I’m back!

Missed the ‘pay me or your website is dead’ email and it all happened while I was enroute to Perth and then tied up in Albany totally involved with my Mother’s 89th birthday and three daughters, three sisters and a wife all talking at me. Its a wonder I could get my head together sufficiently to resolve the problem particularly as I didn’t bring passwords for domain name hosting with me. Something is wrong with Qantas.  Due to depart Brisbane airport at 1320 – got on board and buckled up to then be fed a line by the Captain…Skid brakes faulty..safety hazard and fair enough…then 20 minutes later…hand brake faulty….new problem or extension of original never said…then…you’ll have to disembark. An hour goes by waiting in the terminal to be told engineers are now stripping wire looking for problem….another hour and …we’ve given up and are waiting for a replacement aircraft coming in from…wait for it…DARWIN! Adjusted departure time now 1800.  During the course  of this debacle another Qantas plane at Brisbane goes off line. I’ll admit its the first time it has happened to me but then I seldom fly these days so I’m less than impressed and glad I’m flying back home with Virgin. I say that now but I bet I’ll find something to complain about on that trip with cabin staff acting like they’re being paid commission for selling Home brand muffins and John Wayne coffee. Bloody airlines…I’m driving next time. (my wife says I’ll be doing it by myself….hard decision that one!)

6 comments

  • Only time I was delayed on a flight anywhere due to some problem with the plance, was Qantas to Perth in about, oh, 1981.
    Lots of grizzles from American passenger “wouldn’t happend in the states”.
    Rather be late than fall out of the sky, mate.

  • True, it was anti skid braking and that would’ve been exciting on a wet strip at Perth but I’m Infantry and somewhere in our role; in between ‘closing with and killing’ and ‘in any weather’ I seem to recall something about ‘and will complain whenever possible’

  • Recent trip from Perth to Canberra (for the 40th anniversray Coral/Balmoral) and some duty visits to relatives over East resulted in five out of my seven Qantas flights being delayed on departure.
    Explanations ranged from bad weather to lack of paperwork.

    In the good old days, arses would have been kicked and names taken.
    Now, sadly, all we can do is rant and bore people with “it wouldn’t have happened in my day”

    Good luck with Virgin, Kev. Wouldn’t touch them with a bargepole.

  • What’s a “plance”?
    Sheesh!

  • For my money, Qantas started slipping when the directors awarded themselves free first class lifetime travel. Translation: The board’s major concern is the board’s welfare.

    I think that was underlined by the extra $7,660,000 in super that was awarded as a bonus to Dixon in his last 18 months as CEO.

  • I didn’t choose to fly Virgin – I was burning the midnight oil to clear myself for two weeks leave and left it up to others who shopped by dollars – but like a route march – it will end.

    A plance is a tired comment or, maybe a collective of Qantas planes as in a murder of crows or gaggle of geese.

    I want to know more about their services and where they are done. My anti-skid (ABS) brakes always work due to Preventative Maintenance (Servicing) – I was uneasy with all the problems the Captain found on a plane that had just flown into Brisbane.