QF LHR Base (merged)
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QF LHR Base..Not Happy!!
Rumblings from the QF LHR Base suggest that all is not well.Rosters have now been generated,many with with 230 hours.They provide for little time at base to enjoy the very expensive accommodation.Thoughts of commuting from such places as Paris and Madrid have apparently evaporated.On many of the already completed sectors the Thai based crew have been the onboard trainers with many of the new crew having no idea of procedures,stowages and service protocols.Qantas management have been putting spin on the situation,telling all and sundry that it is wildly successful.
Two years to go and already people are un happy...Where are your words of enthusiasm now Q-Tee?
As for passengers...if you are heading to LHR try one of the alternative carriers..all of whom have their act together.
Two years to go and already people are un happy...Where are your words of enthusiasm now Q-Tee?
As for passengers...if you are heading to LHR try one of the alternative carriers..all of whom have their act together.
lets be realistic.
Join Date: Aug 2004
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oh argusmoon .... your information is slightly.... well .... wrong ! 
My roster has just been published ... 184.2 hours .... even the management over here admit that because they wrote a minimum of three DAYS off between trips into the work rules ( not local nights as in OZ) you actually get about five days between trips ( ie arrive home at 0700hrs .... then three days off after that day.... then sign on at 2100hrs the day after your three days off .... very nice).
Because of that rule they cant physically build the rosters past about 200hrs ...
And yes, the Thai crew are as hard working and helpful as ever.
oh and we have had plenty of time to travel, and have been doing it ... everyone is having a great time ... the only grumblings I have heard is regards to the staff travel process .... we have to get our tickets posted from Oz .... but my trip to Amsterdam on the weekend was only 63 pound including taxes (43 pound of taxes !!!!) .... full fare with BMI's internet fares... so I dont see the issue. If you want to go further afield, you have to plan a bit more if you want to use staff travel, most people are buying in bulk, getting open tickets ..
As for commuting ... well people are already doing it ... one from as far as switzerland, several more a bit closer, havent heard of any problems for them!
Thanks for your interest though, but we are all doin great...
My roster has just been published ... 184.2 hours .... even the management over here admit that because they wrote a minimum of three DAYS off between trips into the work rules ( not local nights as in OZ) you actually get about five days between trips ( ie arrive home at 0700hrs .... then three days off after that day.... then sign on at 2100hrs the day after your three days off .... very nice).
Because of that rule they cant physically build the rosters past about 200hrs ...
And yes, the Thai crew are as hard working and helpful as ever.
oh and we have had plenty of time to travel, and have been doing it ... everyone is having a great time ... the only grumblings I have heard is regards to the staff travel process .... we have to get our tickets posted from Oz .... but my trip to Amsterdam on the weekend was only 63 pound including taxes (43 pound of taxes !!!!) .... full fare with BMI's internet fares... so I dont see the issue. If you want to go further afield, you have to plan a bit more if you want to use staff travel, most people are buying in bulk, getting open tickets ..
As for commuting ... well people are already doing it ... one from as far as switzerland, several more a bit closer, havent heard of any problems for them!
Thanks for your interest though, but we are all doin great...
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Q Tee Believable?
Q Tee I Don't actually believe you are in LHR but rather part of the spin team.My ex wife is in LHR (presumably to get away from me)and she ain't happy for the reasons mentioned by Argus.I know this because of the e-mails and phone messages I keep getting(harrassment?)
For me your assertions are a little too glib.Also why is it crew lists ex LHR are unavailable on CIS?
For me your assertions are a little too glib.Also why is it crew lists ex LHR are unavailable on CIS?
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The word from the Thais so far is that the operation from the passenger's point of view is a complete disaster.
Not that anyone in QF management give a rats....
It seems that the ex domestic FAs who have been rubber stamped into the CSS role are ignoring the Thai's advice when it comes to service standards and proceedures.
The Thais of course having the benefit of YEARS of longhaul experience.
It seems that "by the book", whatever that means, is the way things are being done with the results being 4.5-5 hour meal services.
