I recently travelled from Calgary to Melbourne on Qantas and was very disappointed. My husband booked directly with the airline and informed the agent that I was pregnant and needed an aisle seat at the very least. We also requested a kosher meal with the booking. We phoned a few days prior to departure just to confirm everything and were told that neither our seat nor meal request was in the system. We requested them again.
When I arrived in LA, there was no indication of either the seat nor meal request. I was scheduled to sit in the very middle of a block of seats. Anyone whose been pregnant knows that frequent trips to the bathroom are essential, especially on a 13 hour flight. Luckily, our plane was delayed so I had the opportunity to voice my concerns - again. Miraculously, a seat appeared in the front row. A seat that hadn't been offered to me before, despite my enquiries about 'a spot with more legroom so I could at least get out when I needed to'. I suppose I should be thankful for small mercies.
On the return leg, I decided to call and make sure my seat was requested and my meal was registered. What a surprise! No sign of my requests and it was too late to order the kosher meal. Great. Oh, and the seating register was closed. I arrived early to check in, hoping I could obtain one of the front row seats again but alas, nothing was available. All bulkhead seating was taken up by parents and their babies. The best they could do was an aisle seat. Fabulous (sarcasm). I was told taht all seats with extra legroom were already assigned to those who needed it and perhaps I shouldn't be travelling if I'm this concerned about my back whilst being pregnant. Thanks for the great customer service! How rude!
On the plane, I decided to go for a walk and check out the front row seat situation. I saw 2 people with laptops and one middle aged lady. No seniors, no pregnant women and certainly no-one who obviously needed that space more than me.
All in all, my experience was horrible, made worse by the rudeness of the customer 'service' lady named Jo. I did not receive any of my special meal requests and despite every effort to ensure my preferences were recorded, they failed to be. I even had them listed in my booking online. After this, I will definitely be flying with another airline, one who cares about the special needs of its passengers. Its no wonder Qantas is in trouble.
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