Is the 5-Star crown slipping?
Jul 14, 2015, 5:57 pm
#16
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: New York, Paris
Programs: AA ExPlat 4MM, AA Life Plat, Lufthansa FT, Delta Basic
Posts: 1,593
Many here seem to forget that, except for the small percentage of passengers bound for or originating in Qatar, QR is a ONE STOP airline competing against NONSTOP operators. It can do that two ways: Price and, especially in J and F, Service.
In Premium cabins, prices, while still attractive, are not always as clear-cut winners as they once were. If the service slips, I believe that QR (as well as EK or EY) are going to lose ground, something they cannot afford due to their massive fleet orders. I am not unhappy to see Akbar Al Baker refuse deliveries of aircraft not up to passenger amenities contracted. Even if some describe him, when angry, as "Akin to a female llama caught naked in her bath" (a phrase actually used by Churchill about De Gaulle), I consider the man to be a superior businessman strongly aware of his competitive environment and necessities.
Has service sometimes gone down ? Yes as with all airlines growing in time (think CX, QF or SA). Has it reached unpleasant levels ? Not my experience but I shall see next week. For the time being, I still prefer the QR flight Doha-Hong Kong to its CX codeshare.
In Premium cabins, prices, while still attractive, are not always as clear-cut winners as they once were. If the service slips, I believe that QR (as well as EK or EY) are going to lose ground, something they cannot afford due to their massive fleet orders. I am not unhappy to see Akbar Al Baker refuse deliveries of aircraft not up to passenger amenities contracted. Even if some describe him, when angry, as "Akin to a female llama caught naked in her bath" (a phrase actually used by Churchill about De Gaulle), I consider the man to be a superior businessman strongly aware of his competitive environment and necessities.
Has service sometimes gone down ? Yes as with all airlines growing in time (think CX, QF or SA). Has it reached unpleasant levels ? Not my experience but I shall see next week. For the time being, I still prefer the QR flight Doha-Hong Kong to its CX codeshare.
Last edited by Cofyknsult; Jul 14, 2015 at 6:05 pm
Jul 14, 2015, 11:28 pm
#17
Join Date: Aug 2010
Programs: QR Gold, BAEC, Marriott Rewards Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 1,142
Well, yes, you are ....
It's not difficult: I and others are expressly comparing the way QR was to the way it is.
You went off on a tangent comparing QR with BA and other airlines.
Although your point was accurate, only the shakiest logic would recognise it as a valid contribution within the original discussion.
Of course you are spot on i those razor sharp observations: QR sometimes offers PJs in J, while BA never does. And though BA never offers hotels on connections, QR sometimes does. The conclusion I draw from is that BA doesn't need to offer such frills: but at least offers consistency
.
The rest of your post I won't comment on because I have no idea what point you are aiming at..
It's not difficult: I and others are expressly comparing the way QR was to the way it is.
You went off on a tangent comparing QR with BA and other airlines.
Although your point was accurate, only the shakiest logic would recognise it as a valid contribution within the original discussion.
Of course you are spot on i those razor sharp observations: QR sometimes offers PJs in J, while BA never does. And though BA never offers hotels on connections, QR sometimes does. The conclusion I draw from is that BA doesn't need to offer such frills: but at least offers consistency
.The rest of your post I won't comment on because I have no idea what point you are aiming at..
The question you asked in the title of your thread was;
"Is the 5-star crown slipping"
I said they've slipped & weren't as good as before but apparently you're not able to comment on that. I asked what 5-star criteria they're supposed to be slipping against (the '5-stars' in the title of your post), but apparently the criteria are yours only.
You raised this (talk about going off at a tangent). Credibility zero.
Snide, arrogant comments, a great way to answer.
Last edited by impeymac; Jul 15, 2015 at 1:16 am Reason: Rephrased the question
Jul 15, 2015, 3:02 am
#18
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,008
Jul 15, 2015, 3:17 am
#19
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,008
Though you might add in network - my very first QR trip, yonks ago, was London-Trivandrum through Doha. Really there was no other sensible way of getting there. And QR very smartly filled in many of the gaps in the networks of other middle-east carriers. That network advantage has largely disappeared, with most destinations covered by others. So we are back to your two competitive plays
.Worth mentioning that first LHR TRV trip, on the very cheapest of consolidator economy-class tickets, saw QR ferrying us between Doha and Dubai and back to provide overnight hotel accommodation (nothing available in Doha). THAT was playing for competitive advantage!
