Traveller Letters: Budget airline-style fees in business class? No thanks

Bad business

It’s time someone called out the insidious trend of airlines charging extra for every little possible thing they can. Qatar Airways, for example, has a so-called “business class lite” fare which, unlike standard business class, doesn’t allow lounge access or seat selection without significant additional charge. If such perks are not included in a business class ticket one can only wonder what one does get for the nevertheless exorbitant fare, compared to economy. Most airlines these days don’t even allow economy passengers to select a seat at all without paying extra.

Qatar Airways’ ‘business class lite’ fares do not include seat selection.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) should take a close look at such practices, which border on being misleading and deceptive. Otherwise, I suspect it won’t be long before the cost of a basic airline ticket won’t guarantee you the right to even fly inside the aeroplane. And the right to choose between tea or coffee during meal service, or to use the toilet, will also come at a premium.
Ross Duncan, Potts Point, NSW

Black star

We do not even consider flying Jetstar any more. Of the six Jetstar flights that I have booked in the last five years, none have been without incident or inconvenience. Negative experiences include a delay which saw us stuck in Denpasar airport overnight with no information or updates; a lost booking only resolved by a caring Qantas agent who I engaged in desperation; a cancelled flight with a rebook three days later and no compensation; a flight transferred from Sunshine Coast to Brisbane airport with no transport provided and my personal favourite – baggage stuck in the hold that had to be delivered the next day. Those experiences have taught me that the cost of flying Jetstar is much more than the ticket price.
Tracie Devlin, Redfern, NSW

Letter of the week: Lap it up

The clear waters of the old port at Oia, Santorini, Greece.

Ben Groundwater’s cover story (Traveller, June 29) on his standout restaurant experiences over two decades brought back so many memories, as we always travel with dining in mind. My most memorable place was Dimitris Ammoudi Restaurant in Oia, Santorini, Greece. To get there involves a treacherous drive down the side of the mountain to the idyllic bay and beach below. The restaurant is the last one in the row, where the water laps up to the beachside tables. We were fortunate enough to be seated on the small bricked platform that extended out over the water. We watched the sun go down behind the bobbing boats while feasting on lobster linguine (which I will never forget) and fish cooked over hot coals. Sublime.
Jo Tilley, Carlsruhe, Vic

Fair cop

The British journalist David Whitley (Traveller, June 29), described being pulled over by US police for a speeding offence. He was surprised to find that they were armed, believing this was a major cultural difference from his country. In Australia, our own traffic police are also armed. Perhaps you could identify where your correspondents come from, because their perceptions of the world may differ from ours.
Sandra Torpey, Hawthorn, NSW
EDITOR’S NOTE: Point taken and our online version of the article was updated to reflect this. For the record, UK-based David Whitley, a regular Traveller contributor, is a frequent visitor to Australia.

Pedal to the metal

Confronted with a Rockley, NSW, local pronouncing “we f—ing hate electric cars around here” (Traveller, June 29) perhaps Rob McFarland could have asked the person why? It would have been interesting to hear the answer. And then he should have offered to take him on a short ride and planted the foot on the accelerator. The local may have quickly changed his view.
Brendan Jones, Annandale, NSW

Plugged in

It was interesting reading about Rob McFarland’s trip. It is the first time I have read an article where the cost of charging electric vehicles is mentioned. The articles I have read focused on how wonderfully quiet the cars are and that charging stations are becoming more numerous. Now I have a cost comparison to work with.
Barbara Sweet, Cameron Park, NSW

Border insecurities

Like Chris Taylor (Traveller Letters, June 29), I too, have been caught up with the folk who find they have a typo error in their e-visa before boarding a Vietnam Airlines flight to Vietnam. After paying for an emergency entry document at Flight Centre, one then finds officials waiting at Ho Chi Minh Airport, where an official visa is organised, costing more time and money. Now a single entry visa, replacing the multiple entry visa, means problems were ahead.

