anthonykirby

Hi All

Anyone any experiences of flying to Oz with Qantas/BA

Me and Zoe have found a flight for £1400 each business class.

With the current 'strike' situation is it wise. We plan on flying August 20th (if my passport is returned next week).

Anyone heard any news about BA talks this morning?

Anth

Gavin B

I have Anth!

We flew Qantas out, and BA back. Qantas was miles better, your own TV, video game system, movie selection etc. Never known 24 hours to go so quick! BA wasn't the same, still had my own TV in front of the next seat, but not half as much fun stuff on it.

Worrying that I'm basing my judgement on TV - but hey, that's me!

People probably have had good and bad experiences of both, but having used them once, Qantas were the dogs nuts.

Pookin

http://news.google.co.uk/news?hl=en&...nG=Search+News

parrot

Hi
Last time we went to Oz we flew BA/Qantas and it was all Qantas apart from the journey home which was BA. Journey with Qantas was much better. Have heard mixed things about them here but better the devil you know so we've booked with Qantas to fly out for good in September. All the planes should have the screens in the seat in front of you by now (they didn't when we went) but then if you're flying business class, wouldn't be a worry anyway!
Parrot

Herman

We flew with Qantas a few times. Never had any problems or delays and it was always comfortable enough. Singapore Airlines was probably slighltly more comfortable but we preferred the food on Qantas.

Pookin

Hope Qantas don't follow BA's suit.

QANTAS staff were last night warned to expect a new round of savage cost-cutting to shore up the future of the nation's flag carrier.

The move is almost certain to result in further staff cutbacks.
They will follow the 1500 redundancies the carrier announced three months ago to overcome the economic crisis confronting world airlines.

Full story:

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/com...55E664,00.html

parrot

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Pookin
Hope Qantas don't follow BA's suit.

QANTAS staff were last night warned to expect a new round of savage cost-cutting to shore up the future of the nation's flag carrier.

The move is almost certain to result in further staff cutbacks.
They will follow the 1500 redundancies the carrier announced three months ago to overcome the economic crisis confronting world airlines.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah as long as they don't sack the maintenance guys. i hate flying as it is without worrying about if a wing's going to fall off!

denhim

i found both b.a and qantas very similar. but on the way back flying with b.a i had a couple of empty seats next to me, and because of this i was repeatedly missed when they served the food and stuff. i kept having to beep them for assistance. the third time i was custard pied i was quite annoyed which for me is not natural.....oh and i found the male flight stewards on qantas rather camp.

Ben.M

Good job you've got your own wings then Parrot!

Ben.M

At least Quantas crew have a sense of humour...

All too rarely, Australian airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight "safety lecture" and their other announcements bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:

On a Quantas Flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, The pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."

On landing the hostess said, "Please be sure to take all your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have."

"There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways to leave the aircraft."

As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Auckland, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"

After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Adelaide, a flight attendant on a Qantas flight announced, "Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as f*** everything has shifted."

From a Qantas employee: "Welcome aboard Qantas Flight XXX to YYY. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."

"In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favourite.

"Weather at our destination is 32 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Qantas Airlines."

"Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."

"Should the cabin lose pressure, oxygen masks will drop from the overhead area. Please place the bag over your own mouth and nose before assisting children... or other adults acting like children."

Heard on Qantas Airlines just after a very hard landing in Hobart: The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, "That was quite a bump, and I know what you are all thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault,it wasn't the flight attendant's fault... it was the asphalt!"

Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: "We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."

An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile, and give them a "Thanks for flying United. "He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had got off except for an old lady walking with a cane. She said,"Sonny, mind if I ask you a question?" "Why no Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?" The little old lady said, "Did we land or were we shot down?"

After a real crusher of a landing in Sydney, the Flight Attendant came on with, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we'll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal."

Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement: "We'd like to thank you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you'll think of Qantas."

A plane was taking off from Mascot Airport. After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number XYZ, non-stop from Sydney to Auckland. The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax - SH*T! ARGHHH! OH, MY GOD!" Silence followed and after a few minutes, the captain came back on The intercom and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier, but, while I was talking, the flight attendant brought me a cup of coffee and spilled the hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!" A passenger in Economy said, "That's nothing. He should see the back of mine!"

etlniwd

I've just come back from London courtesy of BA and Qantas and it was sheer hell. If you'd experienced what I and several thousand other people had you'd vow never to fly BA again. I was treated like a piece of dirt by BA, I spent six hours queueing in the car park at LHR only to be told that all flights had been cancelled and I was to find my own way home (at 1am !). The way BA treated its customers was beyond contemp. Luckily I got the last hire car out of LHR and did not have to join the 3000 people in the taxi queue.

I finally got back to Brisbane a day late with the help of Korean Airlines via Seoul - they were superb by the way. All in all BA is going to the dogs. The planes are shabby, the staff are rude, and after this latest failure they have lost many loyal customers.

Qantas are OK. On internal flights in Oz I find them more than adequate but on long international flights they are still behind their competitors. Also, bear in mind that not all QF international flights have seat-back screens. On many you will have to share a bulkhead screen which is often unviewable.

Basically stick with the reputable SE asian airlines (Singapore, Korean, Malasian, Thai, Vietnamese, JAL etc) if you want good service and slightly more leg room in Monkey Class.

The only good thing I can say about BA is that they give you much more room in Business Class than other airlines and treat you a bit better. Their bed seats sound better than they really are though - it's a bit like spending 13 hours in a coffin.

etlniwd

Hmmm, you forgot to change 'United' in your copy and paste from the world of internet urban myths.

PeteY

Not knocking ya....its your cash But why O why, unless your completely loaded, don't you save yourself and zoe £2000 and fly coach?

$4000 goes a long way in oz...you could be halfway towards a car, have a holiday or even put it towards a house!!

Cheers

Pete "the scrooge"

ACE

I agree would not fly BA or Quantas again, generally shabby planes and surley flight attendants. Stick to Asian airlines better service, food, IFE, more comfortable and very helpful staff. We are spending Christmas and new year in Oz flying with Malaysian Airlines cost including 5 nights stopover in Malaysia £595 per adult, £394 7 year old, £93 for the baby. Have flown with JAL, Singapore, Emirates, Indonesian and Thai all excellent.
Kind regards
ACE

Dailygrind

We flew with BA and Qantas in January. We were upgraded to business class with BA and it was heaven. Qantas business class is not up to standard on some of their fleet. The plane we went out was very old and the staff apologised saying it came from BA!

However any business class is going to be fine and I think you are getting a good price. ENJOY! For economy, I agree that other airlines are better.