Airline lives up to motto ‘we’re not happy until you’re not happy’

Letter of the week: Maple grief

Air Canada changed my flights last year which meant I ended up spending a 24-hour layover in Vancouver. Therefore, I wanted to know whether my baggage would come with me through border control upon arrival, or go on to my final destination of Calgary.

Contacting Air Canada is notoriously difficult; their customer service (or lack thereof) is a national in-joke for Canadians. There was no answer on the website and no way to email a query. Calling the international enquiries line would result in a wait of a couple of hours on hold at international calling rates (I know that from bitter experience). But then I found an actual postal address and thought, well, what do I have to lose besides some stamps? I sent three letters by snail mail, in October, November and December last year. Nearly six months after the first letter, I received an email from Air Canada, stating: “After reviewing the booking, I can confirm the travel is complete now, and we apologise for this delay in responding to the enquiry.”

To be fair, they did send me a voucher, but I feel as if I’ve been let in on the joke as an honorary local when Canadians state the airline’s motto to be, “We’re not happy until you’re not happy”.
Sam Ross, Niddrie, VIC

Lost for words

I am writing to complain about the handling of my iPad which I left in my seat pocket on a Qantas international flight recently. I could see the item was at Sydney Terminal 1 from the tracking on my iPhone, and it stayed there for five days, despite my filling out my details into a lost property logbook. Furthermore, I was not given a customer reference number for the item at the airport nor when I went online twice to formally lodge it as missing. Staff were unable to provide clear updates or take responsibility, which was frustrating and disappointing. Five days after the flight I ended up driving to the airport to ask if my iPad was there, which it was. They didn’t contact me, didn’t call or email. I simply walked in and picked it up off a shelf, put in my passcode and walked out. Then four days after picking it up, I received a call from Qantas lost property asking me to come in and pick it up.
Jim McMahon, Kirrawee, NSW.

California dreaming

Rather than trying to compare Route 66 in the US (a cross-nation highway stretching between Chicago and Santa Monica) with Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, I’d suggest the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) instead. It hugs the coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco and is stunningly picturesque with inviting towns punctuating the journey.
Jae Sconce, Moonee Ponds, Vic

Nuffin more than a muffin

It was interesting to read the LATAM review by Katherine Scott. Two years ago, we flew business class between Melbourne and Santiago, Chile and return from Santiago to Melbourne via Auckland and Sydney, code share with Qantas. When embarking, all seat reservations had been changed and staff left it up to passengers to sort that out. The aircraft was an early model Dreamliner, tatty and knocked about. However, we dealt with that, as we were so excited to be on the adventure of a lifetime with six weeks in Patagonia and Antarctica.

The return journey was even worse, unaware as we were of a three-hour stopover in Auckland, with all hand luggage searched by security. Cabin crew advised that no meals would be served, just a snack, as there were no chillers on board. The said snack was a tired muffin, a packet of chips, a muesli bar, a not-so-ripe piece of fruit and revolting juice. It was not worth the money for a business class fare. Qantas should exit the codeshare arrangement with this airline. The one positive I can add about LATAM was that the Santiago lounge was first class, in appearance, food and drink and pleasant staff.
Laura Windmill, Healesville, Vic

Return serve

Think you’ve done the Continent, asked Ute Junker? I assume this was tongue in cheek for all those people who, indeed, say they have “done” a destination implying they don’t need to go back. Having travelled extensively, lived in London and spent a total of at least a year in France and Italy, I would never say I have “done” anywhere. Rather, I have “visited” or “been”.
Heather Barker, Albert Park, Vic

Cheery squad

I flew with Qantas over Easter, to visit my two young grandsons in Canberra and would like to thank the airline’s staff, who were fabulous, and in particular Kiara and Bianca for their wheelchair assistance onto the plane and their bright happy attitude to their work. I was sitting in the plane a while before other passengers boarded, and Kiara came down to me in the cabin and said the reason for the delay with the other passengers boarding was due to a broken cupboard. She wanted to reassure me that nothing was wrong with the flight or the plane.
Mary Keating, Flemington, Vic

Tip of the week: Terminuses R Us

We find trains, especially fast trains, like your columnist Ben Groundwater, to be a great way to travel and overall hassle-free. We’ve used them in Italy, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, Japan and next month in South Korea. Often we stay near the main station in a large city or if this is not suitable, close to a local train or metro station, making it easy to access the main terminus. We no longer travel with our large suitcases but use medium size as these are much easier to lift and store in the baggage sections on trains. The advantage is we have one bag so don’t have to have multiple bits of carry-on. Most large stations have good cafes and food, particularly those in Italy and Japan. The other advantage with trains is, if delayed or cancelled, there is often another leaving in minutes, not hours, or days.
Philip Smith, Waterloo, NSW

