Another V Australia Incident at LAX

[straitman]

Well, guys, get a cup of coffee, sit back and read on...

I have just returned to Brisbane (7pm last night) from the doomed VA flight which was scheduled to leave LAX on Fri 11.30pm. Here is a summary of what happened:
1. Announcement made about 9.00pm that flight to Brisbane cancelled. Passengers to go to VAustralia service desk for details.
2. After queuing, given letter apologising for cancellation and toll free number to call after 7am following day. Told we would be accommodated in hotel, meal vouchers overnight but would be flying following day direct to Brisbane so 'keep your boarding cards'
3. When booking in hotel, told by hotel staff we were staying two nights.
4. Rang at 7.10am following morning - told to call back 'after lunch' as VA still sorting out flights.
5. Rang at 1.10pm - on hold until 3.50pm. Told only one option - flight following night (11.30pm!) Air Pacific to Fiji (10hrs), 9hrs at Fiji in transit, Pacific Blue to Syd, 1.5hrs transit, Virgin to Brisbane. "There are no direct flights to Brisbane on any airline for days", "Can't get you on VA for several weeks - fully booked", "Only option available"...
6. LAX following night - 28 seats on Air Pac flight, 60 passengers - near riot.
(We were two of the 'lucky' ones)
7. Arrived Nadi Fiji. Queued (again!) for 1.5hrs at transfer desk - no bookings for us on any flight leaving today - 'not on the system', 'you won't be flying today', 'you'll have to talk to VAustralia (who don't have presence at airport)'....
8. Got a taxi into town, went to travel agent, bought 2 tickets Pacific Blue direct to Brisbane leaving in afternoon (there were 14 seats available).

Moral of the story? Sure, things can go wrong...we were understanding at first, but the above is a very, very brief summary of our experience. Other passengers had even worse experiences - some are still stuck in LA. VAustralia MUST address this as a public relations issue, get a plan in place, and at least apologise to passengers for this mess...

Now, off to bed....

Shazza90,

Welcome to AFF.

It seems VAustralia still has some work to do to sort situations when it goes pear shaped :!:

 

[anat0l]

Something that was kind of brought up by Shazza90, which is... if all their other flights were fully loaded, and same with the competition, then how do you get all those people across the Pacific in quick smart time? You would need a handful of light load flights, otherwise there is only going to be tricklings of people on already fairly full flights.

Now unless VA was not considering its competitors, save for FJ and NZ. Or unless QF and UA refused to offer more seats for VA for affected pax.

It might have taken a while to get everyone to Australia, but from the reports, not unlike similar incidents that we've heard frequently before, communication with pax was poor.

 

[k_sheep]

More importantly if there were 14 pacific blue seats available, why weren't these filled with the VA passengers? Considering they're from the same group of airlines.

 

[Shazza90]

More importantly if there were 14 pacific blue seats available, why weren't these filled with the VA passengers? Considering they're from the same group of airlines.

Yep, that's one of the many questions we'll be putting to VAustralia when we write. I think the thing that has annoyed us the most about this debacle is the non-existent communication. Apparently, we learnt from other strandees that a VA rep was at our hotel on the Sat trying to deal with scores of angry passengers. She said she would return on the Sunday to continue, but never showed.

When VA reviews this incident (and I hope they learn from it!), my advice would be:
1. Don't lie to passengers - telling us we would fly out to Brisbane direct the next day when you've told the hotel staff we'd be staying two nights is just plain dumb. In addition, don't tell passengers they'll have a connecting flight when they don't.

2. Set up at desk somewhere, manned 24 hrs a day where you can speak to a real person. Put a white board near the desk with updated information. Don't care about having to queue to speak to someone. Better than being on hold to a call centre for over 3 hrs (after you've convinced the hotel to take a 'bar' off your room phone!). At least have a special number on your call menu - then we might not have to listen to hours of being told how important we are, and what a great new fleet of aircraft are at our disposal.

3. Take a note of where your passengers are and PHONE THEM! Or leave a message, even if to say 'we're working on it'.

4. At the departure gate of the 'alternative flight', don't call up customers about to be 'bumped' with the con "Would Mrs X please come to the counter for an important message". (One lady responded, was asked for her boarding card, which was then ripped up and she was told 'sorry, you're not flying today'. She kicked up, and did fly - good for her.)

 

[Keith009]

Yikes, not good at all, and I suppose it's one of the perils of flying a new airline which doesn't have the appropriate resources or experience to provide good contingency plans when something like this happens.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

3. Take a note of where your passengers are and PHONE THEM! Or leave a message, even if to say 'we're working on it'.

OT; Last month. HKT-SYD, Jetstar. Departure 21:00. Got back to hotel (around 4pm) after a lazy lunch + ultra late checkout (6pm) to pack to find 2 SMS from Jetstar informing me of a 3 hour delay. Big thumbs up for that!
If Jetstar can do it, you'd be sure that Virgin can too?

 

[samh004]

OT; Last month. HKT-SYD, Jetstar. Departure 21:00. Got back to hotel (around 4pm) after a lazy lunch + ultra late checkout (6pm) to pack to find 2 SMS from Jetstar informing me of a 3 hour delay. Big thumbs up for that!
If Jetstar can do it, you'd be sure that Virgin can too?

To take that even further… when I last booked with Tiger (but didn’t end up flying as I couldn’t be coughd), they called me when I hadn’t checked-in to check where I was. Admittedly, it probably wouldn’t have saved me from paying extra for the next flight, but they did call.

 

[anat0l]

1. Don't lie to passengers - telling us we would fly out to Brisbane direct the next day when you've told the hotel staff we'd be staying two nights is just plain dumb. In addition, don't tell passengers they'll have a connecting flight when they don't.

