Post Cruise QANTAS Flight

[lyndarra]

Sorry to say but returning home from Singapore (after HAL Sydney/Singapore cruise) on QF82 I experienced my worst ever international flight. It just confirmed my opinion that QANTAS has dropped the ball re customer service and gone all out on cost cutting. And, just to top things off, we were caught up in the QANTAS problems in Oz occuring pre and in flight.

We were due to depart SIN 20:05 and arrive SYD 07:10 Friday. Before we docked in Singapore we received a text from Q saying that the flight would be delayed by an hour. Hmm, what to do with all that time to spend after disembarking. Needn't have worried as it took longest time ever to disembark and clear immigration/customs, 4-5 hours in fact. Took a taxi to Changi and killed some time having a late lunch in the new Jewell next to T1. We had an 'interesting' meal in the Asian food court and killed time checking out the worlds highest indoor waterfall,  window shopping, dessert at Maccas, coffee at Starbucks, ok but not great but better than ship coffee. On checking boards for departure gate we discovered the flight had been further delayed. Bugger.

Boarded sometime about 21.45. Getting tired but there was an inflight dinner to be had. My first negative impression was that we were supposed to be on an Airbus A333 we boarded an ancient A320. As soon as I sat down I noticed a damaged, small, fold down shelf below the TV screen which is normally retained by to rubber cords either side, one was missing and the other had lost its elasticity. There had been a temporary repair, using cloth duct tape, which had come away and was no longer sticky enough to hold. Next I noticed how cramped my seat was. (The economy seats were 2 - 4 - 2. We had an aisle and window. This had the advantage of not having a stranger to climbing over you during the night to go to the loo.) I had no hope of crossing my legs or even stretching them forward under the seat in front - I'm 6'1" which is not real tall these days. I had to try and sleep sitting with my hips turned sideways and my feet in the aisle. Lack of room under the seat meant my shins were often bumping against framework. My Garmin watch showed I got a mere 3.5 hrs sleep for the 8+ hours flight.

Before going to sleep we had a much delayed meal service. When it was placed on my tray, and without opening, I immediately got the impression I was on a budget flight. No serving tray with the usual accoutrements, just a foil tray with cardboard top and a small paper bag containing wooden cutlery(?), and napkin. That's it. No dinner roll, no cheese and crackers, no small bowl of fruit, no tea/coffee cup, no tub of yogurt or juice, no s/steel cutlery, no salt & pepper - all of which I had on recent Qatar Airways flights. I'm not sure what I saw, when I took the lid off, was what I ordered. Half the tray was boiled rice plus what looked like a dessert spoon size portion of something that looked like stewed meat and gravy, a piece of broccoli and piece of cauliflower (both of which I hate) and two slices of carrot. That's it. I wondered what we would get for dessert - there wasn't any.

After that it was time to try and get some  sleep. Forgot to mention. The seats were very narrow. During the night I had to wrap a bit of my blanket around my harm due to pressure against the armrest.

Morning.

Breakfast was no better than dinner. Vegetable matter in a flat, flaky pastry, roll. Yuk. On the antiquated TV screen  flight log we noticed we had circling Sydney. Never had that before. Eventually we landed. While taxiing the captain announced we would have to wait for our parking place to be cleared, it was still occupiued by one of QATAS's planes that had issues. After about half an hour or so the captain said we could not go to our parking spot at the terminal and that we will have to deplane at the cargo terminal instead and be collected by busses to be taken to the passenger terminal. Groan. As soon as we stopped at the cargo terminal everyone jumped out of their seats and grabbed their carryons from the lockers. This a practice I really hate. I'm not sure if the captain requested those with connecting flights to move towards the forward exit but people were trying to do this but it was hopeless. The aisles were clogged with people and baggage waiting for busses to turn up. I just stayed in my seat until those in front had cleared theirs.

At last we were on the bus and on our way. Unfortunately we hit the terminal at the same time as another fully loaded flight. People everywhere trying to access the E machines. Long, long queues made worse by many machines being out of order. Grr. Then long cues through the auto immigration terminals and some of them also out of action.

