EastCoaster
Newbie
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2017
- Posts
- 8
Earlier this month, I had the scariest flight I've had since travelling on small puddle-jumpers between regional airports and the big smoke during storm season 30 years ago, and it's sworn me off Virgin Australia for life despite it being my favourite airline for the past 12 years, since the DJ days.
Why? During boarding, Virgin Australia cabin crew gave me the lose-lose choice of de-planing and FORFEITING my ticket with no refund, or switching to a seat a handful of rows behind the non-English-speaker with a fruit I was allergic to if they'd opened it, due to oil that would spread in the air. The location to which they wished to switch me simply wasn't far enough away to avoid a reaction, based on my own personal experience. And unlike my original seat, it also wasn't close enough that I would be able to notice and quickly act to show him that stage 1 of my reaction was strong vomiting, which would hopefully get the message across whilst there was still time to bag and dispose of the fruit (orange) before my reaction got more severe and the oil spread throughout the plane.
Having just made a huge capital outlay from my transaction account, and needing to return to work ASAP, forfeiting the ticket and purchasing a replacement on another airline was something I financially had no ability to do at the time. So I white knuckled it for the 90 minute flight time, trying to control my panicked panting from anxiety out of fear that he'd open the orange and the oil would spread throughout the cabin without my having the chance to try to stop the problem before my reaction caused me to drop unconscious, as it sometimes has, by focusing on a video game on my phone. I couldn't eat or drink, figuring that any less I put in, was less that could come out. And I was absolutely miserable.
I've been flying since the early 1980's and have had silver and gold FF status on a couple airlines. I've encountered passengers with oranges before, and a simple apologetic request, generally combined with a smile and an acknowledgement that in return for the inconvenience I'd be glad to buy them any snack off the in-flight menu for flights that don't serve free meals, and a beverage of their choice as well, heads off any problem as soon as I see someone with an orange. I've had to ask 4-5 times over hundreds of flights, that's less than 1% of the time, and no one's ever refused, and only once has someone taken me up on an offer of free food.
The problem this time was that the flyer did not appear to comprehend the English language. Because of this, I thought it best to tell the cabin crew and ask their assistance. They also tried to communicate with the individual and weren't confident they were understood. A woman of the same nationality who could speak English communicated with the individual and said he understands and won't eat it on the plane, at that point. I was comfortable with this, because in my experience politely asking has always worked, however the cabin crew were not. The woman had not yet been on the plane when I tried to communicate with the individual, and alerted the cabin crew to the potential issue. Had she been, I believe that I could have resolved the issue on my own without their involvement.
Instead, the cabin crew's response was was:
1. First to tell me that I'd have to deplane and would be accommodated on another flight. I pointed out that I had to get to a staff meeting, so this wasn't a very desirable option.
2. Tell me that loudly so that the cabin could hear that *I* was responsible for the plane's delayed departure. This would be an "alternative fact". Reality was that passengers stood out on the tarmac outside the plane at boarding time whilst Virgin waited for someone with paperwork to arrive, people were still walking onto the plane at the scheduled departure time, and THIS SITUATION - not I - was responsible for a FURTHER delay, but was certainly not the primary reason the plane left late. It would have left late anyway due to the operational delay for paperwork which prevented boarding until nearly the departure time. To note, much of my conversation with Virgin staff occurred whilst boarding was still happening, as evidenced by the appearance of the dual-language woman after my conversation with the cabin crew.
3. Offer to move me to a seat 8 rows further back, which in my experience definitely wasn't far enough away, plus the way that a plane moves through the air, any seat behind one with that substance would get the same direct exposure, whereas the air right up front MIGHT be a bit better filtered. I declined that and explained I would be a lot safer where I was, where if I saw he was starting to open it, I could get up and shake my head no and show that it was making me sick, and possibly nip the problem in the bud before it became dangerously severe.
4. THEN they said "Because you've REFUSED our request to be moved to another seat, if you deplane you will forfeit your ticket." Well, of course, I declined an action that was likely to make me LESS SAFE, because it was nowhere near far enough away. (I'd heard them say at some point that they couldn't move me way up front, doubling the distance between me and the potential issue, because then they'd have to rebalance the plane - which since they were running late DUE TO A MATTER OTHER THAN THIS ONE to start with, they apparently didn't wish to do.)
Although I was quite frightened, knowing that I could drop unconscious with enough of an exposure, and would require immediate removal from the allergen and urgent medical monitoring, and that the best case would be some embarrassingly strong vomiting, I had no choice but to stay on the plane and pray that the girl successfully communicated with him, because I simply had to get back to my home town for employment and didn't have the scratch in my checking account to buy another ticket. As you might imagine, I had an absolutely miserable, anxiety-filled flight.
