two pretty unrelated questions
Feb 21, 2009, 1:12 am
#31
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Ah ha! That is why they have "QX Stairs" up to the jetway. I didn't think QX used those gates so that all makes sense now...
(When I say "QX Stairs", they use the exact same type of stairs that we use on QX to board/deboard via the rear door, just pushed up to the jetway)
(When I say "QX Stairs", they use the exact same type of stairs that we use on QX to board/deboard via the rear door, just pushed up to the jetway)
Feb 21, 2009, 1:31 am
#32
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Bah...I say, if you want to enjoy the luxuries of row 16, you should have to suffer a little bit!
Feb 21, 2009, 11:05 am
#33
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I guess you wouldve been miffed then when I got the last of the blackened cod ORD to ANC on my hot deals fare and my upgrade certificate 
That brings up another ball of wax all together though. Why do they have 5 of one meal choice and 11 of the other one! At least 8/8 split would be more realistic!!!
Some pax on that same flight wanted a burger(a dad wanted it for his 4 or 5 year oldson as they were 1A and 1C)...and they charged them $5 for it which IMO was also pathetic. You cant request the burger in lieu of whatever is on the F menu?
Sounds like that would be a good award for the platinum level without diminishing the gold level...first dibs on meal choices?
That brings up another ball of wax all together though. Why do they have 5 of one meal choice and 11 of the other one! At least 8/8 split would be more realistic!!! Some pax on that same flight wanted a burger(a dad wanted it for his 4 or 5 year oldson as they were 1A and 1C)...and they charged them $5 for it which IMO was also pathetic. You cant request the burger in lieu of whatever is on the F menu?Sounds like that would be a good award for the platinum level without diminishing the gold level...first dibs on meal choices?
The reason that you have to wait until our coach customers have the opportunity to purchase a meal is because they aren't provided a comp meal. There are a limited number of burgers for purchase on board but not enough for each person to purchase one. Their only opportunity to eat on board is if they bring their own food or purchase a burger. 7 hours (the length of the ORD-ANC flight) is a long time to go without food if you are hungry and it wouldn't be fair at all to have to deny someone the chance to buy a meal because somebody in First Class decided they didn't want their allocated meal in favor of a cheeseburger. We also don't serve First Class meals to someone in coach so giving them your meal isn't an option. Taking food from a coach customer has never been a benefit of First Class.
Feb 21, 2009, 11:30 am
#34
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The policy is that, after coach sales have been completed, we are able to provide, at no cost, a Northern Bites fresh meal (not a picnic pack) at no charge to our First Class customers that want one. I can't explain why they would have charge the dad in 1A/1C unless his kids were sitting in coach and he wanted to buy one for them in coach. If that were the case then it's appropriate - he would have been buying a coach meal for coach customers.
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Feb 21, 2009, 5:47 pm
#35
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It's actually not discretionary at all - the FA should not have charged for the cheeseburger. Maybe they thought, by offering a cheesburger before the service was complete in the main cabin, it would be okay if they charged for it? That's not the policy either though so I don't know what they were thinking. Bottom line is, you're right, they shouldn't have charged for the burger.
Feb 21, 2009, 6:33 pm
#36
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On the way back from OGG, we wanted to try one of the burgers on the taro root bun. We told the FA we would be more than willing to pay for it (though this was also back in the days when they were doing the 10 miles per dollar for onboard purchases!) but that we really wanted to try it. She said that she'd have to wait until the coach cabin was done being served and then we could have one complimentary. We said that we didn't want to wait and chance them running out and were willing to pay--making us equivalent to a coach passenger--but she couldn't do it.
We ended up getting some mediocre first class meal, and they ran out of burgers. I think I would have gladly traded that for an Angus burger.
I understand the rationale, and I agree it's not an F benefit to take food from a Y passenger, but it also doesn't seem fair to deny a willing, paying person from something just because they're already paying a higher fare (or maintain elite status).
Perhaps some poor soul in Y would have liked to trade a burger for my F meal.
And if AS is regularly running out of the burgers (as is the case on every flight I've ever been on where they were sold--I've even been unable to get them in Y), perhaps they need to cater a few extras...
We ended up getting some mediocre first class meal, and they ran out of burgers. I think I would have gladly traded that for an Angus burger.
I understand the rationale, and I agree it's not an F benefit to take food from a Y passenger, but it also doesn't seem fair to deny a willing, paying person from something just because they're already paying a higher fare (or maintain elite status).
Perhaps some poor soul in Y would have liked to trade a burger for my F meal.
And if AS is regularly running out of the burgers (as is the case on every flight I've ever been on where they were sold--I've even been unable to get them in Y), perhaps they need to cater a few extras...
Feb 21, 2009, 7:33 pm
#37
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On the way back from OGG, we wanted to try one of the burgers on the taro root bun. We told the FA we would be more than willing to pay for it (though this was also back in the days when they were doing the 10 miles per dollar for onboard purchases!) but that we really wanted to try it. She said that she'd have to wait until the coach cabin was done being served and then we could have one complimentary. We said that we didn't want to wait and chance them running out and were willing to pay--making us equivalent to a coach passenger--but she couldn't do it.
We ended up getting some mediocre first class meal, and they ran out of burgers. I think I would have gladly traded that for an Angus burger.
