhere, but really...if your catering provider can't find you some decent wine on arrival at PER, tell me what they're charging and I'll do it for half price.
2) On a flight over four hours, it might be an idea to offer your premium pax the digeplayers sometime before the halfway mark. Just putting it out there.
3) Be consistent on use of the fore bathrooms. You don't have the communal space issur that you'd have on, say, a QF 734. Either tell Y pax no, don't cross that premium fare Rubicon, or say everyone is welcome, rather than alternating. I'm not terribly fussed as a plat in WHY or when in J.
The alternative, as with Eastbound, is to do a reverse Gorbachev: put up a wall. Of course, by "wall", I mean flimsy, white faux leather cord...but it lets people know where they stand. And that's usually further away from relief than was previously the case, but thems the breaks.
4) BSI is awesome. That is all.
5) Bringing back ye olde W fare on transcons would- even in small tranches (say another two rows on a 73H)- add depth to your offering, for reasons outlined in Eastbound.
6) DJ, it's getting hot in here, and like most corporate travellers, it would be unwise for me to take off any or all of my clothes. Seriously, turn up the a/c! It seems like a perennial problem on their 737s (not so on the Embraers) and as always, I wasn't Robinson Crusoe on this point.
7) Take the jackets of your premium pax before you start to taxi, not after.
8) Mineral water being offered with brekky is actually pretty awesome. Felt all EK. Good coffee. And as always, superb Madame Flavour tea. The rebranded Luke Mangan Karmarama, nee Emma and Tom's, is also a worthy staple.
9) Food's good on this morning flight, if not odd. A frittata with submerged (seriously) sausage- unusual, and accompanied by a tomato and shallot salsa, rather good unusual.
10) Comfort pack is a waste of space, but it's shiny and pretty, I guess. But if you're charging the same as those flying on a hand-me-down widebody, which you usually are, give us the decent amenities kit, thanks....might slightly offset the lack of PTV and better seat. The yield management fairy is yet to cast her spell on the price differences wrt these rather dissimilar offerings. She'd better get a move on.
11) Occasionally asking pax if they'd like anything is considered a plus by some- this really only happened in the last hour or so. There's plenty of us out there who don't like pressing the call button.
OVERALL: This is a decent offering that needs to be refined, and no doubt will be. QF single aisle J hits it well and truly for six at this point, without trying. If DJ were competing with other legacy carriers, it might be a different story.
Crew seem enthusiastic about the new product though, and hopefully they're able to drive the required improvements.
EASTBOUND- farewelling the iron ore curtain
Same problem as earlier sector, Velocity won't let me see it or play with it. Plat peeps assure me I've got 3A and that I'll have it despite not being able to lock-in with elusive OLCI.
Arrive at the airport, given 4D. JUST. WANT. TO. SLEEP. And they've given me an aisle, and robbed me of extra legroom....and put me where I can't ever get comfortable enough to get the required shuteye. My profile denotes window. Status and fare type means that even if not requested at booking (which was done here) I always get 3A by default. Check-in folks can't explain the move.
Lounge staff, while few and far between, apologise and can't explain how a Plat specifically booked with 3A gets trumped by another Plat who subsequently asks for the same seat.
DJ: Did you try OLCI?
QFM: It's funny you should mention that....reference to discussion with Plat folks.
DJ: Oh noes! Let us print the details of the pax we wrongly gave your seat to and display them for all to see!
QFM: Hmm. Not really sure how that's relevant. I'm going to pretend I didn't see that, but it'd appear I'm on a higher fare than [deliberately left blank], which makes this yet stranger. I'm guessing it's not your policy to make people who've paid more play pin the tail on the seat you clearly didn't want?
DJ: Oh noes, totes agree, but you should have told us about OLCI gremlins.
QFM: Kinda did. And you record people's calls, remember? But anyways.
DJ: Here, have a cookie- there's now a shadow in the middle seat.
QFM: Cookie no good, I noes there was 40 empty seats on the flight since this morning anyway, don't spit on my flexi "meal" and tell me it's frosting.
DJ: Oh noes!
Of course, she was much nicer than that, as was I- and I accepted that there wasn't much to be done. But I look forward to DJ's accounting for the many ways in which they've flat out misled or let me down over the past few days, including on this point.
QF would simply apologise and upgrade me after such a snafu, and everyone would be happy (has happened several times, easy fix for wronged and wrongdoer).
DJ's apparent customer is always wrong approach is frustrating in the extreme, and doesn't lend itself to me giving them more business.
The PER lounge is the precise opposite of the QP; it's small and quiet, similar in size to the PER CL, rather than large and busy. But The Lounge and QP are on equal footing in the mediocrity stakes. DJ win by default in terms of the overall experience, in that you can actually get a seat.
Or a couch, even.
And for all their unhelpfulness on this occasion, the staff are at least friendly, if not well-intentioned. This contrasts with the QP at PER, which appears to have offshored the operation to BA-esque lounge dragons.
