Air fares?

[ELGT4me]

Hi guys/girls, can someone explain to me how you can book & pay for flights over the Easter period only to find the flight has been cancelled/ delayed for 4 hours? (The flight was booked 2 months ago & consists of 3 people) The flight number has changed completely & the departure/arrival times do not suit me at all!!! (GT Nationals @ Adelaide!!!) They might be virgins, but watch out when I get to Adelaide!!! (A blue is promised!!!) :

[Yellow_Festiva]

I hear that if a flight has not sold enough tickets to turn a profit then the passengers will be put on a new flight to fill a plane.

It will probably say something similar in tiny writing on the terms and conditions of the ticket.

[ELGT4me]

It appears the flight I had booked, no longer exists? Economic downturn!!! To be fair to the "virgins", I booked the flights through a "second party" internet booking agency, who demanded an extra $12 per seat as a "guarantee"I would get these seats on this flight. I will make a few phone calls & see how it turns out, suffice to say ,I am not impressed with either company!!!

[flappist]

You pay cheap, you get cheap.....doesn't happen with QANTAS

[RG]

Originally Posted by flappist

You pay cheap, you get cheap.....doesn't happen with QANTAS

No, with QANTAS you just don't get there at all

[XR6_190]

Originally Posted by flappist

You pay cheap, you get cheap.....doesn't happen with QANTAS

Wanna bet? I worked for them for 5 years, on average we had 2 canceled flights a day, (just out of Melbourne, not sure about the other ports) and that was just the flights canceled within 24 hours of departure, there were a lot more canceled earlier on. If they could cancel a flight instead of running it at a loss, they would, hardly ever saw a domestic flight go with less than 30 passengers on board.

In a way I can understand why they do it, after all they don't want to go the same way as Ansett, but I do think they owe it to the passengers to get them on a suitable flight, even if it means putting them on a different airline.

[ELGT4me]

Just an update guys, the 6.00 am flight from Perth to Aelaide no longer exists, I was offered the "red eye "to Melbourne, then a flight back to Adelaide. (Why would I do that flight with 2 toddlers?) The next flight I was offered left Perth @ 1830 & arrived in Adelaide @ 2030. : I would have been more than happy to accept a ride on another airline.I have been informed the "virgins" do not refund any money & offered a travel voucher instead. (I don't think so!!!) Mr Flappist, Qantas are no better,I booked a flight to Brisbane from Perth, the flight was delayed 3 hours, we were not offered an alcohol drink, even though we were 2 hours into the flight, which was by then 11.30 am Perth time, because, as the steward said "this is a morning flight sir". We were offered a special treat somewhere over Queensland, a muesli bar!!! I will not tell you where I suggested the steward should put his "special "treat. Flying back to Perth, the flight was delayed by 1 hour, I specified I prefer a window seat on left side of the aircraft as per my "frequent flyer" profile, instead I got an aisle seat on the right side of the aircraft.Oh, how I miss Ansett.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by XR6_190

Wanna bet? I worked for them for 5 years, on average we had 2 canceled flights a day, (just out of Melbourne, not sure about the other ports) and that was just the flights canceled within 24 hours of departure, there were a lot more canceled earlier on. If they could cancel a flight instead of running it at a loss, they would, hardly ever saw a domestic flight go with less than 30 passengers on board.

In a way I can understand why they do it, after all they don't want to go the same way as Ansett, but I do think they owe it to the passengers to get them on a suitable flight, even if it means putting them on a different airline.

OK I will rephrase that.

It never used to happen with QANTAS when there was no JetStar or Virgin. I have been on several flights where I was the only passenger.

With the new age of discounted aviation costs must be cut so instead of extremely well maintained aircraft commanded by old men with tens of thosuands of hours and cabin crew consisting of little old ladies (and men) who have been doing the job since the Wright brothers we now have aircraft constantly hovering around MEL, commanded by much lower time pilots and cabin crews that are chosen by the size of their boobs. (One of my mates drives for VB and the record for him is 3 Zoo and 2 Picture girls in the one sector, they look GREAT but are very ordinary at the job).