I understand the rationale, and I agree it's not an F benefit to take food from a Y passenger, but it also doesn't seem fair to deny a willing, paying person from something just because they're already paying a higher fare (or maintain elite status).
Perhaps some poor soul in Y would have liked to trade a burger for my F meal.
And if AS is regularly running out of the burgers (as is the case on every flight I've ever been on where they were sold--I've even been unable to get them in Y), perhaps they need to cater a few extras...
We ended up getting some mediocre first class meal, and they ran out of burgers. I think I would have gladly traded that for an Angus burger.
I understand the rationale, and I agree it's not an F benefit to take food from a Y passenger, but it also doesn't seem fair to deny a willing, paying person from something just because they're already paying a higher fare (or maintain elite status).
Perhaps some poor soul in Y would have liked to trade a burger for my F meal.
And if AS is regularly running out of the burgers (as is the case on every flight I've ever been on where they were sold--I've even been unable to get them in Y), perhaps they need to cater a few extras...
It's a very delicate balance, trying to cater just enough so that you can accomodate all requests but not so many that you end up with many left over. Catering too many is not cost effective, catering too few is a bad customer service failure - especially on a long flight. I wish there was a way to guarantee a burger for everyone that wanted one but it's just not possible to always guarantee that. They do offer the picnic packs and, generally speaking, sales from those will offset the numbers of burgers sold.
If we burgers ran out in the main cabin and the FA's were unable to offer them to 5 or 6 passengers, whom would you suggest they should offer your First Class meal to? What should they tell the others that were unable to have a hot meal? What if the coach passenger didn't want to eat whatever was provisioned for you? What if a Coach passenger preferred to have your meal instead of a burger? Should we honor that request?
The burgers are a nice offering as compared to other airlines offerings. They are of good quality and are a warm meal offering where most other airlines are selling cold sandwiches. I get all that but I think the First Class meals are usually a lot better.
Feb 21, 2009, 10:51 pm
#40
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The policy is that, after coach sales have been completed, we are able to provide, at no cost, a Northern Bites fresh meal (not a picnic pack) at no charge to our First Class customers that want one. I can't explain why they would have charge the dad in 1A/1C unless his kids were sitting in coach and he wanted to buy one for them in coach. If that were the case then it's appropriate - he would have been buying a coach meal for coach customers.
The reason that you have to wait until our coach customers have the opportunity to purchase a meal is because they aren't provided a comp meal. There are a limited number of burgers for purchase on board but not enough for each person to purchase one. Their only opportunity to eat on board is if they bring their own food or purchase a burger. 7 hours (the length of the ORD-ANC flight) is a long time to go without food if you are hungry and it wouldn't be fair at all to have to deny someone the chance to buy a meal because somebody in First Class decided they didn't want their allocated meal in favor of a cheeseburger. We also don't serve First Class meals to someone in coach so giving them your meal isn't an option. Taking food from a coach customer has never been a benefit of First Class.
The reason that you have to wait until our coach customers have the opportunity to purchase a meal is because they aren't provided a comp meal. There are a limited number of burgers for purchase on board but not enough for each person to purchase one. Their only opportunity to eat on board is if they bring their own food or purchase a burger. 7 hours (the length of the ORD-ANC flight) is a long time to go without food if you are hungry and it wouldn't be fair at all to have to deny someone the chance to buy a meal because somebody in First Class decided they didn't want their allocated meal in favor of a cheeseburger. We also don't serve First Class meals to someone in coach so giving them your meal isn't an option. Taking food from a coach customer has never been a benefit of First Class.
It's actually not discretionary at all - the FA should not have charged for the cheeseburger. Maybe they thought, by offering a cheesburger before the service was complete in the main cabin, it would be okay if they charged for it? That's not the policy either though so I don't know what they were thinking. Bottom line is, you're right, they shouldn't have charged for the burger.
) I was however charged $5 for the sandwich... from what I read this is incorrect policy... correct? Thanks!
Feb 21, 2009, 11:04 pm
#41
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada (YYJ)
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What, the gate (jetway) or the stairs? I'm pretty sure the gate (inside the terminal) is branded as AS, but I have no idea if the stairs actually have an airline logo. On the stairs we have here in YYJ there is no logo, but there is a code (QX####), recorded for the GSE Dept.
EDIT: I actually took a good look at the rear stairs today... The ones we have here are indeed branded as Horizon, with the name on two sides.
EDIT: I actually took a good look at the rear stairs today... The ones we have here are indeed branded as Horizon, with the name on two sides.
Last edited by MatthewG; Feb 22, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Feb 22, 2009, 10:57 am
#42
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Seattle, WA
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Hmm... I was hungry after my SEA-ORD flight after the F meal during January. Unfortunately they catered the cold sandwich on it, but it was surprisingly decent. (Would have preferred a burger of course... but beggars... )
I was however charged $5 for the sandwich... from what I read this is incorrect policy... correct? Thanks!
) I was however charged $5 for the sandwich... from what I read this is incorrect policy... correct? Thanks!
Feb 22, 2009, 10:38 pm
#43
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If they were finished serving them to the main cabin then yes, you should NOT have been charged. Send a note to customer care and ask for your $5 back. It's not much but it's your $5 and the company needs to realize that this policy is not being implemented appropriately.
Thanks ^