Qantas has basically just let themselves go altogether when it comes to remote and rural Australia. They have just given up on their Mt Isa – Brisbane connection. We are like the poor cousins that everyone has forgotten about. So let me tell you about our recent flight with Qantas… or was it with Qantas – I can’t be sure because the plane was definitely NOT a Qantas plane, it was Alliance, and I am pretty sure I booked my ticket through the Qantas website, but that was the last time I saw the flying kangaroo.
Yep, they were happy to rob me blind with our overpriced airfares but didn’t actually deliver on the service.
It is certainly no secret how unhappy people are with the price of airfares out of Mt Isa. To say they are expensive would be an understatement. You know you are in trouble when it is cheaper to fly international than what it is to fly Brisbane – Mt Isa.
My oldest boy is at boarding school down in Brisbane so we have just discovered the massive cost of airfares out of Mt Isa. I recently booked all of his trips home for school holidays and the prices varied. The reason why I bought them all at once was because there was a sale on – turns out the sale dates are very limited and I was only able to get a couple of cheaper flights, which – truth be known – were not really all that “cheap”.
Here is what the prices looked like:
June Return Flight – $765.30 (did you know you can fly Brisbane to Singapore for $680 – imagine that!)
August Return Flight – $463.68 – now that was a score wasn’t it – that is probably the cheapest flight you will ever get.
September Return Flight – $614.49 (sometimes you can fly to New York City for $999 from Brisbane!!!)
November One Way Flight – $221.70
So that is just for my son – one child for this year, heaven help me when there are two away next year. I did manage to get him home for easter using Frequent Flyer points so that only cost me a little over $110.00. Bonus!
Now to our recent trip away. Last week my husband and I flew down to Brisbane for a wedding – were were away for 3 nights. The cost for both of us – return – was $1,758.40 – oh Qantas, you shouldn’t have…. and you didn’t.
Lets chat about what we got for that – value for money if you will…
I booked via the Qantas website, so one would assume we were flying Qantas… right? OF COURSE – I hear you say. But you are wrong.
I am pretty sure the lovely lady who checked us in and tagged our bags was wearing a Qantas uniform but I have no idea why she was there or where she went because the plane we got on was DEFINITELY NOT a Qantas plane and there weren’t any ladies wearing a pink, red and black dresses. Not a red kangaroo in sight. Turns out that Qantas must have decided to call in sick, “sorry – we can’t be bothered showing up today so we are just going to send someone in our place. That company is called Alliance and they will take you to Brisbane, hope you don’t mind, is that ok with you Mrs Doyle?” Oh that’s right, there was no mention of this. There was no “oh Mrs Doyle, we are so sorry – Qantas have called in sick today, would you mind if Alliance takes you to Brisbane today – you don’t know them from a bar of soap but they will definitely take care of you….” Nothing. We did get an email saying our flight number had been changed, but that was it.
Seriously…. I am actually gobsmacked. That is like booking a ticket on the Ghan and having a random passenger train take you on your trip.
It is like booking a ticket on The Spirit of Tasmania, only to have a ship you have never heard of take you across Bass Straight – no mention of it, no questions asked… just jump on and go.
It is like booking your flight to Brisbane on Qantas but flying Malasia Airlines – flight MH370 – and not even questioning it. Welcome aboard Mrs Doyle… be alert but not alarmed.
We all just climbed on board this Alliance Aircraft with no question. Now don’t get me wrong, I am sure Alliance are a fantastic company who look after their planes, but I didn’t book my flight with Alliance, I booked with Qantas. I would be more than happy to book with Alliance if they offered reasonably priced flights out of Brisbane on a regular basis. But don’t take my money Qantas and then put me on a random plane that doesn’t even have your branding on board.
There is a reason people fly Qantas – it is your safety record. That is why we want to fly on a Qantas plane.
Does anyone else think this is a little weird, or is it just me: book Qantas, fly on a random plane…. no questions asked. It is mind boggling to me.
I tell you – the service stops as soon as you leave the Qantas website. They take your money and they just give up after that. The amount you pay for these flights you would expect a little bang for your buck – right? WRONG. Here is what you DON’T GET:
- There is no in flight entertainment – not a screen in sight, not even that little socket where you can plug in those funny earphones and listen to the radio etc.
- There is no Qantas streaming – so you can’t even use the “Qantas App” they tell you to download.
- Oh – and when you get to Brisbane you are not hooked up to a terminal you have to walk down the steps and across the tarmac.
