Trip Reports - Around the world but Quantas let us down....

Hello everyone. My wife and I bought two round the world first class tickets going London/Cape Town/Hong Kong/Singapore/Melbourne/NZ/Sydney/Hawaii/San Francisco/Las Vegas/Seattle/and home via Calgary. All was going well.
London to Cape Town via BA - Brilliant
Jburg to HK via Cathay Pacific - Brilliant
HK to Singapore via CP again brilliant, in fact the first class the best to date
Singapore to Melbourne via Quantas - Oh Dear!
Melbourne to Christchurch via NZ Airlines - Very good but just short of Brilliant
Aukland to Sydney via Quantas - again Oh Dear!
Sydney to Hon - Hawaii. Quantas and again just dreadful.

I spend my life in a suit so I tend to dress down for travel, this must be my mistake. The staff are just so snooty, the aircraft from Singapore to Melbourne was so old and dirty - especially after flying with CP. The staff were just rude

The flight to Hawaii was a twin engine with just business class seating. They had the old way of showing movies on a large screen and handed out some small personal video players which only had a few films available.

Is it just us or do others find Quantas so bad. Perhaps we are just unlucky but when you pay good money, all we want is what we expected to get. We will certainly not be flying Q again if we can help it.

I think if you post this on the Qantas section as well, it may help you to understand more, but just that there would be more saying QF is good. but surprise to see QF treats pax like that, consider the fact that even CX treated you without problem

Sydney to Hon - Hawaii. Quantas and again just dreadful.

The flight to Hawaii was a twin engine with just business class seating.

It's QANTAS, not QUANTAS, there is no U, it's an acronym.

I don't believe that either Jetstar or Qantas fly a business class only aircraft anywhere, so I don't see how you could have flown to Hawaii with this type of aircraft.

Best to post this in the Qantas forum, but be prepared for a roasting.

I don't believe that either Jetstar or Qantas fly a business class only aircraft anywhere, so I don't see how you could have flown to Hawaii with this type of aircraft.


Qantas still operates 763 to Honolulu, which explains the mainscreen entertainment and the old seats.

I have read a few times that Qantas flight attendants can be a pretty mixed bunch in C - sometimes you have ones that are really friendly and chatty and other times they just do their work and nothing else. No smile, nothing. I've only flown C domestically and I was quite happy with my two flights, but I flew SYD-LAX and SFO-SYD in Y, and on both flights no flight attendant answered any of my calls.

That said, Qantas would 99.99999999999999999% of the time beat any North American flag carrier in every aspect.

Qantas still operates 763 to Honolulu, which explains the mainscreen entertainment and the old seats.



I believe they have seatback IFE even in the (internationally configured) 763s (in J). Also, unsure what RTW ticket would provide travel on some OW carriers and NZ as well?

Not doubting the OP, just a little confused.

Besides the twin engine, projection movie complaint, can you please elaborate on what made your QF experiences so miserable?

That said, Qantas would 99.99999999999999999% of the time beat any North American flag carrier in every aspect.


Thats not saying much is it ? QF will never beat the likes of BA or CX

Thats not saying much is it ? QF will never beat the likes of BA

:confused:

You have got to be joking.

I also can't believe that the OP flew two segments in J and 1 on F (probably) and still can't spell the name of the airline correctly. Obviously there's no reason why anyone flying in F should have better spelling ability than anyone in Y, but for some reason it makes his complaints even less credible.

You flew on CP? I didn't know Canadian Pacific was still around.

CP? I didn't know Canadian Pacific was still around.

I think he meant CX, OP took the abbre literally from the 2 words

I think he meant CX, OP took the abbre literally from the 2 words

I think AJO was just giving the OP a hard time while referencing an error in his post.

I think AJO was just giving the OP a hard time while referencing an error in his post.

lol...ofcourse I know the meaning behind that

lol...ofcourse I know the meaning behind that

Once somebody takes the Quantas path... :D

Once somebody takes the Quantas path... :D

haha, fantastic. Are we taking bets on a one hit wonder here?

haha, fantastic. Are we taking bets on a one hit wonder here?

Exactly my thought as well.

Never heard about Quantas and NZ Airlines. :D :D

In what ways exactly was the staff snooty?

The only NZ flights direct MEL-CHC are on the A320... and NZ doesn't have "First" on any flights to boot....

If the QF 767 to HNL was sub par because it only had "Business seats" I'm surprised the OP was so happy with the 42" pitch C seats on the TT flight with NZ! ;)

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......................

My wife and I bought two round the world first class tickets


The flight to Hawaii was a twin engine with just business class seating.

I don't believe that either Jetstar or Qantas fly a business class only aircraft anywhere, so I don't see how you could have flown to Hawaii with this type of aircraft.

When I gave it a read to me the OP meant that the plane did not have first class, just business. It obviously also has Y, the point was no F.

That said, these are the things you need to research before dropping $$$ on a RTW in F. Spending that kind of money it's worth taking the time to research F routes. OP is lucky the CX JNB-HKG was still F.

Hello everyone. Firstly, let me say how sorry I am that I have added a U on to the name of Qantas, of course I should have known that, but I would have thought a well thought of forum such as this would excuse such trivial matters, instead concentrate on the key issues raised. I am also clearly not up to speed on the right classification on airline numbers or lettering or indeed if I am sitting in F of Y or whatever. The point of posting was to raise an issue that I thought was important, I would hope the sensible ones will be able to read through the basics of my post and excuse me for my error.

Now, some clarity and response to some of your comments.

