I agree with “M” on the standards provided to Oz/NZ travellers. Although I say this with the cavitate, that the consumer is also partly to blame, especially on the domestic sectors. People are happy to pay $7 for a starbucks coffee, $40 eating out lunch etc., but if I they can get $2 off an airline ticket they will jump through hoops. If consumers want to fly and not pay for it, then I guess how can they complain about the standards they themselves are tactility demanding from the market? I think the monopolistic market place for us is also a factor.
What annoys me is when pax accept the fact they will pay more to fly QF, because they want more seat pitch, better meal, etc.. and get ripped off. I flew BNE-MEL last week business class on a clapped out B763 (in reference to the old interior fit) and got served up 20gramms of chicken, stale bread roll and a small piece of cheese. Joke!
To make it worse they won’t let you in the Qantas Club in BNE because domestic business class don’t get let in. Fair enough, if that’s the rules I suppose. Shame as in the old days flying Ansett or Australian the hot meal in Y BNE-SYD was better than QF J class to MEL. Considering we arrive after 7pm you would think a hot meal would be on the cards in J class surely.
What’s even worse is when I fly to SIN or HKG and get on that old sh1t-heap B743 (SIN QF51) and B763 (HKG), once again referring only to the old interior, not these wonderful Boeings which they are. I see SQ or CX taxing past in the brand new 777 or 333 with new interior and TVs for all. I couldn’t even see the TV screen coming back form SIN last trip (B743) which was burly and my headsets wouldn’t work anyway. Every time I fly SQ I think, gee I wish I could be proud of my national carrier like Singaporeans are with SQ and the wonderful service provided by the crew. Hey talking cabin service only, not Tech, so don’t bring up all their flying screw-up’s, as we aren’t talking tech. What an embarrassment it is to fly with foreign citizens on board, when you see them clearly pissed-off with the state of the old cabins on B743 and B767 fleet. I won’t start on how useless the overhead bins are in these types. 2 trips ago on QF52 from SIN just before rotation all this water comes rushing out of the roof (seems normal out of SIN on the -300) and spills all over these people coming for the holiday here. One idiot got out of his seat and run toward the galley area to tell the crew, thinking this was unsafe. These pax all seemed really scared. Just an embarrassment and then having to sit long haul with no TVs. Joke QF!!!
I guess as long as the aircraft are full then Dickson is laughing all the way to the bank. Come in suckers! What can you do when you have a monopoly? I wish we could have the same standard of SQ in-flight service, aircraft fittings and combine it with the current Tech crews, then we would have the best airline in the world, and one all Aussie could really be proud off.