- The food is inadequate to say the least. On the lunchtime flight we were thrown a sandwich (well not even a full sandwich – it was 2 soldiers), an apple and a mini Boost chocolate bar. Wine and Beer were “complimentary” – and when I say “complimentary” ….. well we did pay “1,758.40 for our flights so I reckon the least they could do is throw us a free wine. Oh we did get a water as well. On the return flight this is what we got:
I am not even kidding… a brownie. All I could do was laugh. Seriously…. that is it. You know what – they could have done away with the 2 flight attendants they had on board and just had a bowl full of brownies and drinks as you walked on. “Please grab a brownie and a drink and take your seat ladies and gentlemen, a video will take you through the safety guide” – would have saved a lot of hassle. I am still laughing just thinking about that brownie that was “breakfast”.
Now I would love to hear what your thoughts are on this matter. Am I way off or have I hit the nail on the head? Would you think it a little strange to book a flight on Qantas only to have a random airline fly you to your destination?
I have booked a flight with Qantas to New York City in May and I can tell you now that I would be slightly worried if they sent Malasia Airlines to take me instead. It is like booking a BMW hire car and getting a Hyundai and no one saying a single thing about it – just take your keys and don’t ask any questions but you still have to pay the BMW price.
I would love to hear if you have had this experience. Qantas has just given up on Mt Isa and I am pretty sure Virgin is doing the same. They are happy to take our money but not so happy to provide a satisfactory service.
Please let me know what you think in the comments below. I would love to hear from you. This really is an ongoing issue with rural and remote Australia. It is an issue that makes me wild to say the least. RANT OVER…. for now.
Sadly, let’s face it. No one in this country seems to care about rural Australia anymore. It will only be when they run out of decent food, that they will question what they have lost. 🙁
I am so hearing you – no one cares until the shit gets real. Does anyone actually realise where their food comes from. They will when it is all being imported from China – no safety regulations etc. We don’t really matter.
I’m city born and bred and I care about you and the rest of rural Australia ladies. I am concious to buy only Australian produce and I support Drought Angels and other rural charities that directly help our farmers. Some of us in the city, whilst not fully understanding rural hardships, do care and support you. Oh, and the day we have only food grown in Asian countries on our shelves, I’ll starve.
Hi Kellie, thank you so much for caring – so lovely to hear and we really do appreciate all of your support.
Sounds like the flights are all the same..Emerald trip would have the same comments. Have done Brisbane / Emerald MANY times for health issues and quality is the SAME as your story
Floss I always expect it to be a Qantaslink – and therefore when I book my ticket and it says “franchise/subsidiary” I just assume they mean we will be on the actual Qantaslink plane – I guess I was just so shocked this time when they just gave up altogether and put us on Alliance… turns out it is just a run of the mill occurrence. What ever happened to “book qantas, fly qantas”… it is crazy isn’t it.
Alliance does a lot of the mining FIFO like Moomba. If you have ever flown out of Brisbane on REX they are at the same counter. REX does do a school boarding ticket on the Mt Isa route ( not sure of the price though and it is the real milk run flight).
Hi Helena, thanks for that info, I will check it out.
It took me less than 10 seconds to search flights and take a screenshot (which your website won’t allow me to attach) of the prominent comment “this flight is operated by Alliance Airlines for Qantaslink”.
You’ve got a valid complaint in the pricing of travel in rural areas (and FNQ has nothing on rural WA, I assure you) but you’ve ruined it by ranting about irrelevances that show that you’ve not done any research and apparently haven’t been on a flight for years. Spoilers: most Qantaslink flights have no entertainment. As do most flights around the world, even on big planes in the USA. Maybe you should also read about codeshare flights before you go overseas or you’ll be in for a big shock. Just because you book on one company’s site doesn’t mean you’re on their plan. This is not a new thing!
Hi FF, you are right, I just had a look on Qantas and when you click to purchase the ticket it does say – “Operated by Qantaslink-Alliance Airlines” – I am pretty sure this is a new thing because it has always said “Qantaslink”. I have never noticed that before, I have always been on a Qantaslink plane, never one that wasn’t actually Qantas. Actually I am thinking that when I booked our recent flight it DID in fact say “Qantaslink” there was no mention of “Alliance” or what airline it would be with. I then got a notice saying there had been changes to my flight – it was just the flight number, still no mention of Alliance. I guess when you are on a Qantas website you just assume you will be flying with that branded airline – that is why you are on there. I have definitely learnt something today, so thank you for that. I do fly regularly, as does my son and he has always been on a Qantaslink on this route. My question is this – why don’t Qantas give up this this route to Alliance Airlines and be done with it. Thanks for opening my eyes to the crazy world that is Airlines. Out of control.
