The weather has been fantastic. Warm, dry and sunny. We have worn cotton shorts, summer dresses and light tops. It has hardly conditioned us for the severe cold snap that is headed our way, back home. Klara bought this pretty summer frock covered in different coloured butterflies. She looked like a little fairy in it with her new birkenstocks, which she loves incidentally.
Not that long ago I owned a house on this beach. Richo & I poured our heart and soul into renovating it. It was my dream to walk out my back door onto a sandy beach and this house did that. The views were amazing of the Witsunday islands my little chihuahua walked that beach every afternoon, without fail. She made us take her and wouldn't let us cheat and make it a short walk. She is 16 & a half now and I put her longevity down to all the excercise she has done in her little life. Her faculties are failing now and she is losing her hearing, eyesight, ability to recognise us and her manners. I love her to bits and she has been the most loyal and delightful little companion to me but I know she is in the departure lounge and one day probably not too far away now she will no longer be with us. It will be a sad day indeed but we have given her an amazing life and she has been my constant source of joy for a very big portion of my my life.
I got to the airport early to find a massive queue to board a Jetstar flight. Only one check in machine was open. The line barely moved for almost 30 minutes and I started to become concerned the plane may leave without me. I asked a Jetstar man if I would have trouble making my flight and he told me to quickly go to a different queue, which I did, lined up and was then sent back to the only check in machine operating for check in. Luckily the couple, still in line, I had been talking to let me rejoin the line, in front of them, their flight was much later than mine. I checked in, back to baggage drop and then a huge Disney style queue to go through security. A relaxed start to the day was rapidly unravelling into a stressful mess. Nobody was in a hurry my flight departure was galloping toward me and was still nowhere near my boarding gate. I was becoming very anxious. With just moments to spare I reached the fellow passengers to join my flight phew that was close and not my fault.
So Jetstar have a menu onboard, nothing is free. I have been staying loyal to qantas for far too long. A Pie or toasted sandwich will set you back a whopping $9.00 and a soft drink is $4.00. They put me in a centre seat and left the window seat free. What the hell is that all about and check out the disgusting amount of leg room I have.
My bum is in the back of my seat and my legs are jammed into the back of the seat in front sideways. I cannot even sit properly. A child would have trouble in this seat getting comfortable. The staff try to solicit money from you for charities, gift cards and overpriced food. There is no seat pocket to stow your water bottle, electronic devices or any other things you may want handy to make your flight more comfortable. This stupid hard seat pocket us just wide enough to store the inflight magazine, safety card and rip off menu book.
Check out the position of the tray table.
It won't even sit flat. I can't even lay my iPad on it because it would slide off let alone a $5 half cup of coffee. How on earth would a tall or large person fit in this minute over cramped space is beyond me!
I am a Qantas passenger which is supposed to be Australia's premium airline and the level of comfort and service provided by this airline is a joke. I can't wait to burn my accumulated points so I can resume travelling on Virgin Airlines again. They are cheaper, more comfortable, fun and generous. Qantas and Jetstar are the poorest airline flying the skies I have travelled with. Tiger is down there with them but it is a budget basement carrier and prides itself with no frills, very low cost airfares.
Ground staff get a zero rating for not processing passengers in a timely manner.
Only one check in machine working out of about 6 available.
Incorrect information provided to me causing confusion regarding baggage drop.
Luggage allowance gets a zero for limited quantity allowed.
Seat comfort zero for cramped seating. Ridiculous tray table positioning.
Removal of seat pocket and inclusion of useless hard seat storage.
The scowling dour face of the attendant delivering the safety message would make the biggest optimist cringe.
Stupid allocation of seats leaving window seats vacant. Are you kidding me??????
No seats available at the Jetstar boarding gate lounge at cairns airport for waiting passengers.
This airline would definitely contribute to a persons reluctance to fly.
Aww it's not a very nice day on the GoldCoast
Richo and my fur friends are down there somewhere waiting to greet me. My Queensland holiday is over until next time.
Hey Klara where to next🤔😎✈️🚕🌞
So here we are coming in to land at an International Airport. Looks close doesn't it?
This photo was taken straight after the last one. Yes folks that's usscreaming skyward again and out to sea. We pottered around out here for quite a few minutes. Screaming up, then braking and dropping suddenly, banking so sharply close to the water I couldn't see the sky out of the window. We look for all the world like we were heading toward the bay. I tried to see if we were dumping fuel at sea but I couldn't see anything. The noises the plane made were loud, thumping and scary. I am a very seasoned airline traveller. I have never been anxious on a plane before. I have travelled on tiny planes, sea planes, jumbo jets, all sorts, hot air balloons even helicopters. Hit turbulence, been delivered to the wrong airport (thanks for that Tiger) had unscheduled stops in unscheduled countries due to industrial action. I have even had a recent tour of the Boeing Factory to see how these things are built. I have never been scared on a plane until this flight. The worried look on my fellow passengers as they peered out the windows and exchanged worried glances at each other and toward the cockpit, mirrored my concerns.
Not one word from the cockpit or flight crew. Nothing! The passengers were eerily quiet too. We felt like we were swerving around between altering altitudes and hitting speed humps. What the hell is going on?
We eventually landed uneventfully and when almost at our gate the Captain made an announcement. A bit bloody late! Apparently there was a student pilot on the runway of an Australian International Airport, having parking problems. Air traffic control directed our flight to be diverted after it had commenced final approach to land and told us to have a 'fly around' then according to the Pilot. Air Traffic Control couldn't make up its mind at what altitude our passenger laden plane should be flying at. Seriously..... This announcement was a total afterthought followed by a feeble apology to any passengers who may have been concerned. Concerned, are you kidding me. I wasn't the only one on that flight that was checking out the emergency exits and mentally preparing for the anticipated Brace Postion Order. How dare Jetstar embark on such an unusual manoeuvre without reassuring its Human Cargo that they had some control over the situation until long after we had actually landed. I am disgusted at the lack of information supplied to passengers before or during this averted crisis. Obviously it was a crisis as there was another plane parked on our runway. I am definitely in no hurry to fly with such an incompetent airline again! I was really annoyed at your total lack of customer care and service from the moment I arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare until that ridiculous Landing with no explanation whatsoever ever until we safely landed at the gate. Yes you didn't crash the plane but that was about the only thing about the flight you actually did right!