All the good stuff costs money and the money comes from freight (both self loading and boxes) so when the income is lowered everything else suffers.

When it was $699.50 return from Sydney to Melbourne the plane were always reliable, now it is $69.95 you get what you pay for.....

[gcg2503]

After reading that description of the Virigin Blue girls I am kicking myself for booking my flight to the GT Nationals with Jetstar!

[big_waity]

Originally Posted by flappist

I have been on several flights where I was the only passenger.

I think there might be something in that ....
lol

[flappist]

Originally Posted by gcg2503

After reading that description of the Virigin Blue girls I am kicking myself for booking my flight to the GT Nationals with Jetstar!

If you are in Brisbane, the Hamilton pub in Kingsford Smith Drv is the VB "local"

[ELGT4me]

Flappist,I think Qantas's problems could be summed up in 2 words, Geoff Dixon, he destroyed any morale or sense of pride in the place. Chris Corrigan tried the same with Virgin Blue,luckily Mr Brandson saw what was happening & rectified the situation. Up until now, I never had a problem flying with Virgin Blue, I paid for a service that now , no longer exists, the other services they offer do not suit my needs, therefore I think my money (including the credit card fees) should be refunded.

[Tha Jack]

Dont fly Tiger Airlines.Last flight back to Perth was with them because it was a third of the price.If you like waiting 5hours for your flight to take off and then another 2hr delay for it to bring you back home then by all means go ahead.I will never fly with a cheap airline again.I think the funniest thing was getting to Melbourne Airport and going to Terminal 3.It is a tin shed half way to Geelong by the time you walk from the main terminal.

[Fev]

i wish Ansett was still around, i dont remember ever having a problem flying with them all around Australia..

the few times since then, something has always happened..

[Mk II]

Originally Posted by flappist

OK I will rephrase that.

It never used to happen with QANTAS when there was no JetStar or Virgin. I have been on several flights where I was the only passenger.

With the new age of discounted aviation costs must be cut so instead of extremely well maintained aircraft commanded by old men with tens of thosuands of hours and cabin crew consisting of little old ladies (and men) who have been doing the job since the Wright brothers we now have aircraft constantly hovering around MEL, commanded by much lower time pilots and cabin crews that are chosen by the size of their boobs. (One of my mates drives for VB and the record for him is 3 Zoo and 2 Picture girls in the one sector, they look GREAT but are very ordinary at the job).

All the good stuff costs money and the money comes from freight (both self loading and boxes) so when the income is lowered everything else suffers.

When it was $699.50 return from Sydney to Melbourne the plane were always reliable, now it is $69.95 you get what you pay for.....

I think you will find that the A/C are just as well maintained as they always have been, if not better. I know exactly what maintenance goes into keeping a leading airline flying.

As i type this i am sitting in the hangar of one of Australia's leading airlines while a week long check on one of our A/C is being wrapped up. Let me just say that the work that happens is phenonminal. Every part of the A/C is gone over, every system checked and every defect, no matter how minor is fixed.

Also, as with everything new people are always coming on board. There is just as many "old men with tens of thosuands of hours" flying around as always, but with so many more flights flying these days we have had to find pilots somewhere, and every pilot was a first time flyer once.

Finally, "When it was $699.50 return from Sydney to Melbourne the plane were always reliable, now it is $69.95 you get what you pay for....". Im sure if you look around you will still find expensive fairs SYD to MEL, and the A/C will be reliable yes, and they may even fly while not being as full as cheaper flights are required to be. This is because profit margins are higher, so they can afford to fly with fewer people. A seat on a $69.95 will put you on an equally as reliable A/C, it just takes more people to book on that flight to make it a viable option.

Edit: To those people who constatly whinge about A/C delays, have you ever thought that the reason for the delay is because an engineer is fixing a problem? We could get your A/C out on time, but it wouldnt be safe to fly on, and personally iwould prefer to be 2 hours late then never arrive.