And it's one of the reasons I started this thread: I'm not sure where QR's high spot was in terms of customer service, but that spot is most definitely behind us. Question is, how far down a slippery slope the decline will take us. I'm certainly not ranting against QR - but I'm more driven by the price advantages they offer than than the service levels. And the Tier Points
Jul 15, 2015, 11:50 am
#20
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,235
That's only true for passengers starting their trip at a major hub. QR offers many destinations in Asia and Australia from non-major European airports with one stop, whether otherwise two or more would be required.
Jul 15, 2015, 12:28 pm
#21
Join Date: Dec 2002
Programs: QR Plat
Posts: 2,434
The usual daily threads in here about how QR slips are getting a bit long in the tooth. The simple fact is that most people forget to realise that the "early years" of QR was an airline bent on spending all te money it needed to capture a market.
There's two routes to getting to be big in the market:
- Low cost, go the route of Ryan Air, Norwegian and a few other airlines that have managed to build a growth business out of transporting huge swathes of the unwashed masses.
- High service, which of the last few decades basically has meant airlines in the sand pit, as this requires a lot of money to survive long enough to have a viable size network.
Go back and look at the glory days of SQ while they still tried to gain on legacy carriers in the western world, there was a whole different level of product than there is now.
Every airline that follow the "high service" trajectory will have three phases:
- Starting up, untill they actually gain a usable network they are a startup with a niche network, and some outrageous offerings. Look at EY a few years back.
- Growth phase. This is QR from late 90ies untill 2010 or so. Lots of people attracted by outrageous catering, decent enough hard product and excellent onboard service.
- Mature phase. Welcome to today's QR. It's established, is has a largely completed network (yes, there's a few cities to add here and there, but you can get around to most places), they have become a member of an alliance and its all about streamlining production.
The "decline" of QR of the last 5 years in particular has become a saga consisting of:
- Offer the best hard product, it usually keeps longer than things that have to be produced by labour for each flight.
- Start penny pinching everywhere it cannot really be noticed, it's all about mass production.
Looking at items that have undergone "penny pinching":
- Menus onboard describe meals in the most colourful prose. What you get on the plate is more and more an economy meal from ingredients that cost less and less.
For catering look at the increase in things that are essentially low cost volume produced starches that bulk up meals. Volume of good vegetables and meats go down.
Look at what used to be a decent bread basket, it has become a collection of basically extruded starch and cheap flour.
Look at the catering offering in the HIA lounges. Just after opening when impressions needed to be -set there was a lot of decent hot meals. Meals have gradually declined to volume produced starch based fillers.
Also a factor is the continual refining of how much catering to uplift. These days many flights don't even carry enough meals for every pax in J; and especially over the last 18 months almost every single of my flights have ended multiple pax not getting their first or second choice, all in J.
Catering ex-DOH tend to be of a lower quality than outstations. External handling companies are easier to bind to contractual specifications than doing so at home.
The recent launch of "a la carte dining", basically don't offer everyone a meal, but tell them they can have what they want when they want, i.e. looking for less waste instead of uniformly serving all a full meal. Hint: if you see something on the menu that looks like it will be popular, tell the staff early on to save an item if you want it later.
So what is the upside we get from all this?
- Almost continual sales.
- Good access to business class sold at very nice value
- Very modern hardware, both aircraft and seating.
- The drinks list seems to be mostly shielded from "penny pinching".
- An ever growing network as adding more pax is the only way to grow this into profit.
And then the bad part most agree on: an airline that is totally focused on the next sale, meaning back end service and recognition of high value customers are pretty low. Never mind how QR deals with alliance partner's high value customers.
Do I want all this? No.
Is this better than the high cost of nonstop business with some of the legacy carriers? Hell yes.
So for now I save 50% of my travel budget by using QR, some of that goes to buying what QR isn't giving me:
- A nice meal on the ground (before or after, depending on the timing).
- Onboard I rarely go for the food, but I don't mind a few glases of decent wine.
- Money for an extra night in a good hotel before or after the flight.
- If my schedule can accomodate it, a room at the HIA hotel and make my transit 8-12 hours so I can travel "slow".
It may or may not suit every induvidual's need, but it works for me.
