Keith T

Qantas grounds jets, cuts services/jobs http://www.theage.com.au/news/news/qantas-...1654109671.html http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/au/pu...008/may08/Q3768

I used Xpress Boarding when it wasn't popular yet. Worked a treat, not more than 1 other pax at any time. Got my bulkhead aisle seat with no probs. And I'd not hesitate to use it again if I ever fly AK again. I get free "express/speedy boarding" on most full service airlines as it's an FFP tier benefit. And one which I highly value, especially on full flights where overhead locker space is scarce. Try flying in the US and you'd know what I mean.

Seems you've completely missed my point so I don't know why I should bother... Except, at risk of going OT a little....: SQ's Stephen Forshaw certainly had this to say about Skytrax on 30 Jan 2007: Sky who?

The pilots' union are hardly taking an ideological stance - if you run a union your first and foremost priority is protecting the interests of your own members. You'd naturally want to protect your own members' interests when you feel that they are in any way threatened. I'd have reacted in the same manner had I been in that position. I myself have worked as an industrial organiser for a large trade union and we would be doing a piss poor job if the employer/s of the people we represent had walked in and said - look guys we're going to limit your employment opportunities and instead fill up vacancies in the company with cheap labour, and we did nothing about it. The airline unions have every right to be suspicious about these latest moves by QF - because seems like another wave of offshoring in disguise. The problem isn't so much about "jobs going to foreigners" - that in and of itself is not a bad thing. However more often than not it's designed to cut costs by being able to offer inferior working conditions and pay to these workers from overseas and causing a loss of opportunities to move into and within the company for existing employees. And if you'd lived in Australia you'd realise that the 457 temp visas have been subjected to a whole lot of controversy. They were designed by the Howard government to plug skills shortages, but companies have more often than not used them to cut costs and engaged guest workers from overseas to undercut local working conditions and pay. Workers on 457 temp visas are not allowed to join trade unions and hence aren't able to benefit from the EBAs negotiated between unions and employers. And many of these people, who didn't know their rights in relation to min pay, OHS standards etc, were being exploited by ruthless employees. Thus when you've got a company with a corporate history like QF, supposedly our national carrier but has instead been oursourcing left right and centre, hiring people on 457 visas (as opposed to hiring people on long term visas and offering them the same pay and conditions as existing employees) - the concern is two fold : 1) Local working conditions and pay are going to be undercut, substantially weakening existing employees' opportunities within the company and subsequent ability to bargain effectively for their wages and conditions 2) The emphasis is on cost cuts - you won't be seeing highly experienced pilots from the world's top airlines tripping over themselves for the pittance that QF is going to offer, in which case it'd be reasonable to infer that safety standards could be compromised.

I personally like the new seats. It's a v innovative design. The single seats with 2 large consoles seem almost F class! LX seems to be surging from strength, especially with these new C seats and the new F lounges at ZRH (which includes limo transfer if you depart from terminal E). Now they just need to improve on catering and they'd easily blow many others out of the race.

Exceptions:

http://www.airlinequality.com/news/180508_cathay.htm Did CX forget to send their annual cheque to Skytrax or something? I mean, sure there's some overcrowding at peak times due to the number of refugees from QF and BA flights. Both lounges were designed and built pre-oneworld and weren't conceived to accomodate so many pax. But I happen to think that the amenities are still top notch and amongst the greats in the world of airline lounges. I'd thought that skytrax lacked credibility due to obvious conflicts of interest and its dubious methodologies. But this has really shown them up to be a real farce.

As much as I hate to see Australian jobs being offshored, and as much as I'd like to see our unions lobby hard against such offshoring, I think any campaign ought to be based on facts, not half truths. Having worked for a trade union myself I believe that it is the union's job to secure the best possible working conditions for its members. In that regard the Qantas unions are simply doing their job to protect their members' collective interests. But the line needs to be drawn somewhere and deliberate slander is not the right way to go about it. I believe this also arises out of the bitter dispute that's currently in play between the engineers' union and Qantas. Excuse me?? Gross overgeneralisation, much?

Strike's been called off after the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions) intervened. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...7-23349,00.html

BA/AA?

