Originally Posted by
Jackolee
I was one of those who doubted the value of GO too...
As a GO, at Y there has been <20% of the time that I was greeted on KA flights (and each was done in a robotic manner - no smile, <15s
), but on CX >75% I was greeted. On some CX flights, crew members even greeted me after taking off (as they were too busy beforehand). A very major service inconsistencies between the two. Sometimes, nitty-gritties matter to me
At J, in my experience, everybody was greeted on both KA & CX. Having said so, food quality is more important than
(robotic) greetings. It is sad to see the food and service on KA flights have been deteriorating in the past few years.
Back to your observations, perhaps a GO bag tag doesn't mean that he/she is a GO
this year? Not updated about Singapore but in many destinations SL/GO/DM are in J line. That's why the line can be long...
I agree KA flights have been deteriorating, but I'll add the greeting is probably
very route dependent and probably not statistically relevant here. If you're flying HND on CX with 50 Diamonds on CX548 on a Monday morning, as a Gold you're also just not going to get greeted. Same goes for many SIN flights, etc. Just sayin, if those short-haul elite heavy routes are your only data points on CX, you might end up with a different conclusion.
Whereas a much higher % of KA's seats are dedicated to PEK and PVG, and they are 2 of the top 3 or 4 CX+KA elite routes across the entire network. I went to Hongqiao a few weeks ago with, drumroll, 28 Diamonds, in J class alone! On a non-full flight! The ISM didn't tell me the precise # in EY just to say the total amount on board was "more than 40" with a laugh. I was traveling with a friend who is GO sitting next to me, no greeting for her. For example if you're flying CX368 on a Monday or Tuesday morning, I also suspect as a Gold you will rarely, if ever get a greeting. That's one of those 50+ Diamond flights.
There is also the fact that KA has zero longhaul routes. Even if an ISM has 30 or 40 Diamonds + Golds to JFK, that's easy to greet everyone. (Golds are definitely
not required anymore in the SOP for a greeting, but encouraged if time permits). Whereas if the ISM is flying a full A330 to Xiamen, or Guangzhou, or TPE, or HGH, or wherever with tons of people on KA, it's unlikely time will permit the 70+ greetings that might be necessary for Diamonds, OWE + Golds. Easier to do on longhaul routes.
AFAIK, the SOP is identical for the two.
But I still agree KA has fallen from grace. Ironically, I blame CX completely for that, not KA staff. Mostly it's the lowering of KA catering standards and the regional J seats.