Darren
Mar 28, 01, 12:12 pm
Now, I like a good foccacia sandwich as much as the next guy, but this was too much....
I think I left off my last report with the BA flight to Sydney, which was very good. I had always heard good things about Qantas and their service, so I was a bit excited about trying it out. As a note for those on a rtw or similar ticket to Australia: The Qantas club will let you in with a domestic biz ticket if you flew into the country on a OW first class ticket. Even without any status. My points had not posted from BA yet, but they let me in because I flew 1st from London. I don't know about if I had flown biz from London, so you will have to ask. If you have status (sapphire and emerald), then it isn't a problem anyway. I am glad they did, because the lounge was fantastic. Especially in Perth and Brisbane because they were not crowded. The only thing they could have provided was a better food selection, but c'est la vie. Honestly, I was stuffed, so I didn't care all that much. The clubs had showers (thank God), computers (although slow because they used a proxy that didn't seem to be configured correctly), comfortable seats, and a large bar with almost everything you could want. I tried the two red wines, which were pretty good. One shiraz, one Cab, if I remember right. The QC in Sydney was packed, but the people were still friendly. There is a window overlooking the Qantas fleet, as I was in the Domestic Terminal, though you could still see the runway where the Intl's took off. I stayed mostly in the computer area, where there was a full business center with conference rooms, cubicles, and other niceties. Whereas I am still having a little trouble justifying the cost of an AC membership, I could certainly justfy a QC membership if I flew QF enough. The lounge in Perth was similar to the Sydney lounge, though considerably less crowded. This also allowed the people at the desk to be much more personable. Only once was I treated with a little rudeness, until he looked at my itinerary and perked up a little. I think he just doubted that I had access. In any event, I felt a little uncomfortable, and just avoided the whole situation. The lounge in Brisbane was exactly like the Perth lounge. Now, I want to publically thank the people from the QC lounge. First for providing excellent service, attentiveness, and showers that I used many (many) times. But I also want to thank them for allowing me arrival access. I know they were not supposed to, but they checked my tix, and let me in. They didn't make me feel like they were doing me a favor, nor did they make me feel bad for asking. This is in direct contrast to BA (who was terribly rude at JFK) and AA (who reluctantly let me into the AC). It was refreshing that they didn't hold the club to some sacred level for departures only, but rather only to those who had a legitimate reason to be there. In the case of BA, I was told by one agent that they would let me in to use the email. When I got up there, the four agents tore into me like jackals. It was disappointing. In the case of AA, I actually appreciate the fact that they let me in for my domestic-first segments. If not, I would have understood, but they still made me feel like they were doing me this huge favor by letting me in for my diet coke and to use their computers. Note to AA: Think about QF's lounge access policy. If someone is on a OW upgraded ticket and is using the domestic portions, let them have access. I couldn't imagine there being a huge influx of people, and you would be following the policies of the rest of the OW alliance. The goodwill is priceless, and the access is next to costless.
I flew a total of five segments on QF, because the last BNE-PER was through Sydney. All of the flights were fine, but I think I just expected more. In retrospect, I expected what I later received on Cathay business class. The Qantas biz was even less personal and professional than AA domestic first, and I really felt that I just had the advantage over coach of a bigger seat. Even that wasn't on par with any of the other carriers. All the planes were on 762's, except the last flight to Sydney, which was on a 763. The 762s were aging, no personal video. Fortunately, I brought my MD player. One of the few times I resorted to using it. The plane was full all times, which I think also stressed out the FA's a little. I felt bad for one who opened an overhead bin and had a heavy tube roll onto her noggin. Like something that a drafting document or a marketing sheet would have been shipped in. I have one at home, and they aren't light. Hit her square on the head, like in a cartoon. As I said, I felt bad and asked later if she felt better. I think she appreciated my asking. Anyway, the service was efficient, but far from personal. Food was standard. Foccacia. Now, I am half Italian, and enjoy a good foccacia. Maybe a bit of pesto or something. But on four of the five segments (the fifth was a breakfast flight, and I don't really remember if foccacia was served or not), there was the choice of a salad or a foccacia sandwich. Since I sat in back all the flights, I was resigned to the foccacia. It is the only time that I actually ordered my lunch without a main course. One day it was a strange chicken thing, another was ham, and the third was some vegetable foccacia. The fourth was a repeat, but I have tried to block out of my memory what it was. It was also microwaved, so the foccacia was soggy. Very disappointing.
