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Traveller Letters: My handbag is officially 'carry-on luggage' now, Jetstar?
One reader was unimpressed when her handbag was weighed like a full-size carry-on bag when boarding a Jetstar flight.Credit: iStock
SCALES OF INJUSTICE
It seems that Jetstar is desperate to recoup some of their previous year's losses by making sure that absolutely everyone is compliant with the hand luggage limits. To my dismay handbags are now included in the weight limit and even just over will cost you $65. Yet Jetsar happily tells me my next flight has been moved by a day with no explanation and no thought for accommodation that will need to be changed or cancelled. We're constantly asked by Jetstar to be kind to its staff. How about it be kind to its customers?
Dolly Leropoulos, Richmond, VIC
LETTER OF THE WEEK
TAKE THE TINT
Ben Groundwater's memory of Shetland may be slightly purple-tinted. Yes, there are areas of heather but they are limited. The overwhelming landscape is of rolling grassland carpeting low hills. Prospective visitors will be glad to know that those Shetlanders who have survived author Ann Cleeves' murder spree are courteous, friendly and welcoming to visitors. Largely an undiscovered gem, Shetland does not get as many tourists as its neighbouring archipelago, Orkney, for which the locals are grateful. Shetland being small in area, the sport of finding sites familiar from the Shetland TV series is easy and rewarding.
Brian Macdonald, Watsonia, Vic
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Whilst it is wonderful that there are good samaritans like Sherrin Xerri and her husband (Traveller Letters, February 5) who came to the aid of someone requiring medical assistance, it is alarming that an unconscious person was placed in a chair and held upright. The recovery position is the appropriate position for someone who is unconscious. I implore everyone to learn first aid.
Belinda Stapleton, Roseville, NSW
YOUR SHOUT
Ah, emergency instructions in hotels (Traveller Letters, February 5). In what was quite an upmarket hotel in Istanbul, we were asked that "when encountering a fire, do not panic. Open the window and scream".
Gerhard Engleitner, Hurstville, NSW
NOT SO FAST
Lee Tulloch's column (Traveller, January 22), on why she wishes Australia had a fast train, really resonated with me. Having caught many European fast trains I can attest to their speed, comfort and convenience. When we had a French house guest and I took her on a South Coast train she asked me, "where are your very fast trains?" I laughed and explained that our states had only agreed to the same rail gauge a hundred years ago and VFTs were not in our near future. Please don't plead the vast space issue. The Swiss tunnelled through mountains.
Anne Elliott, Balmain, NSW
SMOOTH OPERATORS
David Gordon (Traveller Letters, February 5) mentions having to calculate the TGV speed during a trip from Lyon to Paris. On a Paris to Strasbourg trip a few years ago, we were lucky enough to be in a carriage which had a digital speed indicator. My recollection is that the speed exceeded 300 kilometres per hour. Pretty exciting, but the trains are so smooth there wasn't any real sensation of travelling at that sort of speed. The high speed trains in Italy are pretty special too. But we can do without the dreadful conditions in the train stations of both countries where waiting passengers have no seating and stand in a crowd looking at the boards to see when a service has arrived, requiring a mad dash to a platform far away.
Eric Groszmann, Sippy Downs, QLD
THE THREE OF US
I wanted to share my bewilderment with the Qantas flight credit system. Having had a family flight with three passengers cancelled I was presented with a credit. Excellent, I thought. When trying to book different flights with the voucher I found that, despite having paid for all flights myself, the voucher had to be used across all three persons. As my son (a child) wasn't travelling with us, Qantas split the voucher into thirds so that he could retain his third of the voucher. Questioning this absurdity further, I was assured that, yes, each ticket's value was usable solely by the person named on the original ticket. I'm outraged that I've been denied access to the credit arising from the flight I paid for.
Kate Aplin, Watsonia, VIC
ENDEAVOUR TO SEE MORE
Mike Fogarty (Traveller Letters, January 29) went all the way up north and missed the best of Cooktown by bee-lining for a boring statue [of Captain James Cook]. I hope next time he bothers to look at the local museum, art gallery, the historical re-enactment, Milbi mosaic walkway or the botanic gardens. I'd be happy to post him a copy of Welcome to Country edited by Marcia Langton, to aid his future travels.
Elspeth Blunt, Coburg, VIC
MAJOR OVERSIGHT
Rob McFarland's recent airline review described "…obscure Russian cities we fly over (who knew Yekaterinburg existed?)..." In fact, Yekaterinburg is notoriously well-known as the place where the Romanovs, the last tsar and family, were executed by the Bolsheviks in July, 1918.
David Cramond, Mornington, VIC
STALL GIFT
We often go to Yamba, like many of us who live in Byron Bay (Traveller, January 29), and it was a shame your writer seemingly missed the little market held on Wednesday mornings, the ferry that takes you over to Iluka, having a beer at the pub overlooking the ocean, swimming in the ocean pool and our favourite, lunch at Beechwood Cafe where every time we have been there we meet others from Byron Bay.
Wendy Taylor, Byron Bay, NSW
SHEDDING LIGHT
The reference in your story (Traveller, January 22) to Victoria's Gabo Island being "home only to a resident lighthouse keeper" is not only historically wrong, it is an insult to all the real lighthouse keepers who tended to these historical buildings. Chris Richter was the last serving lighthouse keeper in Australia, finishing his time on Tasmania's Maatsuyker Island. Having worked for the Federal Department of Transport and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) in the marine nav-aids section I think I am well equipped to correct your journalist's statement.
Lance Wilson, Noraville, NSW
LEVI STRESS
Further to Rhonda Seymour's letter (Traveller Letters, February 5) regarding march fly bites between December and February in the Snowy Mountains region, I too have experienced this problem. I was the only one in our group of four campers to be affected. I have since been told the flies are partial to denim fabric and to avoid wearing jeans when visiting the area. It may be that the colour blue attracts them. The fly bites were the only negative experience I have had in this glorious region.
Kathie Nelson, Tuross Head, NSW
WIN A SET OF THREE HARDIE GRANT TRAVEL BOOKS
The Letter of the Week writer wins Hardie Grant travel books worth more than $100, including Undiscovered Tasmania by Rochelle & Wally Dare; Emma Shaw's Ultimate Weekends Australia; and Vantastic by Kate Ulman.
See hardiegrant.com
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