After experiencing this airline, we’ll never bag Qantas again

Kenya believe it

Kenya Airways may have paid us $836 for ruining the last two days of our expensive safari holiday, but that wasn’t nearly enough. After we queued for three hours, they denied us boarding because they over-sold our flight from Nairobi to Johannesburg at 9pm. They shipped us in an old school bus to a hotel for the night where a guest was threatening violence towards the hotel manager. At 11.55pm the hotel waiter called us because we hadn’t paid $US7 for two drinks, mistakenly thinking Kenya Airways would pay.

After four hours sleep, we boarded another school bus back to the airport and endured four more flight delays. Following eight hours at Nairobi Airport we finally made it to Johannesburg to find Qantas had closed the flight back to Sydney. After much pleading, Qantas let us onboard and upgraded us. Our suitcases didn’t make it until two days later, but we will not bag Qantas again.
Mark Goldstein, Little Bay, NSW

Letter of the week: Mounting suspicions

Michael Gebicki’s article (Traveller, February 9) was a reminder of the admission fees incurred to be able to walk on the rough gravel path up Mount Vesuvius, Italy and also in that country, the tree-rooted tracks along the Cinque Terra (when and if open). With 2000 to 3000 people a day visiting Vesuvius at €10 (or about $15) a pop, it’s a lot of revenue not going into maintaining this rough steep track. And Cinque Terra at €15, there remain plenty of trip hazards to negotiate.
Geoff Maddox, Geelong West, Vic

Locked out

Reading Michael Gebicki’s piece concerning the recent imposition of charges to major tourist sites, I reminisced about my first European trip, some 53 years ago, as a new graduate living on the smell of that proverbial oily rag. Back then I enjoyed many of the attractions listed when there was no entry charge. These wonderful experiences instilled a lifelong love of travel and history which, sadly, will now be denied to many backpackers and families. I realise that upkeep costs have increased, and that donation boxes at these sites are emptier now, with fewer people carrying cash, but it’s regrettable that many tourists will be locked out by the price of entry.
Vikki O’Neill, Ashburton, Vic

Go Gozo

I read with great interest Ute Junker’s article on travel to Malta (Traveller, February 15). My wife and I spent two weeks there last year and absolutely loved it. There is a lot to see on the small islands of Malta and Gozo and, as Ute points out, St John’s Co-Cathedral is one of the most amazing churches you’ll ever see. Don’t miss the paintings by Caravaggio. Other highlights are Game Of Thrones’ filming sites, especially in Mdina, a city built by the Phoenicians. There are also some ancient civilisation sites dating back to 3000BC as well as some incredible buildings built by the Knights of Malta. For dining, I can highly recommend the Michelin starred restaurant Under Grain, located in a five-star hotel with head chef Victor Borg (a MasterChef judge) while for accommodation, we used The Plum Guide, an upmarket version of Airbnb with some incredible apartments to stay in, especially for an extended stay.
Michael Salih, East Melbourne, Vic

Society’s decline

I was interested to read of your author’s successful mingling on a river cruise in her piece (Traveller, February 14). My husband and I travelled on a river ship cruise on the Seine in France and on the first night, gregarious me asked a table, “may we sit with you?” and was astonished when we were given a flat “no”.
Jennifer Saunders, Canberra, ACT

Best bar none

In response to your request for Australia sightings overseas (Traveller Letters, February 14), we were in Turkey in 2014 and while in Goreme Cappadocia on our first day, we walked down the main street and were surprised to see a prominent sign outside a cafe proudly proclaiming to have an “Australian-trained barista”.
Frances McKay, Kensington, Vic

Hungary for a brew

I was in Budapest and discovered a little cafe in the city centre – My Little Melbourne Coffee. I spoke to the owners, a couple, who did a working holiday in Australia a number of years ago and loved our coffee so much they decided they would open a cafe when they got back home to Hungary. It has been so successful they have also opened one in the suburbs of Buda.
David Mezey, Horsley Park, NSW

Weed of the never never

In Prague last year, I was amused by a cannabis shop called “Koala Rasta”. I didn’t go inside to check it out but did confirm it is indeed Australian-run.
Paul L. Dover, Canterbury, Vic

Shorts and sweet

I was on a walking safari in Kenya’s Maasai Mara some years ago with my daughter Louise, two impressive warriors in red shawls and full tribal gear and a ranger carrying an old rifle, just in case. Mid-morning on our third day, a phone rings. “Did you bring your phone, Dad?” asks Louise. “No, I didn’t,” I say. Then we see one of the proud young warriors lift his shawl to retrieve his phone from a pair of colourful Billabong-brand shorts he was wearing underneath.
Bruce Southerden, Mermaid Beach, Qld