Finally to the baggage collection however it was a longer than normal wait there due to the baggage having to be carted from the cargo terminal. Oh well. Grabbed suitcase and headed for customs - more long queues. I had stuff to declare but that was dealt with quick smartl, as I had it in my back pack, and we were on our way to the station. Got to the platform just as the train pulled in. Hurrah! No queues! Arrived at Central with 6 minutes to get to platform 8 for the train to Cardiff. Made it with 3 minutes to spare.

Uneventful trip home from there.

I've had it with queues - oh - and QANTAS. Bugger. I have a booked flight with QANTAS to Vancouver in June.😱

 

 

[Cbtours]

4 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

Sorry to say but returning home from Singapore (after HAL Sydney/Singapore cruise) on QF82 I experienced my worst ever international flight. It just confirmed my opinion that QANTAS has dropped the ball re customer service and gone all out on cost cutting. And, just to top things off, we were caught up in the QANTAS problems in Oz occuring pre and in flight.

We were due to depart SIN 20:05 and arrive SYD 07:10 Friday. Before we docked in Singapore we received a text from Q saying that the flight would be delayed by an hour. Hmm, what to do with all that time to spend after disembarking. Needn't have worried as it took longest time ever to disembark and clear immigration/customs, 4-5 hours in fact. Took a taxi to Changi and killed some time having a late lunch in the new Jewell next to T1. We had an 'interesting' meal in the Asian food court and killed time checking out the worlds highest indoor waterfall,  window shopping, dessert at Maccas, coffee at Starbucks, ok but not great but better than ship coffee. On checking boards for departure gate we discovered the flight had been further delayed. Bugger.

Boarded sometime about 21.45. Getting tired but there was an inflight dinner to be had. My first negative impression was that we were supposed to be on an Airbus A333 we boarded an ancient A320. As soon as I sat down I noticed a damaged, small, fold down shelf below the TV screen which is normally retained by to rubber cords either side, one was missing and the other had lost its elasticity. There had been a temporary repair, using cloth duct tape, which had come away and was no longer sticky enough to hold. Next I noticed how cramped my seat was. (The economy seats were 2 - 4 - 2. We had an aisle and window. This had the advantage of not having a stranger to climbing over you during the night to go to the loo.) I had no hope of crossing my legs or even stretching them forward under the seat in front - I'm 6'1" which is not real tall these days. I had to try and sleep sitting with my hips turned sideways and my feet in the aisle. Lack of room under the seat meant my shins were often bumping against framework. My Garmin watch showed I got a mere 3.5 hrs sleep for the 8+ hours flight.

Before going to sleep we had a much delayed meal service. When it was placed on my tray, and without opening, I immediately got the impression I was on a budget flight. No serving tray with the usual accoutrements, just a foil tray with cardboard top and a small paper bag containing wooden cutlery(?), and napkin. That's it. No dinner roll, no cheese and crackers, no small bowl of fruit, no tea/coffee cup, no tub of yogurt or juice, no s/steel cutlery, no salt & pepper - all of which I had on recent Qatar Airways flights. I'm not sure what I saw, when I took the lid off, was what I ordered. Half the tray was boiled rice plus what looked like a dessert spoon size portion of something that looked like stewed meat and gravy, a piece of broccoli and piece of cauliflower (both of which I hate) and two slices of carrot. That's it. I wondered what we would get for dessert - there wasn't any.

After that it was time to try and get some  sleep. Forgot to mention. The seats were very narrow. During the night I had to wrap a bit of my blanket around my harm due to pressure against the armrest.

Morning.

