This airline’s economy service restored our faith in flying

Class act

In response to John Mizon’s letter (Traveller, November 22), I am pleased to report that not all airlines are following the trend away from substantial meals, nor have poor attitudes towards environmental responsibility. Recently, on both flights to and from Taiwan aboard Cathay Pacific, we enjoyed delicious, generous home-style cooked meals with kind and attentive staff who were delighted to fill our keep cups with an endless supply of tea and our water bottles with water. Always with a smile. And in economy class.
Leanne Eastway, Haberfield, NSW

Two and fro

Anthony Dennis, be assured that it’s not just economy class that suffers “The great seat deceit” (Traveller, November 22). My partner and I flew business class with Qatar to England in October. Despite the exorbitant cost of travelling in the front of the plane we had to pay $144.30 each to ensure we were seated together from Sydney to Doha. Naively, I assumed that when you book two seats that you are automatically together.
Caroline Powell, Cammeray, NSW

Agent of mercy

While I share Anthony Dennis’s distaste for “the airline industry’s now routine and ruthless extraction of revenue”, I choose to avoid the poor extra-legroom experiences he describes by consulting my fabulous travel agent, Sonya Wheatley, of Port Macquarie Travel, for all international flights. Her insider tips are invaluable on so many levels, including the avoidance of dodgy seats adjacent to toilets.
Jan Dennis, Port Macquarie, NSW

Letter of the week: Waste mismanagement

It’s not just the poor quality and nutrition of airline food that leaves a bad taste (Traveller, November 15). The waste associated with it does too. Airline food waste is staggering: carriers generate around six million tonnes of cabin waste annually, with about 20 per cent being untouched food and drink worth $4 billion. Even with compostable trays or reusable cutlery, the sheer reliance on single-use plastics and the inability to redistribute leftover meals means the industry’s waste footprint remains enormous. Change might take off if we travellers ask for better.
Amy Hiller, Kew, Vic

Full frontal

Don’t pay extra for an upfront seat on international long haul. You’ve just spent 10 hours sitting, and now you want to get off four minutes earlier. Save the money for when you get to your destination.
Tim Schroder, Gordon, NSW

Get-up movement

I applaud the captain who stopped the plane until everyone sat down again (Traveller, November 22). However, I do wonder whether passengers are often not so much anxious to get off the plane, but simply eager to retrieve their cabin bag. Invariably these days, the overhead lockers above and near your seat are already full, and you need to stow your bag many rows away. It’s a bunfight to get to it later, especially if wading against the tide of disembarking passengers. If airlines were stricter about carry-on luggage limits, and there was sufficient space for everyone to store their stuff above them (or under the seat in front of them where appropriate), perhaps people wouldn’t feel a need to leap out of their seats immediately on touchdown.
Ross Duncan, Potts Point, NSW

Gorgeous gorge

I can only agree with Paul Marshall (Traveller, November 15), Taiwan is a fantastic destination with wonderful people and magnificent scenery. I was part of a group that cycled up Taroko Gorge in Taiwan several years ago. A fabulous experience. Many of that same group have recently completed the 152-kilometre Otago Rail Trail in New Zealand. It’s another country with friendly locals and breathtaking scenery, well worth a visit.
Jacque Hardwick, Coburg, Vic

Brush with crime

J. Ryan’s pickpocketing experience in Madrid (Traveller, November 22) replicates my own experience in Seville. I couldn’t believe anyone could remove my wallet from my pocket, take out my credit card and return the wallet to my pocket, while pretending to brush down my back, without my noticing it. When I discovered the loss that night at a restaurant and phoned my card company, I was told the card had already been cancelled because of unusual transactions. The only other time I’ve been mugged, it was by five thugs with machetes. No finesse at all.
Bruce Hyland, Woy Woy, NSW

All change, please

Readers who are not organised enough to either spend or donate their small amounts of foreign currency before returning from an overseas trip may be interested to know that the Commonwealth Bank accepts foreign notes and coins for UNICEF. It’s a great way to declutter, and do a little bit of good, with those stray rupees and dirham.
Robyn Mullins, Bentleigh, Vic

Tidy sum

A better plan for leftover cash is to quietly hand it over to one of the airport toilet cleaners. In most countries their pay is minuscule. In Denpasar, Bali, I spotted a bent over woman clutching a mop, so I quietly popped $20 into her hand. She stared at me and her face lit up. We shook hands smiling then I whizzed off to the gate feeling this was the best moment of my holiday.
Janet Wilson, Montrose, Vic

Breakfast club

I’ve just been chatting to a friend who has just been on an Airbnb road trip through Victoria and South Australia. Currently in Sydney in another Airbnb, she commented that all the venues in the southern states included breakfast, but not in Sydney for reasons unknown. Maybe the local portal should change its name to just Airb?
John Swanton, Coogee, NSW

Green vote

Congratulations to your writer, Steve McKenna, for an informative, interesting and enjoyable cover story “Green and glowing” (Traveller, November 22). It was an article designed to make you wish you could have a great holiday and adventure in Ireland. Slainte.
Kerry McInerney, Mornington, Vic

On the boil

Thank you, Belinda Jackson for your call-out to hotels, resorts and cafes to give us “teaophiles” decent tea (Traveller, November 15). It amazes me, too, that there is so much choice for coffee drinkers and so much effort goes into making said coffee, while we tea drinkers get a ratty bag of floor sweepings in lukewarm water. And, like you, I need my first cup to become even remotely human in the morning. I always take a teapot, loose-leaf tea and a large mug (another peeve is small cups) with me when I travel, be it domestic or international and regardless of where I’m staying. I will have my decent cuppa.
Debra Blitz, Pyalong, Vic

