Hi there
This news item about me
from the Christchurch Press 07 Feb 04
Not carrying cash on a budget airline is a major faux pas, DAVID KING discovers on Pacific Blue's first flight from Christchurch to Brisbane.
It is not the sort of mistake Tony Tubbs would make.
Arriving for a Pacific Blue flight without any cash makes for a long trip to Brisbane and back and worse than that, it's a huge faux pas among experienced budget travellers such as Tubbs.
Cash is definitely king in the world of New Zealand's newest budget airline, where one-way tickets to Australia cost as little as $99 but everything else taxes the wallet, from water at $2.50 a bottle to Richard Branson's autobiography at $20.
Tubbs, a fellow "guest" aboard Pacific Blue's first flight to Brisbane – the airline has erased the word passenger from its corporate vocabulary – is a veteran of 33 inaugural flights aboard Virgin aircraft.
So when the opportunity came up to fly on the first Pacific Blue flight across the Tasman, the Melbourne tram-roster organiser jumped at the chance to make his own little slice of history again.
He caught an overnight flight from Melbourne to Christchurch, arriving at 5.45am – in plenty of time for the 11am inaugural flight.
Tubbs, whose lounge boasts a set of Qantas business-class seats complete with tray tables, wants to make it clear that he does not wear an anorak and record aircraft registrations.
He is an airline, not an aircraft, fan and more than that, as his card proclaims, he is a Virgin Blue inaugural flyer.
"I'm not a plane spotter as such – I just enjoy riding in the aircraft," he says.
"I take an interest in low-cost airlines – I think they are the way of the future. And I wouldn't be here if I didn't like the service."
Speaking of service, Tubbs flew across on Air New Zealand and was not impressed with the new Tasman Express service.
The aircraft was an antique and the service was "crap", Tubbs pronounced.
The problem, he says, is that Air NZ has opted for a sort of half-way house between full service and budget. That means it compares poorly with its other new trans-Tasman rival, Emirates, which is a full-service operator. "If you are going to go no-frills, go no-frills – don't go halfway. At least if you have to pay, you get a choice of what you want from the menu."
Tubbs is not the only keen inaugural flier aboard the flight. Brisbane accountant Bevan Webber also grabbed a $99 fare for the first-time experience.
He thinks Pacific Blue will be great for New Zealand and Australia.
"Virgin Blue has been good for Australia – flights cost half of what they used to. I think more Australians will come to New Zealand because the competition will be much greater."
Tubbs and Webber both rate Pacific Blue highly, but they are both Virginophiles. So the hungry and thirsty journalist goes in search of other opinions.
Further up the aisle, Anita Liu is not looking quite so chirpy.
The first-time hostesses have not quite managed to get to her and although they have coming tantalisingly close a couple of times, the Canterbury University student now looks resigned to not being able buy a sandwich or a drink.
"I've been on Freedom and it's been better," she says.
There's a shortage of coffee on the flight and the natural elements conspire to create turbulence, meaning the meal service has to be suspended.
Perhaps the key reason for the slow service is Pacific Blue's pay culture which, instead of handing meals straight out, means a transaction for most passengers.
Cabin supervisor Tipu Daniels has come from full-service airlines and says the hardest thing to get used to is making everyone pay.
He thinks it will be hard for passengers to get used to as well and the airline is very upfront at telling passengers they will have to dig out their wallets.
Daniels is a veteran of the failed Qantas New Zealand venture and says it was great to win a new job with Pacific Blue.
Pacific Blue trades on having great staff and allows them to "let their personalities shine".
Daniels' certainly does.
Take-off is "blast-off" and he apologises for the high temperatures in the cabin before departure, saying passengers are more than welcome to wind down their windows after take-off.
Passengers are treated to an inflight game of roll-the-toilet-paper where each aisle of passengers competes to run the paper to the back without breaking the loo roll. Winning passengers get a free lolly.
Joining the flight at Brisbane is Peggy Heathcote who left New Zealand for the Sunshine Coast and has not been back for 20 years.
She's taking her Australian husband and two of her six children back to meet the relatives in Christchurch and then slowly back to her home town of Ruatoria on the east coast.
"I'm going back thanks to Pacific Blue and their cheap fares," she yells to applause.
Her young nephew is also along for the ride and is keen to improve his Maori skills.
"Kapiti, kapiti, two sugars, two sugars," he yells in his Queensland version of the haka.
His aunty agrees his skills need some brushing up before he hits Ruatoria but it is likely the whanau will be happy to see them, thanks to new competition in the skies.
