This was published 1 year ago
Traveller letters: Emirates 'redefines' its business class service - except in Australia
Emirates' chauffeur service a no-show at Melbourne Airport. Credit: iStock
LETTER OF THE WEEK
IN AN ENGLISH GARDEN
Lee Tulloch's column "in praise of public parks" (Traveller, October 8), brought to mind our visit to Hanoi in 2012. It was a Sunday morning when we decided to walk around Hoan KieM Lake in the middle of the old city. There were quite a few people there including couples, families, groups of schoolgirls and people selling fans (it was hot). We were approached by a schoolgirl who wanted to practise her English, by asking us some questions, encouraged to do this by her teacher. We had our photo taken by another group of girls. We met three university students who asked us questions with two being medical students and one was studying English and wanted to be a tour guide. It was a most enjoyable way to meet the locals.
Lesley Raper, Bentleigh East, Vic
PICK UP YOUR GAME, EMIRATES
I arrived at Melbourne Airport at 11:20pm on Tuesday 4th October from Dubai on EK408 flying Business Class. "Business class redefined" so the ads say. "Chauffeur driven car picks you up and at the other end drops you off at your destination" the ads go on to say. But there was no chauffeur driven car. It was the early hours of the morning and I was instead offered a taxi voucher or, as I had six pieces totalling 75 kgs of luggage, then told, by a rude man who refused to provide his name, to find my own transport at 12:45 am and send Emirates the invoice. After paying an eye watering price for the air ticket, I was a little disappointed, especially as I was returning home after working overseas and needed the extra luggage allowance. This same "pay for a chauffeur driven car and get a taxi voucher" stunt also happened to my wife in early July. The taxi stand is miles away and the taxis are unable to carry much luggage. Why do companies feel that they can get away with this stuff in Australia but not elsewhere? The European Union has clear penalties for this type of behaviour.
Daniel Kolomanski, Kew, Vic
SURRENDER TERMS
With seven months before expiry I applied at the post office to renew my passport. It was then cut up, leaving me without a passport. Three months later I rang the passport office to be told on four successive occasions that it was under assessment and would be "escalated". As the date to travel internationally drew closer my anxiety grew to the point where I enlisted the support of my Federal MP. I got it with three days to spare. Why can't we simply surrender the old passport at the time of collecting the new one?
Ian Stuart, Lindfield, NSW
NOT AS TERMINAL
A few days ago, I flew into Heathrow terminal 4 from Sydney. Passport control was a breeze - as an Australian, you just scan your passport and you're through. Bags were on the carousel within 10 minutes of landing. I was out into the watery sunshine within 15 minutes of landing. Why can't we do the same here?
Peter Butt, Wollstonecraft, NSW
PROBLEM? WHAT PROBLEM?
My wife and I are just back from a 13 flight, frequent flyer extravaganza around the world. With so many connections, we cheerfully accepted that something, somewhere, would surely go awry, and we would just deal with it as it happened. We were wrong. In most countries, smiling, helpful people shepherded us through immigration processes. Flights were on time. They connected. Luggage turned up. Check-ins were quick and easy. Security processes were efficient, most notably in Helsinki where next-generation imaging devices made things an absolute breeze. Overall, we felt sincere appreciation towards all in the industry worldwide who are making travel viable again.
John Wilson, Pennant Hills, NSW
VOUCH FOR SCOOT
In 2019 we had to cancel an around Asia trip. Scoot airlines provided us with credit vouchers for the full amount of the cancelled flight with the vouchers due to expire in September 2020. When COVID hit and borders shut in March/April 2020, Scoot emailed us new credit vouchers due to expire at the end of September 2022. We have just used the vouchers to book flights to Singapore in 2023 in their premium economy (Scoot Plus) cabin and the fares were covered by the credit vouchers.
Brett Gore, Morpeth, NSW
PRE-EXISTING BIAS
The attitude of travel insurance underwriters to pre-existing conditions is one size fits all. There are people with one type of pre-existing condition who should not be travelling while other people with the same condition are well able to travel but are cut off at the mention of the condition. A process of personal evaluation is needed and there is no argument that an additional premium could be warranted. It is agreed that a traveller with a pre-existing condition could be at a greater risk of a claim but to take away the opportunity by being pigeon-holed without being personally assessed is selective and simply unfair.
Ted Jarrett, Berry, NSW
BUTT NOTHING
I understand it is a legal requirement that an Airbus 380 built six years ago have ashtrays on toilet doors when smoking was banned in planes around 25 years ago. Now is the time to abandon this absurd regulation.
Lindsay Somerville, Lindfield, NSW
SILVER LINING
On a recent return trip from Mexico via Houston with Air New Zealand I discovered my silver bangle (which has been on my wrist for 60 years) was not there. Security requires most things to be scanned and my bangle was left in the plastic bin. I happened to mention this to the female crew in the middle of the night and they immediately sprang into action, emailing with a photograph to the Houston lost property. Within a week the air crew had been back to Houston and retrieved my bangle, sent a photo of it, and planned to bring it back to Brisbane for me. I cannot thank these wonderful helpful crew enough, they have gone above and beyond and their friendly natural manner should be applauded and rewarded.
Julia Emblin, Noosa Heads, QLD
HOW TO WRITE TO US
We give preference to letters of 100 words or fewer and they may be edited for space, legal or other reasons. Please use full sentences, don't use textspeak and don't include attachments. Email us at travellerletters@traveller.com.au and, importantly, include your name, address and phone number.
The Letter of the Week writer wins Hardie Grant travel books worth more than $100. For October, that includes Ultimate Walks & Hikes Australia; Pasta Grannies; and Kinfolk Islands.
See hardiegrant.com
The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three great Lonely Planet travel books, including Offbeat by Lonely Planet, Where to go When and The Weather Book.
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