Wanted: Staff travel stories
 

mmm.. bet this will be good!:O

On the flight first day of leave
Arrived at checkin with bags family and me

Sat drinkin coffee and tea
Till they said its full

On the second day of leave
Did the same again
Sat drinkin coffe and tea and panadol from mannings

On the third day of leave went on different carrier some where else

My fun experience with staff travel

How about the one where Cathay ground staff in Japan left one of our cabin crew and her ten year old son, who had broken his leg skiing that day, to sleep in the Terminal for the night, she on a bench and he in his wheelchair, after refusing them travel because of the injury. ANA flew them back to HKG the next day, but they had to pay HKD30,000 for their tickets.
Print that in your "Same Team, Same Dream" Crap Rag......
:yuk::yuk::yuk:

Mrs. CPT and I travelled to JNB on firm full fare D class (discounted business class) tickets as it was a business trip but through an oversight our son who was then 3 had a standby economy ticket issued by the company travel department.

There were >100 seats available on the flight (happy days!)

When we got to FRA we were screamed at by the gate agent who said : "Zis ist against ze rules ......" and when I asked why she told me : "Because it is against ze rules and zat ist vy!"

She said : "Vat vill happen ven zere is no seat for ze boy?" I explained that we did not expect him to travel in business class, one of us would travel in economy with him, and if he could not get on at all (unlikely) one of us would stay behind with him.

After another 10 minutes screaming at us she handed us our boarding cards : 2 business class for him and his mother, and 1 first for me!

Another time I was on standby for CPT LON on SAA, more than 100 seats on the flight, and the check in agent refused to accept my luggage until 20 minutes before departure 'in case there are 'goshows'.

It's ok. Bob Nippleness will sort it all out because he is very proactive with doing his job and ensuring that the CX staff travel system is the best in the industry. It is CX policy to upgrade staff wherever possible. It must be true 'cos Mr Nippleness said so!
Yeah. Right. :yuk:

Capetonian
 

What's the deal with your spelling (grammar, punctuation, and usage are equally sh!t), and is it really true that the agent spent all that time "screaming" at you, or are you simply doing the popular, mass-mentality stereotyping: denigrating an entire nation?

By the way, have you ever heard this song, and what do you reckon, is it true? A Nice South African.

Staff Travel Rule of Thumb
 

Dont travel with your own airline to your destination.
I have found other airlines treat staff better than their own employer

Not all staff are born equal.

Had I been born with a different set of chromosomes, in MNL, BKK or HKG, and worked many years down the back for CX. I would find that check in at my home port was a piece of cake with free upgrades whenever I want them, use of the lounge, all for the price of a bit of face. And fcuk the other 'little people' in the queue in front of me sweating for the chance of just one EY seat.

Oh cynical me.....:uhoh:

D-ENIM : Something wrong with my spelling? "What's the deal with your spelling (grammar, punctuation, and usage are equally sh!t)" Please correct my mistakes. I submit to your obviously superior knowledge and education.

or are you simply doing the popular, mass-mentality stereotyping: denigrating an entire nation? I mentioned that one unpleasant check in agent had screamed at me. Did I make a general comment about an entire nation? Did I even say it was on Lufthansa?

As it happens I've lived and worked in Germany, speak German, have driven only German cars for many years, and have great respect for the nation. There are of course, always the few bad ones who perpetuate the stereotype. Perhaps you also fit into that category?

You are clearly over-sensitive, I'm not so I won't even be drawn by your last childish comment.

Your remarks are ill-considered to put it mildly.

Edit : And I even have German friends who have a sense of humour!