Breakfast was no better than dinner. Vegetable matter in a flat, flaky pastry, roll. Yuk. On the antiquated TV screen  flight log we noticed we had circling Sydney. Never had that before. Eventually we landed. While taxiing the captain announced we would have to wait for our parking place to be cleared, it was still occupiued by one of QATAS's planes that had issues. After about half an hour or so the captain said we could not go to our parking spot at the terminal and that we will have to deplane at the cargo terminal instead and be collected by busses to be taken to the passenger terminal. Groan. As soon as we stopped at the cargo terminal everyone jumped out of their seats and grabbed their carryons from the lockers. This a practice I really hate. I'm not sure if the captain requested those with connecting flights to move towards the forward exit but people were trying to do this but it was hopeless. The aisles were clogged with people and baggage waiting for busses to turn up. I just stayed in my seat until those in front had cleared theirs.

At last we were on the bus and on our way. Unfortunately we hit the terminal at the same time as another fully loaded flight. People everywhere trying to access the E machines. Long, long queues made worse by many machines being out of order. Grr. Then long cues through the auto immigration terminals and some of them also out of action.

Finally to the baggage collection however it was a longer than normal wait there due to the baggage having to be carted from the cargo terminal. Oh well. Grabbed suitcase and headed for customs - more long queues. I had stuff to declare but that was dealt with quick smartl, as I had it in my back pack, and we were on our way to the station. Got to the platform just as the train pulled in. Hurrah! No queues! Arrived at Central with 6 minutes to get to platform 8 for the train to Cardiff. Made it with 3 minutes to spare.

Uneventful trip home from there.

I've had it with queues - oh - and QANTAS. Bugger. I have a booked flight with QANTAS to Vancouver in June.😱

 

 

Wow that was some adventure you could do without!!!!

[MMDown Under]

8 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

Sorry to say but returning home from Singapore (after HAL Sydney/Singapore cruise) on QF82 I experienced my worst ever international flight. It just confirmed my opinion that QANTAS has dropped the ball re customer service and gone all out on cost cutting. And, just to top things off, we were caught up in the QANTAS problems in Oz occuring pre and in flight.

We were due to depart SIN 20:05 and arrive SYD 07:10 Friday. Before we docked in Singapore we received a text from Q saying that the flight would be delayed by an hour. Hmm, what to do with all that time to spend after disembarking. Needn't have worried as it took longest time ever to disembark and clear immigration/customs, 4-5 hours in fact. Took a taxi to Changi and killed some time having a late lunch in the new Jewell next to T1. We had an 'interesting' meal in the Asian food court and killed time checking out the worlds highest indoor waterfall,  window shopping, dessert at Maccas, coffee at Starbucks, ok but not great but better than ship coffee. On checking boards for departure gate we discovered the flight had been further delayed. Bugger.

Boarded sometime about 21.45. Getting tired but there was an inflight dinner to be had. My first negative impression was that we were supposed to be on an Airbus A333 we boarded an ancient A320. As soon as I sat down I noticed a damaged, small, fold down shelf below the TV screen which is normally retained by to rubber cords either side, one was missing and the other had lost its elasticity. There had been a temporary repair, using cloth duct tape, which had come away and was no longer sticky enough to hold. Next I noticed how cramped my seat was. (The economy seats were 2 - 4 - 2. We had an aisle and window. This had the advantage of not having a stranger to climbing over you during the night to go to the loo.) I had no hope of crossing my legs or even stretching them forward under the seat in front - I'm 6'1" which is not real tall these days. I had to try and sleep sitting with my hips turned sideways and my feet in the aisle. Lack of room under the seat meant my shins were often bumping against framework. My Garmin watch showed I got a mere 3.5 hrs sleep for the 8+ hours flight.

Before going to sleep we had a much delayed meal service. When it was placed on my tray, and without opening, I immediately got the impression I was on a budget flight. No serving tray with the usual accoutrements, just a foil tray with cardboard top and a small paper bag containing wooden cutlery(?), and napkin. That's it. No dinner roll, no cheese and crackers, no small bowl of fruit, no tea/coffee cup, no tub of yogurt or juice, no s/steel cutlery, no salt & pepper - all of which I had on recent Qatar Airways flights. I'm not sure what I saw, when I took the lid off, was what I ordered. Half the tray was boiled rice plus what looked like a dessert spoon size portion of something that looked like stewed meat and gravy, a piece of broccoli and piece of cauliflower (both of which I hate) and two slices of carrot. That's it. I wondered what we would get for dessert - there wasn't any.