-A
There's two routes to getting to be big in the market:
- Low cost, go the route of Ryan Air, Norwegian and a few other airlines that have managed to build a growth business out of transporting huge swathes of the unwashed masses.
- High service, which of the last few decades basically has meant airlines in the sand pit, as this requires a lot of money to survive long enough to have a viable size network.
Go back and look at the glory days of SQ while they still tried to gain on legacy carriers in the western world, there was a whole different level of product than there is now.
Every airline that follow the "high service" trajectory will have three phases:
- Starting up, untill they actually gain a usable network they are a startup with a niche network, and some outrageous offerings. Look at EY a few years back.
- Growth phase. This is QR from late 90ies untill 2010 or so. Lots of people attracted by outrageous catering, decent enough hard product and excellent onboard service.
- Mature phase. Welcome to today's QR. It's established, is has a largely completed network (yes, there's a few cities to add here and there, but you can get around to most places), they have become a member of an alliance and its all about streamlining production.
The "decline" of QR of the last 5 years in particular has become a saga consisting of:
- Offer the best hard product, it usually keeps longer than things that have to be produced by labour for each flight.
- Start penny pinching everywhere it cannot really be noticed, it's all about mass production.
Looking at items that have undergone "penny pinching":
- Menus onboard describe meals in the most colourful prose. What you get on the plate is more and more an economy meal from ingredients that cost less and less.
For catering look at the increase in things that are essentially low cost volume produced starches that bulk up meals. Volume of good vegetables and meats go down.
Look at what used to be a decent bread basket, it has become a collection of basically extruded starch and cheap flour.
Look at the catering offering in the HIA lounges. Just after opening when impressions needed to be -set there was a lot of decent hot meals. Meals have gradually declined to volume produced starch based fillers.
Also a factor is the continual refining of how much catering to uplift. These days many flights don't even carry enough meals for every pax in J; and especially over the last 18 months almost every single of my flights have ended multiple pax not getting their first or second choice, all in J.
Catering ex-DOH tend to be of a lower quality than outstations. External handling companies are easier to bind to contractual specifications than doing so at home.
The recent launch of "a la carte dining", basically don't offer everyone a meal, but tell them they can have what they want when they want, i.e. looking for less waste instead of uniformly serving all a full meal. Hint: if you see something on the menu that looks like it will be popular, tell the staff early on to save an item if you want it later.
So what is the upside we get from all this?
- Almost continual sales.
- Good access to business class sold at very nice value
- Very modern hardware, both aircraft and seating.
- The drinks list seems to be mostly shielded from "penny pinching".
- An ever growing network as adding more pax is the only way to grow this into profit.
And then the bad part most agree on: an airline that is totally focused on the next sale, meaning back end service and recognition of high value customers are pretty low. Never mind how QR deals with alliance partner's high value customers.
Do I want all this? No.
Is this better than the high cost of nonstop business with some of the legacy carriers? Hell yes.
So for now I save 50% of my travel budget by using QR, some of that goes to buying what QR isn't giving me:
- A nice meal on the ground (before or after, depending on the timing).
- Onboard I rarely go for the food, but I don't mind a few glases of decent wine.
- Money for an extra night in a good hotel before or after the flight.
- If my schedule can accomodate it, a room at the HIA hotel and make my transit 8-12 hours so I can travel "slow".
It may or may not suit every induvidual's need, but it works for me.
-A
Jul 15, 2015, 1:30 pm
#22
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 404
The usual daily threads in here about how QR slips are getting a bit long in the tooth. The simple fact is that most people forget to realise that the "early years" of QR was an airline bent on spending all te money it needed to capture a market.
There's two routes to getting to be big in the market:
- Low cost, go the route of Ryan Air, Norwegian and a few other airlines that have managed to build a growth business out of transporting huge swathes of the unwashed masses.
- High service, which of the last few decades basically has meant airlines in the sand pit, as this requires a lot of money to survive long enough to have a viable size network.
Go back and look at the glory days of SQ while they still tried to gain on legacy carriers in the western world, there was a whole different level of product than there is now.
Every airline that follow the "high service" trajectory will have three phases:
- Starting up, untill they actually gain a usable network they are a startup with a niche network, and some outrageous offerings. Look at EY a few years back.
- Growth phase. This is QR from late 90ies untill 2010 or so. Lots of people attracted by outrageous catering, decent enough hard product and excellent onboard service.