This next area is a sensitive subject, so I will just state my peace, and move on. I don't agree with disembowling children, nor would I choose to ban them from flying. I don't have kids by choice, yet I probably will at some other point. But from purely an economic standpoint, I don't agree with allowing children in the front cabins. On the five flights, four had kids on board up front (again, with the exception of my morning flight which was all business people). One flight had three sets of kids. On all the flights, there was at least one who would yell and scream, run all over the cabin, and so on. Like in the US, the FA's would just let them. I don't agree with the practice because you are alienating 40 people in a cabin, in order to appease two. And these are 40 people that you base a significant amount of your revenue on. Just doesn't seem to make much sense, but then I don't get paid to make decisions like that.
The 763 was very comfortable, and a pleasure to fly on. Why QF doesn't configure to a 3-class on the longhauls, I don't know. Seems that they could easily sell them, given how full the 2-classes were.
The three cities I visited in Australia were Brisbane, Perth, and Sydney. Each for about 3 days or so, not counting the flying time. Unfortunately, cost considerations were a big factor. As it was, I could have stayed longer in Brisbane (as the room was reasonably cheap), but Sydney set me back quite a bit because I inadvertantly scheduled for the weekend of Mardi Gras. Out of the three cities, I enjoyed Brisbane the most. It has about 2 million people, and has a very pleasant feeling. I walk everywhere I go, and I felt that the city had a very livable vibe and that the people seemed very happy there. I fear that this will change, though, as the city is growing very quickly. Too quickly. I heard something like 100% in less than 10 years. From my observations, the city isn't equipted to handle this sort of growth, and will suffer accordingly. I saw the same thing in Phoenix when I lived there. Anyway, the people were wonderful. I met several of them on the street, and they were thrilled to meet and talk to an American. I also began to realize the similarities between Australia and America. The people are the same, the look is the same, the feel is the same. Or at least the same at I am used to in Los Angeles. Brisbane is culturally very interesting. Many great museums and playhouses. I splurged and went to see Buddy, which was a "musical" about Buddy Holly. I put musical in quotes, because it was more of a Buddy Holly cover band, with a bit of a play thrown in. Perfect, I thought. Though I don't remember his name, the lead was an understudy because the regular was ill. He did a fantastic job. Possibly better than the regular because of the rare chance of being able to show his talent off. Just a nice place to be, and I really hated to leave.
Perth was a recreational city. For those who like to golf, windsurf, swim, run, bike, and so on. I walked *a lot* there. Not a terribly beautiful city, but it had its own charm if you looked into the cracks and crevices. The Australians seem to be into the concept of the pedestrian street, and Perth had more than anywhere. Shopping, lounging, and people watching was the norm. Drinking is a *huge* social activity in Perth. As hot as it is, I can understand. Unfortunately, if you are not into the bar scene, the options for social interaction become more limited. The weekend in Perth was the most fun (I was there on a Saturday for the day), with people running around half-nekkid, showing off their tans, and generally having a good time. One thing I noticed was that the people of Australia seemed more subdued than in similar situations in America. Just my perspective, but they were less out to cause trouble than to just have a good time. As the day wore on and the alcohol kicked in, though, they began to get a bit more restless. I would recommend Perth to those who just are looking for a bit of rest and relaxation. Reminded me a lot of San Diego.