Problems on board that wouild require 5 minutes to resolve by someone with experience are causing those in charge hours of grief.
Reams of ICANS are being written by the normally mild mannered Thais such is the disgrace.
They also report on one occasion arrival PAs being made straight after take off.
One can only wonder what the passengers must be thinking and experiencing.
Those taking over from a southbound QF2 report the first class cabin to be in a shambles.
Blankets all over the floor, doonas draped over seat backs, glasses in the cabin and food still in the ovens with two Chairmans Club member incensed at the crew's ineptitude.
One quoted as saying that he had spent $16000 AUD on his seat and was furious at being a Qantas experiment.
With the UK based FAs coming online next week with next to nothing in the way of training save for the cardboard mockup in the hangar, the service standards being endured by our passengers are set to remain much the same or perhaps sink lower with some LHR-SIN sectors having no Thais on board.
As a crew member who has spent years proudly plying the flagship Kangaroo route it sickens me to see what a shambles our operation is becoming in the name of corporate greed.
I expect and am used to being treated with contempt by management.
The LHR base startup and it's operation is an example of QF treating it's customers in this fashion.
QF MANAGEMENT YOU ARE A F--KING DISGRACE AND A POX ON YOU.
Not that anyone in QF management give a rats....
It seems that the ex domestic FAs who have been rubber stamped into the CSS role are ignoring the Thai's advice when it comes to service standards and proceedures.
The Thais of course having the benefit of YEARS of longhaul experience.
It seems that "by the book", whatever that means, is the way things are being done with the results being 4.5-5 hour meal services.
Problems on board that wouild require 5 minutes to resolve by someone with experience are causing those in charge hours of grief.
Reams of ICANS are being written by the normally mild mannered Thais such is the disgrace.
They also report on one occasion arrival PAs being made straight after take off.
One can only wonder what the passengers must be thinking and experiencing.
Those taking over from a southbound QF2 report the first class cabin to be in a shambles.
Blankets all over the floor, doonas draped over seat backs, glasses in the cabin and food still in the ovens with two Chairmans Club member incensed at the crew's ineptitude.
One quoted as saying that he had spent $16000 AUD on his seat and was furious at being a Qantas experiment.
With the UK based FAs coming online next week with next to nothing in the way of training save for the cardboard mockup in the hangar, the service standards being endured by our passengers are set to remain much the same or perhaps sink lower with some LHR-SIN sectors having no Thais on board.
As a crew member who has spent years proudly plying the flagship Kangaroo route it sickens me to see what a shambles our operation is becoming in the name of corporate greed.
I expect and am used to being treated with contempt by management.
The LHR base startup and it's operation is an example of QF treating it's customers in this fashion.
QF MANAGEMENT YOU ARE A F--KING DISGRACE AND A POX ON YOU.
Last edited by jettlager; 15th Mar 2005 at 16:56.
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london base tales of woe
It warms my old heart to hear some of the tales, true or false now coming from the new london base!
was it ever going to be any different, short haul crew operating a long haul flight? I couldnt do a wagga wagga turnaround what makes them think they can do a London horses for courses. Of course the spin doctor mark is falling over himself with great words of congratulation. what else could he/she do? Kylie he whirling dirvish of qf. no wonder BA doesnt want him anymore?
I look forward to hering more and more as the sad experiement goes on and on. Best of luck to the Pommie crew satrting soon. Youl need it working with those pursers? See you in transit.? That should be fun. Forget the customers service stuff......whateevr you do do it safely. For your sake and the sake of the pax. OUR companies good name is on the line with you! Well its in the gutter already so just stay safe for yourselves.
was it ever going to be any different, short haul crew operating a long haul flight? I couldnt do a wagga wagga turnaround what makes them think they can do a London horses for courses. Of course the spin doctor mark is falling over himself with great words of congratulation. what else could he/she do? Kylie he whirling dirvish of qf. no wonder BA doesnt want him anymore?
