On boarding three times last week, I was bemused as to the large number of pax that use the Premium entry who did not have the required status, nor were they checked via boarding pass. Sure its probably not a big thing to most but when you can see passengers who don't even have a QFF number boarding ahead of you or the required colour on their phone it does significantly undermine the whole Premium boarding concept.
I did ask a Qanats Premium attendant standing guard at the Business lounge in Bris who responded with" well I don't care as I'm waiting for my voluntary redundancy to be accepted". There it is folks!!!
The Qantas fiasco starts with the call centre. The overseas centres have a large number of restrictions on their end and pretty much all premium support issues can't be addressed even when calling the premium number. The level of accuracy and service from the call centre has plummeted. They can't do seating requests, they can't do frequent flyer bookings and they lie about seat availability even though you can go online and see they are lying. I finally got one agent to admit this. The solution is they need to send a request to the Australian team to action. Seriously this is how Qantas want to run their business. A simpler solution might be to route these calls to the Australian call centre. Then the security lanes at Sydney airport have been reduced from 6 to 4 with new machines that take twice as long and hence the long queues. Once through you don't get premium boarding or priority baggage anymore. I over heard on staff member basically scoffing at the idea of priority boarding. If Alan Joyce reads these posts he should try calling his call centre. Everything Qantas is doing is degrading the customer experience and COVID is not a reasonable excuse.
The only premium about QF nowadays is the fares. No amount of excuses of unexpected demand or delay in recruitment can justify selling tickets to flights you can’t fulfill or service that is not there
AJ is sure going be leaving a legacy no one wants to have (but of course he will be using the pandemic as an excellent excuse just like every other CEO in other industries) although he is well compensated for staying on (and thereby making more of the upcoming leaders-in-waiting leave QF). The board will think he saved QF (just look at VA as a distraction) but the QF brand is going to be damaged for a very very long time.
Was very much looking forward to flying QF1/2 Business recently and was very disappointed with the way the service has changed. On both trips the usual water/champagne offered as boarded but after that no pre dinner drink orders were taken or offered until my meal was placed in front of me. So had to wait 1.5 hours after take off. On my return trip I had to ask for a drink as a steward went past. Is this the new norm? I remember in the past you would have your drinks order taken as soon as seatbelt sign was off well before dinner and sometimes before take off..... no more hot towels (because of covid?) , no Energiser smoothie for brekky and no snacks in the bar area..... my husband since travelled on BA15/16 and drink orders taken before take off - given BA will be upgrading from October with the new seats, you wonder if worth the extra price for Qantas now .....
Sitting in the business lounge at SYD after missing my flight to CBR due to the late arrival of the QF2. But that I can cop as sadly a man died on the LHR-SIN leg and Singapore Police had to investigate and interview those who helped. I flew first both ways. While the crew were great, they are only working with what they’ve got. And what they’ve got is no good at all. This may be a first world problem, but if they want to compete with others they need to lift their game rapidly. You use to get a degustation menu, now it’s just a downgraded meal service. There’s no wine list anymore. You can’t even get a Qantas pen! The food out of London was horrible. Lamb was tough and the beef cheek ravioli was like cardboard. Breakfast was fine, but anyone can do bacon etc. But it was nowhere near the first of old. I want to support Qantas, but the airline has been turned into a sad shell of what it was.
QF23 in J recently. Only Moutard "champagne " available. No dark chocolate, only milk Lindt. Other wines and food good but overall catering felt pedestrian. Great crew though. Considering SQ for my next trip.
Even the third-world quality US airlines are able to manage premium boarding. Their staff are appropriately trained and ask those who are trying it on to stand aside until they have been called but Qantas staff just waive people through because they are so fed up with management. One or two public shamings of this kind are all it takes to get most people to observe the priority boarding rules. Those trying it on are usually aspirational Qantas Club members who are responsive to the social stigma of status shaming.
I've observed similar problems with the security lines which are now no longer policed during peak periods and are regularly the same length as the general economy line. Add to this that the Qantas Club is closed half the time (so that the Business Lounge is heaving) and it really makes you question whether it is worth the effort of seeking to maintain status with Qantas.
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Qantas Premium Service?
Frustrated traveler 2021
Frustrated traveler 2021
Member since 04 Aug 2021
Total posts 5
On boarding three times last week, I was bemused as to the large number of pax that use the Premium entry who did not have the required status, nor were they checked via boarding pass. Sure its probably not a big thing to most but when you can see passengers who don't even have a QFF number boarding ahead of you or the required colour on their phone it does significantly undermine the whole Premium boarding concept.