Sydney was an interesting city, but surely my least favorite of the three. People in America seem to be infatuated with Australia, and especially with Sydney. After visiting, I don't really see why, other than the fact that they have not been there. Funny that after talking to many of those who have been there, many agree with me. As I said, I was there for the weekend of the Mardi Gras, put on by the various gay and lesbian societies across the world. Out of any country that I have visited, I think Australia would be the most likely to host an event like this. Aussie girls being Aussie girls, and Aussie boys being Aussie girls. Men, women, children, and other, were all present and accounted for. The parade was a non-stop menagerie of different styles and people from all over the world, including many places where homosexuality is *seriously* frowned upon. The experience before the event was more enjoyable than the parade itself, in my opinion, because it gave people a chance to show off to all the people. No one was angry or hateful, and it was nice to be in an environment were people were just there to party and have a good time. I think the best part of the evening was when a man dressed in a neon orange, Jane Jetson-esque dress introduced his mother to the crowd and said, "See...isn't she a great mother? Here, her son is standing in the street in a dress, in front of a million people, and she isn't even embarassed!" That line typified the night. One of tolerance and acceptance. The rest of Sydney was boring to me, so I won't talk much about it. The Rocks area seemed like a Disneyland reproduction, and the Darling Harbor area was cut out of a tourist cookie mold, and half-baked to perfection. I did take a ferry ride to Manly, which is exactly like Mission Beach in SoCal, but I highly encourage the trip. The ferry goes right by all of the most typical sites, and gives spectacular views of the city. It is also a thrill for those (like myself) that have never been on a ferry and who rarely go on a boat at all. I seem to remember the trip taking about 45 minutes each way.
The food in Australia was deplorable, from my perspective. A am positive that there is good food *somewhere*, but I didn't find it. Seemed to be a cross between English and American, without really doing either very well. The beer is heavenly, though. I don't drink much anymore, but I tried a few of them. In the Rocks area of Sydney, there is a very old (and I think, famous) hotel and pub that makes it's own beer. If they have the Admiral Nelson's Blood, it is good (stout). But they only brew it occasionally.
I don't really want to come across as being overly hard on either Qantas or Australia, but I do think my time and money would have been better spent elsewhere. To each their own. It was too much like the western US for my taste, which is I think why many Americans want to go there. But if I was from the eastern US, I might say the same about parts of Europe. The Qantas flights were sufficient. That's it. Not special. I will visit Oz again, but not for a while. Too many other places to go first. I will say that the next time I go, I will go more into the outback and other remote areas.
Hope you enjoyed this one. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
I think I left off my last report with the BA flight to Sydney, which was very good. I had always heard good things about Qantas and their service, so I was a bit excited about trying it out. As a note for those on a rtw or similar ticket to Australia: The Qantas club will let you in with a domestic biz ticket if you flew into the country on a OW first class ticket. Even without any status. My points had not posted from BA yet, but they let me in because I flew 1st from London. I don't know about if I had flown biz from London, so you will have to ask. If you have status (sapphire and emerald), then it isn't a problem anyway. I am glad they did, because the lounge was fantastic. Especially in Perth and Brisbane because they were not crowded. The only thing they could have provided was a better food selection, but c'est la vie. Honestly, I was stuffed, so I didn't care all that much. The clubs had showers (thank God), computers (although slow because they used a proxy that didn't seem to be configured correctly), comfortable seats, and a large bar with almost everything you could want. I tried the two red wines, which were pretty good. One shiraz, one Cab, if I remember right. The QC in Sydney was packed, but the people were still friendly. There is a window overlooking the Qantas fleet, as I was in the Domestic Terminal, though you could still see the runway where the Intl's took off. I stayed mostly in the computer area, where there was a full business center with conference rooms, cubicles, and other niceties. Whereas I am still having a little trouble justifying the cost of an AC membership, I could certainly justfy a QC membership if I flew QF enough. The lounge in Perth was similar to the Sydney lounge, though considerably less crowded. This also allowed the people at the desk to be much more personable. Only once was I treated with a little rudeness, until he looked at my itinerary and perked up a little. I think he just doubted that I had access. In any event, I felt a little uncomfortable, and just avoided the whole situation. The lounge in Brisbane was exactly like the Perth lounge. Now, I want to publically thank the people from the QC lounge. First for providing excellent service, attentiveness, and showers that I used many (many) times. But I also want to thank them for allowing me arrival access. I know they were not supposed to, but they checked my tix, and let me in. They didn't make me feel like they were doing me a favor, nor did they make me feel bad for asking. This is in direct contrast to BA (who was terribly rude at JFK) and AA (who reluctantly let me into the AC). It was refreshing that they didn't hold the club to some sacred level for departures only, but rather only to those who had a legitimate reason to be there. In the case of BA, I was told by one agent that they would let me in to use the email. When I got up there, the four agents tore into me like jackals. It was disappointing. In the case of AA, I actually appreciate the fact that they let me in for my domestic-first segments. If not, I would have understood, but they still made me feel like they were doing me this huge favor by letting me in for my diet coke and to use their computers. Note to AA: Think about QF's lounge access policy. If someone is on a OW upgraded ticket and is using the domestic portions, let them have access. I couldn't imagine there being a huge influx of people, and you would be following the policies of the rest of the OW alliance. The goodwill is priceless, and the access is next to costless.