- Mature phase. Welcome to today's QR. It's established, is has a largely completed network (yes, there's a few cities to add here and there, but you can get around to most places), they have become a member of an alliance and its all about streamlining production.
The "decline" of QR of the last 5 years in particular has become a saga consisting of:
- Offer the best hard product, it usually keeps longer than things that have to be produced by labour for each flight.
- Start penny pinching everywhere it cannot really be noticed, it's all about mass production.
Looking at items that have undergone "penny pinching":
- Menus onboard describe meals in the most colourful prose. What you get on the plate is more and more an economy meal from ingredients that cost less and less.
For catering look at the increase in things that are essentially low cost volume produced starches that bulk up meals. Volume of good vegetables and meats go down.
Look at what used to be a decent bread basket, it has become a collection of basically extruded starch and cheap flour.
Look at the catering offering in the HIA lounges. Just after opening when impressions needed to be -set there was a lot of decent hot meals. Meals have gradually declined to volume produced starch based fillers.
Also a factor is the continual refining of how much catering to uplift. These days many flights don't even carry enough meals for every pax in J; and especially over the last 18 months almost every single of my flights have ended multiple pax not getting their first or second choice, all in J.
Catering ex-DOH tend to be of a lower quality than outstations. External handling companies are easier to bind to contractual specifications than doing so at home.
The recent launch of "a la carte dining", basically don't offer everyone a meal, but tell them they can have what they want when they want, i.e. looking for less waste instead of uniformly serving all a full meal. Hint: if you see something on the menu that looks like it will be popular, tell the staff early on to save an item if you want it later.
So what is the upside we get from all this?
- Almost continual sales.
- Good access to business class sold at very nice value
- Very modern hardware, both aircraft and seating.
- The drinks list seems to be mostly shielded from "penny pinching".
- An ever growing network as adding more pax is the only way to grow this into profit.
And then the bad part most agree on: an airline that is totally focused on the next sale, meaning back end service and recognition of high value customers are pretty low. Never mind how QR deals with alliance partner's high value customers.
Do I want all this? No.
Is this better than the high cost of nonstop business with some of the legacy carriers? Hell yes.
So for now I save 50% of my travel budget by using QR, some of that goes to buying what QR isn't giving me:
- A nice meal on the ground (before or after, depending on the timing).
- Onboard I rarely go for the food, but I don't mind a few glases of decent wine.
- Money for an extra night in a good hotel before or after the flight.
- If my schedule can accomodate it, a room at the HIA hotel and make my transit 8-12 hours so I can travel "slow".
It may or may not suit every induvidual's need, but it works for me.
-A
There's two routes to getting to be big in the market:
- Low cost, go the route of Ryan Air, Norwegian and a few other airlines that have managed to build a growth business out of transporting huge swathes of the unwashed masses.
- High service, which of the last few decades basically has meant airlines in the sand pit, as this requires a lot of money to survive long enough to have a viable size network.
Go back and look at the glory days of SQ while they still tried to gain on legacy carriers in the western world, there was a whole different level of product than there is now.
Every airline that follow the "high service" trajectory will have three phases:
- Starting up, untill they actually gain a usable network they are a startup with a niche network, and some outrageous offerings. Look at EY a few years back.
- Growth phase. This is QR from late 90ies untill 2010 or so. Lots of people attracted by outrageous catering, decent enough hard product and excellent onboard service.
- Mature phase. Welcome to today's QR. It's established, is has a largely completed network (yes, there's a few cities to add here and there, but you can get around to most places), they have become a member of an alliance and its all about streamlining production.
The "decline" of QR of the last 5 years in particular has become a saga consisting of:
- Offer the best hard product, it usually keeps longer than things that have to be produced by labour for each flight.
- Start penny pinching everywhere it cannot really be noticed, it's all about mass production.
Looking at items that have undergone "penny pinching":
- Menus onboard describe meals in the most colourful prose. What you get on the plate is more and more an economy meal from ingredients that cost less and less.
For catering look at the increase in things that are essentially low cost volume produced starches that bulk up meals. Volume of good vegetables and meats go down.
Look at what used to be a decent bread basket, it has become a collection of basically extruded starch and cheap flour.
Look at the catering offering in the HIA lounges. Just after opening when impressions needed to be -set there was a lot of decent hot meals. Meals have gradually declined to volume produced starch based fillers.
