Airline Reviews, Airline Pictures, Airfare Sales…
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I thought I would take it upon myself to translate a few “tweets” I have read recently—tweets from airlines of course. It amazes me that with all the grief the airline industry takes from the media that sometimes airlines convey a condescending message via twitter-the same message that can be found at the airport and in the planes at times. Some airlines don’t use twitter to their advantage. Their tweets are very re-active vs. pro-active. Most companies that actively communicate to their customers using twitter try to be positive & insightful and if they are successful, they add value. Twitter would seem to be a public relations slam dunk for airlines, but not based on some tweets I have read recently. Here are some tweets from an airline followed by my translation in red.
1) Booked w/an online agency (eg expedia, orbitz) & flt cancelled for weather? You can rebook w/agency by phone.
Don’t bother us. You’re not really our customer (even though we are providing the service you bought) unless you bought your ticket on our web site; and maybe not even then
2) Long hold times, disconnects: call volume high due to snow, addressing disconnects w/IT
It’s not our problem it’s IT’s—a.k.a our problem
3) Snow delays/cancels. Info avail online & since you’re using a computer right now
We want to apologize but don’t want to admit any shortcoming
4) Need flt status? Don’t tweet the request-love to help but status chgs as weather does
Please don’t trouble us with your insignificant plans
5) Why cancel flt BEFORE snow reaches destination? B/c stranding plane in snow inconveniences 100s more. Not smart.
You customers are not very bright. Good thing we are able to come up with these sophisticated strategies
6) Until Scotty can beam us from A to B, we fly planes. During snow, we cancel for safety.
Not only are we smart, we are funny too.
I am little more than half-way through my posts pertaining to my most recent set of flights. Below, I tried to capture my experience at Qatar Airways Premium Terminal in Doha. I would ask you to think about the best airline lounge you have ever visited. Now, picture that lounge making up an entire terminal. That, in essence, is the Premium Terminal at Doha International Airport, although there are 2 separate actual lounge areas; one for First Class passengers and one for Business Class passengers.
A bus brought Business Class passengers from the plane to the terminal where we were greeted by two Qatar attendants and escorted to a security check-point with no line.
premium terminal from the tarmac
The lower level of the terminal contains a few shops as well as the departure gates. The actual First Class and Business Class Lounges can be found on the upper level.
first lounge on the left; business on the right
I could not resist posting a picture of the bathroom. Very clean and modern. Good thing the bathrooms were staffed with attendants because I couldn’t figure out how to use the soap dispenser or make the water turn on.
Satellite snack and beverage counters could be found throughout the lounge:
In addition to the snack and beverage stations, there was a restaurant. While the food was self-service, waiters were on hand to clear plates and serve beverages. The restaurant has hummus, salads and breads available throughout the day and various hot foods are served at meal time. All food from the restaurant is required to be consumed within the restaurant’s dining area. I included a picture of my lunch at the restaurant.
lunch: chicken thigh, potatoes, bread, baba ganoush (?)
Beyond the spectacular setting and wonderful food, what makes the Premium Terminal so great is, like any successful operation, the people. Qatar staff were focused solely on the well being and comfort of the passengers. When I inquired about catching an earlier flight to London, the service desk attendant insisted I return to the lounge and relax while she checked out the availability. I obliged and after about ten minutes the agent appeared in the lounge to let me know I would be able to take the earlier flight. She then insisted that she wheel my bag while she escorted me to the departure gate. After a few leisurely hours enjoying all that the Premium Terminal has to offer, I was on my way to London.
Qatar also flies out of New York, Houston & Washington
Like I said to myself when I got off the plane, I can’t speak for the world, but Qatar is my 5 star airline. Easily one of the top 2 airlines I have flown. Seat, food, entertainment, service…it was all there. Within the first fifteen minutes of taking my seat, 3 flight attendants addressed me by name and introduced themselves. One presented me with a menu in a bound leather folder.
cover of menu
Panjamas, amenity kits and noise cancelling headphones were each deliverd to my seat. Then I was given (well maybe they offered and I obliged) a human size glass of champagne. Just before pushback, breakfast orders were taken and I was served a hot towel on its own individual serving tray.
Laurent-Perrier
amenity kit
pajamas
nice tray table
How many times have you been on a flight and the flight attendants disappear shortly after meal service? Not on Qatar. In fact, the longest time period I counted without a flight attendant checking on all of 5 passengers was about 3 minutes. A few FA’s engaged me in genuine converstaion. Ready for this? I think they were making an effort to get to know their customers.
cocktails & nuts
What about eating an entire airline meal you knew wasn’t very good, but you were so hungry you ate it anyway? The food on my Qatar flight was fresh, delicious and served on actaul dishes. It appeared that as much effort was put into presentation as preperation.
breakfast setting
fruit with honey yogurt
eggs & chicken medallion
pre-arrival meal beef pastrami
cheese plate
Ever fallen asleep and woke up with your legs on the floor? Neraly impossible as Qatar’s 777-300ER features fully flat business class seats that provide a good amount of privacy.
777-300ER business class seats
sleep mode
business class cabin
Ever watched every bearable (in your eyes) movie & show available and still yearned for something else? See title. I think every James Bond movie made was available, made that much better by true noise cancelling headphones. Lots of breadth and depth on this entertainment system.
personal television
movie menu
entertainment control
Towards the end of the flight, passengers were given comment cards to fill out. There were no jet ways upon arrival in Doha, but business class passengers have a separate stair well to make their way off the plane. At the end of the stairwell a bus took all of the business class passengers to the Premium Terminal. Many thanks to the great crew of QR#645 for a true 5 Star experience (and making it look effortless in the process)
Are Moving Maps A Thing of the Past?
I was on a flight from Asia to the Middle East recently and was surprised to see that the in-flight moving map was unavailable. I asked the flight attnednat if there was a technical problem with the map as all the other entertainment was working properly. The FA tinkered with the monitor to no avail and she told me she would ask another flight attendant. The purser came to my seat and let me know that there was a new security directive in the United States that said moving maps were not allowed to be showed. She said this rule only applies to flights to the US and the aircraft we were on mainly flies to the United States. She said it is either too large of a burden or too costly to turn the map on and off dependent upon what country the aircraft is in.
This is dissapointing if you really enjoy flying. The map lets you know where you are, what route you are taking and the overall progress of the flight. Is this an effective security measure? Let’s hope. Is it enforced consitently? Hardly.
I guess US authorities (and maybe others) don’t want the scum of the earth to know the most opportune time to blow up a plane filled with innocent civilians, representing numerous creeds, hailing from countries across the globe. Let me know how hell is boys.
Has anyone else experinced “map absence?”