I flew a total of five segments on QF, because the last BNE-PER was through Sydney. All of the flights were fine, but I think I just expected more. In retrospect, I expected what I later received on Cathay business class. The Qantas biz was even less personal and professional than AA domestic first, and I really felt that I just had the advantage over coach of a bigger seat. Even that wasn't on par with any of the other carriers. All the planes were on 762's, except the last flight to Sydney, which was on a 763. The 762s were aging, no personal video. Fortunately, I brought my MD player. One of the few times I resorted to using it. The plane was full all times, which I think also stressed out the FA's a little. I felt bad for one who opened an overhead bin and had a heavy tube roll onto her noggin. Like something that a drafting document or a marketing sheet would have been shipped in. I have one at home, and they aren't light. Hit her square on the head, like in a cartoon. As I said, I felt bad and asked later if she felt better. I think she appreciated my asking. Anyway, the service was efficient, but far from personal. Food was standard. Foccacia. Now, I am half Italian, and enjoy a good foccacia. Maybe a bit of pesto or something. But on four of the five segments (the fifth was a breakfast flight, and I don't really remember if foccacia was served or not), there was the choice of a salad or a foccacia sandwich. Since I sat in back all the flights, I was resigned to the foccacia. It is the only time that I actually ordered my lunch without a main course. One day it was a strange chicken thing, another was ham, and the third was some vegetable foccacia. The fourth was a repeat, but I have tried to block out of my memory what it was. It was also microwaved, so the foccacia was soggy. Very disappointing.
This next area is a sensitive subject, so I will just state my peace, and move on. I don't agree with disembowling children, nor would I choose to ban them from flying. I don't have kids by choice, yet I probably will at some other point. But from purely an economic standpoint, I don't agree with allowing children in the front cabins. On the five flights, four had kids on board up front (again, with the exception of my morning flight which was all business people). One flight had three sets of kids. On all the flights, there was at least one who would yell and scream, run all over the cabin, and so on. Like in the US, the FA's would just let them. I don't agree with the practice because you are alienating 40 people in a cabin, in order to appease two. And these are 40 people that you base a significant amount of your revenue on. Just doesn't seem to make much sense, but then I don't get paid to make decisions like that.
The 763 was very comfortable, and a pleasure to fly on. Why QF doesn't configure to a 3-class on the longhauls, I don't know. Seems that they could easily sell them, given how full the 2-classes were.
The three cities I visited in Australia were Brisbane, Perth, and Sydney. Each for about 3 days or so, not counting the flying time. Unfortunately, cost considerations were a big factor. As it was, I could have stayed longer in Brisbane (as the room was reasonably cheap), but Sydney set me back quite a bit because I inadvertantly scheduled for the weekend of Mardi Gras. Out of the three cities, I enjoyed Brisbane the most. It has about 2 million people, and has a very pleasant feeling. I walk everywhere I go, and I felt that the city had a very livable vibe and that the people seemed very happy there. I fear that this will change, though, as the city is growing very quickly. Too quickly. I heard something like 100% in less than 10 years. From my observations, the city isn't equipted to handle this sort of growth, and will suffer accordingly. I saw the same thing in Phoenix when I lived there. Anyway, the people were wonderful. I met several of them on the street, and they were thrilled to meet and talk to an American. I also began to realize the similarities between Australia and America. The people are the same, the look is the same, the feel is the same. Or at least the same at I am used to in Los Angeles. Brisbane is culturally very interesting. Many great museums and playhouses. I splurged and went to see Buddy, which was a "musical" about Buddy Holly. I put musical in quotes, because it was more of a Buddy Holly cover band, with a bit of a play thrown in. Perfect, I thought. Though I don't remember his name, the lead was an understudy because the regular was ill. He did a fantastic job. Possibly better than the regular because of the rare chance of being able to show his talent off. Just a nice place to be, and I really hated to leave.