Also a factor is the continual refining of how much catering to uplift. These days many flights don't even carry enough meals for every pax in J; and especially over the last 18 months almost every single of my flights have ended multiple pax not getting their first or second choice, all in J.
Catering ex-DOH tend to be of a lower quality than outstations. External handling companies are easier to bind to contractual specifications than doing so at home.
The recent launch of "a la carte dining", basically don't offer everyone a meal, but tell them they can have what they want when they want, i.e. looking for less waste instead of uniformly serving all a full meal. Hint: if you see something on the menu that looks like it will be popular, tell the staff early on to save an item if you want it later.
So what is the upside we get from all this?
- Almost continual sales.
- Good access to business class sold at very nice value
- Very modern hardware, both aircraft and seating.
- The drinks list seems to be mostly shielded from "penny pinching".
- An ever growing network as adding more pax is the only way to grow this into profit.
And then the bad part most agree on: an airline that is totally focused on the next sale, meaning back end service and recognition of high value customers are pretty low. Never mind how QR deals with alliance partner's high value customers.
Do I want all this? No.
Is this better than the high cost of nonstop business with some of the legacy carriers? Hell yes.
So for now I save 50% of my travel budget by using QR, some of that goes to buying what QR isn't giving me:
- A nice meal on the ground (before or after, depending on the timing).
- Onboard I rarely go for the food, but I don't mind a few glases of decent wine.
- Money for an extra night in a good hotel before or after the flight.
- If my schedule can accomodate it, a room at the HIA hotel and make my transit 8-12 hours so I can travel "slow".
It may or may not suit every induvidual's need, but it works for me.
-A
Just wait for proper labour laws and then watch those nice touches fading away!
Think we're a way off BA catering though!
Jul 15, 2015, 1:58 pm
#23
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: New York, Paris
Programs: AA ExPlat 4MM, AA Life Plat, Lufthansa FT, Delta Basic
Posts: 1,593
I see your point but do not understand the "Two or more". Surely, the number of secondary destinations linked ONLY to Doha and not to at least ONE other sizable hub is minimal. So the alternative may be ALSO "One Stop" but hardly "two or more" except in very isolated cases. In one word (no pun intended), QR is very rarely at an advantag when counting the stops.
Jul 15, 2015, 2:37 pm
#24
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: ZRH
Programs: QR Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 96
I see your point but do not understand the "Two or more". Surely, the number of secondary destinations linked ONLY to Doha and not to at least ONE other sizable hub is minimal. So the alternative may be ALSO "One Stop" but hardly "two or more" except in very isolated cases. In one word (no pun intended), QR is very rarely at an advantag when counting the stops.
This is an unfair comparison by putting QR against different legacy airlines as a whole.
Sure, if taking QR to travel from Zurich to Singapore, one could argue that LX or SQ could offer direct flights;
then why not compare travelling from London to Singapore by QR or LX? Both would need a stop in Doha or Zurich respectively, no?
And what about travelling from London to Doha? Then QR could offer direct flight while LX needs to change in ZRH!
(Of course, I am using LX only as example for illustration.)
Jul 20, 2015, 3:00 pm
#25
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: New York, Paris
Programs: AA ExPlat 4MM, AA Life Plat, Lufthansa FT, Delta Basic
Posts: 1,593
I was travelling on a mixture of C and F flights. True, the ticket was bought in the sales and represented very good value - but noone warned me that service would be compromised.
Travelling out everything worked fine, except for niggles such as boarding cards for the destination not loaded. On board staff were tip-top.
Coming home the crew were still tip-top. And couldn't be more embarrassed at having no pyjamas to hand out on a night flight: the rule (it seems) is no PJs for flights arriving pre-midnight local time. My flight was by anyone's definition a sleeper, arriving 4 a.m. by my clock: but not by HIA's clock, and that's what's important.
OK, no PJs. Big deal, sleep in day clothes: there's a hotel waiting for the 9 hour connection. Sorry, no - you could have taken the morning flight which would have given a three-hour connection.
So no hotel after all. OK, you can have a hotel, but it's another $200 or so on top of a sales-price-but-still-not-all-that-cheap ticket. Or you can sleep in the Mourjan quiet rooms.
So at midnight, off I went in search of the Mourjan quiet rooms. But:
A true first-class experience on a 5-star airline When did I last sleep on the floor? I think youth and excess of alcohol were involved.
