Every time, I open my mouth and criticise Qantas, I get push back from Qantas staff and from some Qantas loyalists. Yet, the cadre of passengers I talk to are fed up with an airline that keeps on Jetstar-izing (cheapening) its service. And it seems we have some vindication. In 2005 and 2006, Qantas was rated the second best airline in the world by the World Airline Awards. In 2008, it took third place. By 2010, Qantas had fallen to eighth place. This year, Qantas was given 15th place. This is the first time, it…
“Damn it, we’re going to crash” AF447
I have been long fascinated by and worried by the pitching into the ocean of Air France flight 447 bound from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, France in June, 2009. While it was in the middle of a tropical storm, it fell from the sky. This state of the art four year old A330 was piloted by a very experienced flight crew and belonged to an airline that is meticulous about maintenance. It should not have come down. For the families of those on board, answers were needed to explain the tragic loss of 228 lives (216 passengers and 12 crew). 02:13:40…
Stripping with Air Berlin
I am in the Air Berlin Business lounge in Berlin. Another passenger just removed his trousers – he was wearing underwear – and put on a new pair – in a corner of the lounge. There are three other passengers (including me) in the lounge and there is a men’s lavatory. But he chose to undress/dress in public! Was he taking the Air Berlin slogan: “Your Airline” literally? No I didn’t get a photo.
Trip Report: Virgin Atlantic to London in Premium
I am a bit of a Virgin with Virgin Atlantic, particularly compared to their sister carriers: Virgin Australia and Virgin America. Since 2011, Virgin Australia has transitioned to a full service airline and integrated their frequent flyer and fare offerrings with their UK and American counterparts. As a Virgin Australia Platinum flier (top tier), I am eligible for benefits with these partners. My experience is that the systems are still a bit creaky, as this trip illustrates. Booking 8 out of 10 I booked through Virgin Australia using their points on Virgin Atlantic. I got great service…
Travel Tip: Take Travel Insurance
Do I really need to suggest that if people travel, then they need some??? Apparently yes! The horror stories of people flying without insurance and have something go really wrong, continue to float around. I spend about $500 to $600 per year for a one year policy that covers me everywhere in the world. I have claimed twice. One for medical care in the USA that had more zeros in the medical bill than I liked and once for a hire car accident. I feel my insurance investment was worth it. I wonder how my…
This Week: July 8 to 14
Berlin (TXL airport), Hamburg (HAM), back to Berlin, then through to Budapest and Southern Hungary this week. I am sorry, I have been too busy travelling to blog@ I have quite a few entries to catch you up on! Hope you are having good travels!
Malaysia’s A380
Have you flown Malaysia Airlines? I now have four reasons to try them. I have never flown them even though they connect Asia to almost every major Australian airport. Hope I can fix this soon. They are rated a five star airline by Skytrax and I am eager to work through all of the five star carriers. They are on track to join Oneworld in the last quarter of the year which means I can now start earning Qantas points and Status Credits when flying Malaysian They are the latest airline to fly the A380, one…
Air Zim still won’t die. It is like a Monty Python sketch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGFXGwHsD_A The news this week from Zimbabwe is the height of ridiculousness. Air Zimbabwe reminds me of the character in the Monty Python film: CART DRIVER: Bring out your dead! LARGE MAN: Here’s one! CART DRIVER: Ninepence. BODY: I’m not dead! CART DRIVER: What? LARGE MAN: Nothing… There’s your ninepence. BODY: I’m not dead! CART DRIVER: ‘Ere. He says he’s not dead. LARGE MAN Yes he is. BODY: I’m not! CART DRIVER: He isn’t. LARGE MAN: He will be soon. He’s very ill. BODY: I’m getting better! Air Zimbabwe this week suspended operations on July 2nd, 2012 following the grounding of its single…
And the new Qantas Dance Partner is…
There has been a significant amount of chatter about possible Qantas interest in a middle east carrier. Etihad who are partners with Virgin Australia were not a contendor. Emirates had been a possible favourite but seemed to announce they only wanted a quick codeshare. Yesterday, Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar al-Baker suggested that they were very interested in a Qantas tie up and would meet with Qantas management in Sydney soon. Qatar was awarded top airline status in 2011. They have been flying into Melbourne from Doha for two years and this week will launch Doha to Perth. To have Qatar feeding passengers into…
London Pre Olympics
This week I celebrate my Birthday in “sunny” pre Olympics London. Lots of building work around the place. I am still not sure how the city will cope with the actual Olympics!
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