Missed Connection: Lounge access and points ripoff

[DejaBrew]

Hi all - first time poster, so please be gentle

Last month, I flew QF31 from SYD to LHR and as part of the same booking, was meant to connect to Amsterdam via QF3371 (BA Codeshare). The aircraft was late out of maintenance in Sydney and the knock-on effect of the late departure was that we were about an hour late into Heathrow. By the time I was able to get off the plane and transfer to Terminal 5, I had missed the connection and was informed that I needed to go to the British Airways Service Desk. Apart from the obvious inconvenience, I was not overly concered as I knew that given Qantas had been the cause of my missed connection, then Qantas was also responsbile for getting me to Amsterdam. As a Qantas Club member, this meant that I could spend some time in the BA Lounge and refresh with a shower after the long flight, grab a bite to eat and catch up on emails etc in relative comfort. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case.

The fellow at the BA desk informed me that Qantas had actually re-booked me on a KLM flight due to leave some 3½ hours later and I was required to transfer to Terminal 4 and collect a new boarding pass from the KLM desk. Once at the KLM counter, I had all sorts of problems obtaining my new boarding pass as Qantas had apparently ommitted one or more numbers from the eTicket reference. With boarding pass finally in hand, I enquired about Lounge access only to be told (rather rudely) that there was no access as I was "only an Economy passenger." Undeterred, I went in (futile) search of a BA Lounge before paying a visit to the KLM Lounge. I explained the situation and enquired as to whether KLM could extend access under the circumstances, however I was informed that no such access would be offered as firstly, I was travelling in Economy, and secondly, (as we all know) KLM is not a partner airline. Resigned to my fate, I went to one of the many airside establishments and spent the next few hours eating over priced breakfast, drinking terrible coffee and browsing paid internet. To add insult to injury, I've now discovered that Qantas have adjusted my booking such that it now looks like I'd always intended to fly KLM and have therefore not credited me with the FF points and Status Credits I would have earned had I flown the originally ticketed connecting flight!

I am seriously considering a complaint letter, but thoought I'd obtain a reality check from fellow AFF Forum members. Am I being unreasonable and over-reacting? Or is it reasonable and fair that I should have expected Qantas to organise Lounge access (even if only to the basic "paid" Heathrow Terminal 4 Lounge) or a meal voucher at the very least, in addition to crediting me with the FF points and Status Credits I should have earned on my QF ticketed connection. After all, the only reason I was in that position was because Qantas was late in getting their A380 to the gate in Sydney.

Appreciate your input.
Cheers,
Cam.

 

[shambles]

I'll pretend to be very perceptive and make the call that you are one of the most patient human beings on the planet. Not because of the hassles described in this thread, but because you joined this forum 4 years ago and just made your 1st post.

OK, so as far as the OP goes - hell yeah I'd write a complaint! You pay good money for an airfare and lounge membership, they muck you around with hassle of terminal hopping at LHR (no fun at all) and then having to dig into your own kick for food, some frothies and online stuff. Demand a compensatory upgrade on your next decent length flight or you are moving to Tiger - OK , maybe Virgin

 

[mannej]

Hi Cam,

I have a few questions. Was this all on one ticket? (Well I guess it was if you were using the QF codeshare), as 1 hour seems a very tight connection. Correct me if I have read it wrong. Delays happen, and it seems that it was a tight connection at the best of times.

In regards to the points and SC's- search this forum for Original Routing Credit, and that should steer you in the right direction.
As for the Lounge access, you would have to ask one of the more senior members on this forum.

 

[JohnK]

I don't know about lounge access (I guess KLM was correct in that it is not their issue) but you are entitled to Original Routing Credit for the flight.

Do you have a copy of the itinerary anywhere? Most times where QF have made a change to the booking I can see the old flight details greyed out and the new flight details underneath.

Email Qantas customer care and they should be able to manually have the flights credit to your QFF account.

 

[DejaBrew]

...you joined this forum 4 years ago and just made your 1st post.

I link to think of it as being fashionably late to the party

Cheers!

 

[shambles]

I link to think of it as being fashionably late to the party

Cheers!

Just two more posts mate and you'll be screaming along at one-a-year!

C'mon - you can do it

 

[DejaBrew]

Was this all on one ticket? (Well I guess it was if you were using the QF codeshare), as 1 hour seems a very tight connection. Correct me if I have read it wrong. Delays happen, and it seems that it was a tight connection at the best of times.

Yep, it was all on the one ticket. The layover was actually 2 hours on paper, but we were an hour late into Heathrow and it took another 30 or so mins to get off the plane and transfer to T5. Our booking agent had originally quoted on a 1 hour connection which I flat out refused given the potential for delays.

To clarify, I'm not annoyed about the delay itself. These things happen and given the cause in this instance was a faulty fuel pump, I'm certainly not against Qantas fixing that up before sending the aircraft on its way. I was simply annoyed with how the situation played out after I'd arrived at Heathrow.

 

[DejaBrew]

I don't know about lounge access (I guess KLM was correct in that it is not their issue)...