An ill wind

Before the Iran war, we had to fly to Cairns from Sydney for three days with a cyclone warning subsequently leading us to explore the option of returning to Sydney a day earlier. Qantas had available seats but the fee for changing that one way flight was nigh on $1000 for two. Vanessa Hudson, upon sliding into the Qantas chief executive role, commented “there’s a long way to go before we get back to the national carrier Australians can be proud of.” We agree, Vanessa.
Bob Konig, Shell Cove, NSW

Heaven scent

The lovely old town of Grasse in the hinterland of the French Riviera has enjoyed a renaissance thanks to the Costa family, who produce Fragonard perfume. They have created two free museums, one on the history of perfume and the other showcasing Provencal costumes. The crowning glory is a street full of pink umbrellas and, every so often, there’s a spray of perfume from above.
Cecily Black, Annandale, NSW

Poor forms

My sister and I recently travelled to China with TripADeal to find the Chinese government has evidently phased out paper arrival cards in many of their airports. We were unaware of this, as were most of our fellow travellers. We were offered a QR code to scan on the plane to download the card, which for many people didn’t work. There were no paper alternatives. On arrival at Shanghai International Airport, we were also among those unable to scan the QR code within the terminal. The few ground staff available were rude, wouldn’t engage with us, and, in any case, didn’t seem to speak English. Again, no paper cards.

Many of us had to catch a connecting flight and were becoming anxious. Eventually, after half an hour, my sister successfully downloaded the form, and we were able to proceed, leaving behind many others who were essentially stranded without any assistance. On my return, I discovered on the Chinese Immigration website that foreigners may fill in the relevant entry information online before coming to China by scanning the QR code with mobile phones. There is plenty of info available online about this, but tour operators should also be advising their customers of this change in procedure.
Janine Phillips, Payneham South, SA

Right carry-on

A decade ago, I watched in amazement, on a short internal flight in the US, where it seemed 90 per cent of the passengers brought excessive carry-on luggage. This has now got to problematic levels here in Australia. Recently, as a sole traveller returning from Melbourne to Sydney, my seat was reallocated so I was sitting in an exit row and that meant I had to stow my small handbag overhead, but the only spot I could find for it was several rows back, causing a problem for me to retrieve it when I disembarked. The amount of delay with passengers mucking around trying to retrieve their onboard luggage is unnecessarily stressful and time-consuming. As for now having to board in increments, why not make it so there is no roadblock as passengers at the front try and stuff their luggage overhead? And maybe it’s time for the airlines to decrease the size of carry-on luggage to stop this nonsense.
Debra Edmonds, Essendon, Vic

Happy places

Editor’s note: In our series, My Happy Place, where Traveller’s writers reflect on the holiday destinations in Australia and around the world that they cherish the most. We also invite you to submit your happy places. Here’s a selection of your contributions.

Our happy place is Italy, If you drill down, it would have to be the Italian lakes. If you drill further down still, it would have to be Lake Como. Not one of the larger places like Como or Bellagio. We stayed in a town, hardly more than a village, called Varenna, for 10 heavenly days. We rented an older apartment on the lake shore with two balconies extending almost to the water line. Never mind the hot water system that produced water that was either freezing or boiling, with nothing in-between. The balcony, overlooking the lake, was just amazing with Menaggio straight across the lake. No supermarkets there, only old-style grocery stores where four people made a crowd. You selected your own fruit and vegetables, cheese and wines individually. Having lunch on the balcony overlooking the lake, or visiting the beautiful villas like Villa Cipressi or Villa Monastero, was amazing. Casted De Vaziom above the town overlooking the lake was like a dream. I hope to visit this slice of heaven once more while I can still travel.
Peter Hersch, Caulfield, Vic

When my dad retired to Umina Beach in 1990 it was known as “god’s waiting room”. Most residents were either ancient or on the dole. I drove up there a few times to visit Dad and gradually fell in love with the place. The main beach is long and beautiful. The Ocean Beach Hotel was rowdy on a Friday night but people were friendly and no one called the police. The streets had no kerbs or gutters and it felt special and laid back. Dad’s gone now but I still drive up there now and then and remember our happy place.
Vivienne Schiavone, West Ryde, NSW

The Letter of the Week writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. See hardiegrant.com

The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. See shop.lonelyplanet.com