From a pragmatic point of view it usually needs to be an area of electoral concern for any issue to be on the legislative agenda. Letter writing campaigns to the media, your local MP, the relevant Minister all help to generate attention. The other way is a class action against the offending airline/s. IIRC court decisions of this sort (usually on the basis of misleading and deceptive trade practices) forced changes in Germany and New Zealand. But this is potentially expensive and lengthy. Unless you can find a sympathetic law firm which would offer to take on the case pro bono, or a generous benefactor who'd fund such an action.

Whilst no actual dates have been announced, Qantas expects to operate the A380 for QF93/94 MEL-LAX vv by October 2008: http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23...1-14334,00.html

Preparation: I am extremely organised when it comes to my itineraries - usually plan and prepare so that I get the flights, seats etc I want right down to a tee. This is especially important with award bookings - some routes are booked up when they're bookable 355 (or 330) days out! I'd also plan to check out the best eats in each city. Before arriving at the destination/s, I'd email the concierge desks of the hotels I'm staying with for assistance with restaurant reservations. I'd have done my research prior but am usually quite amenable if the concierge staff have a better idea. And of course, I'd do my research on the nightlife in each city so I'm off and ready to go when I arrive. And again a good concierge is invaluable for getting on to VIP lists of top nightclubs. As for packing - King of Last Minute here. But haven't left behind anything important thus far. Baggage: Depends on the length and nature of the trip really. But I take care to leave lots of space for shopping. Usually ship stuff home if I've run out of space (which occurs on a semi regular basis), or buy an additional suitcase if baggage allowances permit. Getting to the Airport: Depends on the city. Unless horrendously expensive like LON, I usually cab it or organise a ride with the hotel I'm staying with at the destination. In MEL i simply cab it as I do not find the skybus particularly convenient. Where it's convenient and I'm not carrying much (ie domestic trips) I'd try to utilise public transportation. Choice of Airline: See "Preparation." Numerous factors go into my choice of airline = service and frequent flyer affiliation are my top priorities. I mainly stick to the oneworld alliance these days, though I did spend 18 months with Star. Decided that oneworld suits my needs more with their range of airlines, products and fares, and I preferred the overall quality of oneworld to Star. And oneworld as an alliance seem more cohesive and has more of a synergy than Star does. Skyteam... Pieter knows my views on this best. I do like CO though and am hoping that they do make the swap to OW (sorry Pieter and ST fans ). And from a practical point of view, the only ST member that flies to MEL is KE on a 3x weekly MEL-ICN. Within oneworld my preferred airline is Qantas - there's just something about the casual and down to earth kind of service that makes a QF flight a lot more relaxing than others. FAs who're usually witty and with a great sense of humour, absolute delights to talk to. Also, the rest of the soft product simply blitzes the rest of oneworld (more inspired wines, better champagnes, nicer food, IFE isn't as reliable as CX's but content is heaps more exciting). I'd usually go for the QF flight if there're more than 1 options on a given route unless schedules or availability get in the way. Can't go wrong with BA crew on a good day, but alas I don't get AAdvantage miles flying BA transatlantic and since the first of March no status bonus for flying BA. However I'd gladly go on their long hauls service wise, even better if they come with a codeshare that'd earn me full AAdvantage miles, bonus etc. I don't mind AA believe it or not - really, I don't. I've had some lovely AA FAs, some sub par ones but the latter exist on every airline. If anything their reservations and customer service agents are some of the most competent and professional in the industry. I can get a 20 segment RTW itinerary booked in 8 minutes tops with the bang, bang efficient AA Around The World Desk. Lounges are crap. Onboard service is highly dependent on crew but nothing overly onerous. I've never been treated badly even by what I'd consider sub par FAs. Soft product quite average. The Flagship Suite (the one with the 360 degree swivel) is the best F seat I've ever had the chance to experience though. The big hook for me is the complimentary upgrades on AA as a status perk - why fly whY with anyone else when I can go in J or F with AA? Similarly would prefer AA Flagship Suite to J on other OW partners, even QF. CX and JL are my least favoured options within oneworld (i don't go to South America or Spain very often so let's not count LAN and IB - though I hear pretty awful stories about IB). I do not like the highly formal and deferential approach to service on these airlines. With CX i get either terse, cold and robotic FAs, or sickly sweet ones - no in between. JL - maybe it's a cultural thing but I find the Japanese style a bit too stiff for me. Plus JL, like BA, doesn't give status bonus to AAdvantage members. For some perspective- I'm doing DPS-xHKG-MEL in July. I could connect straight to MEL on the CX midnight departure, or overnight for the QF morning departure. I went with the latter. Within *A, I tend to stick to LH (F), NZ (C or Y+), SQ (F, C, Y). TG tries hard but somehow doesn't get there. There's also the deference that's apparent on JL/CX - at least JL/CX are consistently competent. See below under FFP for why I left *A. Outside the alliances I rather enjoyed my flights with MH. MH is like an Asian version of QF IMO - the same casual, relaxed, down to earth service. My experiences are limited in this respect of course - I last flew MH J long haul in 2003 MEL-KUL-LHR return, I've only flown whY on short haul segments on MH (PEN, JHB, LGK, SIN, BKK, HKT). I've not flown them when the cost cuts have occurred. The fact that MH isn't aligned to *A or oneworld, which means next to zero alternative to using Enrich (which I think is rather poor) if I want to fly