Dumped in Joburg

[levelnine]

So QF are meant to have adequate staff on hand at all airports they serve incase of irrops , and ask other airlines to bump passengers so they can accommodate those who have missed connections.

Did I say that?

Did you even read the OP?

They were told before the flight departed that specific accommodation had been booked for them. Over 15 hours later when they landed, that accommodation still had not been booked for them.

And there were staff on the ground to communicate to passengers: 'Walked back to the terminal, collecting passengers like the pied piper, to be told we had been booked into the Garden Court Hotel.' There were staff that had information and were able to tell passengers that information. They were simply telling passengers the wrong information: 'It took 30 minutes in line to discover there was no room at the inn and the rooms had all been allocated.'

 

[Blackadder]

So the rooms had been allocated to who? Some pax from that flight, or was the hotel already at full occupancy?

 

[RooFlyer]

So QF are meant to have adequate staff on hand at all airports they serve incase of irrops , and ask other airlines to bump passengers so they can accommodate those who have missed connections.

No, for major airports which are likely diversion locations, they should have contracts with companies who can swing into action, following a previously designed plan when notified of an unexpected inbound. Of course that would mean paying retainers, therefore a cost and we know how allergic Qantas is to those, when customer amenity is involved.

 

[levelnine]

So the rooms had been allocated to who? Some pax from that flight, or was the hotel already at full occupancy?

Sounds like something Qantas would have known if they had a well-organised IRROPs plan.

 

[gaz0303]

On the return flight, I mentioned the saga to the CSM when he did his round of welcoming passengers. He was horrified and encouraged me multiple times to complain through the appropriate channels. Prior to disembarking, I was handed a bottle of champagne to take with me.

 

[N860CR]

No, for major airports which are likely diversion locations, they should have contracts with companies who can swing into action, following a previously designed plan when notified of an unexpected inbound. Of course that would mean paying retainers, therefore a cost and we know how allergic Qantas is to those, when customer amenity is involved.

That’s what the ground handler is for. Qantas probably has a station manager in JNB, but everyone else is contracted. It’s the same for every non-south African airline there (and even some of the local airlines). Qantas simply calls ahead to whoever they contract (I’d assume Bidvest) and says “we need xx_ staff to handle misconnects on QF63”. It’s airline operations 101. I’m not surprised qantas managed to stuff it up.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

What’s their excuse for SYD yesterday? Plenty of ground staff. Yes folks eventually got their Uber and hotel vouchers, but it was a total shambles with staff clearly overwhelmed, frustrated and bordering on rude.

I've just had 20,000 points credited as a "gesture of goodwill" for Qantas' handling of the delayed and ultimately cancelled QF11 on March 24th. Wrote out a full page complaint about the failures in how it was handled, and stressed it was the second such cancellation I had experienced while at the airport in the last 3 months.

I've also had my delay claim for Qantas Travel Insurance approved for $800 ($200 for every 6 hours of delay). Not bad.