[ELGT4me]

Fair call my friend, but can you answer one question? My delayed flight to Brisbane was delayed because the pilot had to be flown from Melbourne that morning to fly the aircraft to Brisbane!!! The cabin crew that were designated for that flight were then redeployed onto another flight. Once that happened ,they had to find another crew to go to Brisbane. "Operational requirements" was the excuse used for the delay, how is this a maintenance issue? The delay on the return leg to Perth was caused by the lack of "check in" personnel @ the Brisbane terminal!!! In all honesty I have never had these issues when flying with the "virgins"

[Mk II]

Originally Posted by ELGT4me

Fair call my friend, but can you answer one question? My delayed flight to Brisbane was delayed because the pilot had to be flown from Melbourne that morning to fly the aircraft to Brisbane!!! The cabin crew that were designated for that flight were then redeployed onto another flight. Once that happened ,they had to find another crew to go to Brisbane. "Operational requirements" was the excuse used for the delay, how is this a maintenance issue? The delay on the return leg to Perth was caused by the lack of "check in" personnel @ the Brisbane terminal!!! In all honesty I have never had these issues when flying with the "virgins"

As a frequent flyer myself i understand where you are coming from regarding these delays, they are a real pain and if better management was put into place they would be avoided.

I can only guess but we have had issues where a crew has left to go home before they had finished flying all of their sectors because it was time they were meant to be going home, too bad they had people waiting to fly. Crews are then shifted to incure as small as possible to delays. Some times that means delaying more then one flight, for instance if the other flight was already 3 hours late it is seen as better if they go first and then 2 flights incur a 3 hour delay then one flight incurring a 6 or 7 hour delay.

As i said i can only guess, but this could have been an issue, it doesnt however make the delays any less annoying.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by Mk II

I think you will find that the A/C are just as well maintained as they always have been, if not better. I know exactly what maintenance goes into keeping a leading airline flying.

As i type this i am sitting in the hangar of one of Australia's leading airlines while a week long check on one of our A/C is being wrapped up. Let me just say that the work that happens is phenonminal. Every part of the A/C is gone over, every system checked and every defect, no matter how minor is fixed.

Also, as with everything new people are always coming on board. There is just as many "old men with tens of thosuands of hours" flying around as always, but with so many more flights flying these days we have had to find pilots somewhere, and every pilot was a first time flyer once.

Finally, "When it was $699.50 return from Sydney to Melbourne the plane were always reliable, now it is $69.95 you get what you pay for....". Im sure if you look around you will still find expensive fairs SYD to MEL, and the A/C will be reliable yes, and they may even fly while not being as full as cheaper flights are required to be. This is because profit margins are higher, so they can afford to fly with fewer people. A seat on a $69.95 will put you on an equally as reliable A/C, it just takes more people to book on that flight to make it a viable option.

Edit: To those people who constatly whinge about A/C delays, have you ever thought that the reason for the delay is because an engineer is fixing a problem? We could get your A/C out on time, but it wouldnt be safe to fly on, and personally iwould prefer to be 2 hours late then never arrive.

I am very impressed that a 20 year old office boy who works for Jetstar knows so much about the state of aviation around the time he was in kindergarten.

[ELGT4me]

Just to be fair, I had a major issue with Ansett, I wrote them a letter explaining my problem & had an immediate response with free admission to their business lounges for 12 months, (Golden Wing) plus 2 business class upgrades on any domestic flights, Qantas also responded immediately when I had issues with them including 2 complimentary invites to the "Qantas Club " lounges & a business class upgrades when available on any domestic flight. So far, nothing from the "virgins". I guess like banking & insurance, there is no such thing as brand loyalty, you take the best price & service & customer relations!!!

[JG66ME]

Originally Posted by Russell

No, with QANTAS you just don't get there at all

Russell

When I was stuck in Bangkok last year with that airport protest to do I was so glad I was with Qantas. You should of heard the Aussies bleat who flew elcheapo and couldn't get home.

