Australian Airline Services at Their Best ( Not )

It doesn’t matter how you slice it and dice it, aviation is one of the industries hardest hit by the pandemic. You can’t blame laws or governments or even greed for that reality.

It is forecast (take with grain of salt) that one third of airlines won’t make it through the pandemic. Won’t be any senior management continuing to snout at those airlines.

Companies outsource for various reasons and what you say about the different accounting treatment is true (hence is one possible reason) but it is difficult to imagine that it really would make a significant difference in the current circumstances.

When you lose 97% of your business in a short amount of time, something’s gotta give.

… given what the saying means, is there in reality a smooth end? I’ve never seen one with a smooth end, do Queenslanders keep these for themselves? if so, for what purpose? :rofl:

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Cayenne, aka ‘Smooth leaf’. Multi purpose. :wink:
Nothing to do with pepper.

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Flights return to WA and so does the thieving.

$3,800 one way. Tell ‘em they’re dreamin’.

image

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And now for something completely different?

The Qantas CEO has a keen eye on Covid and had bern pressing publicly to open up the borders. Hopefully the following has not escaped the notice of the Qantas Board. Qantas the business holds a special trusted security status for it’s staff not afforded to any of it’s competitors.

Brunello assessed that former Qantas baggage handler turned wealthy Sydney racing identity Damion Flower, who pleaded guilty in May to importing $68.5 million worth of cocaine, had actually imported $1 billion worth of cocaine via Qantas and a corrupt Qantas baggage handler, who has also since been jailed. The full extent of Flower’s trafficking through Qantas, along with Project Brunello’s other findings, has never previously been publicly revealed.

At least we now know someone has shown an interest?

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This is news? Just ask Schapelle Corby. :wink:

Interesting to note that Qantas refused to allow advertising of Schapelle’s book in its terminals, presumably because the book draws attention to the whole issue.

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It seems appropriate to resurrect this old topic. QF/Jetstar at their finest.

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Jetstar seems to have a certain headlining presence. A year old experience just in the news.

Just adding my tale of woe to this thread. I have been a Qantas Freq Flyer member since 1993 (yes, nearly 30 years!) I handed over more than $5000 - directly to Qantas - in February 2022 for flights in August (today!). During the past months, Qantas changed my booking 4 times, largely due to abrupt changes to flight schedules. About 3 weeks ago, I applied for a points-based upgrade to the 14-hour leg of my 3 outward flights.

Finally, it was the day before I needed to head to the airport at 3:30 in the morning (to allow 2 1/2 hours checkin for a 6:00 am domestic flight - ridiculous!). I finished my packing (anxiously swapping items between checked and carryon because of my fear the checked baggage won’t follow the same route I do). I received a text message inviting me to confirm my checkin online. I started completing this on my phone and decided to do this on my laptop instead and got distracted by other travel planning, including booking the rideshare to the airport. About 3 hours later, I received another text message that my flights were changed.

Boy, were they changed! As one of my flights was cancelled, the other two needed to be changed so the connections could be made. This was done by moving me to a different airline for the 2nd and 3rd flights. This was the only offer, take it or leave it. I took the offer. Oh, and the service rep said I should have received a text message that my request for an upgrade was refused (still haven’t gotten that message).

After closely examining what I agreed to, I called again to request an updated booking and intinerary (I was continually sent the old one from the online booking page) and clarify the travel class (as the new airline uses different names.)

Good thing I called. Because I have been switched to a different airline, I now have to collect my checked baggage after the first leg, find my own way from the domestic to international terminal in Sydney and re-check my baggage once I arrive there! I just hope I can get through the security in time!

I am now panicking even more about my flights. I did ask the second customer service rep who will carry the can if anything else goes to h**l in a handbasket, given that 2 flights are now booked with a different airline. I was assured that I only need to deal with Qantas. We’ll see how that goes.

What I would say to Mr Joyce about lack of ‘match fitness’, is that it is the team with the bloated coaching staff and not enough players (let along experienced players) which is destroying the game. I hope some day Mr Joyce is a second-string waterboy for an under 10’s team in Nebraska, reminicing about how he ran a world-class team into the ground!

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After a third phone call, I was advised that the reason for the flight cancellation was that a storm closed the destination airport. I looked up weather for the area and yes, there was a storm and yes, it did close the airport (and cause hundreds of flights to be diverted) but that was on Wednesday.

A Dutch response for comparison to our own. Not the airlines, the airport.

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Would this be a bit of rationalisation? Each observer will come to their own conclusion noting yesterday’s success is no guarantee of future anything.

Many businesses expect some loyalty from staff but give little or none is return. After standing down 6000 it is a symptom of the modern world QF expects some to head straight back and thankful for the opportunity. Staff and pax rarely forget once burnt. The lack of choice (no pun) might be the only thing that keeps them going in the near term.

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That depends on the destination?

A random sample.

Flying Brisbane - Phnom Penh (Cambodia) return booking 2 weeks in advance for a 2 week stay yields:
Singapore Airlines, 1 stop, 10hrs 40 mins, $1723 with 2 other departing flights the same day under $2000 return
Or
Jetstar Asia (Qantas), 2 stops, 25hrs 35mins, $3419 no other option under $5000

I’ve some other thoughts and note NZ is just 3+ Hrs distant direct flights, but most options from Brisbane now appear to pass through Sydney 10-12hrs. $800-$1000 return economy looking 4 weeks ahead, with Air NZ or Qantas.

The big winner there possibly the owner of Sydney’s Mascot Airport. The losers likely those transiting domestic to international in Australia’s most chaotic terminals?

That used to be the case back when weight and trim was done manually.

The title on the ticket now informs the load system, ie MR, MRS MISS of an average weight for the computer.

The exception would be like; Suva to Funafuti (Tuvalu) the turbo prop needs to carry fuel for the return journey back, and the Pacific Islanders are big lads - so they need to calculate the weight pretty precisely.

I was more thinking of flying out of the higher altitude airports of PNG. Dash8-200’s.
No computers evident unless one counts the load sheet and guy with the pen writing down all the scale weights from the luggage and passenger. Hopefully the pocket calculator was not miskeyed!

Ensuring your chook was well trussed or other pet/live commodity restrained was also important. Other common goods such as knives and machetes were loaded with the luggage down the back. Depending on the airport luggage handling was substantially self service. Not an experience unique to PNG, it was not uncommon at the smaller strips and not so small in outback QLD and NSW by my recollections of the 80’s, 90’s and ….

Hopefully this budget approach to airline operation is not the future for Qantas. Although self service and the added expense of a class with greater carry on allowance is reportedly the way to go. :joy:

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Maybe Qantas and Jetstar need to go back to the pen and paper because their I.T. systems are abhorrent.

I don’t want to alarm anyone but Jetstar Australia is owned by Qantas Group.
https://www.jetstar.com/au/en/about-us/jetstar-group#:~:text=Jetstar%20Airways%20in%20Australia%20and,the%20remaining%2049%20per%20cent.

That is a well known fact :wink:

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QF seems to only respond after the media is called in. The last rationalisation from them is precious. I’ll not comment on what appears to be their corporate culture, but their CEO is doing very well indeed.