ULH flight. 15 seats open but are weight limited. 30 standby passengers. Get the ZFW 25 minutes before departure, run and tell the ground staff we have 1000KG to get some of the staff on.:ok:

CANNOT:=:ugh:

Same team Same dream.:{

I wonder if J. Slo knows this stuff goes on? Somehow I doubt he would change it.:bored:

CX staff travel is mediocre at best, and mainly down to the fact that no one can be assed to improve it, particularly Bob N. Instead of just spouting the same old company/manager line, why doesn't he actually get out of his chair, put his coffee and biscuit down, and go find out how other carriers run their systems? he may be surprised to learn that CX DIDN'T in fact invent aviation, or staff travel, or anything, in fact, and that the likes of Lufthansa and BA have systems in place FAR easier and user friendly than ours.
Oh, but that'll never happen because that would involve BOTH admitting we don't know everything and also changing something for the better.:ugh:

Things could be different
 

Indeed, if I had been born with a different set of chromosomes, ie XX instead of XY, in MNL or BKK, I'd probably be working right now in Ming Court.

Ah, yes, Mr. Bloggs,
Many years ago - British airline B747-200 westbound ex HK.
Over RTOW with FP fuel.
Captain instructs removal of freight down to RTOW.
Ground staff remove ULD weighing rather more than excess.
"Ahaa!" says captain, "You can now board some staff."
"No!" says dispatcher, "Cannot offload freight to load staff."
"So we depart under RTOW?"
"Yes!"

Report filed and Mgr HK advised of his error of understanding of the rules :ok:

Not to new boys: RTOW = RTOM (RTOW Mars)

No one ever gives me jump seats :*

Boeing gave me the C.A.D drawings for all of the parts on the 777

Anyone want to come to my place and help me assemble one online?

Iberia seems to be run for the benefit of its staff and their friends rather than for passengers, meaning that anyone lucky enough to fall into this category would get a higher onload status than other airline employees who were treated like something the cat puked up.

Travelling on a GP ticket once with a friend who was firm booked to Tenerife, I checked in my suitcase with his.

When we got to the gate (this was at Barajas) the monoglot gate agent told me in Spanish that the flight was full. I told her I spoke no Spanish and kept up the charade for the 20 minutes it took for them to find someone who spoke the required 5 words of Spanglish to be considered 'English speaking' at Iberia.

At this point I asked for my suitcase to be offloaded ........ and miraculously a seat was found!

The issue I find most frustrating and disappointing is that in our HOME base, the staff @ Staff Travel desk are the most unhelpful and rude I have ever come across in my career. What sets me off even more is that Staff in ALL outports from JNB to SYD to NYC are always there to bend over backwards and help you out as much as possible.
Why oh why are we treated like 5hite in our home base?!?!?!

b.

If it looks like it, smells like it . . .
 

Must be so. Because they think we are! Would be nice to see a paradigm shift in this attitude, but I won't hold my breath. But, they do!

Ask the SP if there is anyone on your flight who travels on a subload ticket, find out if they are working at the staff travel check in desk in HKG and if so off load the ru@# fcukers.

Just a few questions if you don't mind:

1. Who is the "SP"?
2. Do we get to see the manifest prior to doors closed or should we delay the flight in order to do so?
3. Does anyone on the aircraft, including the "SP", have the authority to offload anyone who does not present a threat to the "regularity of air transport"?
4. How does anyone find out who, on any particular day, of the countless ground staff works at the staff travel check in desk?

Apart from that, it sounds like a brilliant idea.

STP

PS. One final question. Why use @ for "d" and # for "e" (assuming you meant to spell "rude" that is) when you seem content to simply misspell the word that follows?

Has anyone ever noticed there are never any J/S requests from HK airport staff? Wonder how they get to travel?

On a flight a few years back, my son had a confirmed J/S; The usual thing at the staff desk... he waited and waited ....at the last minute the staff came over and said he couldn't have the J/S because he was too young, and the J/S had been released to someone else! Lucky I was there and told her to look closely at the ticket and his record( it clearly showed he was 14, couldn't book it otherwise!).I had the skipper's cellphone # and filled him in on what was happening. He went back to the old Boeing "love seats" and saw a local sitting there. He then told the Ground Staff to offload them (he had not released it to her), and put my son on. These shenanigans happen a lot!
I always confirm the J/S pax's with the ground staff and ensure they have been loaded if I know they are definitely traveling.