When I mention all this to the receptionist on the main desk, he shrugs and says not to worry, I'll have proper sleeping rooms next time, in the first-class lounge .....
Travelling out everything worked fine, except for niggles such as boarding cards for the destination not loaded. On board staff were tip-top.
Coming home the crew were still tip-top. And couldn't be more embarrassed at having no pyjamas to hand out on a night flight: the rule (it seems) is no PJs for flights arriving pre-midnight local time. My flight was by anyone's definition a sleeper, arriving 4 a.m. by my clock: but not by HIA's clock, and that's what's important.
OK, no PJs. Big deal, sleep in day clothes: there's a hotel waiting for the 9 hour connection. Sorry, no - you could have taken the morning flight which would have given a three-hour connection.
So no hotel after all. OK, you can have a hotel, but it's another $200 or so on top of a sales-price-but-still-not-all-that-cheap ticket. Or you can sleep in the Mourjan quiet rooms.
So at midnight, off I went in search of the Mourjan quiet rooms. But:
- Mourjan quiet rooms are not all that quiet.
- They are also well lit and you can't turn off the lighting.
- And they aren't exactly rooms.
- And there's your very own 55-inch TV monitor scrolling flight details you have to persuade the receptionist to come turn off.
- The chair doesn't recline in any way: it's upright.
- There's a footstool, true: but no blankets and no pillow or cushion.
- A kind worker takes pity and finds some PJs () for me.
- I sleep on the (carpeted) floor.
A true first-class experience on a 5-star airline
When did I last sleep on the floor? I think youth and excess of alcohol were involved.When I mention all this to the receptionist on the main desk, he shrugs and says not to worry, I'll have proper sleeping rooms next time, in the first-class lounge .....
Much to my regret, after writing earlier in this thread that the OP probably exagerated, I have to concur with him after a flight today from AMS to DOH. Obviously, the standards have gone down significantly:
- No more printed entertainment guide on board. You now have to take it 5 lines by 5 lines from the hand held device. According to the crew, the printed version disappeared over a month ago. This makes it impossible to ponder which film to watch among several.
- A substantially downgraded Business Class catering out of AMS. It is now not better than any 4* airline, certainly not worth 5*.
- After arrival at DOH and being sent to a remote gate, 15 minutes wait for the first bus (Business Class mini bus) to appear. One does not really feel like waiting that long and then going down stairs and walking across in 34 degrees C heat (at 11 PM).
- Al Mourjan Lounge: Total impossibility to get a small bottle of water "We never had them" (repeated both by agent and his supervisor). They used to be on all side tables even 3 months ago.
- QR cabin crews remain exceptional and, for the time, partly save he situation.
- As to me, I do not really see the point of an uncomfortable stop in HOT Doha to go from Europe to Asia when I can do the same thing Nonstop in 4 hours less for not much more money and with a soft product which, on several airlines (CX among others), is either on par with QR or only very slightly inferior.
According to this thread, this does not seem to be an isolated situation. As to me, I now consider QR to have become a 4* airline (Skytrax type of evaluation) but not anymore a 5*.
Jul 20, 2015, 5:00 pm
#26
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: EWR
Programs: CX Green | UA Silver | Marriott Lifetime Platinum | Hyatt Globalist | Hilton Gold | AA EXP
Posts: 813
I mean assuming the schedule works (which they usually do with non-stop) and you have flat-bed, presumably non-stop is always preferable?As ph-ndr said, the issue is that when you start from (or near) the top, it's hard to go anywhere but down (most of the time). Degradation is met with disapproval (and some, rightly so).
I've flown QR for several years now and I do think they're trying to cut cost in places that they hope people would not notice. So much for HE's claim that he doesn't need QR to be profitable. I guess someone told him to start watch the bottom line.
Last edited by Rivarix; Jul 20, 2015 at 5:22 pm
Jul 20, 2015, 6:06 pm
#27
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: OZ, Perth
Programs: QF QR Silver, DJ,TG,MH
Posts: 509
Sometimes the grass does look greener on the otherside ......
It's not until you take your first mouthful that you discover the lack of taste - some "bean counter" has pulled every second application of fertiliser to cut costs.
It seems to be a airline phenomenon (well, world really) in this current economic climate, to drive costs down. Governments and shareholders want their dividends.
