Confirmed: QF to add SYD-DFW but drop SYD-SFO
Jun 29, 2011, 6:05 pm
#256
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Join Date: May 1998
Location: Portland OR Double Emerald (QF and AA), DL PM/MM, Starwood Plat
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The DFW Gate 21 lounge complex is actually a series of 3 or 4 separate lounges, all run by the same company and accessed by the same elevator. It seems that 1 of these is now a PP lounge (Club at DFW); hopefully QF isn't using that but one of the other lounges (though from what I remember the various rooms were similarly furnished). It is definitely a step down from the AC, as reflected by the admission price (anyone can get in to PP lounge for USD 35, while it costs USD 50 for AC access). I do remember showers being much nicer in the AC than in this lounge. Interesting to hear whether QF has arranged for "premium" lounge service above the rather dismal base that this lounge otherwise provides. Very disappointing for what should be a showpiece terminal, but that's DFW for you. The public bars/restaurants in D are much better, fwiw, so lounge is far less essential than in the rest of the airport. I guess the big feature is that this lounge has a smoking room (as does the AC); I think the rest of DFW is non-smoking.
Jun 29, 2011, 6:42 pm
#257
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Lounge Situation...
From recent experience I can confirm that AAdmirals Clubs are available for eligible passengers. This would be based on class of service or oneworld status only (QF Club members are NOT departing on an AA flight so do not have access).
Free drink chits are provided for QFFF and business class. Drinks are now complimentary in AA clubs, for house spirits and wine (probably beer too). But the chits allow you access to top shelf drinks. Tipping is USD1 per drink but did not seem expected from foreigners. (Although tipping gave me pretty much a full glass of vodka topped with a bit of mixer!)
Food in the AAdmirals club was the standard vegetable sticks and nut mix. Plus food for purchase.
The QF lounge is one of a group of lounges, it is located at a separate elevator, about 50 yards from the AA club. It is a shared complex and contains about 10 lounges (numbered 1-10). As you enter you present your boarding pass and are directed to the relevant lounge. Your boarding pass is checked again inside (there were about 3 QF lounge attendants at the podium, not doing a lot, and certainly not monitoring the state of the lounge).
There are communal showers. you have to queue for those and as someone else posted, they are NOT cleaned after each use, you are responsible for that yourself (compared to the AA showers which were lovely). There is a communal smoking room for the bunch of lounges.
The food - inedible in the QF lounge. There was a selection of sandwiches... these were so soggy and limp that you could not pick them up with the tongs provided and the only way you could get them to your mouth was with a spoon (no joke!)
There was a single hot dish which looked like it had been there for hours. It was some sort of tex-mex meat (shredded beef). But it was not piping hot, or even lukewarm by the look of it, and just looked too risky to eat from a health point of view. There was a pasta salad (mushy, floury and heavy) with a few sliced olives (absulutely no taste) and laden with some sort of cheap tasteless oil. There is no way this food was tasted by anyone before it was presented. It was just disgusting.
There was a cheap selection of a few bottles of alcohol, a couple of which were almost empty.
The lounge itself had views of the apron, but was uninspiring. All the lounges (1-10) seem to be connected connected, so if you keep walking round a series of corridors and twists and turns you end up in the BA lounge! That had better alcohol and the usual selection of shortbread biscuits! (like a Terraces lounge). (Although you had to stop walking once you got to a First class lounge, not sure if that belonged to BA.)
The QF lounge was so bad I spent 10 mins in there and then left for the AA club again where I was warmly welcomed back with a 'welcome home'!
The DFW lounge may be ok for Qantas Club members to park themselves for a couple hours before the flight, but is not acceptable for a business class lounge.
Those shared lounges in India (where they sometimes rope off part of a restaurant) were better than that place in DFW.
The QF lounge does indeed open from 6pm. If you are connecting and arrive before 6pm then you are free to use the AA clubs if eligible. And once there, with good alcohol, why move?
From recent experience I can confirm that AAdmirals Clubs are available for eligible passengers. This would be based on class of service or oneworld status only (QF Club members are NOT departing on an AA flight so do not have access).
Free drink chits are provided for QFFF and business class. Drinks are now complimentary in AA clubs, for house spirits and wine (probably beer too). But the chits allow you access to top shelf drinks. Tipping is USD1 per drink but did not seem expected from foreigners. (Although tipping gave me pretty much a full glass of vodka topped with a bit of mixer!)
Food in the AAdmirals club was the standard vegetable sticks and nut mix. Plus food for purchase.