You may be correct I booked a flight for my sister home at Christmas -out of Mt Isa and it definately had Qantaslink. Around a week out we received a message saying it would be operated by Alliance instead. So it was somewhere between October and December when qantas gave up on this route.
Thanks Terasa, was starting to think I was going a little crazy. Mine definitely said Qantaslink when I booked it, the only thing that changed was the flight number. Suppose we should be grateful that there was a plane to take us at all.
Hi, I’m one of the pilots that flies those Qantaslink jets that you were taking between Mt Isa and Brissie. We are not actually Qantas or QantasLink either! Qantas owns the aircraft, and the company I work for is a contract company just like Alliance. So the pilots, cabin crew and day to day engineering crew are not Qantas group employees. Alliance has been operating the Isa flights due to crew shortages across the Qantas group, amongst a few other reasons. For example, we are doing more of the Rocky and Mackay flights as the Dash 8 turboprop fleet are short of crew, the B737’s that used to fly to Isa have been redeployed elsewhere (and they are short of crew too!). The Alliance flights are a temporary measure, and my understanding is that we will be bringing the B717 back into Isa by the end of the year.
And I agree, the catering these days sucks!!! But you don’t get anything better on the capital city flights either 😳
So lovely to hear from you and thanks so much for the comment, really appreciate it. Thanks for flying us safely between the Isa and Brisbane. Thanks for this information, I didn’t realise. I am thankful that we still have a flight out of Mt Isa. Where are all of these people who want to work for Qantas?
FF, I found the tone of your comment quite rude and patronising, not an appropriate way to put your point across, ” you haven’t been on a flight in years ” etc, plain rude, and trying to make our lovely Miss Chardy look naive
Thanks Loulou… FF is entitled to her opinion. But thanks for having my back.
I do tend to agree- we are in Brisbane and regularly fly to Rockhampton to see family – it’s less than 700km away but for short trips it makes sense to fly. Years ago, Tiger, Virgin and Qantas all flew between BNE and ROK every day and fares were competitive. Now it’s just Virgin and Qantas and I know at least one of them wacks on Alliance planes too, no questions asked. You used to be able to get fares for $69 on sale or $88 standard…back in Tiger days there were often $19 flights, $50 flights, etc. Now it’s hard to get a one way flight for under $130, for a 45 minute flight! Short notice you can pay $250+. My brother works in Brisbane but his family is in Yeppoon so he often gets hit with these premiums if his daughter is ill and his wife needs assistance, for example. It makes going for a long weekend way too expensive and so we rarely get up there to see family and visit our favourite spots.
Yes, these flights out of Mt Isa used to be operated by Ansett – when they folded Virgin came to the rescue with great prices, then Qantas and there was some great prices still, now they are just out of control.
Well Miss Chardy, that experience was a real crock of s… ,rural Australia is simply not a priority for Qantas. Now a word of warning, Qantas code shares with other airlines so you can end up on another airline for your flight that you assume is with Qantas, this has happened to me a few times on international flights. I have also been downgraded from my booked and paid for premium seat on an international flight as they overbooked the flight, all airlines do this. How they are able to get away with it is beyond me. We need to make this an issue at the next election and vote for those Politicans that are prepared to advocate for better rural air services. Maintain the rage I say.
I have definitely learnt something new today Heather – CODESHARING… now that is a word I didn’t know about. Wow – you were “downgraded” that is going from bad to worse…. how do they get away with it indeed??!!!!
On my last flight out of port hedland, our wonderful aircraft had cigarette ashtrays still in the armrests. Can anyone remember what year they stopped smoking on the aircrafts??? This was a $399 oneway flight 2 hrs to perth
Hmmmmmm. Nice. Oh $399 – what a treat for you Lauren. Spectacular.
Hell miss Chardy you hit it right on the head, Air lines do not give the flying Stuff about anyone but them self, Call it money money and the Australia government back them ,
Fly with REX I say. You can fly to Cairns if you pick the right flight return for $411 including tax. From there fly to Bne for $99 and tell the great Australian to shove it up their ass.
Codesharing with other airlines is very common BUT it’s usually very clear on the website when you’re booking. Also, what’s with the no inflight entertainment situation? Not even a headphone socket?! Seriously, flying like it’s 1982 was only fun in 1982.