Cheers
Tubbsy
Next flights.see http://www.anthonytubbs.com for details
This news item about me
from the Christchurch Press 07 Feb 04Not carrying cash on a budget airline is a major faux pas, DAVID KING discovers on Pacific Blue's first flight from Christchurch to Brisbane.
It is not the sort of mistake Tony Tubbs would make.
Arriving for a Pacific Blue flight without any cash makes for a long trip to Brisbane and back and worse than that, it's a huge faux pas among experienced budget travellers such as Tubbs.
Cash is definitely king in the world of New Zealand's newest budget airline, where one-way tickets to Australia cost as little as $99 but everything else taxes the wallet, from water at $2.50 a bottle to Richard Branson's autobiography at $20.
Tubbs, a fellow "guest" aboard Pacific Blue's first flight to Brisbane – the airline has erased the word passenger from its corporate vocabulary – is a veteran of 33 inaugural flights aboard Virgin aircraft.
So when the opportunity came up to fly on the first Pacific Blue flight across the Tasman, the Melbourne tram-roster organiser jumped at the chance to make his own little slice of history again.
He caught an overnight flight from Melbourne to Christchurch, arriving at 5.45am – in plenty of time for the 11am inaugural flight.
Tubbs, whose lounge boasts a set of Qantas business-class seats complete with tray tables, wants to make it clear that he does not wear an anorak and record aircraft registrations.
He is an airline, not an aircraft, fan and more than that, as his card proclaims, he is a Virgin Blue inaugural flyer.
"I'm not a plane spotter as such – I just enjoy riding in the aircraft," he says.
"I take an interest in low-cost airlines – I think they are the way of the future. And I wouldn't be here if I didn't like the service."
Speaking of service, Tubbs flew across on Air New Zealand and was not impressed with the new Tasman Express service.
The aircraft was an antique and the service was "crap", Tubbs pronounced.
The problem, he says, is that Air NZ has opted for a sort of half-way house between full service and budget. That means it compares poorly with its other new trans-Tasman rival, Emirates, which is a full-service operator. "If you are going to go no-frills, go no-frills – don't go halfway. At least if you have to pay, you get a choice of what you want from the menu."
Tubbs is not the only keen inaugural flier aboard the flight. Brisbane accountant Bevan Webber also grabbed a $99 fare for the first-time experience.
He thinks Pacific Blue will be great for New Zealand and Australia.
"Virgin Blue has been good for Australia – flights cost half of what they used to. I think more Australians will come to New Zealand because the competition will be much greater."
Tubbs and Webber both rate Pacific Blue highly, but they are both Virginophiles. So the hungry and thirsty journalist goes in search of other opinions.
Further up the aisle, Anita Liu is not looking quite so chirpy.
The first-time hostesses have not quite managed to get to her and although they have coming tantalisingly close a couple of times, the Canterbury University student now looks resigned to not being able buy a sandwich or a drink.
"I've been on Freedom and it's been better," she says.
There's a shortage of coffee on the flight and the natural elements conspire to create turbulence, meaning the meal service has to be suspended.
Perhaps the key reason for the slow service is Pacific Blue's pay culture which, instead of handing meals straight out, means a transaction for most passengers.
Cabin supervisor Tipu Daniels has come from full-service airlines and says the hardest thing to get used to is making everyone pay.
He thinks it will be hard for passengers to get used to as well and the airline is very upfront at telling passengers they will have to dig out their wallets.
Daniels is a veteran of the failed Qantas New Zealand venture and says it was great to win a new job with Pacific Blue.
Pacific Blue trades on having great staff and allows them to "let their personalities shine".
Daniels' certainly does.
Take-off is "blast-off" and he apologises for the high temperatures in the cabin before departure, saying passengers are more than welcome to wind down their windows after take-off.
Passengers are treated to an inflight game of roll-the-toilet-paper where each aisle of passengers competes to run the paper to the back without breaking the loo roll. Winning passengers get a free lolly.
Joining the flight at Brisbane is Peggy Heathcote who left New Zealand for the Sunshine Coast and has not been back for 20 years.
She's taking her Australian husband and two of her six children back to meet the relatives in Christchurch and then slowly back to her home town of Ruatoria on the east coast.
"I'm going back thanks to Pacific Blue and their cheap fares," she yells to applause.
Her young nephew is also along for the ride and is keen to improve his Maori skills.
"Kapiti, kapiti, two sugars, two sugars," he yells in his Queensland version of the haka.
His aunty agrees his skills need some brushing up before he hits Ruatoria but it is likely the whanau will be happy to see them, thanks to new competition in the skies.
Cheers
Tubbsy
Next flights.see http://www.anthonytubbs.com for details
