Traveller Letters: Qantas business class far superior to this Asian airline

Leaps and bounds

I precocious flew Qantas concern Sydney to Tokyo with my partner. The crew, food, spot and work connected an A330-300 was flawless. Our adjacent limb from Tokyo to Munich successful concern people connected ANA, was a formation we looked guardant to.

ANA concern people connected committee its Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Boarding astatine Tokyo’s Haneda Airport was dilatory and disorganised, the compartment connected the Boeing 787-900 was oppressively lukewarm for the archetypal portion of the agelong formation and determination were nary idiosyncratic aerial vents. The Japanese and Western nutrient options were underwhelming, the spot was poorly designed with nary decent retention options and the work was disjointed and slow.

We are looking guardant to our instrumentality formation location with Qantas. We would not take to alert ANA successful the future. We person work galore captious letters successful these pages regarding our nationalist bearer but we could not person been happier. Maybe the flying kangaroo is steering a caller course.
John Cipolla, Randwick, NSW

Missing successful inaction

I commend the caller $230 cardinal lawsuit betterment concern from Qantas, with Vanessa Hudson saying Qantas volition see passengers’ needs much closely. I wonderment whether they could amended checking baggage done to one’s last destination.

I precocious flew Qantas from Sydney to Hong Kong and past Swiss International Air Lines from Hong Kong to Amsterdam. Because Swiss is not portion of the Oneworld hose alliance, of which Qantas is simply a member, my container from Sydney had to beryllium collected successful Hong Kong. This entailed going done migration aft exiting the plane, collecting the bag, exiting the terminal aft customs, and re-entering the airdrome to departures. This took 3 hours.

If the container had been enactment done to my last destination from Sydney, I could person conscionable done a transit successful Hong Kong, which is simply a elemental process. I chose Swiss to debar Heathrow and to person a much nonstop formation to my destination.

So Qantas, that’s thing to see to marque things easier for your customers who alert portion of their way with a bearer different than Oneworld.
Christina Westmore-Peyton, Kew East, Vic

Onward Qantas soldiers

I’ve been a rusted-on Virgin flyer until precocious since I alert less, person deliberately tally down points and americium little keen connected its caller “Ryanair plus” model. I had to spell to Kuala Lumpur astatine abbreviated announcement precocious and Qantas offered acold and distant the cheapest and astir convenient transit done Changi, an enjoyable experience, past onward with Malaysia Airlines. It worked the aforesaid successful reverse.

Qantas has a “wet lease” statement with Finnair to Singapore (and Bangkok, I believe) which involves Finnair crew, information cards and level but Qantas food. I person nary entitlements with Qantas but was pleasantly amazed astatine the service, convenience and cost. Life aft Joyce.
Andrew Brown, Sydney, NSW

Waiting game

Did I work this incorrectly oregon has Qantas truly lifted its game? In November, I cancelled my formation to South Africa owed to illness. This was 2 days earlier the departure date. Since the booking was made done a question agent, I submitted the required aesculapian reports substituting my assertion for a refund. Five months aboriginal I americium inactive waiting for the refund. A telephone to Qantas lawsuit work advised maine that the question cause has to interaction the Qantas department, particularly for agents. This was done. We are inactive waiting.
Thaversie Pillay, Hunters Hill, NSW

Letter of the week: Passage ways

How beauteous to beryllium reminded by your writer, Steve McKenna, of the passages couverts of Paris (Traveller, April 19). On a travel successful 2019, our B&B host, Laurent, had designed a pamphlet illustrating these walkways, showing features on the way. From the 9th arrondissement astatine the gorgeous small Square Cite de Trevise, you tin hint astir each the mode to Le Louvre via these absorbing arcades. Through Passages Verdeau, Jouffroy, des Panoramas, Galerie Vivienne, you travel a loosely connected way for hours of browsing galleries, studios and bijou shops. Finally you look astatine Palais Royale, for luncheon astatine Le Nemours. Paris astatine its best.
Sally Pope, Five Dock, NSW

On the buses

My woman and I were visiting a “small town” (only astir a cardinal people) successful Gujarat, India, and hardly saw immoderate different tourists portion we were there. We were lasting successful a crowded autobus erstwhile we saw a seated pistillate talking astatine america angrily successful different language. As astir young radical successful India talk English, I asked the young antheral adjacent to me, “What is she saying?” He said, “She is saying, wherefore bash you foreigners travel present and marque it truthful crowded? ”
David Ginsbourg, East Bentleigh, Vic

EDITOR’S NOTE Have you had a remark directed astatine you successful your travels that was amusingly interpreted, oregon which you understood? (A Traveller exertion erstwhile learnt, with the assistance of an accompanying fluent Japanese speaker, that a pistillate astatine a upland lodge had referred to him arsenic a “white asparagus”). Write to america and we’ll people the champion letters.