Only way to fly

Regarding the article (Traveller, February 7) having flown on Concorde I can confirm that when boarding, the cabin was small, and you sat in a pseudo sports car seat. But Concorde was far more than a seat; the experience was magical. The glamour of the Concorde lounge with dignitaries and the polite service from British Airways staff was exemplary. The take-off and acceleration to mach2, was exhilarating, but the magic was flying at a higher altitude (compared with normal jets) and looking out to the setting sun, night sky, and a glimpse of the earth’s curvature. I wonder whether supersonic travel will make a comeback, in addition to more long-distance fuel-efficient planes.
John Clay, Willoughby, NSW

Mind the bumps

After reading Traveller Letters for a while now it appears that many of the well-known airlines, such as Qantas and Emirates are doing their customers a great disservice. All too often we read that paying customers are bumped off their paid-for extra legroom or seat of choice only to find airline staff sitting there. When asked about it, airline staff are completely uninterested in helping, or, if they do, it’s under sufferance, followed by difficult-to-receive compensation.
Dolores Loppy, Richmond, Vic

Tip of the week: Gotta Bee

I recently visited Queenstown and bought a New Zealand Bee Card for $NZ5 on arrival. This fabulous card lets you take any bus for $NZ2.50 and ferries across Lake Wakatipu for $NZ10. Public transport makes sense as traffic and parking in Queenstown is tricky, as it’s a popular place with the local airport bus running every 15 minutes. You can even go to Arrowtown [the historic gold-rush town 20 minutes from Queenstown] on your Bee Card, while after my ferry ride on the lake I had one of the best pizzas ever at the Italian Way restaurant at the Queenstown marina. All the staff are Italian and you get views over the water to The Remarkables and I followed all the locals to Brunch On Church for the best coffee in town.
Julie Lynch, Oyster Bay NSW

Light and easy

I didn’t realise that I was such a trendsetter until I read Brian Johnston’s “naked flying” section of his travel trends story (Traveller, February 13). In 2011, my son was flying around the South Pacific on business and called me to ask whether I’d like to meet him in Auckland and keep him company flying back to Melbourne on a private aircraft? With my late wife’s agreement, off I went and landed in New Zealand, to the great consternation of immigration, as all I had with me was my passport, a book, toothbrush, the clothes I was wearing with a change of underwear in my pocket and a one way Melbourne-Auckland ticket. It took me quite a while to convince them that I was returning to Melbourne the next morning on a private Cessna Citation.
Les Aisen, Elsternwick, Vic

Hell and Helsinki I

I recently travelled Qantas international business class and was shocked to find upon boarding that I was on an old Finnair plane. The flight, from Sydney to Singapore, was one of the most uncomfortable and unpleasant flying experiences I’ve ever had. I was sliding out of my seat and had to put a pillow under my lower thighs and knees to stay secure in the seat, which did not recline. When I did lie down, one of the two seatbelts fastened over my lower thighs, just above my knees, while the other fastened around my neck; hence I didn’t use that one. Neither were safe in the case of turbulence.

After I complained to Qantas I was eventually told it was not considered a service failure and therefore no compensation warranted. This response was to a Platinum One and Lifetime Platinum customer, so I pity those who are Gold frequent flyers. I advise anyone who books in Qantas international business class to ensure they are not booking on a leased aircraft from Finnair, something they’ve done because former chief executive Alan Joyce did not invest in new aircraft.
Brian Abel, Tamarama, NSW

Hell and Helsinki II

After a long-haul flight from Sydney via Hong Kong to Helsinki, Finland, we had a connecting flight booked on Finnair to Bergen, Norway. Unfortunately, in Helsinki we were held up with large crowds at border security and customs. We then had insufficient time to rush to a far distant gate for our connecting flight to Bergen. Fortunately, a Finnair customer service representative was able to organise seats on the next flight to Bergen via Stockholm, Sweden, at no extra charge to us. Before boarding, the cabin crew on this flight also helped us get Wi-Fi to contact our pre-booked taxi driver waiting at Bergen airport to drive us to our hotel. We could then relax and have an hour or so in Sweden, albeit sitting in the plane. Even with Finnair’s assistance, our lesson learnt is to allow at least three hours if you’re transiting through large busy airports such as Helsinki.
Kathryn Cocker, Barrack Heights, NSW

Weight, there’s more

Our son recently flew between Sydney and Los Angeles on a Qantas ticket, but on an American Airlines flight and aircraft. He had an extra bag for which he knew he would have to pay extra and at the American Airlines check-in desk he learnt that if he had been on an American Airlines ticket that cost would have been $150. On Qantas it was $300. Same bag, same plane. What gouging.
Robyn Worland, Erskineville, NSW

Power and the passion

The passion for Australia’s great outdoors, from Western Australia’s Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park to Tasmania’s Tasman National Park, shines through in your readers’ excellent responses (Traveller on Sunday, February 15) to your 100 greatest Australian destinations cover story (Traveller on Sunday, January 18). It’s a reminder that nature offers treasures for all of us. It’s a great pity, then, that the Albanese government doesn’t seem willing to do everything possible to protect these remarkable places. Less than ideal environmental laws and a persistent appetite for expanding climate change accelerating coal and gas projects are doing our favourite destinations no favours.
Larni Dibben, Glen Iris, 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