V-Flyer

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 14:19**

Last night's return on the VS004 was relatively uneventful, in my section of UC I had a charming and highly efficient FA, even the hot supper tray was quite edible and on landing my bag came out of the carousel first and that's never happened before. It was more eventful at the start since traffic out to JFK was a nightmare and I checked in 40 mins before the flight departed (nerves, stress, check!) with an agent waiting on the outside to speed me through (US FC Au line were actually a fantastic help)!

On the downside, what was looking to be a 2/3rds full UC cabin was full, with, it was apparent, about 8-10 cabin crew either upgraded or added late. Now they weren't unduly noisy (a few too many flashbulbs) but they did consume a lot of champagne and occupy the bar quite a bit - the champagne ran out 1 1/2 hrs into the flight and the bar was to busy to sit at for quite a while until I gave up, and the FSM who didn't find time to welcome Au FCers did find time to chat with this party. Now you know what I'm thinking ... am I a curmudgeonly old minger, or do I have a point? Oh, and it's not the upgrade part, I do believe crew should be able to sit in otherwise empty seats.

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 14:33**

Grumpy old git!!! [:D]

You do have a point. It yet again comes down to the FSM bending over backwards for all their mates at the expense of the full-fare paying customer. While I can understand filling empty seats, but surely this can be done on a Op-Up for AU etc. etc.

The have also been reports of crew bagging pre-assigned seats.

I don't believe it!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 14:34**

IMO, I don't have a problem with upgraded staff/non-revs however you want to refer to them unless the operating crew start treating them like royalty at the expense of paying passengers. In this case it sounds like the FSM was doing just that. I was on a United transatlantic flight with some uniformed crew sat in F and one of the FAs spent far too much time just chatting to this one member of staff. The excellent purser (based on what I saw for the remainder of the flight) asked them to come to the galley, I didn't hear what was said but the staff=to-staff mollycoddling stopped.

How often does the bar run out of fizzy 1.5hrs into a busy flight?

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 14:45**

Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
Grumpy old git!!! [:D]

That's what I thought! [B)]

Originally posted by Speedbird223
How often does the bar run out of fizzy 1.5hrs into a busy flight?

Not often, though it has happened to me before (if a little later in the flight) and to be honest, VS is so miserly with its stocks nowadays (witness the recent crisps and olives debacles) that this could have been a contributing factor.

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 16:46**

I think I am with Speedbird on this one.

Non-rev is a perk of the job, just as longer holidays are for teachers, or staff accounts are for bank workers.

The vast majority of crew and ground staff work bl**dy hard, take for example my friend who worked in T5 yesterday. She ended up working 20 hours with only a 40 minute dinner break, in my mind she is worthy of being upgraded to First on the next flight she takes. Interestingly she always makes an effort not to 'act like crew' and often remains very quiet inflight.

Having said that if the crew sacrifice the service to the fee paying passengers then that is not on. It is a very fine line.

Of course it is also worth pointing out that often crew get put down in Y- the aforementioned friend had to jump seat back on VS last month from JNB. Its not like they are upgraded to UC everytrip.

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 16:52**

There are rules for VS staff to obey when travelling on staff tickets, so interesting to hear such behaviour.

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 16:59**

You do have a point, and i'd concur with what most have said.

I have no issue to crew upgrades as that is a perk of their job, but i believe they ought not to draw attention to themselves while availing themselves of said perk as it has a detrimental effect on the brand. Crew should be looked after, but not at the expense of upsetting paying passengers. Its really the FSM's duty to intervene here as crew do know better as to what they should and should not do onboard.

Thanks,
Sarah

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 18:00**

Sure, upgrades are a perk of the job, however the rules are v clear regarding behaviour - your staff status isn't meant to be obvious, and if revenue pax come to the bar you quietly excuse yourself from the seats and offer them up. Simple really, but sadly ignored a lot of the time.

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 18:51**

On my return from MCO a couple of years back, there was clearly a VS staff member [got the impression she was not crew] in UC. The FSM sat chatting to her for a good 15mins whilst the rest of us all got a brief hello. On arrival at MAN, some ground staff met her at the aircraft door too (and she did not appear to be in need of special assistance).

What is bad is that the table on a [presumably] revenue passengers suite was faulty - the pax had to use the ottoman as a table & eat with the plate on her lap. Our VS staffer friend stayed put in her fully operational suite next to the one with the broken table.

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 19:00**

I agree with RJD.

I have no problem whatsoever with staff perks, as has been said, they are a big reason why some people take the job.

However, the customer - especially one who has paid for a J ticket - must come first. To monopolise the bar, and to (help to) cause the champagne to run out 90 minutes into the flight, is very, very poor IMHO.

By no means the first time we have heard such stories, though. [:(!]

Nick

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 20:36**

Originally posted by slinky09 Now you know what I'm thinking ... am I a curmudgeonly old minger, or do I have a point?

No - you have an absolute point. Rev passengers SHOULD be afforded that which befits them (regardless of how the ticket is 'bought' ie cash/miles/both). I have no objection to staffers being upgraded (within reason) provided it does not intefere with the service delivery to other pax (ie me or you or somebody parting with miles/cash/both).FSM should have taken greater control of the situation and acted accordingly. No champagne after 90 mins? Not acceptable. End of.
DL

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 21:17**

As staff, I've complained about the behaviour of staff travellers - the FSM reacted very quickly, so I imagine a comment from a real pax would make them jump even faster. Don't be afraid to comment on staff behaviour - the good staff who follow the rules will be grateful!

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 22:01**

I'm with you RJD, sadly many of the badly behaved pax are those that don't work 'on' the aircraft. Recall my first time on staff travel with VS, following all the rules (no to amenity kit in J, no to sleep suit, making sure the fare paying pax got their meal choice etc, etc), only to see a staff member from The Office take the lot & after a few drinks start bragging about how cheap his ticket was!!!!

On the subject of champers, Mrs D advises that it's round trip loaded so could have been full of heavy drinkers on the way out.

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 22:09**

Originally posted by Denzil
On the subject of champers, Mrs D advises that it's round trip loaded so could have been full of heavy drinkers on the way out.

Good point, Denzil. But surely at an airport that carries the VS traffic that JFK does, it is possible to have some 'contingency stock' salted away somewhere; that can be loaded in the event of a 'party bus' on the outbound?

Nick

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 22:15**

Originally posted by Denzil
On the subject of champers, Mrs D advises that it's round trip loaded so could have been full of heavy drinkers on the way out.

This it is, however VS is loading such apallingly low stock of things nowadays in an effort to cut cost that this happens frequently. It's a terrible state of affairs, when I holiday and pay £6k over to VS, I don't expect to be cut off champagne and offering the crap, cheap Berry Bros Cremant de Limoux instead. It's awful and no other airline that I have flown with treats their customers with such scant regard! Grrr.

Posted: **28 Mar 2008, 22:16**

Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
Originally posted by Denzil
On the subject of champers, Mrs D advises that it's round trip loaded so could have been full of heavy drinkers on the way out.

Good point, Denzil. But surely at an airport that carries the VS traffic that JFK does, it is possible to have some 'contingency stock' salted away somewhere; that can be loaded in the event of a 'party bus' on the outbound?

Nick

Posted: **29 Mar 2008, 00:26**

I have to agree. When I passenger in Upper I make very little fuss. I take my seat, usually pass on a boarding drink, collect my sleep suit if offered, and take whatever meal if left after the paying PAX have been served. I have still always gotten my first choice, but I always order with the paying PAX with my first, second, and third choice of meal. The goal is to make the paying PAX think you are a paying PAX, without hoarding too much attention. I never go to the bar. I did get caught as crew once because a passenger asked me how I was jumped to the front of the line at LAX. I do see why that would annoy passengers, but the FSM had to get me checked in before he could go to the plane.

Posted: **29 Mar 2008, 00:36**

Originally posted by Nottingham Nick

Good point, Denzil. But surely at an airport that carries the VS traffic that JFK does, it is possible to have some 'contingency stock' salted away somewhere; that can be loaded in the event of a 'party bus' on the outbound?

Nick

Right, especially when you consider it has a clubhouse which is open for most of the day and caters to many many flights. Surely they could stock some drink .....

Posted: **29 Mar 2008, 01:46**

Hi, although i have read V-Flyer for ages, never felt the need to post before! However my blod has boiled at this. As a VS staff member who works very hard in The Office i am sorry to hear of any rev custmers hearing about staff bragging or acting up on a flight. The rules are very tight on how you should be onboard! I always sit very quietly and try not to be noitced! Its a fantastic benfit of working for any airline, but the paying customers need to be respected and should always come first. Any way i will go quietly back into the wood work now!

Posted: **29 Mar 2008, 02:13**

Ant

Welcome to the wacky world of VFlyer posting. One thing however doesn't ring true. If you're going back into the woodwork are you sure you're not a termite? [:o)]

Posted: **29 Mar 2008, 02:51**

Originally posted by slinky09
On the downside, what was looking to be a 2/3rds full UC cabin was full, with, it was apparent, about 8-10 cabin crew either upgraded or added late.

... am I a curmudgeonly old minger, or do I have a point? Oh, and it's not the upgrade part, I do believe crew should be able to sit in otherwise empty seats.

I have had two flights in the past year or so when VS staffers have been overt in UC.

Once was on the way to SFO. A colleague and I were preparing for a meeting at the bar very shortly after the meal service (ISTR we took our desserts to the bar). We sat at one side, and had a fair bit of paperwork out and were discussing various topics that were going to need to be addressed on the trip. Then, about fifteen minutes later, about a dozen VS staffers descended on the bar two deep on serious mission. Not only did this made any attempt at conducting a meeting impossible, but we certainly felt we were getting in the way, and were now being psychologically pushed out by the throng. We gave up and went back to our seats.

Second occasion was on the way to LAX. The cabin looked about 60% full on line, but it was clear once the doors were shut things were to be rather different - it was full. Although I was travelling with someone, they took some shuteye and I was on my own at the bar. Spent a most of the flight having a wonderful chat with VS staff/friends/family on non-revs.

So it works two ways. Whereas I'm delighted for VS to be generous with perks, it does grate on me the way we were wedged out from the bar. On the other side of the coin, I think you'll find them a bit more chatty at the bar than your average Joe.

Cheers, Howard

Posted: **29 Mar 2008, 03:14**

I can usually spot an ID90/ID00 a mile off, and they fall into two camps:

1) Staff travellers who follow the rules, keep themselves to themselves, and aren't a nuisance. There were a handful of these in J on my recent VS20 back from SFO. Not an issue at all. I even thought one of them looked familiar from a previous flight - even in their civvies - and a sneaked peek at a manifest left on the bar confirmed my suspicions.

2) ID90s who go silly on some sort of mission to drink all the booze, lord around the aircraft like they own the damned thing, annoy fare-paying pax, and are often aided and abetted by their mates in the cabin crew, just like Slinky's experience.

There is no 'medium', it seems to be one or the other.

As for the banal tightness of supplies, and the seemingly inane (or robotic?) round-tripping of an increasing number of service items, one really has to wonder if someone's head back at The Office needs examining.

Mike

Posted: **29 Mar 2008, 06:16**

Removed - post was some of the T&C's staff are meant to adhere to when travelling on staff tickets.

Posted: **29 Mar 2008, 07:24**

Originally posted by mike-smashing
I can usually spot an ID90/ID00 a mile off, and they fall into two camps:

1) Staff travellers who follow the rules, keep themselves to themselves, and aren't a nuisance. There were a handful of these in J on my recent VS20 back from SFO. Not an issue at all. I even thought one of them looked familiar from a previous flight - even in their civvies - and a sneaked peek at a manifest left on the bar confirmed my suspicions.

2) ID90s who go silly on some sort of mission to drink all the booze, lord around the aircraft like they own the damned thing, annoy fare-paying pax, and are often aided and abetted by their mates in the cabin crew, just like Slinky's experience.

There is no 'medium', it seems to be one or the other.

Mike

I could not agree more

On my recent return from from Dubai, I encountered one of the latter and all credit to the crew that they maintained their professionalism.

Although I should not gloat (as it can happen to the best of us) the sight of said person rushing down an 'up' escalator to get back to the aircraft to retrieve forgotten Duty Free, did bring a wry smile to my face[}:)]

buns

Posted: **29 Mar 2008, 08:26**

Originally posted by Denzil

On the subject of champers, Mrs D advises that it's round trip loaded so could have been full of heavy drinkers on the way out.

If that's the case, it makes their conduct even worse.

V-Flyer

Ahhh, the upgraded crew issue ...

Ahhh, the upgraded crew issue ...