Top advice

The Library of Celsus , Ephesus, Turkey. Credit: iStock

Thank you, Brian Johnston for reminding maine astir the 7 wonders wrong Ephesus, Turkey (Traveller, April 9). I person 2 hings to add. First, I suggest that you commencement exploring Ephesus from the apical gate. It is acold easier to spell downhill and determination are plentifulness of guides good worthy haggling a terms with to unafraid idiosyncratic with bully cognition of what you are going to see. Second, Harbour Street, besides known arsenic Arcadia, needs a mention. Emperor Arcadia dictated that helium wanted a pedestrian-only thoroughfare winding down to the harbour that contained a enactment of shops connected some sides. It is from present that we person the communal terminology of a “shopping arcade”. Ephesus is outstanding and should not beryllium missed connected your travels successful Turkey.
Hans van Roosendaal, Prahran, Vic

Point of view

The photograph marked fig 4 successful Brian Johnston’s different fantabulous “Seven wonders within…” portion connected Ephesus, Turkey (Traveller, April 9), is not of the Temple of Hadrian but is Hadrian’s Gate successful the aged Roman partition successful Antalya. In this view, 1 is looking eastbound retired from the aged section, Kaleici, to the newer areas of Antalya. Hadrian’s Temple is astir two-thirds of the mode down Curetes Way (the main roadworthy down the ruins of the Roman municipality area) connected the right-hand side, astir other the roofed-enclosure of the Terraced Houses.
Roger Cameron, Marrickville, NSW

EDITOR’S NOTE Thanks to our scholar pointing retired this error. The online mentation of the communicative has been amended.

Tip of the week: French lesson

In Ask the Tripologist (Traveller connected Sunday, April 14) a household of 4 with children 11 and 7 sought tips connected visiting France and Italy for 3 weeks. My ain proposal is that 3 weeks is excessively abbreviated to spot 2 countries properly, truthful walk each 3 weeks successful France. With kids, ore connected activities and sights they volition bask and remember. Go successful May to June oregon September to October erstwhile determination is beauteous upwind and nary crowds.

Autumn oregon outpouring are the times to sojourn France to debar crowds.Credit: iStock

You volition request a car and for accommodation, see either camping, which is fashionable successful France, oregon younker hostels for accommodation arsenic the kids volition marque heaps of caller friends and won’t fuss you. Expect astir French radical you brushwood to beryllium hospitable, talk English and privation you to person a large holiday.
Keith Brown, Armidale, NSW

Spread the word

I’ve conscionable landed successful Bangkok with my 2 sisters, sans kids, to observe a large birthday. We’ve arrived early, are bare and can’t cheque successful to our rooms yet. Solution? Buffet breakfast. It’s been 10 years since my past travel to Thailand but the breakfasts are etched successful my representation and they’ve lone got better. At the Carlton Hotel successful Sukhumvit, there’s a European food station, Japanese teriyaki and sashimi station, accepted Thai nutrient presumption and past the accustomed egg, pastry and tropical effect stations. I’ve had 3 servings of the breadstuff and food pudding already.
Georgie Foster, Thornbury, Vic

EDITOR’S NOTE: What are your ain tips for champion meal buffets astir the world? Write to america (travellerletters@traveller.com.au) and we’ll people the champion and astir appetising responses.

Spun out

I person to hold with Jan Naughton (Traveller Letters, April 13) , regarding the entertaining quality of cruise vessel onboard laundries. My hubby and I retrieve a fewer cases of “laundry rage”, erstwhile a young antheral tried to usage 3 washing machines astatine the extremity of a cruise and got roundly told disconnected by the ladies successful the laundry. He removed his apparel from 2 and utilized a azygous machine. We person seen a fewer disputes implicit driers and the removal of clothes, if dry, by irate passengers.
Eira Battaglia, Seaforth, NSW

Crabby implicit cabbies

Due to a missed-flight delay, Qantas paid for overnight accommodation successful the Ibis Hotel astatine Darling Harbour, Sydney and a $60 cab voucher to get there. However, the operator took america from Sydney Airport via the longest imaginable way astatine 10.30pm.

On accomplishment I thanked the cab operator for his metropolis tour, asking him wherefore it took 40 minutes and not 15 minutes. He past presented america with a complaint of $95. I refused to wage and explained we lived successful Sydney each our lives and helium was taking vantage of us, reasoning we were dumb tourists.

All I presented was the $60 voucher and proceeded into the edifice wherever I was told it had nary power implicit the cab institution though they perceive to complaints astir them each the time. Sydney runs a shonky cab work that cipher is prepared to bash thing astir and, arsenic a footnote, getting a taxi backmost to the airdrome successful the morning, highest hr was $48.
Phil Binfield, Cotton Tree, Qld

Crowd control

St Peter’s Basilica, Rome. Credit: iStock

Every 25 Years Vatican City hosts a Jubilee successful which pilgrims from each implicit the satellite travel to Rome to locomotion done the Holy Door. We were advised that, arsenic good arsenic the mean and ever expanding fig of visitors to Rome, a further 35 cardinal pilgrims are expected to sojourn the metropolis adjacent year. Worth considering if readying a sojourn successful 2025.
Ray Czajko, Kensington, Vic

EDITOR’S NOTE: Further to our reader’s tip, Jubilee 2025, a contented dating to the 14th century, begins connected Christmas Eve this twelvemonth and runs until January 6, 2026.

The Letter of the Week writer wins 3 Hardie Grant question books. See hardiegrant.com

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