I'm certain KLM were 100% correct by the book. However, I personally believe that they missed out on a brilliant opportunity to provide an exceptional customer experience. Instead of me complaining to a wide audience about how I was treated as a lowly economy customer, I could have instead been praising their exceptional customer focus and have been seriously considering switching to them for my next trip to the Netherlands (which hapens to be the location of my work's European headquarters).

 

[samiam]

My opinion, relating to the first part of your question, is to be satisfied that they arranged an onward flight within 3 1/2 hours.

I too have experienced a missed connection, MEL-LHR // MAN and I was just thankful that they had arranged a new onward flight to MAN.

The time it takes pi$$ing around at LHR, I was just glad to get to my final destination and was not fussed about lounge access- 'getting there' was my preference.

This was my experience and my reality- yours may vary

 

[markis10]

QF got you to your destination which is all they are obligated to do, the lounge access is on a different contract that requires carriage on a qualifying airline, had the KLM flight been booked as a QF codeshare flight on your ticket, you still would have not got access, as partner lounge access is when travelling on a marketed & operated OneWorld flight.

As far as the points go, put in a request for the original routing credit, I can assure you they can see what was originally booked so there should not be an issue, what you can see in a booking versus the airline/QFF is vastly different.

 

[serfty]

You are almost certainly entitled to credit for your QF3371 flight of 10SC's and 1000 QFF points.

Suggest you email Qantas frequent flyer at frequent_flyer(at)Qantas.com.au, briefly explaining the situation as well as attaching a copy of your original e-ticket. Specifically request "Original Routing Credit".

I would not mention the lack of lounge access at this stage as this is a separate issue and may interfere with you getting ORC.

Once that is sorted, and if you really think it's worth the time and effort, only then would I submit a complaint re the lack of lounge access, requesting compensation for your additional costs. (It may help if you have receipts for these costs.)

 

[Anna]

I had something a bit similar happen a few years ago. Arrived into LHR and was flying on to CDG with BA. Was making myself nice and comfortable in the BA lounge when the flight to CDG was cancelled. I was then given the choice of taking an Air France flight leaving in a short time or waiting for about 8 hours until BA had a spare seat. I took Air France and had to change terminals. I still earned my QFF points and status credits for that flight as if I had flown on BA as originally planned.

Lounge access was not an issue for me as by the time BA retrieved my bag for me and I had got through security, I had to run to the gate in order to make the changed flight.

As an aside, Air France managed to serve a delicious 3 course lunch with wine between LHR and CDG. On the return flight on BA at 6pm we were given coffee and tea only with the excuse "there's no time to serve a meal on this flight".

 

[nickfromeastryde]

As an aside, Air France managed to serve a delicious 3 course lunch with wine between LHR and CDG. On the return flight on BA at 6pm we were given coffee and tea only with the excuse "there's no time to serve a meal on this flight".

There's plenty to criticise about AF but not their meals. Probably flown a dozen flights with them (mostly economy) and the meals have always been delicious

 

[Oneworldplus2]

These things happen and as Serfty pointed out, giving the OP lounge access is a separate matter.

You could replace QF with LH (being a LH status member, but not on OW) and then getting switched to BA with no lounge access at FRA....million scenarios.

(OT; LHR-BUD on BA last week. Dinner roll (very small portion) with bacon+egg stuffing and drinks/coffee/tea. Glad l stocked up in the lounge prior to departure. The BA Galleries lounge, (North l think) have the bacon rolls made up whereas the South didn't...)

 

[Moopere]

Although QF automatically booked you to KLM I'm quite sure you could have rung them and refused, asking instead for a partner or other oneworld flight. I'd be happy to fly KLM, but certainly would not accept any random carrier of the day that QF chose.

This may, however, have involved much longer delay and only you can answer whether that is worthwhile or not.

 

[medhead]

I have a few questions. Was this all on one ticket? (Well I guess it was if you were using the QF codeshare), as 1 hour seems a very tight connection. Correct me if I have read it wrong. Delays happen, and it seems that it was a tight connection at the best of times.

The OP has explained his situation. But as a general comment I find that Qantas put in some stupidly short connections. Some examples, ADL-SYD-FRA - the default qantas otion is a flight scheduled to land in SYD about an hour before QF5 departs. There is the OPs example of intially offering a 1 hour connection at LHR.

Then there is my flight last Monday (30 May) QF730 ADL-SYD. We were delayed by the weather and landed at 8:45-ish instead of 8:25. One passenger was moved before landing to 4B as they had a connection to an NZ flight. Then once we landed we were asked to let the NZ passenger through. As those passengers went up to the front one of them mentioned that their flight (QF55 IIRC) was supposed to be boarding now. Either the cabin crew were being really nice to passengers with separate bookings, or some clown at Qantas thought that was an appropriate connection.

 

[mannej]

The OP has explained his situation. But as a general comment I find that Qantas put in some stupidly short connections. Some examples, ADL-SYD-FRA - the default qantas otion is a flight scheduled to land in SYD about an hour before QF5 departs. There is the OPs example of intially offering a 1 hour connection at LHR.