The guide on our Mekong River cruise was able to smooth things over with the guards at the Cambodia-Vietnam border, by payment of yet more money for the several people on the boat with “visa irregularities”. Be very careful to check every name, date, letter, and number so the visa agrees exactly with the passport.
Patricia Gaudry, Gordon, NSW

Chris Taylor’s Vietnam visa experience echoes that of ours. The form went back and forth several times, to get the name on the visa correct, so when the visa finally arrived (and the name was near enough, but still not exact) we thought that must have been acceptable. About 20 people off our flight formed a miserable huddle around the visa area on arrival in Ho Chi Minh City to rectify the situation. And, yes, we too were stung by Flight Centre’s cost (15 times that of the original cost of the visa). Not a good start to our holiday.
Margaret O’Connor, Balwyn, Vic
EDITOR’S NOTE: Traveller continues to receive correspondence from readers on this issue. We invite the mentioned parties to write to us so as to shed some much-needed light on the matter, especially with Australia being the second-biggest non-Asian source market for foreign tourists to Vietnam.

Airs and disgraces

My wife and I recently travelled on four flights with Air India. On the four flights the entertainment systems on most parts of the plane did not work. It was hard to watch the safety briefing before take off as directed by the cabin crew and there were also dirty interiors, broken seats and tray tables and food and butter that should have been cold were hot. A functioning call button or overhead light were like a lottery. Campbell Wilson, Air India’s newish chief executive, has a large task ahead of him.
Peter Brown, Warrnambool, Vic

Tip of the week: Courting Singapore

Singapore’s Orchard shopping mall.Credit: Getty Images

Variety, comfort and cleanliness. Rather than Singapore’s old open-air hawker centres we now find food satisfaction in the many modern shopping centre food courts which are all conveniently linked to the MRT rail system. Raffles City, The Woodleigh Mall, Paya Lebar, VivoCity and the ION Orchard Centres are just a few favourites.
Judi Rosevear, Wantirna, Vic

Beat the jams

Having recently travelled to Queenstown to ski at The Remarkables, be aware that the traffic to and from the ski field is heavy and takes well over one hour in the morning and at the end of the day. If, like me, you are totally exhausted after a day on the slopes, consider staying at Frankton, located at the foot of the mountain – it’s closer and probably cheaper for accommodation with plenty of food options available.
Lea Chahoud, Chiswick, NSW

Crowd control

To avoid the crowds from cruise ships when you are visiting your favourite ports, Google online sites such as CruiseMapper. They give timetables of cruise ship port stops – the dates and durations. Links from the ships’ names give passenger numbers too. All you then need to do is plan your visits for the other dates. It worked well for my husband and I when we visited the Orkney Islands.
Mary Hoffmann, Richmond, Vic

Handy for Haneda

In Tokyo we use the airport limousine bus service to get to and from Haneda or Narita airports. It transports passengers to key Tokyo locations as well as offering pick-up and drop-off at several hotels. It is cheaper than a taxi and easier than using the metro, especially with luggage. The website is easy to use, and you can book directly at the airport or even pay onboard. It operates to multiple locations but has a restrictive timetable, so it is important to check departure times.
Philip Smith, Waterloo, NSW

Treasured island

Scenic Samoa.Credit: Alamy

I’ve been to Samoa several times, and it was on my first trip there in 1988 that I romanced an American architect sent by the US Navy to rehabilitate the author Robert Louis Stevenson’s house. I see from your article (Traveller, June 30) that it is now a museum. When I saw it, it was in a pristine state, even with the bed covers turned back as if Stevenson just got out of it. The next time I went to Samoa I climbed the mountain to see his grave, Tusitala. A beautiful country.
Jennifer Saunders, Bywong, NSW

Boiling point

I’m not sure why hotel bathrooms here and all over the world always have sinks that cannot fit a hotel kettle.
Michael Nicholls, Travancore, Vic

Beam me up

I agree totally with Charlotte Brewer and Judy Hungerford (Traveller Letters, June 29) that good lights above or next to the bed are essential. They’re one of the first things we look for when entering our accommodation. We have solved the problem by buying good battery operated “headlights” from a reputable camping-type store and carrying them with us. They do an excellent job when the light is poor. Happy reading.
Helen Biffin, Bickley Vale, NSW

Black and blue and burgundy, too

Hotels will never fix dim lights in their rooms, so I do it myself. More often than not the problem is with the shade over the bedside light. Black, blue and burgundy look great in photos but block out the light. I remove the globe, carefully unscrew the collar around the socket then remove the shade. It’s usually a great improvement – just remember to put the shade back before you check out so you don’t get billed for “damage” to the light.
Fran Callinan, Ivanhoe, Vic

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