I look forward to hering more and more as the sad experiement goes on and on. Best of luck to the Pommie crew satrting soon. Youl need it working with those pursers? See you in transit.? That should be fun. Forget the customers service stuff......whateevr you do do it safely. For your sake and the sake of the pax. OUR companies good name is on the line with you! Well its in the gutter already so just stay safe for yourselves.
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Qantas' attitude towards staff and customers is just appalling.
The onboard situation you describe on these flights is similar to JQ really. The first four months of Jetstar I would not wish on another human - it was that bad! Settled down a little now but is still FAR from acceptable. The galley and toilets are an OHS nightmare. My point is you guys aren't alone.
Rewarded for 4.5 years of HARD work by getting Jetstar thrown onto us. So I can empathsise with you people... And pray. The drastic cuts QF group has made to training in the last one-two years is astonishing. How many customers do they need to lose, and how many staff need to be abused and injured before QF get the point? Or do they care?
The knowledge that the all areas of the Group are suffering isn't much consolation though, hey?!
End of rant!
The onboard situation you describe on these flights is similar to JQ really. The first four months of Jetstar I would not wish on another human - it was that bad! Settled down a little now but is still FAR from acceptable. The galley and toilets are an OHS nightmare. My point is you guys aren't alone.
Rewarded for 4.5 years of HARD work by getting Jetstar thrown onto us. So I can empathsise with you people... And pray. The drastic cuts QF group has made to training in the last one-two years is astonishing. How many customers do they need to lose, and how many staff need to be abused and injured before QF get the point? Or do they care?
The knowledge that the all areas of the Group are suffering isn't much consolation though, hey?!
End of rant!
Last edited by ditzyboy; 16th Mar 2005 at 17:50.
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I don't work for QANTAS but it seems another cost saving exercise by the one's in suits is again affecting the service and again it's the passenger who suffers!!
They thought about cost reductions,not about the human side ie p*ssing off Oz based crew.There is more and more ways of getting down under and if we (all airlines)do not deliver,our pasengers (the one's who pay our wages management)will go elsewhere!!.
Passengers pay good money to Oz and rightly expect good service not 4 hours + for a meal to be delivered.
We all understand how volitile this industry is and are constantley reminded about fuel costs,how exspensive we the staff are but airline management please just remember,
Happy crew = happy passengers =return business
poor service = peed off passengers = they go elsewhere
short term cost cutting on service = long term loss.
Treat people well and you will reap the benefits.
Doors2Automatic.
They thought about cost reductions,not about the human side ie p*ssing off Oz based crew.There is more and more ways of getting down under and if we (all airlines)do not deliver,our pasengers (the one's who pay our wages management)will go elsewhere!!.
Passengers pay good money to Oz and rightly expect good service not 4 hours + for a meal to be delivered.
We all understand how volitile this industry is and are constantley reminded about fuel costs,how exspensive we the staff are but airline management please just remember,
Happy crew = happy passengers =return business
poor service = peed off passengers = they go elsewhere
short term cost cutting on service = long term loss.
Treat people well and you will reap the benefits.
Doors2Automatic.
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Service Limitations
It has been said elsewhere but is worth repeating..the greatest threat to the quality of airline service is airline management.Nowhere is this more evident than the Qantas London Base.It is about time that passengers started voting with their feet and perhaps the clowns at the top will stop laughing all the way to the golden handshake.
$16000 is a helluva a lot to pay to be a guinea pig.
$16000 is a helluva a lot to pay to be a guinea pig.
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Spontaneous and rather touching display of goodwill was demonstrated by the Thai crew the other day.
If rumour is correct [and it is] it seems that they took the opportunity to line up single file and bow with hands clasped together in deference to the Sydney based crew that they were about to work with.
I've never seen nor heard of this happening before and it transpires that this act was a reflection on and result of, their experiences working with QFUK.
Kup koon ma kup.
Jettlager
P.S. To be expected given that the poisonous and incompetent "Fat Boy Slim" AKA "Dick More Ass" [think about it] is running the UK [mis]management team.