I feel for you Chards. There are so many challenges living rurally – having to pay international flight rates to get your children home shouldn’t be one of them x
I could of written this for you. Same experience. Cost me $2000 a trip to go to see my dying mother in nz. Then another $2000 for her funeral a few weeks later. Could of gone business class on China air! Contact Hamish Griffin at Discovery Park in Cloncurry. Hamish is getting ready to address the Senate enquiry which will be held in Cloncurry. Send any info such as your experience to him to use. I flew to Brisbane on a crappy Alliance plane just like you said and then Brisbane to Sydney which was only an hour and had full International service and decent meal. The fares are outrageous. I would like to know why they are able to offer some flights at sale prices and not at other times? It is hard living in their environment at the best of times and we need to get away to recharge. Great article!
Had to fly to Townsville for family. Hervey Bay to Brisbane then Townsville one way was $350. Weeks later to return to Hervey Bay cost me $750. So angry.
I particularly enjoy the lack of baby change facilities on Alliance planes. I had the pleasure of changing my toddlers #2 on the airhostess’ seat while kneeling on the floor (34weeks pregnant) with the hosty eating her lunch next to me and the front passengers of the plane looking on.
I was so full after chowing down on my humility, I couldn’t possibly think of eating the delicious brownie they served.
Goooo Qantas!!!!
We in Port Hedland feel your pain. I can remember when you used to get a hot breakfast! Oddly enough it is cheaper at times to fly from Port Hedland to Thailand on a linked code share Qantas and Malaysian Air than a plain return flight from perth. You still need to go through perth. Mining run charter flights which i believe are the alliance flights. Mining also pre book a volume of seats per flight regardless. Bye bye cheap seats. Last minute. Try $1300. Mining go online 3 months before their flight and secure there preferred seat. Welcome centre seat. It is a joke. We have up to 7 flights a day. How to feel ripped off as a local. Hot air ballons, camels or sea travel. Better still scrap FIFO so airlines become competative. At least on Virgin you get mints.
I can not believe how much you have to pay for flights, so your flight to your nearest international airport could cost more than your international flight! The other pain with code sharing is if you have a food allergy you need to check if the other airlines can cater to your needs or if they serve your allergen on board. Good luck xx
Hello Miss Chardy. Rex One way tickets from Port Lincoln to Adelaide are $215, $380 or $441 – depending on how far in advance you book them. THIS IS A 35 MINUTE FLIGHT. I kid you not.. Qantas Link are currently $148 – $285 but I never fly Qantas on rural flights anymore. Their planes were always late/cancelled/didn’t meet connecting flights. When I finally stopped flying with them was the day ONE OF THE ENGINES WOULDN’TSTART. Can you believe it. They didn’t send a replacement plane, but off loaded all the passengers to take any spare seats Rex had available throughout the day. I missed my Adelaide – Sydney and OS connections. They did give us a complimentary bottle of water!! The “food” on our flights are always bagged rubbish. I still fly Qantas internationally but wouldn’t risk my sanity or my life on the rural (lack of) service. The drive from here to Adelaide is 7 hours. 8 if you take a break. I reckon the airlines know most people will opt for the flight and couldn’t give a rats about disadvantaging country people. 😡
Hope your flight to NYC is an improvement! Kind regards, Gail
Short hall flights to regional airports are surprising expensive to operate for the airline, that’s why they are expensive for the customer. Because the towns are so small demand for the route is small so the airlines have to increase the price to make up for it. The wear and tear on the plane is largely the same for an hour flight VS. an 8 hour flight so it costs more to maintain these aircraft. Because fuel is harder to come by in outback Queensland, the planes have to take enough fuel from Brisbane for the return which in the long run burns more. There are several other little extra costs involved here but you should get the idea. Also it being a low demand route, qantas contracts it out to alliance so the don’t have to worry about it. The expirence would have been largely the same if you were on the Qantas 717 compared to the alliance Fokker 100. Regional airline just don’t have the same service and in flight entertainment as the larger airlines do.
I fly with Qantas because i am in a wheelchair and need assistance getting on and off the plane. Flying to and from Isa to Brisbane on Alliance planes I had to crawl/drag myself through the service hatch to get off the plane as Isa Airport has disabled facilities for Qantas and for Virgin planes but not Alliance. Pathetic.
Good to see you tackling the big issues! Those regional flight prices are a disgrace. I hope Alan Joyce gets your message.
Hope you get some action.
Any news on the cream front?
Yes I just love that half a ham sandwich you get thrown and water poured out of a communal water bottle. Not even a whole sandwich. What do the attendants (interesting word as that is not we get) do for the other 90 minutes of the trip. Oh I know . Sit down strapped in their seats gossiping at the front of the plane.