Tea for three

I may be even more of a tea tragic than your writer Belinda Jackson (Traveller, November 15), and your readers Bee Herry and Suzy Furness (Traveller, November 22). On one overseas trip with two friends, when I was more able-bodied, I took with me a small electric jug, a transformer, large flat leaf Ceylon tea, powdered milk, sugar, three plastic cups, two teaspoons and some small plastic freezer bags to dispose of the used leaves. The cosy? That was the hotel’s hand towel.
Margaret Malhas, Willoughby, NSW

Simply smashing

Travelling on New York’s subway system my wife just overheard two big, burly male New York Police Department officers having a lengthy discussion on the best way to prepare and enjoy avocado and toast. With guns and all the other paraphernalia attached to their belts that they need to perform their roles, the gentle discussion topic created quite a delightful disconnect.
Jeff McDermid, Broadbeach, Qld

Totes simple

Michael McKenna (Traveller, November 29), you got it so right. I pack a tote bag in my overhead luggage bag. While filling in time waiting to board I transfer the items needed for the flight into the tote bag. I feel better not holding up the aisle and confident I have what I need. Simple, really.
Kay Dumbrill, Wallsend, NSW

Cereal thriller

We recently enjoyed a short domestic holiday in South Australia thanks to the hospitality of a couple we had met on a trip to Norfolk Island earlier in the year. Originally residents of Port Pirie, they showed us places on roads less travelled when we worked in Adelaide over 30 years ago. For the final three nights we stayed at the InterContinental Adelaide. Little did we know when we booked that our stay coincided with the Beach Volleyball World Championships. The breakfast restaurant was teeming with competitors who towered over us. Serving our cereal, we poured the milk and then looked for the spoons, of which there were none. Alerting a member of the wait staff, she finally appeared with two teaspoons explaining all the cereal spoons were in the dishwasher.
Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook, NSW

Tip of the week: Souper advice

Traveller provides such valuable travel insights, and none more so than Ben Groundwater’s description of the two-hour or so Ramen Guide Japan tour (Traveller, September 21) led by Shotaro (aka Cody) Mizuno, which Ben participated in and wrote about. This inspired us to book the same ramen tour with Shotaro as part of our recent, lovely Japan holiday. We loved every bit of Shotaro’s ramen insights, and his comments on Japanese life in general. Without hesitation, we recommend a visit to beautiful Japan, incorporating Shotaro’s Ramen Guide Japan tour and interaction with its genuinely friendly and helpful people.
Alan and Bernie Meager, Black Rock, Vic

Poles apart

I loved reading Ben Groundwater’s cover story on the famous dishes from specific cities around the world (Traveller, November 16), but I can’t believe he missed out on one of the best dishes I’ve ever had in all my travels. It’s pierogi (filled dumplings) from Krakow, Poland. Honestly, you will never have a better meal, especially if you’re a vegetarian.
David Jeffery, East Geelong, Vic

Nice not nice

Travellers, be warned. When a wonderful friend intended to enter a train in Nice, France, two men blocked her in front, two behind her, and her important possessions were stripped off her. The whistle blew, she was pushed inside the carriage, then the train took off. It all happened within seconds with not a train guard in sight. Be careful.
Andrea Pulati, Rushcutters Bay, NSW

Fair go, please

Why not use the airport facilities before boarding, asked your reader, David Hart (Traveller, November 23)? There are many travellers with bowel and bladder issues. My experience is always to use the facilities before boarding, but that is not a guarantee that shortly after take off, I, and fellow travellers who live every day with these problems, will not need them again very soon. I have travelled for many years, but have been unable to enjoy many experiences because of the constant need for available toilets.
Linda O’Brien, Aspendale, Vic

Holding on

In reply to David Hart, from the time you line up for boarding, to the time the seatbelt sign goes off after take off, it could quite well be two hours, therefore a first in-flight toilet break might be perfectly acceptable for some.
Lisa Lashansky, Elsternwick, Vic

High stakes

I recently joined the Little Tibet Tour, organised by the Australia Tibet Council. Against a backdrop of the snow-capped Himalayas, this 14-day tour is to India’s Dharamshala – also known as “Little Tibet”, the home to the Tibetan Government-in-exile. Here, His Holiness the Dalai Lama offered profound insight into the ongoing Tibetan struggle for cultural survival and human rights. I was deeply honoured to meet His Holiness, whose lifelong commitment to peace, compassion, and non-violence continues to inspire people around the world. I also met Tibetan community leaders and members of civil society, whose courage and determination to preserve their culture under enormous pressure was both humbling and instructive.
Liz Lobb, Newtown, NSW

Pedi cure

On my recent flight I saw three people access the lavatory in bare feet (Traveller, November 9). Most hotels now supply disposable slippers. Take these and a shower cap on your flight. Upon boarding, take off your shoes and place them in the shower cap (to avoid storing your gross shoes in the overhead locker). At the end of your flight put your slippers in the shower cap and dispose of it in the rubbish. Job done. You’re welcome.
Christian Barrington, St Kilda, Vic

The Letter of the Week writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. See hardiegrant.com

The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. See shop.lonelyplanet.com

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