If rumour is correct [and it is] it seems that they took the opportunity to line up single file and bow with hands clasped together in deference to the Sydney based crew that they were about to work with.
I've never seen nor heard of this happening before and it transpires that this act was a reflection on and result of, their experiences working with QFUK.
Kup koon ma kup.
Jettlager
P.S. To be expected given that the poisonous and incompetent "Fat Boy Slim" AKA "Dick More Ass" [think about it] is running the UK [mis]management team.
Last edited by jettlager; 18th Mar 2005 at 08:36.
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Crew Lists Ex LHR??
I have friends and family who regularly fly from LHR to Australia.Why can I no longer access crew lists ex LHR ?.Is there another way of having friends and relatives acknowledged?
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Qantas and their training ( very short indeed) is to be blamed for any lack of training the QF UK based crew may appear to have ( even though ALL the current QFUK crew are Qantas Long Haul and Short Haul crew and have no lack of experience in the job in general). It takes time for anyone to settle into a new position and to become completely versed in all aspects of the service flow etc ( which is what the Thai crew seem to have no tolerance or acceptance for- which they should , considering they were new to Qantas once and were in exactly the same position as the QFUK crew when they first started)..... It all boils down to lack of communication between Qantas and the Qantas Thai crew base management in relation to most Thai crew having no idea of the concept of the London base and the fact that there will be people they will be working with over the coming months who will need guidance - the Thai crew are INCREDIBLY efficient - gained by years of experience on the route - the Thai crews are a wonderful source of guidance and should be more understanding and tolerant - considering they will be working with the UK based crew for years to come. All the criticism the UK based crew have received ( seemingly mosty from the Thai crew) has been based from only 2 weeks experience working with UK based crew - and any criticism from an individual Thai crew member would be based on probably one flight , ONE FLIGHT with QFUK based crew - which is hardly fair. The job is not difficult and most of the crew being recrutied from the UK have worked for other airlines ( not counting those already with QF UK who are from Qantas in Australia)- so it is just a matter of learning the service flow and procedures - it will all fall into place. I agree that Qantas has a lot to answer for in relation to the rushed training the crew received - especially in first and business class where customers pay a fortune for seats - though before criticising the staff members who are doing their best in a bad situation - look at the bigger picture and who is really to blame. It is not fair for the Thai crew to be running to the Sydney crew complaining about the London crew after being exposed to only one flight or 2 flights with London crew - that would be the same as criticising the brand new Thai crew for their mistakes on their first flight and running to everyone at Qantas saying that the Thai crew are absolutely hopeless. Very soon this thread will become a non-issue because the Qantas London based crew will become completely versed in the service flow and it will be difficult to criticise - unless one has a personal grudge against the London base. The London crew are an exceptional group of people who are doing their best to provide customers the service they expect - though it could prove a more difficult task without the PROPER support of their colleagues.
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Circumstances
The circumstances under which the LHR base was created have a lot to do with the negative attitude towards it.Some of the smugness displayed by some of the crew relocating didn't help.(Q Tee in particular)The negativity will only grow exponentially if posts such as Jasmins continue.He/she is entitled to his/ her opinion but denigrating the Thai flight attendants won't help.The obscene haste in which the base was established and the lack of experience meant that the base was going to be a shambles for a long time to come.If it continues it may well be QFs undoing in the UK and ultimately have a resoundingly negative effect on the brand generally.I can only hope that a major emergency doesn't occur on an aircraft with crew that have so little experience.
ALL the crew are ex Qantas long and shorthaul?I don' t think so.There are a good percentage of the LHR based crew who are locally employed and who have little or no experience of a longhaul operation.
Travelling to Australia from the UK?...do your self a favour ..fly with any one but Qantas.Well at least for the next two years.
ALL the crew are ex Qantas long and shorthaul?I don' t think so.There are a good percentage of the LHR based crew who are locally employed and who have little or no experience of a longhaul operation.
Travelling to Australia from the UK?...do your self a favour ..fly with any one but Qantas.Well at least for the next two years.
