I elected to fly with the recently launched domestic airline Velvet Sky – I wanted to try this airline and see whether it really is value for money and really will be competition for Kulula and 1Time.
I arrived at check in – and found I couldn’t do a self check-in which disappointed me since I had discovered in the not-so-distant past that this service is so wow, simply crazy about it. Since I always do my best to be at the airport at least an hour before my flight, I was early and so the queue was not a hectic one.
I noticed that the ground staff was wearing civvies, perhaps because it was Saturday I don’t know, but they all seemed relaxed, happy and quite chirpy. I didn’t see a name badge though and though I asked (I always do) I didn’t catch the check-in woman’s name and so can’t give her the service kudos she deserves.
She was most efficient and asked me to be on time for boarding and to make sure that I gave myself ten minutes to get to the gate – a first for me since other airlines have never bothered to be that helpful. Her advice proved valuable, I took it and found that I arrived at the gate as they announced the flight was boarding, no fuss, and no muss.
The flight was full, Saturday morning and the cabin staff was amazing, friendly, welcoming and cracking jokes with people, lovely versus other airlines. I looked around me and saw many families; this flight had small children on it. This was emphasised by the small boy, baby still, with the longest eyelashes I have ever seen, screaming blue murder. It started as a plaintive wail and steadily increased crescendo until I felt the hair on my head start to stiffen and my head go into the omg…OMG… OMG! Don’t let this be all flight long moment. Enter Megan Morris!
Megan had been interacting with folk and being helpful and she stood close by not interrupting the mom and dad as they battled to settle their clearly frightened little boy, who just wanted to sit on mommy’s lap and didn’t understand why he needed to be tied to the seat. As we all know, when a scene is being caused and you are the centre of it and even when it’s a child causing the ruckus, you get so embarrassed that the ground can’t open quick enough to swallow you and so it was with this couple. Mom had set her son free but knew this was against regulations.
Megan sensed when they had reached helpless and arrived to ask whether he was allowed biscuits and then promptly brought them – that tactic didn’t help. He didn’t want to know about biscuits, he was still struggling against about being tied back into the seat and his father’s tone that was now turning stern. I wondered how Megan would deal with this since she had made it clear that he needed to be secured and explained that the airline couldn’t take responsibility if he did not have his own seatbelt on.
The mom tried again to coax him into the seat but without success and enter Megan again, who explained that if they were willing to accept responsibility then she could bring a special seatbelt that would allow him to sit on mom’s lap and have a seatbelt on but obviously it was not ideal. This is what happened. Megan brought the cabin controller, Rachel Malloi, who heard the story and all agreed, seatbelt arrived, was secured and little boy stopped screaming and fell asleep ten minutes later.
Well done ladies!! Mom was happy, boy was happy, Dad relaxed and whole flight whose nerves went to the jumping ledge instantly when the wailing didn’t cease, relaxed into a lovely flight that included a complimentary juice or water.
My final synopsis is that while they don’t have an in-flight magazine, that I’m sitting writing this with my laptop folded into a V on the tray because space is limited, that the plane looks basic and pricing is much of a much-ness – the service I saw was amazing and to the management I say, Megan Morris is a keeper – South African needs to clone her as a model for excellent, intuitive service. Thanks for going the extra mile Megan, and making my flight pleasant.
Now for the landing…
I arrived at check in – and found I couldn’t do a self check-in which disappointed me since I had discovered in the not-so-distant past that this service is so wow, simply crazy about it. Since I always do my best to be at the airport at least an hour before my flight, I was early and so the queue was not a hectic one.
I noticed that the ground staff was wearing civvies, perhaps because it was Saturday I don’t know, but they all seemed relaxed, happy and quite chirpy. I didn’t see a name badge though and though I asked (I always do) I didn’t catch the check-in woman’s name and so can’t give her the service kudos she deserves.
She was most efficient and asked me to be on time for boarding and to make sure that I gave myself ten minutes to get to the gate – a first for me since other airlines have never bothered to be that helpful. Her advice proved valuable, I took it and found that I arrived at the gate as they announced the flight was boarding, no fuss, and no muss.
The flight was full, Saturday morning and the cabin staff was amazing, friendly, welcoming and cracking jokes with people, lovely versus other airlines. I looked around me and saw many families; this flight had small children on it. This was emphasised by the small boy, baby still, with the longest eyelashes I have ever seen, screaming blue murder. It started as a plaintive wail and steadily increased crescendo until I felt the hair on my head start to stiffen and my head go into the omg…OMG… OMG! Don’t let this be all flight long moment. Enter Megan Morris!
Megan had been interacting with folk and being helpful and she stood close by not interrupting the mom and dad as they battled to settle their clearly frightened little boy, who just wanted to sit on mommy’s lap and didn’t understand why he needed to be tied to the seat. As we all know, when a scene is being caused and you are the centre of it and even when it’s a child causing the ruckus, you get so embarrassed that the ground can’t open quick enough to swallow you and so it was with this couple. Mom had set her son free but knew this was against regulations.
Megan sensed when they had reached helpless and arrived to ask whether he was allowed biscuits and then promptly brought them – that tactic didn’t help. He didn’t want to know about biscuits, he was still struggling against about being tied back into the seat and his father’s tone that was now turning stern. I wondered how Megan would deal with this since she had made it clear that he needed to be secured and explained that the airline couldn’t take responsibility if he did not have his own seatbelt on.
The mom tried again to coax him into the seat but without success and enter Megan again, who explained that if they were willing to accept responsibility then she could bring a special seatbelt that would allow him to sit on mom’s lap and have a seatbelt on but obviously it was not ideal. This is what happened. Megan brought the cabin controller, Rachel Malloi, who heard the story and all agreed, seatbelt arrived, was secured and little boy stopped screaming and fell asleep ten minutes later.
Well done ladies!! Mom was happy, boy was happy, Dad relaxed and whole flight whose nerves went to the jumping ledge instantly when the wailing didn’t cease, relaxed into a lovely flight that included a complimentary juice or water.
My final synopsis is that while they don’t have an in-flight magazine, that I’m sitting writing this with my laptop folded into a V on the tray because space is limited, that the plane looks basic and pricing is much of a much-ness – the service I saw was amazing and to the management I say, Megan Morris is a keeper – South African needs to clone her as a model for excellent, intuitive service. Thanks for going the extra mile Megan, and making my flight pleasant.
Now for the landing…
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