Perth was a recreational city. For those who like to golf, windsurf, swim, run, bike, and so on. I walked *a lot* there. Not a terribly beautiful city, but it had its own charm if you looked into the cracks and crevices. The Australians seem to be into the concept of the pedestrian street, and Perth had more than anywhere. Shopping, lounging, and people watching was the norm. Drinking is a *huge* social activity in Perth. As hot as it is, I can understand. Unfortunately, if you are not into the bar scene, the options for social interaction become more limited. The weekend in Perth was the most fun (I was there on a Saturday for the day), with people running around half-nekkid, showing off their tans, and generally having a good time. One thing I noticed was that the people of Australia seemed more subdued than in similar situations in America. Just my perspective, but they were less out to cause trouble than to just have a good time. As the day wore on and the alcohol kicked in, though, they began to get a bit more restless. I would recommend Perth to those who just are looking for a bit of rest and relaxation. Reminded me a lot of San Diego.
Sydney was an interesting city, but surely my least favorite of the three. People in America seem to be infatuated with Australia, and especially with Sydney. After visiting, I don't really see why, other than the fact that they have not been there. Funny that after talking to many of those who have been there, many agree with me. As I said, I was there for the weekend of the Mardi Gras, put on by the various gay and lesbian societies across the world. Out of any country that I have visited, I think Australia would be the most likely to host an event like this. Aussie girls being Aussie girls, and Aussie boys being Aussie girls. Men, women, children, and other, were all present and accounted for. The parade was a non-stop menagerie of different styles and people from all over the world, including many places where homosexuality is *seriously* frowned upon. The experience before the event was more enjoyable than the parade itself, in my opinion, because it gave people a chance to show off to all the people. No one was angry or hateful, and it was nice to be in an environment were people were just there to party and have a good time. I think the best part of the evening was when a man dressed in a neon orange, Jane Jetson-esque dress introduced his mother to the crowd and said, "See...isn't she a great mother? Here, her son is standing in the street in a dress, in front of a million people, and she isn't even embarassed!" That line typified the night. One of tolerance and acceptance. The rest of Sydney was boring to me, so I won't talk much about it. The Rocks area seemed like a Disneyland reproduction, and the Darling Harbor area was cut out of a tourist cookie mold, and half-baked to perfection. I did take a ferry ride to Manly, which is exactly like Mission Beach in SoCal, but I highly encourage the trip. The ferry goes right by all of the most typical sites, and gives spectacular views of the city. It is also a thrill for those (like myself) that have never been on a ferry and who rarely go on a boat at all. I seem to remember the trip taking about 45 minutes each way.
The food in Australia was deplorable, from my perspective. A am positive that there is good food *somewhere*, but I didn't find it. Seemed to be a cross between English and American, without really doing either very well. The beer is heavenly, though. I don't drink much anymore, but I tried a few of them. In the Rocks area of Sydney, there is a very old (and I think, famous) hotel and pub that makes it's own beer. If they have the Admiral Nelson's Blood, it is good (stout). But they only brew it occasionally.
I don't really want to come across as being overly hard on either Qantas or Australia, but I do think my time and money would have been better spent elsewhere. To each their own. It was too much like the western US for my taste, which is I think why many Americans want to go there. But if I was from the eastern US, I might say the same about parts of Europe. The Qantas flights were sufficient. That's it. Not special. I will visit Oz again, but not for a while. Too many other places to go first. I will say that the next time I go, I will go more into the outback and other remote areas.
Hope you enjoyed this one. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif