Tag: travel

Travel review – Jetstar JQ406 Sydney to Coolangatta

Jetstar delivers on the low cost operator promise, just don’t expect anything more than a flight.

One of the delightful aspects of the low cost airline model is the contempt management has for their customers.

That scorn for the people who fund management’s salaries is guilty pleasure to watch on a third rate TV “reality” show, but it’s not fun when you’re on the receiving end.

So with a fixed smile and a grim determination not to to let the bastards grind me down, I headed to Sydney Airport to catch Jetstar’s flight JQ406 to the Gold Coast

Check in

It’s no conincidence people make reality TV shows documenting the clash of penny pinching, ticket clipping corporatism with the modern lumpenproletariat; the queues are long and the tempers are frayed.

The key to your temper surviving Jetstar’s check in is not to have checked baggage so you can dodge the general grumpiness in the queues.

Otherwise have your all your documents handy when you get to the check in clerk as they are quite friendly once they realise you aren’t going to mess them around.

Seats

A positive with Jetstar is the seats are spacious and comfortable compared to their Virgin competition and Qantas cousins.

While seat comfort isn’t an issue on a one hour flight it is a plus on longer flights and actually makes Jetstar a reasonable choice if you want to sleep on a ‘red eye’ from Perth.

Meals

As a low cost airline, meals and drinks are an extra charge on Jetstar and really who can be bothered on a mid-morning one hour flight?

During the Flight

An irritation with JQ is the early “turn of electronic devices” policy that sees cabin crew telling you to turn off devices the moment the plane starts its descent.

On short trips this weird policy means as little as twenty minutes time available to use a laptop or tablet, if you want to work on your flight then choosing Virgin or Qantas will give you more time to get things done.

On arrival

Baggage collection was surprisingly slow for a relatively quiet airport and Coolangatta Airport’s management save a few bucks by opening a minimum of luggage carousels which can cause crowds if two flight arrive at once.

Getting away

Coolangatta Airport is a delight for transport with plenty of taxis, including Maxi Cabs that seat half a dozen people and a regular city bus service that runs the length of the Gold Coast.

Overall Jetstar delivers what it promises, an 21st Century air flight that does its best to imitate a 20th Century bus.

If there is an alternative at a reasonable cost then go for it, otherwise accept the low prices and avoid checking baggage.

Paul travelled to the Gold Coast courtesy of Microsoft to attend their Australian TechEd event.

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Losing the hospitality battle

Are smaller hospitality businesses falling behind big hotel chains?

Travel review site Tripadvisor released its 2012 Industry Index examining the 25,000 responses from hotels around the world and 1,000 Australian hospitality businesses who took part in the survey.

The index covers a wide range of areas of how the hospitality industry is dealing with connected customers, the web and how hotels are dealing with the relative performances of markets in Europe, North America and Asia.

A disturbing part of the survey was how many smaller businesses are falling behind their bigger competitors with less than half of Australian Bed & Breakfasts agreeing the statement that an “ability to book via my property’s website on a mobile device is ‘very important,” while 70% of hotels agreed.

The failure of smaller properties to engage online is borne out anecdotally as well, at a recent business breakfast a B&B owner – whose main business was furniture retailing – moaned about the negative TripAdvisor reviews his place had.

When it was suggested he might want to engage with the unhappy customers, the proprietor threw his hands up and said “our solicitor told us that it was too expensive to sue.” He wouldn’t accept that the dissatisfied guests might have a legitimate complaint that should be addressed.

At the same time larger hotel chains have full time teams monitoring comments on Tripadvisor, Facebook and other online forums, fixing problems that are being mentioned and then telling the world they have resolved the issue.

There’s a good reason for this. Ask someone planning a major holiday and you’ll find almost all of them are reading reviews on sites like Tripadvisor, Fodors or Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree before booking accommodation or flights.

While many of the hotel management responses are boilerplate – repeated replies like “Thank you for your review and we appreciate you taking the time to share with us your experience as we are always pleased to receive feedback from our valued guests” is not what social media or customer service is – at least there is a perception that senior management is listening.

At many establishments senior management really is listening, a country manager of one of the world’s biggest chains describes how his three person team sends him a report each day of any complaints being listed online. These are checked out and any systemic problems they find such as surly front of house staff, poor housekeeping or incorrect billings are addressed immediately.

Having a direct line to happy or dissatisfied customers is one of the major benefits social media offers businesses. That smaller hotels aren’t doing this while their multinational competitors indicates the independent sectors of the hospitality industry are falling behind the majors.

The furniture shop owner with a B&B investment illustrated the problem, not only was he not engaging with dissatisfied customers on TripAdvisor, he had no idea whether his businesses were listed on Google Places, Facebook or any other online listing service – “my wife does that” was his dismissive answer.

Possibly the most overused quote in modern business is ice hockey star Wayne Gretzky’s “skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been”. Those smaller hospitality businesses not taking the mobile web, review sites or social media seriously aren’t even in the skating rink in today’s game.

There’s a lot more interesting ideas in the TripAdvisor report that should have any hospitality thinking about how customer service and marketing are evolving in a connected society. It’s worth a read.

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Travel review – Melbourne to Sydney QF490

An easy flight from Melbourne to Sydney with the added bonus of queuing at both ends.

Returning from Xero’s Australian Partners’ Conference in Melbourne was again on Qantas, an evening flight rounded off a busy couple of days. Alas the free drinks on evening flights are no more for economy passengers.

Check in

Once again Qantas’ byzantine seat allocation only made aisle seats towards the back of the plane available.

This is an irritation if you aren’t a frequent Qantas passenger and for short hop flights, particularly for time and cash sensitive freelancers and the self employed it may be enough to choose the competition.

Apart from this irritation, web check in was straight forward and quick with only hand held luggage. Queues did not appear to be long at the check in desks for those with checked baggage.

Boarding

Evening flights out of Melbourne can be problematic as getting to the airport along the Tullamarine Freeway in peak hour can be slow. On this evening traffic was clear.

Surprisingly the security queues were massive as the two operating gates struggled with a relatively light load of passengers. Being early, this wasn’t a problem but others on soon to depart flights were being paged from the lines by anxious check in staff.

An 8pm flight out of Qantas’ domestic Melbourne terminal is a dispiriting affair if you want to grab something to eat as the overpriced food hall is shutting down and the range is dismal to go with the high prices.

Fortunately Gate One at Qantas domestic has ample power sockets so you can continue working instead of moping around the overpriced and depressing food court.

Onboard

Another rattly old 767. While well maintained, it’s still showing its age. Comfortable seats again.

Service

Again the cabin crew was delightfully pleasant and friendly belying Qantas’ reputation for surly service.

This could have been because the flight was nearly empty, which makes the restricted seat availability at check in even more frustrating.

It didn’t appear that the restricted seats had anything to do with weight distribution as the cabin crew invited us to move wherever we liked after the plane had taken off. This was an opportunity to nab a seat at the front of the economy class cabin.

Being an evening flight a meal was served – a basic penne pasta topped with tomato sauce and a tiny chocolate bar. The meal was fine although its size was closer to a snack.

Sadly alcoholic drinks are no longer complimentary on Qantas domestic so a ginger beer followed by a black tea were the accompanying refreshments.

On time performance

The flight was slightly late getting away but had a straight flight into Sydney and arrived ten minutes early.

Arrival

With an on time arrival and only carrying hand luggage, again there was no need to worry about baggage claim.

Not worrying about baggage is handy at Sydney Airport as you need all your wits when dealing with the Dantean circle of hell that are the airport’s taxi ranks. For first time visitors to Sydney, the inept management of something as simple as a line for taxis is a taste of the ticket clipping monopolistic incompetence that infests much of the state’s business community.

For most people it’s easier to get the train out of the airport unless you’re lumbered with luggage or travelling in a group.

Overall QF490 was a straightforward and easy flight with little hassle apart from the large security queues in Melbourne and messed up taxi rank at Sydney airport.

QF490 – 21 Jul 12. Dep Melbourin 8.00pm, arrived Sydney 9.35. Economy class ticket $180.

Paul travelled to Melbourne courtesy of Xero for their Australian developer’s conference.

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Flight review – Qantas QF427 Sydney to Melbourne

A comfortable flight on Qantas’ gracefully aging 767s

The milk run between Sydney and Melbourne is a pretty routine affair and increasingly the service is like catching a fast bus.

Normally I fly Virgin Australia but as Xero were paying for my flight to attend their Australian convention I was happy to fly Qantas, it’s enough out of my usual routine to warrant a review.

Check in

Only having a day bag is an advantage with short hops along Australia’s East Coast and Qantas’ on-line check in is reasonably efficient.

An irritation with Qantas is the opaque way seats are made available. Depending upon your fare and frequent flier status you may not see all the available seats when checking in online so if grabbing a specific seat is important then it is worthwhile manually checking in at the airport to see what has become available.

Boarding

For all of Sydney airport’s sins, getting to the airport and boarding is fairly straightforward and for an 11am flight the security queues are short and efficient.

Another advantage with flying Qantas out of Sydney is their Heritage Centre in the T3 terminal where you can kill time waiting for a flight while looking at everything from the evolution of cabin crew uniforms to 1920s outback flight schedules. Just watch you don’t get too engrossed.

Boarding a Qantas flight is fairly clunky compared to Virgin Australia. This is partly due to their 767 craft only boarding from the front and not from both the forward and rear doors on the Virgin 737 aircraft. This also means queues down the aisles.

Onboard

The 767 aircraft are homely and showing their age. It’s surprising Qantas have kept flying them for as long as they have and the operating costs of these planes must be costing the airline a fortune compared to newer craft.

A positive with the older aircraft is the 2-4-2 seating is quite wide and comfortable compared to the equivalent JetStar and Virgin craft. Inflight entertainment is lacking although this hardly matters on a 95 minute flight.

Service

Qantas has a patchy reputation for cabin service, but the crew on this flight were delightfully friendly and helpful.

The inflight snack was a raspberry and white chocolate cookie or an apple (I had both) along with tea, coffee and softdrinks. The super-sweet cookie went well with a cup of tea.

On time performance

Sydney airport can create hell for passengers if the weather or various traffic restrictions conspire against them. This was not one of those days and the flight was away a few minutes late but arrived on time in Melbourne.

Arrival

With an on time arrival and only carrying hand luggage, there was no need to worry about baggage claim.

An advantage with Melbourne Airport is that cab ranks and bus stops are right outside the terminal although passengers using the Skybus service should note that the city bound buses usually stop at the Virgin terminal first so you may fight to get a seat unless you’re prepared to walk the 200m to earlier bus stop.

Overall QF427 was a comfortable trip and a good re-acquaintance with the flying kangaroo. The 767 aircraft though are desperately showing their age and while for passengers this doesn’t really matter on a short trips, it can’t be good for the airline’s image or operating costs.

QF427 – 20 Jul 12. Dep Sydney 11:00am, Arrived Melbourne 12.35. Economy class ticket $120.

Paul travelled to Melbourne courtesy of Xero for their Australian developer’s conference.

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Travel review: Hilton South Wharf Melbourne

Melbourne’s Southbank Hilton is a nice choice if you’re attending a conference. Don’t go for the views though.

The Melbourn Hilton South Wharf is a good location for conference attendees, but for others it might be a little out of the way.

Melbourne boasts two Hilton hotels – the Park Hilton in Jolimont just to the East of the city and near the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground and the newer South Wharf Hilton on the Yarra River across from the refurbished Docklands precinct.

For those attending events at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, the South Wharf Hilton is an unbeatable location as you’re right next door to the venue. For most of the rest of Melbourne, the South Wharf Hilton’s a little bit out of the way.

If you’re using public transport, the closest services are Southern Cross Railway station and the tram stops on Flinders Street, both are a reasonable walk and getting to the train station takes you through some depressing and pedestrian unfriendly architecture.

