I’ve been flying with Virgin Blue since they started and if I had any lingering doubts about returning to QANTAS, this past weekend has resolved them. The only problem that flying with Virgin Blue causes is that they only fly into Launceston, a two hour drive from home. To make it easier, I decided to fly QANTAS into Devenport instead. I will not be making the same mistake again.
I caught a taxi to the airport at 12:10 and checked in to find that my flight had been cancelled, but I’d be able to get the next flight after that and still make my connection. This was fine with me, it just meant I’d be spending the hour wait at Canberra instead of Melbourne. We landed in Melbourne at 14:25 (the time my next flight was supposed to start boarding) and I rushed to the departures screen to determine which gate my next flight departed from, only to find that it too had been cancelled.
I eventually found a customer service desk with staff and discovered that, yet again, I’d have to catch a later flight. In an attempt, I suppose, to make up for some of the inconvenience they gave me a voucher to get a meal. Melbourne airport is a particularly boring place, though the numerous and frequent announcements about delayed, rescheduled, redirected, reassigned and cancelled flights did keep me (and the throngs of other affected passengers) somewhat entertained.
At the end of the day, QANTAS got me to Devenport more than three and a half hours later than my itinerary (booked not three days previous) stated, thereby inconveniencing myself and my family and resolving any doubt in my mind as to whether I’d be returning to QANTAS.
At the other end of the spectrum, the QANTAS ground and cabin crew were pleasant and helpful. It’s a pity their logistics aren’t as good as their service.