Your article would have been quite funny had I not had the same experiences on many occasions. I do hope you are able to attend the upcoming Cloncurry hearing for the Senate Inquiry into Regional & Rural Air Services.
Hi Renee, not sure if I will be able to attend unfortunately. Bit of a hike for me.
I read your ‘rant’ with interest. I couldn’t agree more. We live in Townsville and it is sometimes cheaper to fly to Japan that Brisbane. Also on some international flights, you pay for a full fare ticket and they put you on a Jetstar flight where you have to pay for your meals – again! As for you flight later in the year Qantas codeshare frequently with Malaysian Airlines so I now don’t fly with them.
This is what is making our blood boil isn’t it Sally – pay for one thing and get another. I can’t believe you were put on Jetstar and made to pay for your meals.
i’m hearing you …. one of our staff had to make an urgent trip home this week as his mum was rushed to ICU with a life threatening health issue. We are talking major centres here – Darwin to Adelaide, but after little old cyclone Marcus caused the flights to be cancelled for a WHOLE day the cheapest flight he could find was @ $1200.00 one way. He couldn’t afford it so waited all day for the ‘red eye’ and paid @ $500 instead. Obviously stressed out of his brain with worry, poor bugger. Surely they could have just added a couple of extra flights and kept prices reasonable. They would have had empty seats on the other flights anyway because who can afford that?
$1200 one way – holy cow. A comment from Cheryl seems to think that Darwin and Adelaide aren’t necessarily “major cities” but last time I checked they were Capital Cities. Not everyone lives in Sydney or Melbourne… there is a lot over the Great Dividing Range. I really feel for your worker.
The same for Alice Springs. It is so expensive to fly from here to anywhere. The flights would be full if they were cheaper. I would fly a lot around Australia if it was cheaper from Alice Springs
The flight into and out of Mt Isa seems to be full every time I fly Elizabeth. They are certainly not missing our business. I have heard that it is the same from Alice. Crazy.
I am grom Mount Isa but now live inoranbah – we cop the same tjing- but atnleast we get Qantas link planes. But very over priced flights always packed old small planes with the same brownies you got haha. We however get to travel by bus from ground level of the airport to the back of the tarmack to board a plain – never have i ever had to get on a very over crouded bus just to get on a plane after checking in. As far as Im concerned Qantas oly see “mining town=charge more &give less” Luckily for us our flights were paid by someone else as there bis ko way we could afford over $1400 for 2 x return tickets from Moranbah to Bris!
Hi Mon, thanks for your message. Very frustrating isn’t it.
Great article & so true. I wish there was something we could do. I did contact our state member but nothing they can do. Its pathetic how we are treated when QANTAS was founded for rural remote Australia
Yes – founded in Winton 1920 and stands for Queensland and NT Aerial Services – they seem to have forgotten their roots Monica.
You would be surprised how often you are flying on a different airline that is badged as Qantas. Qantas and Virgin both use contract airlines and those aircraft are badged/painted accordingly. The crew all wear the Qantas or Virgin uniforms however they are employed by the contractor.
There is every likely hood that a different aircraft had to be swapped in due to mechanical or scheduling issues.
When you book online there is usually a small “disclaimer” that states something like Flight XY123 is operated by Such and Such Airlines.
If it puts you at ease all commercial airlines are subjected to the same scrutiny from CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority). They are all pretty on par.
We live in Coonawarra SA, closest airport is Mount Gambier, REX have a monopoly and charge accordingly. The local paper reported that REX issued a heap of threats when the council were trying to upgrade the airport in the hope it might bring in other airlines to create a fair market.
My two cents worth 🙂
Thanks for your message Bec. I have learnt quite a bit from this little rant of mine. I honestly didn’t have a clue what “codesharing” was and had never heard that word before. Really interesting comment from one of the pilots who fly these “contract” planes – shed more light on why. Really appreciate it. I am very thankful for our safe airlines here in Australia and that we can fly out of Mt Isa at all.
But how old are those alliance planes, the last one I was on still had the ash trays in the arm rest, although they had been glued shut. And we had the pleasure of sitting at the back of the plane and we may as well been in the toilet because that was what it smelt like. We pay first class prices for a third class service. When they took the 737 planes away gave us the QantasLink 717 they sold it as a service improvement, ha what a load of horses#*t, those planes were forever breaking down. They were getting so much bad press that they decided to use another company therefore deflecting any issues with the service, “ it’s not our fault, not our plane”. They did mention last year that this was a temporary fix until March this year but it has already been extended, I doubt we will ever see a Qantas plane here again, and finally Vitgin are just as bad, they started using Alliance along time ago so Qantas figured they would join the club and they could keep their planes for the city customers.
