RTW in 1 Month

[Hakan I]

Hey Guys,

Just did the following trips:

MEL - LAX
LAX - ORD / ORD - MDT
PHL - LHR / LHR - DUS
DUS - MAD / MAD - EAS
EAS - MAD / MAD - IST / IST - ECN (with an 8hr overnight layover in IST, not fun at all)
IST - ECN / ECN - LHR
LHR - DXB
DXB - HKG / HKG - MEL

Flights taken with QF, UA, BA, IB, TK, CX (combination of a One World RTW fare with a few additional sectors using TK and UA)

This is not a trip report but just a few things that make me angry with QF, starting with checkin, I had one bag with a weight of just under 28kg, i had to pay excesss baggage or spilt into two bags, which as a single traveller i did not want to carry an extra bag through LAX and then on the bus etc... I paid the excess baggage charge after speaking with the supervisor who clearly did not have customer service as one of her abilities and clearly had no ability to see that what she way saying made no sense and i was told she was too busy to deal with me, not that she dealth with me all (lets see how QF deal with my complaint regarding her), further to this i was not assigned an exit row (which was available as i was there very early) as i had to be sighted in SYD (is this a load of something or what?), anyways in SYD went to checkin desks there, exit row was gone and I was rudely told my flight was leaving and to go through security and passport control, overall not pleasant at all so before even boarding the international leg i was yet to meet a QF staff member who was at least slightly pleasant.

As for the flight itself, A380 was ok, legroom non existant, on board self service ok but really they could do a bit more than cookies, apples and soft drinks, cabin crew pleasant however but the bad outweigh the good and i think in future i will fly another airline, i had refused to fly QF after an incident in LAX where they screwed me over something shocking and decided to see if the A380 made a difference to their service as well as keeping the money in Australia which i figured would help in current financial times, now however i have decided officially to never fly them again, even if they are far cheaper.

All the other airlines i flew were great however, IB & UA flights were surprisingly the best in terms of meals, service and ground staff.

Am I the only one to have a 100% strike rate with QF regarding their service, or lack thereof?

Hakan

[Mick F]

I had one bag with a weight of just under 28kg, i had to pay excesss baggage or spilt into two bags

You were overweight. What else are they supposed to do??

further to this i was not assigned an exit row (which was available as i was there very early) as i had to be sighted in SYD (is this a load of something or what?)

It is not your right to sit in an exit row. How do you come to that conclusion? And further to the above, check in staff must physically sight you and make you aware that you must be willing and able to assist in the event an emergency by way of opening the exit.

Sorry buddy, but no sympathy from me at all.

Mick

[Hakan I]

Originally Posted by Mick F

You were overweight. What else are they supposed to do??Mick

Fair Call, in a little more detail the reasoning for this was that it was an OH & S issue, an issue that is clearly resolved with cash, secondly, i could have checked in two bags, is it not easier to handle one bag instead of two and thirdly i witnessed another agent check in a single traveller, clearly not a FF member and travelling economy a bag that weighed more, no explanation for this that made sense was given by management.

It is not your right to sit in an exit row. How do you come to that conclusion? And further to the above, check in staff must physically sight you and make you aware that you must be willing and able to assist in the event an emergency by way of opening the exit.

Also a fair point, I'm 6ft 2, 24 years of age and in pretty good shape, i consider myself able bodied and and did not have any issues with any other airline, as the seat was available and as i was in MEL (which is an airport to my understanding) the staff should have been able to assign the seat to me instead of telling me it can only be done in SYD.

Hakan

[Grant Smith]

Originally Posted by Hakan I

Fair Call, in a little more detail the reasoning for this was that it was an OH & S issue, an issue that is clearly resolved with cash, secondly, i could have checked in two bags, is it not easier to handle one bag instead of two

Hakan,

Of course it's an OH&S issue. How do you reason 1 overweight (28KG) bag would be easier to handle that 2 x 12KG bags?

Having handled bags in a former life, I can assure you, 2 x 12KG bags is A LOT easier to handle than one 30KG bag.

Why do you think you see bags tagged with heavy luggage tags? For the sake of it?

