What should one expect from a full cost carrier when travelling J.

[FrustratedQP]

My wife and I are recently retired with a good income. We only travel by air three or four times (return) a year and as such don’t earn significant SC to maintain any worthwhile status. However, when we do travel we like to be comfortable and have started to travel J whenever possible.

On a recent flight from SYD to CNS return we were confronted with quite a moody and rude F/A. It felt like we had to beg for drinks, she ignored other J pax for quite some time when they used the call button (I could see her sitting down doing nothing). She spent about 30% of her time speaking with a Y pax in the galley.

On both flights, the F/A allowed the Y pax to line up for the forward toilet. This resulted in my wife trying to eat her meal whilst sitting within inches from the backside of a waiting passenger and holding her right elbow in to avoid touching him. I had to wait for two Y pax to finish before I could use the toilet myself and when I got there, there were no towels left to dry my hands. Even the Capt had to wait in the galley until y pax finished.

What is the purpose of the curtain if not to separate the cabins and give the J pax some comfort?

I feel I paid $5,500 more for my tickets for a bigger seat and a better meal. Should I expect more?

I sent a letter to QF Customer Service seven weeks ago asking the same questions, except for the automated response I’m yet to hear from them.

 

[MatF]

*settles back with a large container of popcorn*

Hi FrustratedQP,

All good questions, IMHO, and it does sound like you've had a less-than-acceptable experience - and yes, I do believe you should expect more.

Unfortunately consistency isn't a strong point of the flying roo in my experience. Some flights have wonderful crew who fall over themselves to help, and sadly some flights don't. The vast majority are somewhere in between.

I'm sure there will be some spirited discussion in this thread

There has been some similar discussion previously. Here's one to get started:
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ram/people-coming-past-curtain-use-32644.html

 

[harvyk]

What I would expect as a minimum is

- Friendly FA's
- Good Food
- A Degree of privacy
- Prompt attention if called via the crew call button.
- Comfy seats which are not looking past their used by date and which have legroom.

I'm sort of so so on reserving J toilets for J pax, I don't think they should use them as a matter of course, but if the Y toilets are all in use I don't mind in that scenario. Certainly however if a Y pax does come through I would expect them not to bother J pax (or other Y pax whilst they are at it anyway)

I've found that usually QF do get it right, although I have been on some flights where you could tell the FA \ CSM has taken an instant dislike to the pax (prob didn't help it was the final MEL-CBR leg after I had just arrived back flying INT J).

 

[casanovawa]

Oh dear...

Whenever i hear that "the curtain is there for a reason" line or about Y passengers coming into J discussions it always makes me think of this scene... Sound and picture quality isn't the greatest but hopefully you've seen it before... There was a better video picture-wise, but the voices seemed to be slightly different so chose this one...

Madagascar 2 King Julian on plane - YouTube

 

[markis10]

I have had some similar experiences in J this year, but on the flip side I have had some great experiences, with both the good and the bad reported as feedback to the airline.

 

[MatF]

Oh dear...

Whenever i hear that "the curtain is there for a reason" line or about Y passengers coming into J discussions it always makes me think of this scene... Sound and picture quality isn't the greatest but hopefully you've seen it before... There was a better video picture-wise, but the voices seemed to be slightly different so chose this one...

Madagascar 2 King Julian on plane - YouTube

Hehe, I love that scene (and indeed the whole movie). It's one of our go-to movies when the nieces and nephews come to visit, I must have seen it over 100 times

 

[casanovawa]

And $5,500?? For J from SYD to CNS return for 2?? Sheesh that's a bit...

 

[markis10]

And $5,500?? For J from SYD to CNS return for 2?? Sheesh that's a bit...

It varies from 1100 to 1500 per person each way!

 

[russ]

I fly domestic J but sometimes wonder why I bother. The service isn't great. I don't usually eat the meals. The J lounge is full of red e-deal WP's at the trough.

I mainly fly J so I don't need to physically rub shoulders with someone sitting in 4B or 4E. Is that worth a grand or so for a 4 hour flight? Sadly, yes.

 

[Kangol]

Oh dear...

Whenever i hear that "the curtain is there for a reason" line or about Y passengers coming into J discussions it always makes me think of this scene... Sound and picture quality isn't the greatest but hopefully you've seen it before... There was a better video picture-wise, but the voices seemed to be slightly different so chose this one...

