QANTAS: Food, Beverage and WiFi are back!

Yesterday, they announced the re-opening of some airport lounges, and today WiFi will be activated on their domestic flights. Woohoo!

In-flight service

As I hit my desk today, I received my Qantas Frequent Flyer email with this delightful paragraph:

That Find out more link doesn’t give you that much more information, but is just a tad more long-winded. The salient point for economy passengers is that unless you are heading from the east coast to Perth and Darwin (if they will let you in) you won’t be getting alcohol.

WiFi and Entertainment

Qantas flicked the switch to ‘off’ for their Wifi and entertainment systems back in April. Presumably as a cost saving measure, to help stop all that cash going out, while there was little or no cash coming in.

Qantas must be confident that passengers are returning, with the lifting of state border travel prohibitions.

Given their recent Jetstar promotion of AU$19 fares, presumably, they are seeing some pent-up domestic demand appearing in their forward bookings.

Qantas will be rolling out the WiFi service from today (Wednesday 1 July), with all Boeing 737’s expected to have the service active by Friday.

Lounges

Just an update of yesterday’s post, with some illustrations of the lounge service on offer.

I hate to disappoint, but my speculation about Yum Cha carts seems to have been misguided – mores the pity.

And we have an explanation/illustration of ‘tray around service’ which normal people would probably know as ‘waiter service’ or ‘table service’, or even ‘tray service’. Google ‘tray around service’ and see what you get, other than ads for trays.

2PAXfly Takeout

The aviation industry has a difficult road ahead when it comes to sustainability. It’s going to require a relative revolution in technology, with ‘electric planes’ or hydrogen planes, or some form of jet engine that doesn’t require a carbon based fuel. And that is going to require the development of an alternative to jet engines probably.

It’s a big ask. It will take time to develop.

This move to home grown and manufactured SAF is a first step – maybe even a baby step in a very long road of innovation. In the long run, US$200 million won’t even touch the sides.

I am so looking forward to my ‘tray around service’ in the lounge prior to my flight at the end of this month – that is if South Australia will let in those of us who have chosen to live in New South Wales as opposed to those protocol-abusing-test-refusing-potentially-COVID-19-riddled trash from Victoria.