Then there is my flight last Monday (30 May) QF730 ADL-SYD. We were delayed by the weather and landed at 8:45-ish instead of 8:25. One passenger was moved before landing to 4B as they had a connection to an NZ flight. Then once we landed we were asked to let the NZ passenger through. As those passengers went up to the front one of them mentioned that their flight (QF55 IIRC) was supposed to be boarding now. Either the cabin crew were being really nice to passengers with separate bookings, or some clown at Qantas thought that was an appropriate connection.

The OP explained after the question was asked.

It was more the confirm what I was thinking that it indeed was a risky connection.

 

[serfty]

MCT's are defined by port/carrier/terminal/[dom/int to dom/int]/[Specific Flight(s)].

For any carrier at LHR from T3 to T5 International to International connection, the MCT is 90 minutes.

For SYD T3 to T1 & QF to QF the basic MCT is 60 minutes, however here is what E/F shows for QF to QF, Domestic to International:

STANDARD.D/D...D/I...I/D...I/I.
ONLINE    .30  1.00  1.15  1.00
OFFLINE   .30  1.00  1.15  1.00
** OR * ARE ALL
QF-QF DI  1.15 FLT    1 - 2999 - FLT  337 
QF-QF DI  2.00 FLT 5000 - 5999 - FLT  321 
QF-QF DI  1.15 ALL  - FLT  301 TRM 1  - ** 
QF-QF DI  1.30 ALL  - FLT  301 TRM 2  - ** 
QF-QF DI  1.30 ALL  - FLT  301 TRM 3  - ** 
QF-QF DI  1.30 ALL  - FLT  313 TRM 2  - ** 
QF-QF DI  1.15 ALL  - FLT  313 TRM 3  - ** 
QF-QF DI  1.15 ALL  - FLT  319 TRM 1  - ** 
QF-QF DI  1.30 ALL  - FLT  319 TRM 2  - ** 
QF-QF DI  1.30 ALL  - FLT  319 TRM 3  - ** 
QF-QF DI  1.15 ALL  - FLT  367 TRM 3  - ** 
QF-QF DI  1.30 ALL  - FLT  321 
QF-QF DI  2.00 ALL  - FLT  375 
QF-QF DI  2.00 FLT  200 -  299 - FLT  300 -  399 TRM 1  - 1  
QF-QF DI  2.00 FLT  200 -  299 - FLT  340 -  342 TRM 1  - 1  
QF-QF DI  2.00 FLT 5000 - 5999 - FLT  200 -  299 TRM 2  - 1  
QF-QF DI  2.00 FLT 5000 - 5999 - FLT  340 -  342 TRM 2  - 1  
QF-QF DI  1.45 ALL  - FLT  200 -  299 TRM 2  - 1  
QF-QF DI  1.30 ALL  - FLT  200 -  299 TRM 3  - 1  
QF-QF DI  2.00 FLT  200 -  299 - ALL  TRM 1  - 1  
QF-QF DI  2.00 FLT 5000 - 5999 - ALL  TRM 2  - 1  
QF-QF DI  1.15 ALL  - FLT  340 -  342 TRM 1  - ** 
QF-QF DI  1.30 ALL  - FLT  340 -  342 TRM 2  - ** 
QF-QF DI  1.15 ALL  - FLT  340 -  342 TRM 3  - ** 
QF-QF DI  1.15 ALL - NAN TRM 3  - 1  
QF-QF DI  1.15 ALL - SUV TRM 3  - 1  
QF-QF DI  1.00 TRM 1  - 1  
QF-QF DI  1.15 TRM 2  - 1  
QF-QF DI  1.00 TRM 3  - 1  
**-QF DI  1.30 ALL  - FLT  301 
**-QF DI  1.30 ALL  - FLT  319 
**-QF DI  1.45 ALL  - FLT  200 -  299 TRM 2  - 1  
**-QF DI  1.30 ALL  - FLT  200 -  299 TRM 3  - 1  
**-QF DI  1.30 ALL - NLK 
**-QF DI  1.00 TRM 1  - 1  
**-QF DI  1.45 TRM 2  - 1  
QF-** DI  2.00 FLT 5000 - 5999 - ALL  TRM ** - 1  
QF-** DI  1.30 TRM 2  - ** 
QF-** DI  1.15 TRM 3  - **

 

[medhead]

The OP explained after the question was asked.

It was more the confirm what I was thinking that it indeed was a risky connection.

And I was mentioning that Qantas seems to like to put people onto tight connections, even if they conform to the MCT..

 

[DejaBrew]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I'll certainly contact Qantas about an original routing credit - great advice!

Regarding the Lounge access issue, whilst I'm not necessarily chasing compensation, I may still submit some feedback to Qantas. This is the first time I've ever missed a connection and so whether or not my expectations match with Qantas' actual obligations, I still feel it's important for Qantas to get some idea of their customers' experiences.

Cheers,
Cam