1. My RTW tickets was with BA and associated partners, it is first class or best available depending on the route I was taking.

2. I was going slightly off route along the way and at one time I would have to pay extra for a leg not covered by the one world ticket. The leg I paid extra for was the Melbourne to Christchurch with NZ Business. I wanted to go to Melbourne and I wanted to travel to Christchurch thereafter and as it was a fairly short flight so we agreed to the extra cost.

3. When I said that my flight from Sydney to Hawaii was business only (I meant to say it had not first class), of course there was economy available. My comment about the service and movie showing still stands.

4. CP to me is Cathay Pacific. I should have stated CX but clearly the clued up ones sussed this anyway.

5. The main complaint is that the Qantas is just behind the rest of the world here. Take the flight from Singapore to Melbourne. The attendants just don't take the time to make sure you are comfortable and have everything. They walk past you when they 'know' you want service, they believe they are doing you a service by coming to speak to you at all, they are just the rudest people of any airline I have been on to date. I am sorry if others don't agree but its just my opinion from experience to date. This was further heightened by the flight from Sydney to Honolulu. Food was very poor, the service just second rate compared to other airlines and the seats (for a long approx 10hr journey) just not good enough. They may be fine for short flights of up to 4 hours but no more.

I guess I should have done more research along the way, but my post was just saying.... a great trip, some great airlines, some great people and service but in my experience, Q was the worst of the lot.

Again my sincere apologies for not clarifying my post above more clearly. I will not get my book out so that I can comment on the jargon like the others on this forum.... It is clearly important!

Thats not saying much is it ? QF will never beat the likes of BA or CX

Maybe not so much BA, but obviously it won't beat the likes of CX/SQ/MH. Hence I didn't mention them :p

But again, like I said, the service on QF is very mixed.

bigteam

Which plane were you on that had F between hkg and sin? Ive done it a few times and could only get J seats, as there was no F on their a330's or 777's.

It was a 747 between HK and Singapore with Cathay Pacific

It sounds as if the OP may have encountered a domestic-config aircraft (with 2-2-2 Millenium seating in J) for the SYD-HNL sector; if so, he is entitled to be annoyed, as that is really not acceptable for a long-haul sector like this. In the same situation I would be expecting significant compensation.

It sounds as if the OP may have encountered a domestic-config aircraft (with 2-2-2 Millenium seating in J) for the SYD-HNL sector; if so, he is entitled to be annoyed, as that is really not acceptable for a long-haul sector like this. In the same situation I would be expecting significant compensation.Exactly, normally these are operated by "Dreamtime" seat equipped aircraft with in seat IFE. The OP seems to have been the victim of an equipment substitution.

Qantas (stands for Queensland and Northern Territory Air Services) the original name of the airline.

QF has for many years been a hit and miss affair. I am not a fan!!

Having said that I have had some great flights in Y (domestic and international) and some great flights in J (international).

I have also had some shockers in J and Y in international and domestic.

I will stand up for the crew as they have been screwed around by management. Yes the financial crisis has created this and some of the long term staff who no longer get the benefits they used to, have a chip on their shoulder.

I often wonder if its just not part of the Aussie makeup to serve, we Aussies tend to be more into equality and mateship that providing great customer service.

I work in the service industry and have no issue in providing great service, so I tend to have high expectations from others.

For those of us who have followed the ups and downs of QF over the years, the routes like SYD HNL which are not high profit, very little freight etc, the yield or profit on those routes is pretty tight, so the product and service is not always what you would expect.

SYD HNL is mainly occupied by people on holiday airfares - package tours and this affects the quality of service provided. Its obvious as this is one of the routes that QF is busy trying to move all the seats onto JQ as they have a much lower cost base.

I have read some TR and certainly acknowledge that some sectors in J and F sound awesome, but I go on my gut instinct and choose not to fly QF wherever possible.

Would love to read a more detailed TR on your RTW - the routing sounds interesting and would really enjoy hearing more about your trip.

Adam

I would have thought a well thought of forum such as this would excuse such trivial matters, instead concentrate on the key issues raised.

Perhaps part of the issue was that your first post didn't really raise any key issues. You simply spoke in pretty meaningless generalities.

I will probably be flamed for saying this but what the heck.
The OP probably paid quite some money for these two F RTW tickets.
So he's allowed to expect excellent service.
He compares QF with other carriers and comes to the conclusion that QF was disappointing.
What's wrong with that?
The only thing is that the comparison could have covered a few more details and angles to be a bit more credible.

I can add to Bigteam's issues with Qantas.
D class MEl-BME .No cushion on seat for an evening flight. Asked if I could have one, reply " Oh the economy class passengers take them as they walk through the plane and we don't have any more."
A class SYD-JFK cabin very hot, asked flight attendant if the heating could be adjusted, reply " Oh I don't feel hot at all "
D class SYD-JFK Three Qantas flight attendants travelling as passengers. In the AA lounge in LAX waiting for onward flight, they sat down, took off shoes, put feet on coffee table and rubbed moisterising lotion into feet. Other customers in lounge looked on in amazement.
A class SYD-JFK staff gossiping in the first class galley while passengers trying to sleep.
Even though I am Australian I actively avoid Qantas now on any RTW ticket where there is an alternative.

It's QANTAS, not QUANTAS, there is no U, it's an acronym.

If it were a true acronym it would not be pronounceable in polite company... It would be pronounced cun... (think about how every other word starting with "q" without a "u" is pronounced). Maybe this is a reflection of the OP's experience.

No, I have nothing against the airline down under (that's too good); I've never flown them (wait... what does that say about me). :D