After that it was time to try and get some  sleep. Forgot to mention. The seats were very narrow. During the night I had to wrap a bit of my blanket around my harm due to pressure against the armrest.

Morning.

Breakfast was no better than dinner. Vegetable matter in a flat, flaky pastry, roll. Yuk. On the antiquated TV screen  flight log we noticed we had circling Sydney. Never had that before. Eventually we landed. While taxiing the captain announced we would have to wait for our parking place to be cleared, it was still occupiued by one of QATAS's planes that had issues. After about half an hour or so the captain said we could not go to our parking spot at the terminal and that we will have to deplane at the cargo terminal instead and be collected by busses to be taken to the passenger terminal. Groan. As soon as we stopped at the cargo terminal everyone jumped out of their seats and grabbed their carryons from the lockers. This a practice I really hate. I'm not sure if the captain requested those with connecting flights to move towards the forward exit but people were trying to do this but it was hopeless. The aisles were clogged with people and baggage waiting for busses to turn up. I just stayed in my seat until those in front had cleared theirs.

At last we were on the bus and on our way. Unfortunately we hit the terminal at the same time as another fully loaded flight. People everywhere trying to access the E machines. Long, long queues made worse by many machines being out of order. Grr. Then long cues through the auto immigration terminals and some of them also out of action.

Finally to the baggage collection however it was a longer than normal wait there due to the baggage having to be carted from the cargo terminal. Oh well. Grabbed suitcase and headed for customs - more long queues. I had stuff to declare but that was dealt with quick smartl, as I had it in my back pack, and we were on our way to the station. Got to the platform just as the train pulled in. Hurrah! No queues! Arrived at Central with 6 minutes to get to platform 8 for the train to Cardiff. Made it with 3 minutes to spare.

Uneventful trip home from there.

I've had it with queues - oh - and QANTAS. Bugger. I have a booked flight with QANTAS to Vancouver in June.😱

 

 

I'm so sorry you had such a terrible flight home from Singapore.  Sounds like a nightmare.  I haven't flown with QANTAS overseas for years, as so many other airlines are superior.  In addition, QANTAS is no longer my first choice of airline in Australia.  QANTAS needs a new Leadership Team.  

[lyndarra]

2 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

 I haven't flown with QANTAS overseas for years, as so many other airlines are superior.  In addition, QANTAS is no longer my first choice of airline in Australia.  QANTAS needs a new Leadership Team.  

Same here. My favourite is Qatar Airlines. Singapore and Virgin are also up there.

My June QANTAS flight was booked using points from JAL a QANTAS co partner.

Edited January 22, 2023 by lyndarra

[onlyslightlymad]

13 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

Same here. My favourite is Qatar Airlines. Singapore and Virgin are also up there.

My June QANTAS flight was booked using points from JAL a QANTAS co partner.

I try to avoid the Gulf carriers if I can.  My reason is that they are fully state owned and backed by their government.  They capacity dump on the Tasman.  There is no way the likes of Qantas and Air NZ can compete with them as it is simply not a level playing field.  Also, those same governments are dictatorships with terrible labour laws, and punitive laws against women and those with same sex partners.  I don't feel good about supporting them and will avoid them if possible, no matter how good the service is.

[MMDown Under]

55 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

Same here. My favourite is Qatar Airlines. Singapore and Virgin are also up there.

I have enjoyed all three, but my most recent favourite was EVA Air.  I can fly north to Europe from Brisbane.

[NSWP]

A nightmare, Qantas has lost the plot. The last times we flew overseas we flew Air NZ to USA and Cathay Pacific or Singapore A/L to Asia or Europe. They were very good.

 

I do not know why people still fly on Qantas, is it the safety record? Certainly not the service, food and comfort.

Edited January 22, 2023 by NSWP

[lyndarra]

8 minutes ago, NSWP said:

I do not know why people still fly on Qantas, is it the safety record? Certainly not the service, food and comfort.