Don’t understand the CX staff travel system in price and user friendliness.

Why do we pay ID 90 rates on our own airline? The seat is already going. Other airlines have only admin fees or FOC tickets.

Anyway, the ground staff was asking for the jump seat for some ID travellers. I could only release one and it was available. I asked how many staff we have. The answer was about six. We were weight limited and I asked the ground staff to allow the staff to come to the gate and when we get the ZFW, we can get some on if not all.

The excuses were they have checked bags. I told them to put them by the aircraft and if the staff gets on, put the bag on. CANNOT.

Other airlines do this very thing to get the staff on but I guess we are not other airlines. I have travelled Continental out of HKG was given a standby ticket to the gate where I was the last to get on, but it worked.

I don’t think the staff travel will ever change for the better here, not until we have a change of BN or he has direction from above. Clearly he will not initiate any progress.

As an operating Captain, you are entitled to ask for the PIL. I have caught Ground Staff at out ports upgrading their based cabin crew ahead of other staff.

We should be writing reports about this. If enough paperwork is generated, something would have to be addressed or you would think.

Because
 

Because the people employed are devoid of any notion of empathy.

They care not about you or your family and how stressful their strict adherence to policy, taken to the nth degree I am sure, out of spite, impacts on your overall experience with Staff Travel

They would rather be slurping a luke warm bowl of noodles and smoking over a mahjong table than doing anything professional.

They are an absolute disgrace- Something only Hong Kong could mould.

They are however very good at requesting jump seats!
:mad::mad::mad:

Hey guys,

I don't mean to thread drift here but I have a related question. I asked in a previous thread but didn't get a very detailed answer...

Is there anyone on here who commutes from Taiwan to Hong Kong via Cathay? If not, how about other nearby destinations? Just wondering how well this has worked out for you and what CX's rules are on this. Do you still get housing allowance since your base is in HK? Also, what is the specific cost of doing this?

Thanks guys...

Yes, you can commute to TPE. There are a lot of flights per day with CX and other carriers.

If you are off duty, CX cannot control what you do with your time off, or where you do it, as long as your min rest requirements are met before your next duty.

If you are based in HKG, then you will continue to receive housing.

I'm sure there are quite a few cabin crew that commute, but I don't know any of them personally.

Cost of an ID90 HKG-TPE? Don't know, but I bet it's very cheap.

Jump Seats
 

EXACTLY!!!

Oh yes, and the the question of jump seats:

I understand the policy that they can't give you a JS if there is a cabin seat available, but if I'm J1, why not give me a boarding pass for JS & then re-allocate a seat at the gate?

Their "cannot" excuse does not hold water, as they are never hesitant to downgrade staff at the gate after giving a free upgrade to a revenue pax. (note: contrary to the black & white policy)

Note to BN & the clowns working for him: CX outport staff not only seem to be able to send us through with a JS boarding pass, and tell us we might be re-allocated at the gate, they also make derogatory comments about the fact that they don't get the same service in return from HK staff travel.

One Team???? Very Different Dream.......

It's always struck me as one of the ironies of the airline industry that one of the 'perks' is reduced rate travel on a standby basis, and yet everyone in marketing, revenue management and distribution is working to ensure that every seat is filled with a paying passenger.

Turkeys voting for Christmas?

Ironic? Possibly, with some imagination. A shock? Surely not. While the system is full of holes, it'd be bloody idiotic to pretend that the airline ought to exist for the benefit of the staff!

The full loads are the device which generates profit; profit being a key point in pilot negotiations, no?

Not exactly on thread but just to show how you guys/girls have it so good.