You realise that we are contributing to this downward spiral. What's going on with all us FF's ?
Why are we not recklessly spending money ? Why are we considering a route/Carrier change to save $20 ? What do you mean by chasing free STPC, upgrades and Krug ?
Come on, spend big and all services and top quality presentation will be maintained, ..........er, may be,
It's not until you take your first mouthful that you discover the lack of taste - some "bean counter" has pulled every second application of fertiliser to cut costs.
It seems to be a airline phenomenon (well, world really) in this current economic climate, to drive costs down. Governments and shareholders want their dividends.
You realise that we are contributing to this downward spiral. What's going on with all us FF's ?
Why are we not recklessly spending money ? Why are we considering a route/Carrier change to save $20 ? What do you mean by chasing free STPC, upgrades and Krug ?
Come on, spend big and all services and top quality presentation will be maintained, ..........er, may be,
Jul 21, 2015, 2:36 am
#28
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,008
My understanding is it's an honorific title appropriate to presidents and ambassadors, not airline chief executives.
Jul 21, 2015, 2:49 am
#29
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 404
If the city pairs you're looking have non-stop service, why would you consider a one-stop flight w/ QR in the first place if the price is comparable? I mean assuming the schedule works (which they usually do with non-stop) and you have flat-bed, presumably non-stop is always preferable?
Oops....I am doing just that. Going the long way round to NRT to enjoy the "experience".
That's just wrong. I mean I do think it's a waste putting it on all side tables but not to make it available even when requested? That's just bizarre.
That's just crap! I mean why isn't there Krug there instead?
LOL ... go to CX forum and read some of the 'colourful' description of CX J food being said over there.
As ph-ndr said, the issue is that when you start from (or near) the top, it's hard to go anywhere but down (most of the time). Degradation is met with disapproval (and some, rightly so).
I've flown QR for several years now and I do think they're trying to cut cost in places that they hope people would not notice. So much for HE's claim that he doesn't need QR to be profitable. I guess someone told him to start watch the bottom line.
I mean assuming the schedule works (which they usually do with non-stop) and you have flat-bed, presumably non-stop is always preferable?Oops....I am doing just that. Going the long way round to NRT to enjoy the "experience".
That's just wrong. I mean I do think it's a waste putting it on all side tables but not to make it available even when requested? That's just bizarre.
That's just crap! I mean why isn't there Krug there instead?
LOL ... go to CX forum and read some of the 'colourful' description of CX J food being said over there.
As ph-ndr said, the issue is that when you start from (or near) the top, it's hard to go anywhere but down (most of the time). Degradation is met with disapproval (and some, rightly so).
I've flown QR for several years now and I do think they're trying to cut cost in places that they hope people would not notice. So much for HE's claim that he doesn't need QR to be profitable. I guess someone told him to start watch the bottom line.
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Jul 21, 2015, 2:51 am
#30
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 404
If the city pairs you're looking have non-stop service, why would you consider a one-stop flight w/ QR in the first place if the price is comparable? I mean assuming the schedule works (which they usually do with non-stop) and you have flat-bed, presumably non-stop is always preferable?
That's just wrong. I mean I do think it's a waste putting it on all side tables but not to make it available even when requested? That's just bizarre.
LOL ... go to CX forum and read some of the 'colourful' description of CX J food being said over there.
As ph-ndr said, the issue is that when you start from (or near) the top, it's hard to go anywhere but down (most of the time). Degradation is met with disapproval (and some, rightly so).
I've flown QR for several years now and I do think they're trying to cut cost in places that they hope people would not notice. So much for HE's claim that he doesn't need QR to be profitable. I guess someone told him to start watch the bottom line.
I mean assuming the schedule works (which they usually do with non-stop) and you have flat-bed, presumably non-stop is always preferable?That's just wrong. I mean I do think it's a waste putting it on all side tables but not to make it available even when requested? That's just bizarre.
LOL ... go to CX forum and read some of the 'colourful' description of CX J food being said over there.
As ph-ndr said, the issue is that when you start from (or near) the top, it's hard to go anywhere but down (most of the time). Degradation is met with disapproval (and some, rightly so).
I've flown QR for several years now and I do think they're trying to cut cost in places that they hope people would not notice. So much for HE's claim that he doesn't need QR to be profitable. I guess someone told him to start watch the bottom line.