Boarding starts early, which is a plus- always well prepared for the overhead locker great game.
3A, B ask for digeplayers shortly after takeoff, noting that no one in J is using them. They're turned down. Some welcome, albeit rather limited, schadenfreude ensues- after all, my beef is with DJ, not them.
"Meal" service begins. Now, I know this shouldn't come as a surprise, but I'm accustomed to DJ's old W/PE as J, where you're given the option of flexi and menu. To be told that $510 gets you no real meal is, even if you should be expecting it, somewhat surprising.
Bring back W, in addition to your new J, and you could grow the market. Don't charge me around the same QF would, then give me considerably less.
Same problem as the way over with the thermostat- temp controls are set for a December ARN-CPH flight, not a southern hemisphere transcon in sunny late October.
FAs are friendly and uber efficient throughout the flight.
WHAT'S THE WASH OF ALL THIS?
Will probably move my retain plat bookings back to QF and likely sail past WP1, despite my concerns that it represents close to an affront to loyal FF members. DJ have done nothing to demonstrate to me that they understand the meaning of loyalty.
Happy for DJ to convince me otherwise- I'm still open-minded.
But at least with QF, preferences and loyalty are moderately sacred, and the quality of the product is consistently fine.
So, it's looking like a full bus in Y. OLCI not working for the booking, Velocity online telling me booking didn't exist, Plat customer service apologise.
I get 3A locked in, with assurances of notes on the upcoming booking(s) referencing OLCI gremlins with my profile (unable to use on any O/S or platform of late), and that I'd get the booked seat, even if checking in 30 mins before wheels up.
In the days prior, I was also told at length that I can't use the Plat complimentary upgrade from a flexible far as my work travel provider negotiates bulk travel discounts.
All well and good, but I asked them to demonstrate that in the Velocity T&C, and they were repeatedly unable to reference the relevant section- though I'm perfectly willing to be proven wrong here on that point by other users and/or the DJ rep. The problem for them will be that my nominally discount fares which preclude me from using those upgrades, were not in fact discounted at all- they were rack rates. DJ, for reference, a discount usually refers to a lesser cost.
I conceded the point anyway, knowing an upgrade was a fair chance with Y standing room only on the 73H. This far from forlorn hope was my main reason for not flying QF, as well as their similarly timed not being a 332 or 763, but rather, another 73H...ah, the art of similar difference.
Meanwhile, a couple of Velocity Plat supervisors agree with my read that this isn't kosher, before they find themselves being overruled, trying but failing to succeed in bamboozling efforts by way of fare bucket references.
Result: Op Up on arrival. As ever, ground staff an order of magnitude friendlier than QF counterparts. And, blessedly for the frequent flyer, they're large garment bag friendly.
East coast lounge in question (SYD and MEL are neck and neck on this), revamped or not, remains the last word in mixed bag. The decor is redolent of a QF J lounge, the service and food echoes the Perth QP's high-school- canteen-on-a-bad-day feel, while the excellent bathrooms are a highlight, decked out like the east coast CLs/CBR J lounge.
VERDICT: SINGLE AISLE J
Virgin Virgin J crew. Seven pax, five ticketed as J by my read. FAs noticably working off a PPT printout showing what goes where, what's served when.
A few points:
1) You really, really, don't need to load wine on a pre-dawn flight. The flight and cabin crews were quite unimpressed by the fact that this was loaded. It's not light. It costs money to lug all that booze across the continent, and all for nothing.
The arguments over this appear to have helped lead to a delayed departure. I get that it's 5 o'clock somewhere, but really...if your catering provider can't find you some decent wine on arrival at PER, tell me what they're charging and I'll do it for half price.
2) On a flight over four hours, it might be an idea to offer your premium pax the digeplayers sometime before the halfway mark. Just putting it out there.
3) Be consistent on use of the fore bathrooms. You don't have the communal space issur that you'd have on, say, a QF 734. Either tell Y pax no, don't cross that premium fare Rubicon, or say everyone is welcome, rather than alternating. I'm not terribly fussed as a plat in WHY or when in J.
The alternative, as with Eastbound, is to do a reverse Gorbachev: put up a wall. Of course, by "wall", I mean flimsy, white faux leather cord...but it lets people know where they stand. And that's usually further away from relief than was previously the case, but thems the breaks.
4) BSI is awesome. That is all.
5) Bringing back ye olde W fare on transcons would- even in small tranches (say another two rows on a 73H)- add depth to your offering, for reasons outlined in Eastbound.
6) DJ, it's getting hot in here, and like most corporate travellers, it would be unwise for me to take off any or all of my clothes. Seriously, turn up the a/c! It seems like a perennial problem on their 737s (not so on the Embraers) and as always, I wasn't Robinson Crusoe on this point.
7) Take the jackets of your premium pax before you start to taxi, not after.
