Melnq8, you're right - cabin crew do bid for routes and seniority counts. I had the same feeling as you. Why do they inflict so much pain on themselves? After all those years, don't they deserve a break?

I was reluctant to ask for a drink because I was worried about the FAs' varicose veins. Finally I got so thirsty that I pressed the call button, but nobody came. I think they were all having their afternoon nap.

It's not much of an ad for employee-owned companies, is it?

Neil -

Your post made me laugh so loud that my husband wanted to know what all the chortling was about (and he's downstairs).

Hi,

Mel -- that short domestic flight where you had a good meal? That must have been awhile ago - they serve NO food on any domestic flight, not even coast to coast!

Dsam -- since you're connecting in SFO anyway (sooo much better than LAX); what you could have done is taken a cheapie SW or Virgin America flight to SFO and then Qantas to Sydney. ACK! Just looked at your post of what you paid -- Qantas had a special from SFO last week of $709.
Of course, this comes too late!

Neil -- hahahahhaa Robyn got that one right!

Dcsam -- Here's another option to help getting your mom a decent seat -- call United, give them your reservation number and say "hi, my mother's elderly, can you put a request for an Exit Row in her PNR?"

Now, I can't guarantee this will work (because it only helps if the people responsible actually scroll down and READ the remarks, BUT, it will be in the record, and when you get to the gate and they pre-board "families with young children and people needing extra assistance" you can ask then about it and tell them its in her record.

Hope this is helpful!

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

I've flown on United back and forth to Australia on numerous occasions over the years, most recently a year ago. For a long time, service and food in Economy on the international (trans-Pacific) sector was reasonably good, especially compared to the cross-country (USA) flight. But by last year that had all changed - crap food, no free alcohol, only the bare minimum to keep you alive for the 14+ hours in the air - certainly no goodie bag.

Now I understand airlines are continuously under pressure to make profits in the face of rising fuel prices, etc. And I am happy to sacrifice the former niceties of air travel to keep fares affordable. But based on my experiences on United last year, this airline has some serious work to do on safety and how they treat their customers in circumstances where flights are delayed or cancelled. Just read the first part of my trip report....

http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...-08-part-1.cfm



What was even worse was the way they treated us when

Ooops...didnt check to delete that last semi-sentence....

Melodie,
I'll call United. Too bad about that air rate. Would it have been valid in January? Too late now, but I'm just curious.
My mom is fairly small, so maybe the seats and comfort level will seem fine to her.
For some reason we were upgraded to first class (or was it business) to Norway. Wow, was that nice. We had economy on the way back, and it was miserable. So at least my mom has gone through what she'll be going through with United. And I do think she did better than me.

Just a thought: Do exit row seat recline? Seems I've had them before, and they didn't.

My wife's seat in business class did not recline.

At least she did not have to raise it for the meal when it eventually came very late, not what she had asked for, and also they had cooled it nicely for her. They must have known that she does not like it too hot. However they had cooled mine too!

The compensation offered was some junk that we would have been embarressed to give anyone but a child; and then as a play thing.

Melodie -

We flew UA in May 2009, but you're right, on that particular flight we were in First Class, which is why we were fed (DEN-LAX).

Lee Ann, I don't know when last you flew Air New Zealand, but the economy seating has become unbearable. Flew in June LAX-AKL return, easily the worst 11 hours in the air I can remember. Now in the 3-4-3 configuration, and so tight the FA's tell everybody to raise the seat back so the person behind can eat. Look elsewhere.

Wow! I just got back to this board and expected one, maybe two, replies. Thank you, everyone. Very interesting conversations going on here, and funny ones, too!

My sister and I are in the twos at the back. My husband and I had those on our Qantas flights last year and liked them very much--being able to stretch our legs out to the side was great. We liked the first row behind the threes best (on our outbound journey), then the next set of twos (had those on our return). We wouldn't recommend the very last row of two--people were congregating behind those, either waiting for the toilets or talking or exercising, and the plane has narrowed enough by then that there's not all that much room to the side. If a person likes to lean up against the side of the plane to sleep, though, these seats wouldn't work. I don't--usually too cold, too bumpy, or the window is in the wrong place.

dcsam: don't forget to get your ETAs (visas) from the Australian government's website: http://www.eta.immi.gov.au/ It's very easy, takes less than 5 minutes and is good for a year (unless you have to renew your passport during that year). You'll need your credit card and passport number to do this. I wish all countries would have this system.