I did ask a Qanats Premium attendant standing guard at the Business lounge in Bris who responded with" well I don't care as I'm waiting for my voluntary redundancy to be accepted". There it is folks!!!
Joe
Joe
Member since 03 May 2013
Total posts 190
Qantas have NO idea how to board premium pax or deliver priority luggage.
Rxm
Rxm
Jetstar Airways - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 14 Jan 2017
Total posts 18
The Qantas fiasco starts with the call centre. The overseas centres have a large number of restrictions on their end and pretty much all premium support issues can't be addressed even when calling the premium number. The level of accuracy and service from the call centre has plummeted. They can't do seating requests, they can't do frequent flyer bookings and they lie about seat availability even though you can go online and see they are lying. I finally got one agent to admit this. The solution is they need to send a request to the Australian team to action. Seriously this is how Qantas want to run their business. A simpler solution might be to route these calls to the Australian call centre. Then the security lanes at Sydney airport have been reduced from 6 to 4 with new machines that take twice as long and hence the long queues. Once through you don't get premium boarding or priority baggage anymore. I over heard on staff member basically scoffing at the idea of priority boarding. If Alan Joyce reads these posts he should try calling his call centre. Everything Qantas is doing is degrading the customer experience and COVID is not a reasonable excuse.
XWu
XWu
Member since 09 May 2020
Total posts 197
Let’s face it
The only premium about QF nowadays is the fares. No amount of excuses of unexpected demand or delay in recruitment can justify selling tickets to flights you can’t fulfill or service that is not there
AJ is sure going be leaving a legacy no one wants to have (but of course he will be using the pandemic as an excellent excuse just like every other CEO in other industries) although he is well compensated for staying on (and thereby making more of the upcoming leaders-in-waiting leave QF). The board will think he saved QF (just look at VA as a distraction) but the QF brand is going to be damaged for a very very long time.
Sarah Banks
Sarah Banks
Member since 16 Apr 2016
Total posts 4
Was very much looking forward to flying QF1/2 Business recently and was very disappointed with the way the service has changed. On both trips the usual water/champagne offered as boarded but after that no pre dinner drink orders were taken or offered until my meal was placed in front of me. So had to wait 1.5 hours after take off. On my return trip I had to ask for a drink as a steward went past. Is this the new norm? I remember in the past you would have your drinks order taken as soon as seatbelt sign was off well before dinner and sometimes before take off..... no more hot towels (because of covid?) , no Energiser smoothie for brekky and no snacks in the bar area..... my husband since travelled on BA15/16 and drink orders taken before take off - given BA will be upgrading from October with the new seats, you wonder if worth the extra price for Qantas now .....
abc
abc
Member since 14 Nov 2011
Total posts 8
Sitting in the business lounge at SYD after missing my flight to CBR due to the late arrival of the QF2. But that I can cop as sadly a man died on the LHR-SIN leg and Singapore Police had to investigate and interview those who helped. I flew first both ways. While the crew were great, they are only working with what they’ve got. And what they’ve got is no good at all. This may be a first world problem, but if they want to compete with others they need to lift their game rapidly. You use to get a degustation menu, now it’s just a downgraded meal service. There’s no wine list anymore. You can’t even get a Qantas pen! The food out of London was horrible. Lamb was tough and the beef cheek ravioli was like cardboard. Breakfast was fine, but anyone can do bacon etc. But it was nowhere near the first of old. I want to support Qantas, but the airline has been turned into a sad shell of what it was.
DVHDVH
DVHDVH
Member since 12 Aug 2022
Total posts 1
QF23 in J recently. Only Moutard "champagne " available. No dark chocolate, only milk Lindt. Other wines and food good but overall catering felt pedestrian. Great crew though. Considering SQ for my next trip.
greg959
greg959
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 15 May 2019
Total posts 64
Even the third-world quality US airlines are able to manage premium boarding. Their staff are appropriately trained and ask those who are trying it on to stand aside until they have been called but Qantas staff just waive people through because they are so fed up with management. One or two public shamings of this kind are all it takes to get most people to observe the priority boarding rules. Those trying it on are usually aspirational Qantas Club members who are responsive to the social stigma of status shaming.
I've observed similar problems with the security lines which are now no longer policed during peak periods and are regularly the same length as the general economy line. Add to this that the Qantas Club is closed half the time (so that the Business Lounge is heaving) and it really makes you question whether it is worth the effort of seeking to maintain status with Qantas.