On foot, it can be a slog from the city centre or Crown Casino through the convention centre, ladies with high heels should consider packing a pair of flats or be prepared to hail a cab.

By car and cab, it’s a circuitous route from the city centre, although if you’re coming in from the airport or the highway from the North or West of Melbourne, the hotel’s easy to get to off the freeway.

One of the interesting cultural aspects to Melbourne are the locals’ obsession with views – this probably comes from an inferiority complex over not having a nice harbour like Sydney’s. This means tourist and accommodation marketing often gushes about the views from the windows.

For all of Melbourne’s attractions, views are not the city’s greatest asset and most of Melbourne looks like Minneapolis or any other Twentieth Century high rise city from anything above the third floor.

In the case of my room, the view was of a freeway approach and a massive discount retail outlet complex, in the distance lay the docks and the West Gate Bridge – another manifestation of Melbourne’s civic desire to outdo Sydney in areas the city can’t compete.

Drawing the curtains on this less than inspiring vista was harder than expected and it took a bit of hunting to find the controls for the electronically operated blinds.

The hotel itself is a nice property and the rooms are lovely with comfortable beds. Unfortunately I was too busy with the conference to check out other facilities like the gym.

At both check in and departure the staff were extremely efficient, pleasant and polite.

If you’re attending a conference at the MCEC this is a good hotel to stay at and I’d recommend it, the main drawback is it’s a little out of the way if you’re wanting to explore Melbourne.

Paul travelled to Melbourne courtesy of Xero.

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Are we prepraed to embrace risk?

The world is a dangerous place, can governments protect us?

It’s safe to say the Transport Security Administration – the  TSA – is one of America’s most reviled organisations.

So it’s notable when a former TSA director publicly describes the system the agency administers as “broken” as Kip Hawley did in the Wall Street Journal on the weekend.

 More than a decade after 9/11, it is a national embarrassment that our airport security system remains so hopelessly bureaucratic and disconnected from the people whom it is meant to protect. Preventing terrorist attacks on air travel demands flexibility and the constant reassessment of threats. It also demands strong public support, which the current system has plainly failed to achieve.

The underlying question in Kip’s article is “are Americans prepared to accept risk?” The indications are that they aren’t.

One of the conceits of the late twentieth Century was we could engineer risk out of our society; insurance, collateral debt obligations, regulations and technology would ensure we and our assets were safe and comfortable from the world’s ravages.

If everything else failed, help was just an emergency phone call away. Usually that help was government funded.

An overriding lessons from the events of September 11, 2001 and subsequent terrorist attacks in London and Bali is that these risks are real and evolving.

The creation of the TSA, along with the millions of new laws and billions of security related spending in the US and the rest of the world – much of it one suspect misguided – was to create the myth that the government is eliminating the risk of terrorist attacks.

It’s understandable that governments would do this – the modern media loves blame so it’s a no win situation that politicians and public servant find themselves in.

Should a terrorist smuggle plastic explosive onto a plane disguised as baby food then the government will be vilified and careers destroyed.

Yet we’re indignant that mothers with babies are harassed about the harmless supplies they are carrying with them.

It’s a no-win.

This is not an American problem, in Australia we see the same thing with the public vilification of a group of dam engineers blamed for not holding back the massive floods that inundated Brisbane at the end of 2010.

While we should be critical of governments in the post 9/11 era as almost every administration – regardless of their claimed ideology – saw it as an opportunity to extend their powers and spending, we are really the problem.

Today’s society refuses to accept risk; the risk that bad people will do bad things to us, the risk that storms will batter our homes or the risk that will we do our dough on what we were told was a safe investment.

So we demand “the gummint orta do summint”. And the government does.

The sad thing is the risk doesn’t go away. Risk is like toothpaste, squeeze the tube in one place and it oozes out somewhere else.

While Kip Hawley is right in that we need to change how we evaluate and respond to risk, it assumes that we are prepared to accept that Bad Things Happen regardless of what governments do. It’s dubious that we’re prepared to do that.

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