Madagascar 2 King Julian on plane - YouTube

There's also a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode along the same lines... except LD walks backward from First to use the Coach toilets and all hell breaks loose!

 

[Vinny]

What I would expect as a minimum is

- Friendly FA's
- Good Food
- A Degree of privacy
- Prompt attention if called via the crew call button.
- Comfy seats which are not looking past their used by date and which have legroom.

Agree with you there, however I would expect the same, except for perhaps the third point to some degree when flying Y. There's competition in the air now.

 

[kirk7]

I fly domestic J but sometimes wonder why I bother. The service isn't great. I don't usually eat the meals. The J lounge is full of red e-deal WP's at the trough.

I mainly fly J so I don't need to physically rub shoulders with someone sitting in 4B or 4E. Is that worth a grand or so for a 4 hour flight? Sadly, yes.

If you actually read the latest interview with head of loyalty at Qantas....you will find that the J-domestic lounges are more tailored to WP and loyal fliers....its there for J-domestic passengers as a byproduct.

discounted fare WP spend a hell of alot more $$$ than a J passenger that flies 3-4 times a year!

 

[frankxinyu]

wow thats particularly bad

i have had very good, and average services in Dom J...things i would be looking for

Privacy (no kids please)
decent enough meal
quick to get on/off the plane
comfy seats

another note, i find that tweeting to QF customer service usually gets a follow up, very quickly too! worth a try

 

[nlagalle]

If you actually read the latest interview with head of loyalty at Qantas....you will find that the J-domestic lounges are more tailored to WP and loyal fliers....its there for J-domestic passengers as a byproduct.

discounted fare WP spend a hell of alot more $$$ than a J passenger that flies 3-4 times a year!

As has been mentioned the J lounge when opened was only for WP and OWE, J pax were allowed in only later on.. Calling it a J lounge led to confusion..

 

[nlagalle]

wow thats particularly bad

i have had very good, and average services in Dom J...things i would be looking for

Privacy (no kids please)
decent enough meal
quick to get on/off the plane
comfy seats

another note, i find that tweeting to QF customer service usually gets a follow up, very quickly too! worth a try

Agree with you except the kids. My 8yo daughter has travelled in J plenty of times and she always behaves appropriately. I would be against such a rule as I have yet to encounter a kid that annoyed me more than an adult pax.

 

[serfty]

As has been mentioned the J lounge when opened was only for WP and OWE, J pax were allowed in only later on.. Calling it a J lounge led to confusion..

A small point of challenge - Domestic Business class passengers have always had "class of service" based access to the Domestic Business class lounges.

Qantas did not permit Domestic Business Class passengers access to Qantas clubs until at least 2005. This changed between then and when the Business lounges opened in 2007.

 

[nlagalle]

A small point of challenge - Domestic Business class passengers have always had "class of service" based access to the Domestic Business class lounges.

Qantas did not permit Domestic Business Class passengers access to Qantas clubs until at least 2005. This changed between then and when the Business lounges opened in 2007.

I stand corrected then. I am sure i read that initially it wasn't available to J pax.. Must have gotten my wires crossed.

 

[Stephen65]

A small point of challenge - Domestic Business class passengers have always had "class of service" based access to the Domestic Business class lounges.

Qantas did not permit Domestic Business Class passengers access to Qantas clubs until at least 2005. This changed between then and when the Business lounges opened in 2007.

Interestingly back in the 90s Qantas did not permit access to the QP on the basis of FF status either. The only way to get in was to be a paid up QP member. It was a bit like a private club for QF pax. Allowing people into the QP on the basis first of FF status and then J ticketing were later developments and made paid QP membership (and especially lifetime paid membership) a lot less necessary and valuable.

PS: A J ticket has always allowed access to the Domestic Business Lounges - can you imagine the marketing disaster QF would have on its hands if Business class travellers were being turned away at the door of the Business Lounge?

 

[serfty]

I stand corrected then. I am sure i read that initially it wasn't available to J pax.. Must have gotten my wires crossed.

AFAIR, it was the QP that was not available to J PAX until sometime 2005-2007. (Back last Century, First Class Domestic PAX received QP access as a COS bennie).

 

[awilcockson]

Privacy (no kids please)

Oh this thread has hit all the hot buttons now.

Fyi, I've travelled with my children a fair bit, and they are are just as well behaved, if not better, than some so called "adults". At least my kids don't get drunk and obnoxious.