Japan Airlines - JALways and worn-out B747

thegoons wrote:

I flew from Osaka (Kansai) to Sydney last week, on a Japan Airlines ticket.
Was most disappointed to learn that whilst it was still listed as a JAL
flight, it was in fact operated by JALways, a JAL Group company (subsidiary,
but operated independently as a separate company with separate
board/chairman etc) with Bangkok-based flight attendants (mix of Japanese
but mostly Thai) and Honolulu-based pilots (Americans). To add insult to
injury, the JALways aircraft (complete with the old livery that was starting
to be phased out 2 years ago) was a 747-300 series, extremely worn and
battered. The interior was like from some cheap motel in the 1970's
(complete with peeling retro wallpaper and worn-out carpets).

Funny how they try and fake it too, the Thai stewardesses had obviously been
handpicked, they chose those that most resembled Japanese, put their
hairstyles in the same JAL standard and try to flog-off an inferior cheap
"product" at JAL premium prices.

This has been the situation on their "Resocha" flights to Hawaii for about as
long I as I have lived where I am now, perhaps eight years. All foreign cabin
crew except chief flight attendant or crew chief.

I see no difference in quality (which is telling) between the Japanese
attendants and the well trained Thai attendants. And now I realize that most
Japanese customers have been satisfied enough, for the practice to be
continued, and expanded.

It is a cost saving measure, I am sure, NOT to provide an exotic experience on
the way to the resort destination, as the in flight announcement used to claim.

I am not complaining about the service, that was quite good, but I do feel
that it is wrong for JAL to exploit cheaper crews,

I am pretty sure the Thai ladies are well paid considering. I do feel sympathy
for Japanese flight attendants in general, who had experienced a hiring freeze
for a number of years, or been hired for only part time positions. It is a far
cry from the days in which the news reported the average salary of a Japanese
flight attendant was eight million yen a year.

and have the hide to
charge passengers the full premium JAL airfare. Nowhere on my ticket or
itinerary was it published that the flight would be operated by another
airline. Keep it up JAL, I'll try another airline next time.

I'm still hard pressed to find an airline with flight service home better than
JAL or JAZ (charter), as it may be called here. Particularly if going through a
ticket discounter such as H.I.S., the difference between a JAL flight and the
cheapest flights like Korean Air, Northwest or Continental, is only about 3,000
yen. There is no reason for me to try to save money by choosing another airline
now.

And in 11 years of living in Japan, I have never flown cheaper. I've flown
round trip to Hawaii for as little as 58,000 yen on JAL. My previous low was
more like 78,000 yen. And I've paid as high as 198,000 during a peak season,
and been asked for 300,000 during a walk up (and had it "discounted" to the one
year ahead rate of 130,000 at the time because I was flying home when my father
died). This year I flew again for 78,000 this summer, probably due to higher
fuel costs.

--
"I'm on top of the world right now, because everyone's going to know that I
can shove more than three burgers in my mouth!"

thegoons wrote:

I object to JAL's greed,

All I have noticed is that I am paying the lowest JAL fares I have paid in 15
years of flying, and believe the cost cuts, hiring freezes, use of temporary
and part time flight attendants, and foreign flight attendants, are related.
JAL, like many other airlines, are experiencing decreased revenues and actual
losses.

then to pretend the staff are Nihon-jin by putting them in stereotype JP
hairstyle, uniform etc.

JAL is not pretending Thai flight attendants are Japanese. One can see or hear
it quite readily. The names, such as "Porntep" are also a hint they are not
Japanese.

What JAL is pretending on flights to Honolulu, is that the use of non-Japanese
flight attendants is for the express purpose of beginning the travelers'
"resort" experience. Aircraft used for "Resocha" flights are painted in yellow
and pink with a long billed bird and hibiscus motif to set them apart from
normal flights and aircraft.

--
"I'm on top of the world right now, because everyone's going to know that I
can shove more than three burgers in my mouth!"

On Wed, 20 Oct 2004 21:17:54 +0900, Eric Takabayashi
brought down from the Mount tablets inscribed:


What JAL is pretending on flights to Honolulu, is that the use of non-Japanese
flight attendants is for the express purpose of beginning the travelers'
"resort" experience. Aircraft used for "Resocha" flights are painted in yellow
and pink with a long billed bird and hibiscus motif to set them apart from
normal flights and aircraft.

Y'all take turns going out on the wing during flight to admire the
paint scheme, do ya?






--

Michael Cash

"I am sorry, Mr. Cash, but we are unable to accept your rap sheet in lieu of
a high school transcript."

Dr. Howard Sprague
Dean of Admissions
Mount Pilot College

On Wed, 20 Oct 2004 21:17:54 +0900, Eric Takabayashi
brought down from the Mount tablets inscribed:


What JAL is pretending on flights to Honolulu, is that the use of non-Japanese
flight attendants is for the express purpose of beginning the travelers'
"resort" experience. Aircraft used for "Resocha" flights are painted in yellow
and pink with a long billed bird and hibiscus motif to set them apart from
normal flights and aircraft.

