Click below to
find interesting
information from our
August 2011a
newsletter
relating to:
Roaming
Travel
Mobile phones
Roaming
Phantom
data
roaming
Think that
switching data
roaming to "off"
on your
smartphone while
abroad will
protect you from
expensive
roaming data
bills? Well,
think again.
Some travellers
have experienced
"phantom
roaming"
charges, despite
turning off the
data roaming
function. One
newspaper
reports that a
"software issue"
was blamed, but
that may not be
correct.
We've
seen this happen
on iPhones (and
it may also
happen on
others). As a
consequence, we
recommend you
change the APN
(Access Point
Name) so that no
data can be
billed. A good
idea is to add
an extra
character to the
APN (our
vSIM APN
is "mobiledata")
to disable data
- so set the
vSIM APN to,
say,
"8mobiledata"
and then delete
the extra
character if you
need to use
data-roaming.
On an iPhone,
the APN setting
is changed in
Settings >
General >
Network >
Cellular Data
Network.
When you do roam,
use our vSIM
post-paid
alternative
for cheaper
roaming.
Travel
Frequent-flyer
ripoffs
The
Qantas
‘loyalty’
program
has been
seriously
challenged
by the
respected
aviation
blog
Plane
Talking.
A
Qantas
frequent-flyer
wanted to fly
with his wife
from Darwin to
Denpasar return
(the route is
flown by Jetstar).
Using a FF award
(points)
booking, the
total Charges
and Taxes were
shown as
$760.84. For the
same (Jetstar)
flight, the
full cost of
the same two
seats (i.e. not
FF award
bookings)
including a
baggage charge,
were $494.00.
No
explanation has
been made by
Qantas, but the
email record
between the
flyer and the
office of the
Qantas group
executive
operations,
Lyell Strambi,
shows Qantas
appears
incapable of
explaining why
something which
purports to be a
reward should
cost more than
purchased seats.
This makes
the loyalty
program look
like a
deliberate
exercise in
exploitation.
For the same
seat on the same
aircraft (the QF
award is for a
seat on a
codeshare flight
with Jetstar, on
a Jetstar
aircraft),
Jetstar offered
two seats on a
commercial basis
for $260 less
than Qantas were
offering award
seats, even
ignoring the
actual ticket
cost.
Two possible
– and unsavoury
– explanations
are that Qantas
is (a) ripping
off its Frequent
Flyers or (b)
subsidising
JetStar.
Mobile phones
Phones on
aircraft
A confidential
report prepared
for the aviation
industry shows
that mobile
phones and other
electronic
devices have
disrupted flight
instruments 75
times over six
years. Between
2003 and 2009,
mobile phones,
laptops, iPods
and other
equipment had
all caused
problems.
26
of the incidents
had affected
flight controls,
including the
autopilot,
autothrust and
landing gear.
A further 17
incidents
concerned
navigation
systems. Some 15
incidents
concerned
interference
affecting
communications
systems, with 13
having triggered
warnings
including,
ominously,
“engine
indications”. On
one flight,
electronic
devices used by
passengers are
believed to have
caused the
autopilot to
disengage at
4500 feet, a
potentially
disastrous
scenario.
The report
states: “The
autopilot
disengaged by
itself and the
associated
warnings/indications
came on. [Flight
attendants] were
immediately
advised to look
out for
[passengers]
operating
electronic
devices.
[Attendants]
reported that
there were 4
operated
electronic
devices (one
handphone and
three iPods).”
Mobile phones
have been blamed
for 40% the
incidents – but
use of laptops
is believed to
have caused a
GPS unit in the
cabin to give an
incorrect
reading.
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