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Response to Captain Q
Captain Q- if you do work for Qantas, you certainly shouldn't , especially making comments to suggest passengers fly other airlines other than Qantas - think about that comment and see how silly it sounded - no passengers means no jobs - there's the answer for you.
If you re-read my comments in relation to the Thai crew, I stated they are " INCREDIBLY efficient and a wonderful source of guidance" - I wasn't denigrating the Thai crew - although so it seems they have been denigrating the QFUK based crew ( see Jettlagers post in relation to this : " The word from the THAIS so far is that the operation from the passengers point of view is a complete disaster" ( even though passenger opinion and surveys show otherwise)and Jetlagers 2nd post in relation to the Thai crews BOWING to Sydney crews they were so pleased not to be flying with UK based crew - what an insult to UK based crew).
To correct you Captain Q ( yet again) those currently flying with QFUK - ARE IN FACT ALL LONG HAUL AND SHORT HAUL QANTAS CREW FROM AUSTRALIA - the new recruits don't start until next week ( many with previous flying experience).
Medical emergencies on board ??? QF Long and Short Haul crew are trained in Australia and been with the QF group for years. The first aid and inflight medical training is the same for Long and Short Haul - do you, Captain Q think that all of the UK crew just came down in the last shower and woke up in London? Come on Captain Q.
As for Long Haul being different from Short Haul , I'm sorry , been there, done that and doing it again..... the length of the flight is really the only major difference - the basics of the job are virtually the same- Captain Q- it's just a plane mate - not the White House. Long to Short and Short to Long is a VERY simple conversion in all aspects....... I think some of you out there just have tickets.
Oh, another thing. Unless you are actually based in London and experienced the base first hand - maybe your comments ( and anyone elses out there in relation to the London base) are just a little bit untimely and lack all form of substance.
If you re-read my comments in relation to the Thai crew, I stated they are " INCREDIBLY efficient and a wonderful source of guidance" - I wasn't denigrating the Thai crew - although so it seems they have been denigrating the QFUK based crew ( see Jettlagers post in relation to this : " The word from the THAIS so far is that the operation from the passengers point of view is a complete disaster" ( even though passenger opinion and surveys show otherwise)and Jetlagers 2nd post in relation to the Thai crews BOWING to Sydney crews they were so pleased not to be flying with UK based crew - what an insult to UK based crew).
To correct you Captain Q ( yet again) those currently flying with QFUK - ARE IN FACT ALL LONG HAUL AND SHORT HAUL QANTAS CREW FROM AUSTRALIA - the new recruits don't start until next week ( many with previous flying experience).
Medical emergencies on board ??? QF Long and Short Haul crew are trained in Australia and been with the QF group for years. The first aid and inflight medical training is the same for Long and Short Haul - do you, Captain Q think that all of the UK crew just came down in the last shower and woke up in London? Come on Captain Q.
As for Long Haul being different from Short Haul , I'm sorry , been there, done that and doing it again..... the length of the flight is really the only major difference - the basics of the job are virtually the same- Captain Q- it's just a plane mate - not the White House. Long to Short and Short to Long is a VERY simple conversion in all aspects....... I think some of you out there just have tickets.
Oh, another thing. Unless you are actually based in London and experienced the base first hand - maybe your comments ( and anyone elses out there in relation to the London base) are just a little bit untimely and lack all form of substance.
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jasmin shut up
you keep banging on about people. if your one of the crew i would hate to work with you. u sound boulshy and arrogant everybody is entitled to their own points of view. if Captain Q wants to say things let him. My best friend is working for them at the minute and she is hating it. the friendly back stabbing australian smile. do u not think its a bit strange how many oz crew are coming over. my mate thinks they will all be laid off after the 6months as qf had to open the position to all and everyone but as the adverts say come on board and experience the friendly australian smile. read that again oz smile no english in there. qf bosses need to realise that crew cannot just be walked over. they will all be screwed if the crew didnt turn up. qf are trying to be the worlds number 1 they will never get that status.
qf = Qantas Fu-- Up as usual.
qf = Qantas Fu-- Up as usual.