MH makes the carrier an unviable choice as far as I'm concerned. I'd also love to fly the Virgin group of airlines, V Australia, Virgin America and Virgin Atlantic in particular as I love the Virgin brand and find it very zen and trendy. Unfortunately - same problem with lack of alliances there. Apart from network I have almost zero reason to fly outside the aforementioned alliances. And when I have to I try to find a FFP i can somehow channel miles to, for instance EK flights accrue miles on UA MP though these are only award miles and do not count towards status. Choice of Airliner/Airport/Frequency etc: I care more about cabin interiors than the actual equipment used. So I'd always go for the equipment type with the best cabin configuration. Generally any airport with a superb lounge is a good airport - some exceptions though, eg I don't think I can feel relaxed in places like Heathrow or Mother O'Hare no matter how good lounges there are. I also aim for the most efficient airport if possible, such as Changi and HKIA. As I'm a leisure traveler, frequency isn't as important to me. But if I have the choice I'd prefer to avoid early morning departures as I'm not a morning person. Loyalty Program: Airlines: Closely tied to choice of alliance. AAdvantage is my primary FFP as it represents the best value within oneworld, with generous status perks like upgrade vouchers. Here's why I like alliances - it's all about choice! Most of my flying might be on QF, but I can choose to avoid their sorry excuse of an FFP and join a far superior one like AAdvantage. And I visit the US enough to enjoy the 'home carrier' specific (as distinct from alliance wide benefits like lounge access that every oneworld elite gets) perks I receive on AA. Can't wait till I make Executive Platinum/ow emerald on AAdvantage (if all goes well - late July) so I can finally sample the delights of the MEL/QF QF Flounges. During my 18 month foray in Star I chose to bank my miles on Lufthansa Miles and More primarily due to the 2 year Gold status. However bmi has since opened up membership to people outside Europe so I've been banking my *A miles on diamond club, as well as Hilton miles. Did the double dip with the pre-enhancement SQ PPS Club (FQTS - PPS segments to SQ, FQTV - miles to other LH) when flying SQ. However they've, IMO, destroyed PPS Club with last year's enhancements and I have since vowed not to step onboard an SQ flight on a revenue ticket. Great airline nonetheless, but loyalty programs make up the other 50% of the equation as far as I'm concerned. I'd gladly spend miles on SQ flights however. With SQ out of the equation, *A becomes a lot less attractive. LH and NZ are superb airlines, and by most accounts as are NH and OZ - but not nearly enough of a network for my needs. I've also been building up a good balance on bmi diamond club, I've now got enough for a MEL-LHR return in F. As someone else pointed out elsewhere on this forum, bmi diamond club takes stealing candy from a baby to a whole new level. It's almost laughable. Pity a certain yellow crane carrier from Germany is taking over soon so I've to burn the miles as quickly as i can or they'd be rolled into Miles & Less with a significant water down in value. I've also got some UA miles accumulated by flying EK trans tasman. Hotels: Starwood Preferred Guest is my primary program as I'm a big fan of its brands (especially W Hotels, Westin and Le Meridien). Status perks are also the most generous, and the suite upgrade perk for Platinums is unparalleled. Unfortunately Starwood has comparatively limited coverage, and so I have Hilton as my back up program. Booking: Again, loyalty program considerations come into play. I do not necessarily go with the cheapest option, as I believe that the benefits gained in return by way of status benefits or award travel far outweigh the drips and drabs of dollars I'd save here and there by giving up miles etc. I'd rather pay an extra 50 dollars a night at a Starwood property when I know I'd get upgraded to a nice big suite at said property for what's really not much more than the rate at another property at which I'd be stuck in a standard room. Similarly I'd gladly pay a couple of hundred dollars extra for flights as I find the benefits rather worthwhile such as lounge access, the ability to get access to better seating, and gaming the system to ensure I get a decent return when the time comes to book awards. I've not booked point to point tickets for a while now. Find it rather good value to split a RTW ticket into 3-4 different trips. I end up flying business class at economy class prices (divide the amount paid for RTW into 3 or 4, and the amount paid per trip on point to point economy is the same), and accrue miles at J levels. Even after using miles to position myself between the start/end of each "portion" of the ticket, I have plenty left to play with for additional trips. Check-In: I am eligible for the J queue due to FF status but I'd join wherever the queue's shortest. I'd much rather spend time relaxing in the lounge or shopping for booze at duty free. Onboard: Seating wise - aircraft dependent, but generally prefer the emergency exit or the bulkhead. And I'd always go for the aisle seat, unless in F where the seats are single pods by the window. I'd usually go through the wines and champagnes rather comprehensively (if you read my TRs you'd have worked that out by now ). I'd use the IFE if there's something I want to watch. Otherwise a good book does the trick. I like getting to know the cabin crew and my seatmate/s, especially on long haul flights when I'm going to be spending 13 hours with them. I find it extremely difficult to go to sleep onboard and so far have only succeeded when I'm extremely exhausted, or when a seat is exceptionally comfortable (AA Flagship Suite, NZ Business Premier beds). Duty Free Shopping: I'd usually grab a couple of bottles of champagnes, or wines if in an NZ airport. Travelling in Group: I like the freedom of traveling alone. But occasionally enjoy the company if it's someone I know really well, someone who shares the same likes and dislikes, someone who'd understand why it's perfectly normal to fly Tokyo to Dubai via Singapore and London. Oops that turned out to be one long ramble. I hope it's comprehensible at the v least.

