Letters: Qantas expands regional network, but some frequent flyers won’t be wooed

Sometime ago I was having breakfast in a Paris hotel (Traveller letters, June 3), sharing a table with a pleasant and handsome Frenchman and enjoying the opportunity to practise my recently acquired French. Eventually he stood up, politely bowed and departed, leaving an untouched bread roll. I souvenired it. However, he returned shortly after with a coffee to finish his breakfast. I still feel guilty.

Margaret Atchison, Armidale, NSW

Waste not, want not

Whenever I travel, I always pack a small box of Glad lunch bags that are resealable and use them to take the leftovers from breakfast (Traveller letters, June 3) or even to put a sandwich in for the kids to have by the pool later in the day. I have found that when the kids help themselves from the breakfast buffet, there are always uneaten items which make perfect snacks for later in the day. I’ve even stayed at resorts that ask if you want to take any leftovers to eat later. I’ve found that hotels don’t want the waste and don’t want their staff to see food thrown away when it could have been taken. I’ve been doing this for about 18 years of travel and have never had anyone question me or ask for payment.

Belinda O’Callaghan, Glen Iris, Vic

Soothe operators

On a recent Virgin night flight from Darwin to Melbourne, a passenger became ill. I was really impressed with how the cabin crew dealt with this in such a cramped situation. The young lady was given an oxygen mask and soothing reassurance. A call for a doctor or paramedic on board was responded to and an ambulance organised for arrival at Melbourne. The young woman’s travelling companions were also reassured and informed fully of what was happening with their friend. At no stage was there any panic. Well done to those concerned.

Barbara Kemp, Yarram, Vic

Gut reaction

I recently returned from a wonderful holiday in Poland and Portugal. To enjoy the history and the architecture in both countries was a treat. But to enjoy the bread, pastries and beer without any gut issues was the highlight. Having to eat gluten-free foods back here all the time (and I’m not a coeliac) can be rather dull. But thanks to the European wheat I was able to hoe into luscious bread rolls, pastries and local beers with lunch or without any bloating. What is wrong with Australian-grown wheat? How many other GF travellers to Europe have found the same gut response?

Pam Montgomery, Pretty Beach, NSW

Solo man

Our son was returning from Japan and his arrival at Narita Airport was delayed. He raced from the train to the Singapore Airlines desk and the staff greeted him politely and explained that they could get him on his scheduled flight. One amazing young woman slung his checked luggage over her shoulder to get it under the plane. He was then escorted by a team of five women and they all ran to get him through security and to the gate. Thank you to the wonderful staff who cared enough to help a young man on his first solo journey.

Sally Karlovic, Yarraville, Vic

Recovery mode

My wife and I were halfway through a two-week guided tour of New Zealand in November, 2022 when COVID-19 struck. At that time New Zealand government COVID protocols required us to isolate for seven days. In doing so, we had to cancel our return flight, which we had paid for using Qantas frequent flyer points, and to rebook later which was very expensive. Fortunately we had travel insurance, via a credit card, which covered COVID and we were able to successfully claim for what we missed on the tour plus additional accommodation and travel costs in getting home. However, recovering the 40,000 Frequent Flyer points from Qantas for our cancelled return trip was a different story altogether. After multiple phone calls, emails and buck passing, the points were finally refunded a couple of weeks ago, some five months after our trip. I think they may have been hoping we would just get tired and give up.

Rod Coutts, Warrnambool, Vic