The cabin crew attempted to justify this at boarding time and at the end of the flight by saying that they just weren't comfortable that they could communicate with the individual with the orange, well enough to keep me safe. Understandable but... in my opinion, this is a dodgy reason to penalise ME, for trying to do the right thing and enlist their help in reducing the likelihood of a mid-air emergency. If cabin crew aren't confident that someone can understand their communications in an emergency, or to prevent an emergency, wouldn't it likewise be wise not to let them on the plane to begin with? Because wouldn't they also be just as likely to be a hazard to others in an emergency that affected more than one passenger?
Also, announcing to those within hearing vicinity in the cabin that I was responsible for a flight delay was irresponsible of the crew, because there's no way that plane could have left on time with people still boarding at departure time. Sorry, I call dodgy on this. They seemed to be using me as an excuse to cover for their own operational challenges that required a late boarding which was in fact rushed, therefore likely not giving them as much time to come up with a GOOD solution to this problem as they ought have had.
I've been a status flyer with them several times over the past decade, but will be disposing of my frequent flyer points and not flying with them again.
Increasing the threat to my health and safety, by giving me a choice between forfeiting a ticket when I hadn't funds to purchase another that day, or sitting in a location that was less safe for me (in effect bullying me), makes them an airline I can no longer trust with the most important thing airlines DO - get people from place to place, safely.
Previous to this, VA was my favourite Australian airline. I've survived countless weather events and even made it through a bird strike that flamed out an engine and left us turning around and landing in the middle of the airfield with the fire brigade attending, on Virgin. None of these experiences frightened me as much as the possibility this week of a severe allergic reaction in mid-air.
This airline's nut packet specifically excludes peanuts, so it's not the case that they're completely insensitive - at a corporate level, at least - toward those with allergies. Someone put some thought into choosing "safer" nuts for that packet.
If cabin crew were unable or unwilling due to time pressures to work with me to find a solution that permitted me to fly, I believe that a more appropriate and professional response would have been to apologise profusely, promise to accommodate me on the very next flight with a seat to my destination (for bonus points to make a good impression: regardless of airline servicing it), and ideally even offer me some points or a flight credit to acknowledge the inconvenience posed by the fact that they couldn't communicate well enough with the non-English-speaker to be reasonably certain that he wouldn't open the orange.
Instead, what I got at de-planing time was an insistence that I should tell airlines about my allergy before boarding. Are you joking??? And have this kind of disrespectful inconvenience happen more frequently? I really do not think so. Not in the very least!!! I've read too many horror stories about people being forced off flights for reporting allergies, by airlines or crews afraid that they'd have a mid-air reaction, and as noted, I've safely flown hundreds of times. Adding that kind of uncertainty to a business traveler's life is not on.
So now I'm left with disposing of my Velocity points, as I'll be strictly QF from now on. I don't have many at this time, just 15K. Any ideas as to how to get decent value out of that small number of points, other than flying, which is how I've usually used them?
Why? During boarding, Virgin Australia cabin crew gave me the lose-lose choice of de-planing and FORFEITING my ticket with no refund, or switching to a seat a handful of rows behind the non-English-speaker with a fruit I was allergic to if they'd opened it, due to oil that would spread in the air. The location to which they wished to switch me simply wasn't far enough away to avoid a reaction, based on my own personal experience. And unlike my original seat, it also wasn't close enough that I would be able to notice and quickly act to show him that stage 1 of my reaction was strong vomiting, which would hopefully get the message across whilst there was still time to bag and dispose of the fruit (orange) before my reaction got more severe and the oil spread throughout the plane.
Having just made a huge capital outlay from my transaction account, and needing to return to work ASAP, forfeiting the ticket and purchasing a replacement on another airline was something I financially had no ability to do at the time. So I white knuckled it for the 90 minute flight time, trying to control my panicked panting from anxiety out of fear that he'd open the orange and the oil would spread throughout the cabin without my having the chance to try to stop the problem before my reaction caused me to drop unconscious, as it sometimes has, by focusing on a video game on my phone. I couldn't eat or drink, figuring that any less I put in, was less that could come out. And I was absolutely miserable.
I've been flying since the early 1980's and have had silver and gold FF status on a couple airlines. I've encountered passengers with oranges before, and a simple apologetic request, generally combined with a smile and an acknowledgement that in return for the inconvenience I'd be glad to buy them any snack off the in-flight menu for flights that don't serve free meals, and a beverage of their choice as well, heads off any problem as soon as I see someone with an orange. I've had to ask 4-5 times over hundreds of flights, that's less than 1% of the time, and no one's ever refused, and only once has someone taken me up on an offer of free food.
The problem this time was that the flyer did not appear to comprehend the English language. Because of this, I thought it best to tell the cabin crew and ask their assistance. They also tried to communicate with the individual and weren't confident they were understood. A woman of the same nationality who could speak English communicated with the individual and said he understands and won't eat it on the plane, at that point. I was comfortable with this, because in my experience politely asking has always worked, however the cabin crew were not. The woman had not yet been on the plane when I tried to communicate with the individual, and alerted the cabin crew to the potential issue. Had she been, I believe that I could have resolved the issue on my own without their involvement.