Very frustrating Neil. I had a comment from one of the pilots who fly these plane, it was really interesting to read and shed some light on the situation.
Dear Miss Chardy
Yes I am commenting but you may not be happy to receive it. Whilst as somebody living comfortably in a major city in Australia, I have travelled into rural Australia as well as the major routes – not sure why you are slinging your agro at Qantas or for that matter complaining about being what you feel to being downgraded to another airline. That other airline got you to Brisbane safely I assume as you did write the article.
Yes I understand your annoyance at the costs of travel internally in Queensland but at least you do have some form of getting safely from your very remote location with a very small population to a regional capital in Queensland, the cost is to get you there again safely and NOT for small screens, wifi points, a la carte catering – I repeat safely. Perhaps when you do take the trip to New York in May you undertake a trip to elsewhere on the North American continent with a similar population density as Mount Isa to Brisbane – just that bit difficult to do. The continental USA is similar in size to Australia however here is the important difference: Mount Isa (population around 20,000) to Brisbane (population 2.5 million by the end of 2018) across a huge empty area at a distance around 1,800km. So New York (population as at 2018 of 8 million plus) to Omaha Nebraska (population nearing half million) and over a similar distance (2,000km) with a lot of major cities in between such as Chicago, Des Moines etc.
Advertised “cheapest” flight I found just now between the two cities is around USD$300 – more than AUD400. AND over this very busy part of the USA serving this route, there are at least four major airlines Frontier, Delta, United, American Airlines – so not quite apples with apples, eh? Travelling in the US in the pits and would make your flight to Brisbane look like good value – so you had a sandwich thrown at you? Even on a major like American you would need to take you lunch with you.
For some reason you were comparing Qantas with Malaysia Airlines (note correct title) – not sure why. Because if I had the choice of flying from Australia to New York with Malaysia over Qantas (and the price was right) I would. Having flown to Europe on Malaysia in their A380 – fortunately not the one shot down over Ukraine otherwise would not be doing this comment, the service was great, the staff were great AND it was a brand new plane – not sure why you chose Malaysia to compare unless you have NOT done a lot of travel outside of Australia on US or European carriers as I have.
Similarly, in Canada where there is even less competition than in Australia (though not necessarily in outback Queensland, I admit) the cheapest flight I could get from Toronto to Calgary (a distance of approx. 2,700km by air) in June this year was CDN300.00 (almost par to AUD) – note the distance from Brisbane to Perth is similar or further around 3,600kms. However that did NOT give me a guaranteed seat to travel with partner NOR free baggage – to get that sort of deal at the time of travel would have been around CDN500. And that was booking almost 4 months in advance. Oh, and yes we will need to take our own provisions for the 4 hour flight.
I am also travelling to New York in June on Qantas because Malaysia, Cathay, JAL etc. do not go direct to New York (well via LAX).
Whilst I can feel your pain at the variance in fares, please just consider so many other options like isolation, safety, etc. when you need to take those flights to Brisbane. And I do love the comment from Mrs Rumbo about the fare from two major centres – Darwin and Adelaide? Ah no, not really “major” centres in the real scheme of air travel – again apples and mangos??
As an example of why that is nonsense I will give an example: I received news from the care facility where my mother was dying on a Monday night that it might not be long before she went (they know). So I immediately contacted the much maligned Qantas (and like you a regular traveller) – it was close to midnight and I had checked fares. Thanks to the Qantas staff person, I was on a flight from a seriously major hub in Australia (population 4 million) the next day to spend the last 24 hours of her life with my mother. The fare? We went through all the configurations considering it was a “compassionate” situation and from memory my return Melbourne to Brisbane was just over the usually advertised special of around $300 – the lowest advance purchased fare plus a bit (and availability). So yes, that is a “Cityflyer”, competitive route (at times every half hour and I think four airlines) between two of the three largest cities in this wide (very wide and densely populated) country.
Hi Cheryl, thanks for your comment and the research you have done for it, I appreciate this information – it has definitely been a learning curve for me. I am definitely not as well travelled as you. Cheryl, I really don’t care about the food, in flight entertainment or wifi, but when you are forking out such high prices you expect something.
I was very happy to be transported safely by Alliance and their crew service was fabulous. Not sure if you have been to Mt Isa before but the population isn’t that small, the plane is always jam packed full.
Qantas was founded in Winton QLD (in between Mt isa and Longreach) back in 1920 and stands for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services – they seem to have forgotten their roots.