8) Mineral water being offered with brekky is actually pretty awesome. Felt all EK. Good coffee. And as always, superb Madame Flavour tea. The rebranded Luke Mangan Karmarama, nee Emma and Tom's, is also a worthy staple.
9) Food's good on this morning flight, if not odd. A frittata with submerged (seriously) sausage- unusual, and accompanied by a tomato and shallot salsa, rather good unusual.
10) Comfort pack is a waste of space, but it's shiny and pretty, I guess. But if you're charging the same as those flying on a hand-me-down widebody, which you usually are, give us the decent amenities kit, thanks....might slightly offset the lack of PTV and better seat. The yield management fairy is yet to cast her spell on the price differences wrt these rather dissimilar offerings. She'd better get a move on.
11) Occasionally asking pax if they'd like anything is considered a plus by some- this really only happened in the last hour or so. There's plenty of us out there who don't like pressing the call button.
OVERALL: This is a decent offering that needs to be refined, and no doubt will be. QF single aisle J hits it well and truly for six at this point, without trying. If DJ were competing with other legacy carriers, it might be a different story.
Crew seem enthusiastic about the new product though, and hopefully they're able to drive the required improvements.
EASTBOUND- farewelling the iron ore curtain
Same problem as earlier sector, Velocity won't let me see it or play with it. Plat peeps assure me I've got 3A and that I'll have it despite not being able to lock-in with elusive OLCI.
Arrive at the airport, given 4D. JUST. WANT. TO. SLEEP. And they've given me an aisle, and robbed me of extra legroom....and put me where I can't ever get comfortable enough to get the required shuteye. My profile denotes window. Status and fare type means that even if not requested at booking (which was done here) I always get 3A by default. Check-in folks can't explain the move.
Lounge staff, while few and far between, apologise and can't explain how a Plat specifically booked with 3A gets trumped by another Plat who subsequently asks for the same seat.
DJ: Did you try OLCI?
QFM: It's funny you should mention that....reference to discussion with Plat folks.
DJ: Oh noes! Let us print the details of the pax we wrongly gave your seat to and display them for all to see!
QFM: Hmm. Not really sure how that's relevant. I'm going to pretend I didn't see that, but it'd appear I'm on a higher fare than [deliberately left blank], which makes this yet stranger. I'm guessing it's not your policy to make people who've paid more play pin the tail on the seat you clearly didn't want?
DJ: Oh noes, totes agree, but you should have told us about OLCI gremlins.
QFM: Kinda did. And you record people's calls, remember? But anyways.
DJ: Here, have a cookie- there's now a shadow in the middle seat.
QFM: Cookie no good, I noes there was 40 empty seats on the flight since this morning anyway, don't spit on my flexi "meal" and tell me it's frosting.
DJ: Oh noes!
Of course, she was much nicer than that, as was I- and I accepted that there wasn't much to be done. But I look forward to DJ's accounting for the many ways in which they've flat out misled or let me down over the past few days, including on this point.
QF would simply apologise and upgrade me after such a snafu, and everyone would be happy (has happened several times, easy fix for wronged and wrongdoer).
DJ's apparent customer is always wrong approach is frustrating in the extreme, and doesn't lend itself to me giving them more business.
The PER lounge is the precise opposite of the QP; it's small and quiet, similar in size to the PER CL, rather than large and busy. But The Lounge and QP are on equal footing in the mediocrity stakes. DJ win by default in terms of the overall experience, in that you can actually get a seat.
Or a couch, even.
And for all their unhelpfulness on this occasion, the staff are at least friendly, if not well-intentioned. This contrasts with the QP at PER, which appears to have offshored the operation to BA-esque lounge dragons.
Boarding starts early, which is a plus- always well prepared for the overhead locker great game.
3A, B ask for digeplayers shortly after takeoff, noting that no one in J is using them. They're turned down. Some welcome, albeit rather limited, schadenfreude ensues- after all, my beef is with DJ, not them.
"Meal" service begins. Now, I know this shouldn't come as a surprise, but I'm accustomed to DJ's old W/PE as J, where you're given the option of flexi and menu. To be told that $510 gets you no real meal is, even if you should be expecting it, somewhat surprising.
Bring back W, in addition to your new J, and you could grow the market. Don't charge me around the same QF would, then give me considerably less.
Same problem as the way over with the thermostat- temp controls are set for a December ARN-CPH flight, not a southern hemisphere transcon in sunny late October.
FAs are friendly and uber efficient throughout the flight.
WHAT'S THE WASH OF ALL THIS?
Will probably move my retain plat bookings back to QF and likely sail past WP1, despite my concerns that it represents close to an affront to loyal FF members. DJ have done nothing to demonstrate to me that they understand the meaning of loyalty.
Happy for DJ to convince me otherwise- I'm still open-minded.
But at least with QF, preferences and loyalty are moderately sacred, and the quality of the product is consistently fine.
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