Just got back from our Sydney trip, so thought I'd let you know how it went. When checking in online, we were offered an upgrade to business class (even though we were on the cheapest of the cheap non-refundable non-everything tickets) for $700 on the SFO to SYD flight. Remembering JoanneH's advice, we took it, and will be forever grateful! Heavenly to be able to lay flat out.

There was a goodie bag on the seat that included eye mask, earplugs, tootpaste, toothbrush, socks, hand lotion.

The Red Carpet Club lounge in Denver had a nice variety of snacks including cookies, fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, and great orange juice. The one in San Francisco had a minimal and very poor selection.

For dinner, they had only loaded three servings of what I wanted, I was number four so out of luck. As I didn't care for the other two choices, I just had the appetizer and dessert (a delicious lime cheescake). The flight attendants were cheerful and helpful.

A toddler with a family in the middle section four-across seats, after sleeping during takeoff and the meal service, woke up and cried loudly, when not screaming, for the rest of the trip, right up until breakfast, when she went back to sleep. I slept through it all (thank you, earplugs) with occasional surfacing to hear her carrying on. My sister said that when she walked the plane during the night, the only lights on and people awake in all classes were the folks in our area (except for me--I sleep well on planes).

My sister also said that a ham and cheese melt sandwich was offered during the night, as well as other delicious snacks. I slept through breakfast; my sis said it was nothing special.

We decided not to upgrade on the return (was $600 online, $1000 at the airport). Our two seats in the rear worked out well. We had chosen 58 and 59 window seats. The plane was full, so we each had someone next to us but they were not overweight and were pleasant people.

Dinner was a choice of pasta or chicken stir fry. I had the pasta and it was quite nice. The gentleman next to me had to ask for wine, it hadn't been offered and was tucked away in the lower section of the cart where it wasn't visible. At that time he requested a second bottle but was denied with the reason given that they only gave out one per person until they had finished serving everyone then, if they had any left, he could have another. So I immediately piped up and asked for "my" bottle. The flight attendant grinned and handed it to him. It smelt like a really unpleasant tasting wine.

We had a shrieking toddler near us who kept it up the whole trip, why she didn't lose her voice I can't imagine. There was no goodie bag provided in cattle car and my seat companion didn't have ear plugs so I gave him the spare pair I had.

The worst part--no foot rests. I heard my seat mate tell one of the flight attendants that he couldn't find his and the reply was a little snotty--they are provided in business and first, but not in coach--with a bit of a snear on the word "coach". Other than that, the attendants were pleasant.

With the seat I had, and with my sister in the seat in front of me, I could stretch my legs out and put my feet up on my bag in the area between her seat and the window. As usual, after the meal and reading for a while, I slept most of the flight back, waking up in time for breakfast--sausage (delicious), canned mushrooms (salty), scrambled egg and potatoes. A fruit/yogurt plate was the other choice.

Last year, my husband and I were horrified by the way the United ground staff were treating passengers at LAX; this year at SFO it was the complete opposite with happy, efficient, cheerful staff.

Glad to hear you survived UA evecolorado. Something strange is going on at United - they've suddenly decided they need their customers and have been really making an effort; or so I've read on the Airline forum. They seem to have done an about face and are beginning to provide some semblance of customer service - imagine!

Just in time too, as I have a long journey with them ahead - Singapore-Hong Kong-San Fran-Colorado and return. I was able to upgrade to Business Class using miles (thank god) and I'll get to try out those new completely lie down seats.

I hope you enjoyed Australia!

evecolarado, thanks for coming back to tell us about your trip.
So glad to hear it went well- and I really envy your ability to sleep on planes. May you never lose that!

Still being almost 6 feet tall,long limbed, a little curvy, as well as having long feet, I find all economy sheer hell...

Enjoy your stay in Australia!