The QF lounge is one of a group of lounges, it is located at a separate elevator, about 50 yards from the AA club. It is a shared complex and contains about 10 lounges (numbered 1-10). As you enter you present your boarding pass and are directed to the relevant lounge. Your boarding pass is checked again inside (there were about 3 QF lounge attendants at the podium, not doing a lot, and certainly not monitoring the state of the lounge).
There are communal showers. you have to queue for those and as someone else posted, they are NOT cleaned after each use, you are responsible for that yourself (compared to the AA showers which were lovely). There is a communal smoking room for the bunch of lounges.
The food - inedible in the QF lounge. There was a selection of sandwiches... these were so soggy and limp that you could not pick them up with the tongs provided and the only way you could get them to your mouth was with a spoon (no joke!)
There was a single hot dish which looked like it had been there for hours. It was some sort of tex-mex meat (shredded beef). But it was not piping hot, or even lukewarm by the look of it, and just looked too risky to eat from a health point of view. There was a pasta salad (mushy, floury and heavy) with a few sliced olives (absulutely no taste) and laden with some sort of cheap tasteless oil. There is no way this food was tasted by anyone before it was presented. It was just disgusting.
There was a cheap selection of a few bottles of alcohol, a couple of which were almost empty.
The lounge itself had views of the apron, but was uninspiring. All the lounges (1-10) seem to be connected connected, so if you keep walking round a series of corridors and twists and turns you end up in the BA lounge! That had better alcohol and the usual selection of shortbread biscuits! (like a Terraces lounge). (Although you had to stop walking once you got to a First class lounge, not sure if that belonged to BA.)
The QF lounge was so bad I spent 10 mins in there and then left for the AA club again where I was warmly welcomed back with a 'welcome home'!
The DFW lounge may be ok for Qantas Club members to park themselves for a couple hours before the flight, but is not acceptable for a business class lounge.
Those shared lounges in India (where they sometimes rope off part of a restaurant) were better than that place in DFW.
The QF lounge does indeed open from 6pm. If you are connecting and arrive before 6pm then you are free to use the AA clubs if eligible. And once there, with good alcohol, why move?
Jun 29, 2011, 7:14 pm
#258
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Originally Posted by LHR/MEL/Europe FF
... And once there, with good alcohol, why move?
Did you complain to Qantas re this situation? I certainly would. (I'll check it out when I am there next month.)
Jun 29, 2011, 7:33 pm
#259
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I quietly went back to the AA club (keen not to start a trend which might later see AA refuse QF passengers based on capacity constraints!). Speaking of connections... if you have less than one hour before your domestic connection exBNE after the QF8 they seem to automatically off load you and put you on the next available flight. This happened to 12 of us (passengers not connected in any way, just individuals and couples).
If this happens they will NOT accept your bags at the international-domestic bag drop. However, the crew advised you can take your luggage with you on the free bus and then try at the domestic terminal.
All 12 of us did that and arrived about 40 mins prior to the departure time and we were all re-loaded onto the flight and made the gate just as boarding was starting. Make sure you go to the special desk handling 'late' passengers - something like desk 21... you get to skip the queue.
We landed at about 5.45am and had deplaned, cleared immigration and claimed (priority) bags by about 6. We were on the 6.05 bus to the domestic terminal.
Jul 2, 2011, 6:25 pm
#260
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Potomac Falls, VA
Programs: AA Plat 2MM, MR Gold, Avis Pref
Posts: 41,109
Lounge Situation...
From recent experience I can confirm that AAdmirals Clubs are available for eligible passengers. This would be based on class of service or oneworld status only (QF Club members are NOT departing on an AA flight so do not have access).
Free drink chits are provided for QFFF and business class. Drinks are now complimentary in AA clubs, for house spirits and wine (probably beer too). But the chits allow you access to top shelf drinks. Tipping is USD1 per drink but did not seem expected from foreigners. (Although tipping gave me pretty much a full glass of vodka topped with a bit of mixer!)
Food in the AAdmirals club was the standard vegetable sticks and nut mix. Plus food for purchase.
The QF lounge is one of a group of lounges, it is located at a separate elevator, about 50 yards from the AA club. It is a shared complex and contains about 10 lounges (numbered 1-10). As you enter you present your boarding pass and are directed to the relevant lounge. Your boarding pass is checked again inside (there were about 3 QF lounge attendants at the podium, not doing a lot, and certainly not monitoring the state of the lounge).
There are communal showers. you have to queue for those and as someone else posted, they are NOT cleaned after each use, you are responsible for that yourself (compared to the AA showers which were lovely). There is a communal smoking room for the bunch of lounges.