Crowded C130 UK-Cyprus. It was the fastest way to get me there believe it or not. Going through security the alarms went off. I explained to the RAF copper that it was probably the shooter in the shoulder holster under my jacket. She said, 'that's OK then sir but we will have to x-ray your ammunition box' :ugh: I was regrettably allowed on board. On T/O the thing shook like hell. I thought that this was normal however we aborted due to nose wheel shimmer. We were taken back to the terminal where they tried to incarcerate me with just a sandwich and a coffee. I insisted on being released to go to the officer's mess for lunch and a few beers. I was told that if I did that I may miss the flight. I was really concerned about that, much. Unfortunately they telephoned me when the aircraft was fixed. I did however get an upgrade - to the jump seat :ok:

Exascot,
. . and don't forget the row from the rôle equipment rattling away the hours ;)
. and lying on the freight looking up at the single aileron actuator, hoping it doesn't leak all over me and, if it does, do they have manual reversion?

Our last staff travel flight - sector HK - SYD:
"Only one seat!"
I'd just said "Well, you go on and I'll catch up later." (after a few drinks in Dakotas tonight :))
Captain turns up and sets about advising check-in staff of REAL load situation.
"OK, you both in first!" :ok:

Rah rah!!
:D:D:D

Thanks Jed Thrust!

I understand CX cannot control your time off. My concern was that if I wasn't able to get on the flight from TPE to HKG and subsequently don't make the show time for my flight as a crew member. Is there any leeway here or am I in serious trouble if this happens?

Also, what about reserve times? I know that they are spread among all, but if I am in HKG overnight is there a place I can spend the night at CX or should I look for a crash pad/cheap apartment there?

Anyone at all on here who commutes from TPE.... Anyone?

I don't mean to appear rude but is that a serious question?

The latter would be a more sensible option.

STP

PS. What's this got to do with Staff Travel stories?

Steve the Pirate... not rude at all... but it is a serious question that you have now answered with your incredulous response. I have never commuted before and thus was interested in learning more. At any rate, I read another post that stated you are expected to be in HKG a minimum of 12 hours before duty time. Inconvenient but doable I suppose.

I'm still very interested in talking with someone... anyone?..... who commutes.

This has very little to do with travel stories and was the reason I apologized for thread drift. I just thought that perhaps someone may have a commute story that may relate.

Carry on with your travel stories....

I can remember many a night hanging around aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...he he, sorry the 'a' key wwas sticky, I just cleaned it....:O

Yes many a night hanging around the desk, waiting for a little Chinese CX staffer to come over and stand up on a little pedestal type thing, hold up boarding tickets and announce "Mr/s Smith".......Smiths come forward snatch tickets, and bolt for the gate, "Mr/s Clarke'.....repeat etc etc etc, until Fliegs is standing there, sheepishly looking around at the few other souls sheepishly looking around.....sigh and wonder off.......

Wander off to the Le Meridien Kai Tak, check in.......

3 nights in a row....finally made it out on the 4th night...., and I thank rather than snatch the pass from the CX girl....bolt to gate, make my way to the seat, and can't help feeling all those people looking at you thinking what sort of an idiot arrives this late, and of course nil overhead locker space by now...but made the flight :ok:

Mr Ron Knight (sadly recently departed) was assist airport manager (?) with CX back then......

Speaking of that Le Meridien hotel, remember that place?, The bar atop the building with that all time view of the arrivals down 13. Spent many hours sitting there wondering if we'd make the flight tonight, or will I be sitting here 24 hrs from now??? I well remember that bridge from the terminal over to Le Meriden, and the 'travelator' thing, moving sidewalk (?), ah good times, sadly I think we've seen the last of the good old times.....so pleased and blessed to have been in and around Kai Tak (And bumped in Kai Tak!).....Used to have a cheese omelette for dinner downstairs in the Le Meridien, try to sleep, checkout and wait around for hours & hours until the 23:00 flight back to BNE would take one to SYD or Melb if there was space, and TN flight back to OOL.

I remember those half nods of bare acknowledgment to those you were standing around with 24 hours earlier...here she comes.....'Mr/s Tan'..."Mr Borton"....and so it went...."Mr Fliegenmong" finally!!, and just as suddenly a pang of sadness I wouldn't be around Kai Tak again for a while I'd be in my bed in 24 hours, not in the Le Meridien top floor bar, musing over what sort of omelette to have if I was bumped again tonight ....and then one day...Kai Tak was no more.......