Originally Posted by Hakan I

Also a fair point, I'm 6ft 2, 24 years of age and in pretty good shape, i consider myself able bodied and and did not have any issues with any other airline, as the seat was available and as i was in MEL (which is an airport to my understanding) the staff should have been able to assign the seat to me instead of telling me it can only be done in SYD.

Hakan

Unfortunately the luck of the irish was not with you that day.

[Montague S]

Originally Posted by Grant Smith

Hakan,

Of course it's an OH&S issue. How do you reason 1 overweight (28KG) bag would be easier to handle that 2 x 12KG bags?

Having handled bags in a former life, I can assure you, 2 x 12KG bags is A LOT easier to handle than one 30KG bag.

yea..but that doesn't answer how money makes it less of an OH&S issue.

how giving cash solves OH&S or solves an injury that may or may not occur is beyond me.

funny thing, this is what QF states on its website...seems some at QF don't know the different systems.

Travel to/from USA, US Territories, South America and Canada via the Pacific^

No single piece can exceed 32kg (70lb).

If your itinerary includes a flight to/from the USA, US Territories, South America and Canada via the Pacific you are entitled to two pieces (one piece for infants) of checked baggage on all Qantas and QantasLink operated flights within your itinerary regardless of whether these flights appear on the same or a separate ticket. You will be required to provide proof of your international ticket at check-in indicating travel to/from or via the USA, US Territories, South America or Canada. Valid for the duration of your international ticket, or up to a maximum of 12 months from the date of the first flight to/from the USA, US Territories, South America or Canada – whichever date falls first.

[Grant Smith]

This too is quoted from the QF website.

Originally Posted by Qantas.com.au

If you are travelling in Economy:

• Your total baggage weight of up to 23kg (50lb) is free of charge regardless of the number of pieces for domestic Australia, trans-Tasman, domestic New Zealand and international routes (except for the USA).
• For the USA, US Territories, South America or Canada, your total free allowance is 2 pieces at 23kg (50lb) each.
• The maximum baggage weight of any piece must not exceed 32kg (70lb).

[D Chan]

Originally Posted by Montague S

yea..but that doesn't answer how money makes it less of an OH&S issue.

how giving cash solves OH&S or solves an injury that may or may not occur is beyond me.

Frankly I'm not surprised it's 'beyond you'. Firstly the fee discourages passengers from having bags with excessive weights thus reducing the number of these bags. Secondly who do you think pays for workers injured from lifting all these bags - ultimately the employer is responsible for compensation.

I have little respect to people who argue with check-in agents, having been a check-in agent myself at Sydney for a ground handler (a worldwide GHA). I for sure treated very well the passengers who are nice to me. In fact I managed to assign aisle seats for a family of 6 on a light transpac flight so they had free seats next to them and I was commended for my customer service. On another occasion I managed to get a Disney Mickey Mouse pin from a passenger.


Ask yourself how many seats are on the aircraft and how many of those are exit row seats - then get a reality check. What is the probability of you getting one?

I also have little time for passengers who whine at the check-in counter. Next please....

[Daniel M]

Correct...you need to be identified as an ABP (Able Bodied Person) to be able to help assist with the emergency exit door in an evacuation...all airlines adhere to this policy...some pre book you into an exit row, then may decline you the seat when you go to check in...I guess QF, do it another way, and don't book you in the seat until they have confirmed you are able to assist.

The rest of your comments are very trivial whinging.

[Hakan I]

Originally Posted by Daniel M

The rest of your comments are very trivial whinging.

Daniel, your entitled to your opinion of course, i however spent a fortune on a RTW ticket (prior to these massive discounts by everyone), as a result i expected a reasonable level of service from start to finish, if i wanted substandard service I would have flown airlines like China Eastern, or perhaps even Aeroflot or Garuda ... Ryanair even, not something that i would expect from an airline that is supposedly 'good'.

[Bruce Bramwell]

Originally Posted by Hakan I

further to this i was not assigned an exit row (which was available as i was there very early)

How did you know it was available? Did you ask?

Maybe they didn't give it to you because you were rude, can happen... most probably they were rude because you were rude to them!