Perhaps they want to see Alan Joyce retire with an affordable pension🤡

[lyndarra]

53 minutes ago, onlyslightlymad said:

I try to avoid the Gulf carriers if I can.  My reason is that they are fully state owned and backed by their government.  They capacity dump on the Tasman.  There is no way the likes of Qantas and Air NZ can compete with them as it is simply not a level playing field.  Also, those same governments are dictatorships with terrible labour laws, and punitive laws against women and those with same sex partners.  I don't feel good about supporting them and will avoid them if possible, no matter how good the service is.

All my flights with Qatar have been part of packages. I have logged many Virgin flights and have about 800k points still to spend.

Flew with Emirates as part of package to Turkey or is it now Turkiye. It was just as cramped as QANTAS and the TV died on the return Bangkok/Sydney leg. Qatar is way better than Emirates.

[NSWP]

Problem with fly/cruise packages is that the tour operator or cruise line will often pick the cheapest flight, the best deal they can get with the airline/best commission.

Edited January 22, 2023 by NSWP

[arxcards]

I am happy to fly with a meal of bread and water, as long as it runs on schedule. Once late, it seems to trigger a chain of other issues. I have a similar loathing about United after a similar flight, fortunately it ended up finding a gate at LAX eventually.

 

I have the same issues with leg space, and don't think I have ever had more than an hour of decent sleep between here and the US. I am not a fan of long flights, and would have hated your experience equally.

[Yaya_in_Oz]

Delays and lack of service are an inconvenience but not a concern to me. I like to think the plane is well maintained mechaniclly and isn't going to fall from the sky. Delays and cancellations seem to go with the teritory in Australia at present.

I am flying to BNE on Q tomorrow arvo on a 737. After yet another turnback caused by engine trouble, lets see how far I get. Its all a bit of a worry as they have had so many problems in the last week.

My favourite aircraft is the A380, I could go round the world without getting off one of those. Just made for me but being phased out unfortunately.

 

[ELep]

4 hours ago, onlyslightlymad said:

I try to avoid the Gulf carriers if I can.  My reason is that they are fully state owned and backed by their government.  They capacity dump on the Tasman.  There is no way the likes of Qantas and Air NZ can compete with them as it is simply not a level playing field.  Also, those same governments are dictatorships with terrible labour laws, and punitive laws against women and those with same sex partners.  I don't feel good about supporting them and will avoid them if possible, no matter how good the service is.

Yes, I agree. I don't want to support these dictatorships and their terrible human rights records. 

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, NSWP said:

Problem with fly/cruise packages is that the tour operator or cruise line will often pick the cheapest flight, the best deal they can get with the airline/best commission.

The cruise lines offer you a choice of airline but often have one that is substantially cheaper than the rest - which is why we got a business class flight one way to NZ cheaper than Qantas wanted for an economy class seat on the same flight.

 

It didn't help with the airport queues though, at both ends! 

[Pushka]

I haven't flown Qantas International in years. Because they don't fly anymore into Adelaide. However I have not missed a thing. Gives me the option to explore other airlines. So far they have all been excellent. Qatar, Emirates and Cathay. And flying MH next. Qantas have truly lost the plot. 

[Aussieflyer]

We do fly QF for the most part internationally, though sometimes more for convenience than anything else. We usually do not fly economy internationally so some of the pain is lessened. The dinner experience looks like it was the 'supper' service, designed as a small meal before sleep. I know that QF was doing this ex SIN before the pandemic (and even business did not have a full dinner menu).

It sounded like a very unpleasant experience though and a terrible end to your cruise.

[Galesa]

On 1/22/2023 at 4:14 PM, onlyslightlymad said:

I try to avoid the Gulf carriers if I can.  My reason is that they are fully state owned and backed by their government.  They capacity dump on the Tasman.  There is no way the likes of Qantas and Air NZ can compete with them as it is simply not a level playing field.  Also, those same governments are dictatorships with terrible labour laws, and punitive laws against women and those with same sex partners.  I don't feel good about supporting them and will avoid them if possible, no matter how good the service is.