The food - inedible in the QF lounge. There was a selection of sandwiches... these were so soggy and limp that you could not pick them up with the tongs provided and the only way you could get them to your mouth was with a spoon (no joke!)
There was a single hot dish which looked like it had been there for hours. It was some sort of tex-mex meat (shredded beef). But it was not piping hot, or even lukewarm by the look of it, and just looked too risky to eat from a health point of view. There was a pasta salad (mushy, floury and heavy) with a few sliced olives (absulutely no taste) and laden with some sort of cheap tasteless oil. There is no way this food was tasted by anyone before it was presented. It was just disgusting.
There was a cheap selection of a few bottles of alcohol, a couple of which were almost empty.
The lounge itself had views of the apron, but was uninspiring. All the lounges (1-10) seem to be connected connected, so if you keep walking round a series of corridors and twists and turns you end up in the BA lounge! That had better alcohol and the usual selection of shortbread biscuits! (like a Terraces lounge). (Although you had to stop walking once you got to a First class lounge, not sure if that belonged to BA.)
The QF lounge was so bad I spent 10 mins in there and then left for the AA club again where I was warmly welcomed back with a 'welcome home'!
The DFW lounge may be ok for Qantas Club members to park themselves for a couple hours before the flight, but is not acceptable for a business class lounge.
Those shared lounges in India (where they sometimes rope off part of a restaurant) were better than that place in DFW.
The QF lounge does indeed open from 6pm. If you are connecting and arrive before 6pm then you are free to use the AA clubs if eligible. And once there, with good alcohol, why move?
From recent experience I can confirm that AAdmirals Clubs are available for eligible passengers. This would be based on class of service or oneworld status only (QF Club members are NOT departing on an AA flight so do not have access).
Free drink chits are provided for QFFF and business class. Drinks are now complimentary in AA clubs, for house spirits and wine (probably beer too). But the chits allow you access to top shelf drinks. Tipping is USD1 per drink but did not seem expected from foreigners. (Although tipping gave me pretty much a full glass of vodka topped with a bit of mixer!)
Food in the AAdmirals club was the standard vegetable sticks and nut mix. Plus food for purchase.
The QF lounge is one of a group of lounges, it is located at a separate elevator, about 50 yards from the AA club. It is a shared complex and contains about 10 lounges (numbered 1-10). As you enter you present your boarding pass and are directed to the relevant lounge. Your boarding pass is checked again inside (there were about 3 QF lounge attendants at the podium, not doing a lot, and certainly not monitoring the state of the lounge).
There are communal showers. you have to queue for those and as someone else posted, they are NOT cleaned after each use, you are responsible for that yourself (compared to the AA showers which were lovely). There is a communal smoking room for the bunch of lounges.
The food - inedible in the QF lounge. There was a selection of sandwiches... these were so soggy and limp that you could not pick them up with the tongs provided and the only way you could get them to your mouth was with a spoon (no joke!)
There was a single hot dish which looked like it had been there for hours. It was some sort of tex-mex meat (shredded beef). But it was not piping hot, or even lukewarm by the look of it, and just looked too risky to eat from a health point of view. There was a pasta salad (mushy, floury and heavy) with a few sliced olives (absulutely no taste) and laden with some sort of cheap tasteless oil. There is no way this food was tasted by anyone before it was presented. It was just disgusting.
There was a cheap selection of a few bottles of alcohol, a couple of which were almost empty.
The lounge itself had views of the apron, but was uninspiring. All the lounges (1-10) seem to be connected connected, so if you keep walking round a series of corridors and twists and turns you end up in the BA lounge! That had better alcohol and the usual selection of shortbread biscuits! (like a Terraces lounge). (Although you had to stop walking once you got to a First class lounge, not sure if that belonged to BA.)
The QF lounge was so bad I spent 10 mins in there and then left for the AA club again where I was warmly welcomed back with a 'welcome home'!
The DFW lounge may be ok for Qantas Club members to park themselves for a couple hours before the flight, but is not acceptable for a business class lounge.
Those shared lounges in India (where they sometimes rope off part of a restaurant) were better than that place in DFW.
The QF lounge does indeed open from 6pm. If you are connecting and arrive before 6pm then you are free to use the AA clubs if eligible. And once there, with good alcohol, why move?
Jul 2, 2011, 9:17 pm
#261
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But otherwise yes, the AC D lounge was really comfortable, even though full. Lots of nice wide sofas by the windows. (and all the executive-pretzel-mix you can eat!)
Jul 3, 2011, 5:48 am
#262
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Maybe it is a different lounge we are talking about but I sometimes used the PP lounge when I was looking for something different than the ACs. And I thought they were quite okay with a similar offering than the AC.