Y'all take turns going out on the wing during flight to admire the
paint scheme, do ya?






--

Michael Cash

"I am sorry, Mr. Cash, but we are unable to accept your rap sheet in lieu of
a high school transcript."

Dr. Howard Sprague
Dean of Admissions
Mount Pilot College

Michael Cash wrote:

. . . I object to JAL's greed, then to pretend the staff
are Nihon-jin by putting them in stereotype JP hairstyle, uniform etc.

So you want the airline to have separate uniforms and grooming
standards for their employees based on their ethnicity or national
origin?

Ah, I completely forgot!

On Resocha flights to Honolulu, the flight attendants also dress differently
from the usual JAL flights. True, the lone Japanese crew chief, if male, is
middle aged and wears a black tuxedo. The women (including Japanese crew chief,
if female, any age) wear green uniforms with bright colored scarves, I think
orange or yellow. I have never seen an ordinary male flight attendant in Japan,
just the one trainee in a flight attendant's school on TV years ago, whose fate
never became clear.

What other discriminatory employment practices do you advocate?

That JAL continue to favor attractive flight attendants, be they male or
female, and put them in professional, yet attractive uniforms. I don't care
about nationality as long as they can speak common languages. "Standard"
dialect only, no teenspeak.

Flight attendants should be tall enough to reach overhead compartments unaided,
and thin enough to pass down aisles walking forward, preferably able to squeeze
by a colleague with a cart.

Flight attendants should have two usable legs and two usable arms with at least
one hand and two fingers. They also need to be sighted in at least one eye.
Hearing impaired flight attendants must be able to lip read in common
languages. Pregnant flight attendants should be grounded to avoid exposure to
solar radiation.

Invasive background or security checks should also be conducted, at least prior
to hiring. Firearms restricted to approved cockpit crew.

"Tasteful" use of cosmetics, piercings, and tattoos. No smoking, eating or gum
chewing while making rounds. No stereos or handheld games. No wireless
communications devices. Try to limit restroom visits to break time. Prayer in
separate, designated prayer areas.

Did I forget something?

--
"I'm on top of the world right now, because everyone's going to know that I
can shove more than three burgers in my mouth!"

In article ,
Eric Takabayashi wrote:


Flight attendants should be tall enough to reach
overhead compartments unaided,

Yes, perhaps for doing things like digging out a pillow or blanket
for an already buckled-in passenger, closing compartment doors
prior to takeoff, maybe assisting in rearranging stuff in a
compartment to allow a late arrival to fit in one more bag --
-- but not for lifting some passenger's overloaded wheelie or
overweight backpack up into the compartment.

Sure, either they or any of us able-bodied fellow passengers
can voluntarily help some frail elderly person lift a carryon up
into a compartment -- but I don't see that wrestling with heavy
bags should be any part of their officially designated duties.

In article ,
Eric Takabayashi wrote:


Flight attendants should be tall enough to reach
overhead compartments unaided,

Yes, perhaps for doing things like digging out a pillow or blanket
for an already buckled-in passenger, closing compartment doors
prior to takeoff, maybe assisting in rearranging stuff in a
compartment to allow a late arrival to fit in one more bag --
-- but not for lifting some passenger's overloaded wheelie or
overweight backpack up into the compartment.

Sure, either they or any of us able-bodied fellow passengers
can voluntarily help some frail elderly person lift a carryon up
into a compartment -- but I don't see that wrestling with heavy
bags should be any part of their officially designated duties.

In article ,
Eric Takabayashi wrote:


Flight attendants should be tall enough to reach
overhead compartments unaided,

Yes, perhaps for doing things like digging out a pillow or blanket
for an already buckled-in passenger, closing compartment doors
prior to takeoff, maybe assisting in rearranging stuff in a
compartment to allow a late arrival to fit in one more bag --
-- but not for lifting some passenger's overloaded wheelie or
overweight backpack up into the compartment.

Sure, either they or any of us able-bodied fellow passengers
can voluntarily help some frail elderly person lift a carryon up
into a compartment -- but I don't see that wrestling with heavy
bags should be any part of their officially designated duties.

On Wed, 20 Oct 2004 21:17:54 +0900, Eric Takabayashi
posted the following:

thegoons wrote:

I object to JAL's greed,

All I have noticed is that I am paying the lowest JAL fares I have paid in 15
years of flying

Is this why my JAL ticket home for Christmas is $200 cheaper than the
American one? Hmm...

-Chris

On Wed, 20 Oct 2004 21:17:54 +0900, Eric Takabayashi
posted the following:

thegoons wrote:

I object to JAL's greed,

All I have noticed is that I am paying the lowest JAL fares I have paid in 15
years of flying

Is this why my JAL ticket home for Christmas is $200 cheaper than the
American one? Hmm...

-Chris