While I totally agree with your comments on the Gulf States and I too resist flying with them for that reason. However, Qantas did receive almost $2bn of tax payers money through the course of the pandemic. This included a significant amount of JobKeeper payments which they've refused to repay.

 

It's also worth noting that Qatar airlines flew Australians home throughout the pandemic while Qantas sat idle (except the repat flights for which they were paid handsomely by the Government)

Edited January 23, 2023 by Galesa
Error

[onlyslightlymad]

1 hour ago, Galesa said:

While I totally agree with your comments on the Gulf States and I too resist flying with them for that reason. However, Qantas did receive almost $2bn of tax payers money through the course of the pandemic. This included a significant amount of JobKeeper payments which they've refused to repay.

 

It's also worth noting that Qatar airlines flew Australians home throughout the pandemic while Qantas sat idle (except the repat flights for which they were paid handsomely by the Government)

I hear you and you make good points.  I don't know much about Qantas but Air NZ is in a similar position.  In their defence, our govt didn't give them money, they "loaned" it at above market rates of interest.  Air NZ is supposed to be an independent business until they aren't  - until the govt leans on them to service small centres, which is necessary because our rail system is so woeful.  We simply cannot manage without a national airline.  Also, while competition is welcome and important to keep them efficient and to keep service standards higher, it isn't a level playing field when they are competing against other govt backed airlines.  Don't get me wrong, they are by no means perfect.  They have lost a whole lot of their experienced cabin crew and replaced them with young uns and the service has definitely slipped as a result.

[lyndarra]

QANTAS is co-partner with four Chinese airlines plus Emirates. One could book QANTAS and find oneself on an Emirites flight. Did QANTAS also abandon Bangkok in favour of Dubai for UK/Europe flights?

Edited January 23, 2023 by lyndarra
typo

[MMDown Under]

3 hours ago, lyndarra said:

QANTAS is co-partner with four Chinese airlines plus Emirates. One could book QANTAS and find oneself on an Emirites flight. Did QANTAS also abandon Bangkok in favour of Dubai for UK/Europe flights?

EVA Air stops in Bangkok en route to London.  I prefer that route.

[Pushka]

8 hours ago, Galesa said:

While I totally agree with your comments on the Gulf States and I too resist flying with them for that reason. However, Qantas did receive almost $2bn of tax payers money through the course of the pandemic. This included a significant amount of JobKeeper payments which they've refused to repay.

 

It's also worth noting that Qatar airlines flew Australians home throughout the pandemic while Qantas sat idle (except the repat flights for which they were paid handsomely by the Government)

Agree. Qatar continued services into Adelaide three times a week when everyone else except SIA ignored us. Kept SA food exports and essential imports happening. That's why they deserve loyalty. 

[onlyslightlymad]

On 1/22/2023 at 10:15 PM, Yaya_in_Oz said:

Delays and lack of service are an inconvenience but not a concern to me. I like to think the plane is well maintained mechaniclly and isn't going to fall from the sky. Delays and cancellations seem to go with the teritory in Australia at present.

I am flying to BNE on Q tomorrow arvo on a 737. After yet another turnback caused by engine trouble, lets see how far I get. Its all a bit of a worry as they have had so many problems in the last week.

My favourite aircraft is the A380, I could go round the world without getting off one of those. Just made for me but being phased out unfortunately.

 

Just remember that the fact they are willing to turn around if there is a problem or delay if there is bad weather is a sign of high safety standards.  It's actually a good thing.

[lucymorgan]

I have flown QATAR and agree the service was excellent.  I was well aware that they receive significant funding from the government.   However after the terrible incident where the authorities were searching for the mother of an abandoned infant and did invasive searches of a number of women, including Australians and others transiting through doha, I will not fly them again. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/15/australian-women-to-sue-qatar-over-invasive-strip-search-ordeal  From what I understand there have not been changes to stop it happening again either.       

Edited January 25, 2023 by lucymorgan