Some friends went into the new lounge recently and have done a detailed review (including pics): http://www.sqtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4315 Enjoy!

I put all my EK miles towards UA Mileage Plus. Pretty good value - I can get a ticket MEL-PPT/NAN/NOU etc with stopover in AKL on Air NZ for 20 000 miles.

Exactly what I was thinking. If they can make it work, it'd be a win-win situation for both consumers and the airline, no?

Oooh... http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...l.b53568de.html Also carried in various other news sources.

I must say it's not only the pilots of UA who hold "enormous concern" about the merger. UA/*A pax don't want US either! The thought of enduring a flight on US Scareways is enough to make even the most jaded and cynical UA/AA/NW/DL/CO etc pax sick with fear.

When a company such as Qantas has a very well-established and recognised brand and image, they're unlikely to want to pursue any radical changes.

I believe KLM stopped flying during the war; their commercial operations in Europe were largely suspended IIRC? Paging Pieter. The key phrase there being 'flying continuously.' Anyway the law takes a dim view of deceptive advertising so they wouldn't deliberately lie.

Oh yes another reason I like Belle Epoque - the V nice bottle. Agreed that DP bottle is cool, nicer than Krug even though Krug is the better beverage IMO.

How I got my SQ C flights for free with diamond club: 9000 miles sign up bonus 2500 miles for responding to a 6 question survey SQ C NRT-SIN-MNL 11 125 miles + 63 quid under "cash and miles", with option of stopping over in SIN. "Luckily" the direct flights on NH weren't available.

The Reuters story seems more confident about the tie up with BA/AA, whereas the NYT one makes it sound like mere speculation.

Mods - I've no idea whether to place this in *A or Skyteam threads as it crosses 2 alliances. So your call. edit - or even oneworld! http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/business...&ei=5087%0A Apologies to ST fans - but OW please!! I think the competition regulators might be concerned at a AA/CO alliance though - they'd almost eliminate competition in the NYC and Texan markets.

All the crazy diamond club promos have just started to make sense, as increasing the number of elite members and membership generally of BD DC (even if half of us spend our miles on other airlines like SQ ) would actually increase BD's valuation when the takeover occurs. I'd make a politically incorrect reference to the world wars but I won't as there might be German-based members here.