Qantas looked after me, busing me to Phuket and then special flight to Singapore.

Mind, I am a Platinum Frequent Flyer. Last year I had 4 long haul upgrades to first class.

Steve

PS I hate Virgin with a passion. Scum Air would be a better name.

[ELGT4me]

Originally Posted by flappist

I am very impressed that a 20 year old office boy who works for Jetstar knows so much about the state of aviation around the time he was in kindergarten.

It could be worse, how about the Qantas CEO not knowing how to treat his workers, nor his fare paying passengers, Yes, he increased profits at the cost of Qantas's safety record, & the loss of many of his experienced & loyal workers. But he got what he was chasing, his "Golden Handshake"

[gcg2503]

Agree with you Steve

The saying goes, "pay peanuts, get monkeys"

In the last six years having done 9 (return) long haul flights - I only got upgraded once.........

I will try again on the Monday 16th when I fly home!

[Mk II]

Originally Posted by flappist

I am very impressed that a 20 year old office boy who works for Jetstar knows so much about the state of aviation around the time he was in kindergarten.

I am very impressed at how quick you are to judge. What does it matter if i work in the office or not, i work directly with engineering and know exactly what happens here. I have also heard many many horror stories from when this was an Impulse hangar, and my father has been in Aviation for many many years.

Im sorry that to you im nothing more then an office boy, but seeing as i work for a major airline in their heavy maintenance hangar i figured i had some right to input regarding maintenance that is performed here.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by Mk II

I am very impressed at how quick you are to judge. What does it matter if i work in the office or not, i work directly with engineering and know exactly what happens here. I have also heard many many horror stories from when this was an Impulse hangar, and my father has been in Aviation for many many years.

Im sorry that to you im nothing more then an office boy, but seeing as i work for a major airline in their heavy maintenance hangar i figured i had some right to input regarding maintenance that is performed here.

Yes you may know a lot about what happens in the engineering now but I was talking about the difference between what is happening now and what used to happen before the price cutting. Talk to your senior LAMEs and ask them about the MELs 20 years ago and what it was like back when QF actually held spare parts for all of the fleet.
Back when it was law that RPT had to fly even if empty. TAA/Ansett/QANTAS ruled the Australian skys and although expensive it was always safe, on time and comfortable.

I have only ever done one sector on your scarebusses, BBN-MLT. It was such a comfortable flight in the 20cm pitched park benches that I changed my return at significant extra cost to QF via MML.
For me it was a unique experience because it will never happen again. But I did get what I paid for, my mistake......

[ELGT4me]

We now have 8 families,rescheduling flight times, & accommodation, & car pick up times in Adelaide. Most of them did not know the "virgins" had cancelled their prebooked flights. Well done Virgin Blue (not) :

[BlackLS]

Originally Posted by flappist

Yes you may know a lot about what happens in the engineering now but I was talking about the difference between what is happening now and what used to happen before the price cutting. Talk to your senior LAMEs and ask them about the MELs 20 years ago and what it was like back when QF actually held spare parts for all of the fleet.
Back when it was law that RPT had to fly even if empty. TAA/Ansett/QANTAS ruled the Australian skys and although expensive it was always safe, on time and comfortable.

I have only ever done one sector on your scarebusses, BBN-MLT. It was such a comfortable flight in the 20cm pitched park benches that I changed my return at significant extra cost to QF via MML.
For me it was a unique experience because it will never happen again. But I did get what I paid for, my mistake......

What are BBN, MLT and MML?

[flappist]

Originally Posted by BlackLS

What are BBN, MLT and MML?

Brisbane (Kingsford Smith), Launceston and Melbourne (Tulla)

[gcg2503]

Originally Posted by flappist

Brisbane (Kingsford Smith), Launceston and Melbourne (Tulla)

Deleted

[MCXR8]

Haha isnt SY Kingsford Smith ;)

[DJR-351]

You get your first delay in Sydney or Melbourne first thing in the morning, that delay rattles around the country for the rest of the day due to passengers with connecting flights....