Jul 3, 2011, 5:52 pm
#263
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Potomac Falls, VA
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Good idea... although if you could spare a 5 minute trip to the QF lounge to see if it has improved (and report back here...) I might have just caught them on a bad day!
But otherwise yes, the AC D lounge was really comfortable, even though full. Lots of nice wide sofas by the windows. (and all the executive-pretzel-mix you can eat!)
But otherwise yes, the AC D lounge was really comfortable, even though full. Lots of nice wide sofas by the windows. (and all the executive-pretzel-mix you can eat!)
Jul 3, 2011, 8:23 pm
#264
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Join Date: May 1998
Location: Portland OR Double Emerald (QF and AA), DL PM/MM, Starwood Plat
Posts: 19,589
BA does have an F lounge at DFW, which is a separate room but otherwise identical to the J lounge. Even the same dismal drink choices (JW Red served in F instead of their traditional Blue!). Presumably the food varies daily but it was clear to me that the AC operates on a higher budget than these paid-for lounges, so I'd expect it to be better most of the time. Very strange for QF to be boasting of their new "Joint Venture" with AA yet it doesn't include the same lounge access as they have at LAX (where QF paid for the lounge in T4; maybe AA wanted another $20 million for DFW lounge access, just like LAX ).
).
Jul 16, 2011, 5:03 pm
#266
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Washington DC
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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9650; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.1+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.431 Mobile Safari/534.1+)
Duplicate post due to BlackBerry issues
Duplicate post due to BlackBerry issues
Last edited by River in Sight; Jul 16, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Jul 16, 2011, 5:13 pm
#267
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9650; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.1+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.431 Mobile Safari/534.1+)
Just took this flight last night; had reserved 4A+4K to be in the first cabin, but at the gate I was given two non-neighboring business class seats. Nobody seemed to understand what had caused that, but anyway - I can't comment on the F seats, but in the J seats I was able to use my standard US power cable for my laptop. The seat is very, very similar to the ANA C seat.
Nice flight, very smooth ride and good food and service. We did have to make a fuel stop in Noumea which took about 50 minutes or an hour. That put us into Brisbane about 90 minutes late, and we're still here because a cargo door was damaged as cargo was being loaded for the hop down to Sydney.
Originally Posted by TrojanHorse
What type of power ports are on these flights?
Do I need an adapter for US power cords?
If it matters, I will be in the old F seats
Do I need an adapter for US power cords?
If it matters, I will be in the old F seats
Nice flight, very smooth ride and good food and service. We did have to make a fuel stop in Noumea which took about 50 minutes or an hour. That put us into Brisbane about 90 minutes late, and we're still here because a cargo door was damaged as cargo was being loaded for the hop down to Sydney.
Jul 16, 2011, 5:41 pm
#268
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Sydney, NSW Australia
Posts: 895
Tech Stop in NOU instead of BNE
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9650; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.1+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.431 Mobile Safari/534.1+)
Just took this flight last night;
We did have to make a fuel stop in Noumea which took about 50 minutes or an hour. That put us into Brisbane about 90 minutes late, and we're still here because a cargo door was damaged as cargo was being loaded for the hop down to Sydney.
Just took this flight last night;
We did have to make a fuel stop in Noumea which took about 50 minutes or an hour. That put us into Brisbane about 90 minutes late, and we're still here because a cargo door was damaged as cargo was being loaded for the hop down to Sydney.
Questions:
1. How much destination traffic is terminating in BNE?
2. Does a new crew fly the aeroplane BNE-SYD?
3. Would the BNE O&D traffic be covered sufficiently by QF15/16 ?
Benefits: Less time on board DFW-SYD, no payload restrictions and perhaps only one crew would be required DFW-SYD.
Jul 16, 2011, 6:51 pm
#269
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from Great circle map
DFW-BNE 8303 miles
DFW-NOU-BNE 8304 miles
DFW-SYD 8578 miles
DFW-NOU-SYD 8632 miles
DFW-HNL-BNE 8484 miles
DFW-BNE 8303 miles
DFW-NOU-BNE 8304 miles
DFW-SYD 8578 miles
DFW-NOU-SYD 8632 miles
DFW-HNL-BNE 8484 miles
Jul 16, 2011, 7:06 pm
#270
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The last thing you'd want is a fuel stop in HNL. All the benefit of premium travel with flat beds is lost when you are woken up after a few hours sleep for the landing. AC optimised their YYZ-YVR-SYD flight for best Trans Pac sleep - and it works brilliantly. If QF run via HNL, you may as well go via LAX (or SFO 
) and abandon the run to DFW.
) and abandon the run to DFW.