More recently ('08?) Mrs Fliegs and I were in New York, trying to get to Chicago, 09:00 flight out of LGA, thought to catch a cab out of Manhattan to LGA at about 05:00, 4 hours should suffice, snowing like crazy, ankle deep snow, every cab I flagged down drove off when I said La Guardia......finally a kindly cab driver took us to the starbucks opposite Grand central and explained a bus would go to LGA. I remember how noisy those hydraulic windscreen wipers were :rolleyes:

OK so that's not so staff travel, that could happen to anyone!, We do arrive in plenty of time, but flights are cancelling, it won't stop snowing, and we are on the screen now as Mr/s Fliegs number 3 & 4. OK great!,...it keeps snowing, look back at the screen, it refreshes itself to Mr/s Fliegs number 8 & 9, oookayyyy....... look out across the field at those snow clearing trucks and wonder how it is they can drive so fast in such abysmal conditions in an airport environment, screen refreshes.....11 & 12......I ponder how times change from nervously waiting around for that little CX lady of years ago to walk over with her boarding passes in hand, and start calling out names, to now with a screen refreshing itself in near real time...and so it does again, 17 & 18......

Now I think, here we go again!, damn omelette dinner in an overpriced airport hotel, except this is different, no need to cross the South China Sea, just need to get to the Mid West......23 & 24, **** this, the adorable Mrs Fliegs and I go off for breakfast, and watch as the snow keeps falling and the de-icing ops continue........we eventually blew out to 43 & 44, but it sure looked good early! We'd have been fine if it weren't for such abysmal weather, couldn't see Rikers Is. from in the terminal, though I do recall clearly seeing the 'RECHECK COMPASS runway heading 225.2 m' as we held for clearance.

Managed a flight to Madison Wisconsin on a AA EMB 135/145 (?) I think it was, we drove to Chicago, arrived at destination 23:00, that night....flight time around 2 hours.....but that's staff travel.....:ok:

At my retirement in 1991 after 25 years in CX, I was entitled to 6 F/C ID 90s a year. Not very long after this, entitlement was reduced to one four sector F/C ID 90 a year. No information was ever supplied to me about this change of entitlement and to this day, I can not understand the logic of it as surely a 10% F/C fare is better than an empty seat being carried. Some of my ex colleagues who joined from BA are enjoying an annual FOC F/C ticket from BA for the rest of their lives.

Regrettably no longer so. Unilaterally changed to = years of service.

Did I explain why omelettes? Cheapest thing in that restaurant :}

Flyinryan,

Commuting is 10 times harder, more expensive and fatiguing than you think it will be. You will also spend half your G days commuting. Even if you get the next 1-hour flight to TPE, that eats up half a G day. While you can depart for TPE soon after your arrival, it still cannot be sooner than about 2 hours later. You do have to arrive many hours before a duty and give yourself plenty of time and options, as you will quickly run out of last-minute "I'm sick" calls unless you do.

I used to commute. I would get up early, catch an early flight and be in my hotel room by about 11AM for a midnight or 1AM departure. The stress of leaving standby travel to late in the day will do you in. One cancelled flight during the day call fill up all the seats on the next 5 flights. Standing around hoping and stressing about a standby seat for hours and hours will get old very fast. And that's on the way to work. On the way home, you're usually exhausted and feeling the life being sucked out of you as you wait....

All that to say, if at all possible, live where you work! Save your health, money and energy for your days off to enjoy doing what you want, rather than having your health, wealth and energy drained away getting to and from work.

Good luck!

Thanks Iron Skillet! I don't doubt commuting is hard work. I am thinking that since the flight is 1.5 hours and there are 20 flights on CX alone it should be doable. I guess I may be finding out sooner or later.

Still nobody who commutes from TPE on here?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Bueller?