Instead, the cabin crew's response was was:
1. First to tell me that I'd have to deplane and would be accommodated on another flight. I pointed out that I had to get to a staff meeting, so this wasn't a very desirable option.
2. Tell me that loudly so that the cabin could hear that *I* was responsible for the plane's delayed departure. This would be an "alternative fact". Reality was that passengers stood out on the tarmac outside the plane at boarding time whilst Virgin waited for someone with paperwork to arrive, people were still walking onto the plane at the scheduled departure time, and THIS SITUATION - not I - was responsible for a FURTHER delay, but was certainly not the primary reason the plane left late. It would have left late anyway due to the operational delay for paperwork which prevented boarding until nearly the departure time. To note, much of my conversation with Virgin staff occurred whilst boarding was still happening, as evidenced by the appearance of the dual-language woman after my conversation with the cabin crew.
3. Offer to move me to a seat 8 rows further back, which in my experience definitely wasn't far enough away, plus the way that a plane moves through the air, any seat behind one with that substance would get the same direct exposure, whereas the air right up front MIGHT be a bit better filtered. I declined that and explained I would be a lot safer where I was, where if I saw he was starting to open it, I could get up and shake my head no and show that it was making me sick, and possibly nip the problem in the bud before it became dangerously severe.
4. THEN they said "Because you've REFUSED our request to be moved to another seat, if you deplane you will forfeit your ticket." Well, of course, I declined an action that was likely to make me LESS SAFE, because it was nowhere near far enough away. (I'd heard them say at some point that they couldn't move me way up front, doubling the distance between me and the potential issue, because then they'd have to rebalance the plane - which since they were running late DUE TO A MATTER OTHER THAN THIS ONE to start with, they apparently didn't wish to do.)
Although I was quite frightened, knowing that I could drop unconscious with enough of an exposure, and would require immediate removal from the allergen and urgent medical monitoring, and that the best case would be some embarrassingly strong vomiting, I had no choice but to stay on the plane and pray that the girl successfully communicated with him, because I simply had to get back to my home town for employment and didn't have the scratch in my checking account to buy another ticket. As you might imagine, I had an absolutely miserable, anxiety-filled flight.
The cabin crew attempted to justify this at boarding time and at the end of the flight by saying that they just weren't comfortable that they could communicate with the individual with the orange, well enough to keep me safe. Understandable but... in my opinion, this is a dodgy reason to penalise ME, for trying to do the right thing and enlist their help in reducing the likelihood of a mid-air emergency. If cabin crew aren't confident that someone can understand their communications in an emergency, or to prevent an emergency, wouldn't it likewise be wise not to let them on the plane to begin with? Because wouldn't they also be just as likely to be a hazard to others in an emergency that affected more than one passenger?
Also, announcing to those within hearing vicinity in the cabin that I was responsible for a flight delay was irresponsible of the crew, because there's no way that plane could have left on time with people still boarding at departure time. Sorry, I call dodgy on this. They seemed to be using me as an excuse to cover for their own operational challenges that required a late boarding which was in fact rushed, therefore likely not giving them as much time to come up with a GOOD solution to this problem as they ought have had.
I've been a status flyer with them several times over the past decade, but will be disposing of my frequent flyer points and not flying with them again.
Increasing the threat to my health and safety, by giving me a choice between forfeiting a ticket when I hadn't funds to purchase another that day, or sitting in a location that was less safe for me (in effect bullying me), makes them an airline I can no longer trust with the most important thing airlines DO - get people from place to place, safely.
Previous to this, VA was my favourite Australian airline. I've survived countless weather events and even made it through a bird strike that flamed out an engine and left us turning around and landing in the middle of the airfield with the fire brigade attending, on Virgin. None of these experiences frightened me as much as the possibility this week of a severe allergic reaction in mid-air.
This airline's nut packet specifically excludes peanuts, so it's not the case that they're completely insensitive - at a corporate level, at least - toward those with allergies. Someone put some thought into choosing "safer" nuts for that packet.
If cabin crew were unable or unwilling due to time pressures to work with me to find a solution that permitted me to fly, I believe that a more appropriate and professional response would have been to apologise profusely, promise to accommodate me on the very next flight with a seat to my destination (for bonus points to make a good impression: regardless of airline servicing it), and ideally even offer me some points or a flight credit to acknowledge the inconvenience posed by the fact that they couldn't communicate well enough with the non-English-speaker to be reasonably certain that he wouldn't open the orange.
Instead, what I got at de-planing time was an insistence that I should tell airlines about my allergy before boarding. Are you joking??? And have this kind of disrespectful inconvenience happen more frequently? I really do not think so. Not in the very least!!! I've read too many horror stories about people being forced off flights for reporting allergies, by airlines or crews afraid that they'd have a mid-air reaction, and as noted, I've safely flown hundreds of times. Adding that kind of uncertainty to a business traveler's life is not on.
So now I'm left with disposing of my Velocity points, as I'll be strictly QF from now on. I don't have many at this time, just 15K. Any ideas as to how to get decent value out of that small number of points, other than flying, which is how I've usually used them?
