Originally Posted by
mikelee
I recently flew business return to Asia and was really shocked by the cost cutting. Just to name a few things..
- no newspaper or magazine
- very limited selection of new films
- very limited selections of juice and beer (orange & Steinlarger only on return to AKL)
- no cookie from the snack menu and muesli bar not even full size
- no cheese board or fruit basket on offer, in fact a lot of items on the menu will not be offered unless you ask for them I suspect, it's now on demand, like NetFlix LOL
- WiFi wasn't even working on return to AKL
- the appetizers were served on a tiny plate, meant to be two bite at the most
- no nuts on offered, used to get them with pre-flight drink I remember
- on return to AKL the crew did not even come around 2nd time to offer bread re-fill
- no ice cream for dessert, I remembered many years ago watching a video on youtube and really surprised that ANA even served Haggen-Dazs to their economy class passengers! At least business class passengers were offered premium Whittaker chocolates just before touch down, instead of hard candies.
The crews were wonderful but I'm sure customers in this price range will notice more than a few things missing, so might shop around next time. Business Premier is supposed to be a class between First and Business but felt more like a class between Business and Premium Economy to me. The lie-flat was a real disappointment too, it's so narrow that unless you're skinny and well under 170cm, you'll only feel comfortable lying on your side. My feet especially, felt so cramped when in the lie flat facing the ceiling position. Spoke to my fellow passengers and it's the first time some of them have sat in a non-front facing seat and didn't enjoy the experience at all. They said that they had no idea the seats were arranged this way as the online photos were shot at an angle that doesn't show the true business class lay out.
Anyway, I wonder how much longer Greg is going to be around for? He must be coming up to be the longest serving CEO since Jim McRea LOL. Such a bad idea by the board, to be paying dividend 2yrs earlier than forecasted too, just to please its majority share holder. Should have used the higher than expected revenue to top up the war chest or to reduce its debt.