Your flight from Melbourne to Brisbane return was super cheap. I am so sorry to hear about your Mum, so glad you got to spend some time with her. Thanks again for you message and information, really appreciate it.
Yep, it’s expensive as.
Everyone complains BUT everyone keeps paying.
Take the extra time off & drive or stop complaining, pay the price, & fly.
It’s a simple choice isn’t it??
Not really Paul. Perhaps you are new to the blog, welcome! I would love to take the extra time off and drive but it is a 3 day drive to Brisbane for us. We live a further 5 hours from Mt Isa. So just to get on the plane involves a 5 hour drive to town – 195km’s of dirt, 12 gates and then another 180km of bitumen. Isn’t as simple as you would think. Thanks for your comment and I realise I am having a massive rant, but I am allowed to – that is the whole point of this blog. Seems to resonate with my bush readers too.
Happens all the time if you don’t live somewhere with heavy flight traffic. Even happened to me when i flew to Australia from Heathrow. No tv’s and poor food is also normal. The airports wants you to spend money before you fly.
Gosh Cate… I really am on a steep learning curve here aren’t I.
Slightly melodramatic perhaps?
The cost of those flights are admittedly outrageous and the inflight entertainment situation slightly inconvenient ( but a great excuse for a nap) but otherwise, your flight was reallocated to an airline within their trusted network, which is something you agree to as part of the terms when you purchase the ticket.
The qantas pilot or crew may have fallen ill and been unable to fly, a wheel may have fallen off the qantas aircraft, the plane may have been held up on another route and been unreasonably late, or something else could have happened that would have endangered passenger safety. All things QANTAS has no control over. Given the choices, I know which flight I’d choose.
I also think that comparing being simply reallocated from Qantas to a partner airline who got you to your location safely and on time ( I assume, as I feel you would have mentioned any delays) to MH70, which is ( conspiracy theories aside) filled with passengers and crew at the bottom of the ocean somewhere, really distasteful, lacking in any empathy for those people and their families and offensively full of self and privelige.
I’m all honesty I hope that flying on an aircraft that had a blue tail instead of a red one that safely got you to your destination and walking on the tarmac, which is what I do on most qantas and virgin flights from Melbourne to Sydney, were the biggest inconveniences and major disasters of your trip.. because that would make for an awesome weekend.
Hi Craig, yes probably slightly melodramatic but seems to resonate with a lot of people, not just me. Don’t get me wrong, the crew on board were fabulous, and I was thankful to be on a plane at all. I don’t really care about in flight entertainment, walking on the tarmac or the food but when you are paying airfares that are so ridiculously expensive you expect something. Seriously. I thank you for your comment. Do you live in the City?
Couldn’t agree more!! My newborn son and I just had to fly to Brisbane for a medical procedure for him (not covered by Medicare) and it cost us almost $1000. Like you said we fly Qantas for their safety record, I don’t want to get on some half rate airplane with an airline I know nothing about. It’s a disgrace
That is exactly it Sara.
This has been going on so long but looks like its getting worse. I had 3 children in boarding school in Toowoomba and Warwick a few years ago and had the cost of bus fairs as well. We are contractors and we had to fly the kids from various locations. Even then it was cheaper to fly to asia than Brisbane to Mt Isa. It was even cheaper to fly to Darwin from Brisbane. As for changing the plane, changing the flights are one thing but a whole different company?? That ive never heard of and i wouldnt be happy abtbbeither!
Linda, so glad I am not the only one who hasn’t heard of changing the plane so dramatically.
I suffer the same price trap. Flying from Brisbane to either Moranbah or Mackay. How can the same plane on the same route have so many different fares. Moranbah to Brisbane…$1504 one way and another time it is $281. Brisbane to Mackay…$150 and another day it is $544 one way. Everyone is complaining about the fuel price but maybe we should look into the blatant rorting the airplanes are up to.
Very frustrating.
I am still not getting around the cost, my daughter and I went to the Melbourne Cup from Mount Isa. It was cheaper to drive to Townsville and fly down from there, it may have taken a bit longer but at that time it didn’t matter to us and we saved enough money that way to pay for a hire car for 4 days and a motel stay over for 1 night. Go figure? put a little on the flights up and down the coast and take it off prices for the bushies.
Yes, so true Gail, if I lived in Mt Isa I would nearly drive to Townsville to fly, just too far from our place though.
Hi Chards, Unfortunately codesharing is a thing world wide. Last year I flew from the States to Budapest, booked on United website, cause it ws cheaper than booking on Lufthansa’s even though 3 legs were on Lufthansa. Then they didn’t have my return flight even though I had a physical ticket! Had to call UA back in the States to sort it out. Unfortunately, we are experiencing the same price gouging, lack of service cattle car flights in the States! Sorry about your troubles!
If there is one thing I have learnt from this rant it is “codesharing” – so thanks for enlightening me on that one. Gosh it is just so frustrating isn’t it.
Hello there, I recently booked an international flight with Qantas. Not only were their domestic connections impossible to meet in terms of time, but their on board food service was pitiful…may as well been at Macias. Yes, I’m afraid that Australians are getting left behind. My warning to Qantas is don’t bite the hand that fed you.. Liz from Melbourne
Agree Elizabeth.
all country flights are over priced for the distances we travel. Pt Lincoln have 2 airlines, Quantaslink and Rex, they say 2 airlines are robbing each other, it can be at least $350 for a 45minute flight.
Painful isn’t it Sue.
The joys of Qantaslink.
The food issue does my head in. Half a sandwich and a tiny bottle of water is not worth the small fortune I fork out on my frequent Qantaslink flights. Even being a gold or platinum member doesn’t improve the situation. And on the late flights they’ve usually run out of the bottles of water and are serving it in cups!
I will say this, I find the staff overall good. But the catering on Qantaslink needs a vast improvement.
Not that it will. It’s not like there’s any competition at most these places.
Annie, I agree – the staff are fabulous. Most of us don’t really care about the food, but yes – when you are paying ridiculously high prices you expect something.
Sorry but you lost me at “That is like booking a ticket on the Ghan and having a random passenger train take you on your trip.”
From there your whole story unraveled and became a pointless whinge.
Truth of the matter is that these flights cost more to operate than international or flights between capital cities and often there is not the demand to fill a plane
Oh Matt, probably was a pointless whinge – but that is the beauty of my blog… I can do that. Seems to have resonated with my readers though. And as for “there is not the demand to fill a plane”… not sure that is true Matt. Have you ever been on one of the flights from Mt Isa to Brisbane? They are always full.
Try bringing a knee op patient home expecting Qantas Business Class to accomodate his knee brace…..to be jammed into an Alliance plane home…wasn’t pleasant…lot of “f’s and c’s” believe me Danielle
Did you really book “business class”…. that is terrible… certainly no business class on there Marg.
Brisbane to Mt Isa for my Father’s funeral was $3200 return for 2 of us.And that was with the discount they give you if you supply the Death Certificate.I’m aware that flights are cheaper if you get the right dates and book ahead, but you just can’t plan that type of thing in advance can you.We could have both done a World trip on that.When i lived there it was cheaper to leave your car in Cloncurry or Longreach and fly to Brisbane.I thought your rant was very well written and justified.My average return flight costs to or from Mt Isa on special where $800 return.It does not help that Mt Isa Airport charges huge fees, but ive never been on a flight there that is under 3/4 full so they can afford it.I’m taking my Mum to N.Z soon and it cost $470 return for the 2 of us including baggage.The Mines had a lot to do with the prices when i lived there, we had a discount carrier for a while but the Mines wanted their frequent flyer points so did not use it for Business though us workers did and we lost out when it left.Do they not see that we use it as a connecting flight to other cheaper Qantas destinations? Where is their customer care? Most times i drive the 2000km it’s cheaper and you meet a lot of customer focused small town businesses along the way, including Longreach who still does Driveway service and various little towns who are happy to rent you a room just for a few hours nap along the way and where nothing is too much for their visitors.Come on Qantas we have been loyal to you for years due to your safety record, how about some better service for Rural Australia who pay your highest prices and are where you started, Remember?
What on earth – “supply the death certificate”…. goodness. You could have travelled Brisbane to NYC for that. Qantas was started in the bush – but seems to have forgotten its roots. The planes are always jam packed when I fly too, no matter what day it is.
I was thinking the EXACT same thing, and when I seen you had written this I was so happy it wasn’t just me being nasty! I could not believe we were put on Alliance when we had paid a fortune for QANTAS. I could not believe the crappy states those planes were in either and the noise they made when taking off and landing was terrifying. Do not even get me started on the food too! On the flight from Brissy to Isa, they had run out of those brownies and about 6 of the poor people behind me were given a small bag of chips. Honestly one of the worst flights I’ve ever had on those planes in the last couple of weeks. I am not usually one to complain about these such things and am generally just grateful we at least have regional flights close, however, this just really ground my gears!! QANTAS really has to pull their s**t together when it comes to regional flights as we’re just as, if not more, important than those in larger cities.
Yes, I am grateful we have a flight out of Mt Isa too but seriously.