People don't lie - they just miscommunicate [/sarcasm]

2. Set up at desk somewhere, manned 24 hrs a day where you can speak to a real person. Put a white board near the desk with updated information. Don't care about having to queue to speak to someone. Better than being on hold to a call centre for over 3 hrs (after you've convinced the hotel to take a 'bar' off your room phone!). At least have a special number on your call menu - then we might not have to listen to hours of being told how important we are, and what a great new fleet of aircraft are at our disposal.

I've never been in a situation like this (whole big aircraft cancelled and the mess afterwards), but I'll be surprised if airlines even consider doing something like this, i.e. this isn't world practice. You turn up at a service desk when it's open and only then you get service. 24 hr service desk? Haven't seen it. Maybe somewhere in Europe - beats me.

As for the call centre, it was bound to get that bad after all those people call in. I would hope that elites (e.g. VA J and Velocity Gold) would not have to wait as long (or at all).

3. Take a note of where your passengers are and PHONE THEM! Or leave a message, even if to say 'we're working on it'.

Some people don't put their phone number in their records. Others may be roaming and run out of credit (or will get into a long talk with VA and then run out of credit!), have their phone turned off or no phone at all with them. It is certainly an idea, although I would also follow with email as well.

In any case, whilst some of those flying on that flight would have been US residents rather than Australians returning home (or whatever else), trying to reach all of them is very difficult. I'm surprised that a rep went to the hotel(s) of the affected pax to take care of logistics (to whatever arguable extent) and damage control.

4. At the departure gate of the 'alternative flight', don't call up customers about to be 'bumped' with the con "Would Mrs X please come to the counter for an important message". (One lady responded, was asked for her boarding card, which was then ripped up and she was told 'sorry, you're not flying today'. She kicked up, and did fly - good for her.)

Again, this is world practice. You won't hear over the PA, "VA is paging passenger Mrs X; Mrs X you have been bumped off VA <flight number>, please approach the service counter." I hope the accuracy of your story about the "one lady" is slightly off, because if they just took the BP and ripped it up there and then, that's just plain arrogant and detestable behaviour. In any case, unless VA doesn't follow standard practice, I would take that they would've had to exhaust any volunteers for bumps before IDBs. Once they start with IDBs, even if you are customarily compensated, you don't really have a choice unless you can find another volunteer. So lucky the woman kicked up a stink to fly, but then again she could have equally just have been 'let go', or arrested.

What staff do VA use in LAX? I guess some of them might be worth kicking in the pants.


Travel insurance might not cover anyone in an incident like this (it was a plane fault, which usually isn't covered)?

 

[peter kennedy]

yeah i just got home after my horrific experience trying to get back to australia after v australia cancelled my flight in la, we were at the check in counter when all staff members got called away to a meeting leaving our luggage on the scales, returning to tell us our flight was cancelled and sending us to a hotel until further notice.
We rang v australia that same night to try get more info from them only to be told to give them our mobile phone no so they can call us back when they organise getting us home. Well guess what, no one returned our call so the next morning we called them again to see what was going on, only this time we were placed on hold for 3 and a half hours with recorded messages of great service and we will be with you as soon as possible.
Finally we speak to a staff member who tells us the earliest flight they can get us home on is in 2 and a half days time on a air pacific flight going to fiji then board another flight to sydney, then go to domestic and board another plane back to brisbane that so happened to be a virgin plane that was also delayed, so the moral of the story is after 30 hours straight flying and going through customs 4 times at various airports, that i will NEVER fly with V australia or virgin ever again.

 

[NM]

Some people don't put their phone number in their records. Others may be roaming and run out of credit (or will get into a long talk with VA and then run out of credit!), have their phone turned off or no phone at all with them. It is certainly an idea, although I would also follow with email as well.

The airline sent the passengers to a hotel, so they should have known how to make contact with them. VA could have easily called the passengers at the hotel and left messages at the hotel for those that were not able to receive the call in their room.

 

[serfty]

...

Travel insurance might not cover anyone in an incident like this (it was a plane fault, which usually isn't covered)?

Au contraire, most general policies do cover such events. (The underwriter may endeavour to claim compensation from the carrier after the event however, but this is not relevant to the insured)

 

[samh004]

Travel insurance might not cover anyone in an incident like this (it was a plane fault, which usually isn't covered)?

Hardly a plane fault, someone backed it into something again!

Maybe VA is trying to claim some insurance money?

only this time we were placed on hold for 3 and a half hours with recorded messages of great service and we will be with you as soon as possible.

If everyone was on hold for 3+ hours, who were the call centre staff talking to? :shock:

 

[anat0l]

Hardly a plane fault, someone backed it into something again!

Great - so what are you going to tell the insurers so that they pay up? Someone has to be at fault for the insurers to give you a claim.

If everyone was on hold for 3+ hours, who were the call centre staff talking to? :shock:

The next people who had been waiting for 3 hrs to talk to someone, of course.

 

[oz_mark]

I've heard oon the grapevine that there is an unimpressed CEO at Virgin Blue that has got his broom out of the cupboard.:shock:

 

[markis10]

I've heard oon the grapevine that there is an unimpressed CEO at Virgin Blue that has got his broom out of the cupboard.:shock:

Its a well used broom, especially with the international division.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Hardly a plane fault, someone backed it into something again!

Great - so what are you going to tell the insurers so that they pay up? Someone has to be at fault for the insurers to give you a claim.

Clearly old mate that clipped the wing while moving the plane was at fault and ultimately responsible for this debacle? Weather or not they have insurance for workplace accidents like this, l don't know? (As it happened in the USA, and everyone/thing has insurance, there could be a small possibility that DJ do recover some money out of this, but lose face too)

Anyhow, as oz_mark said, JB at DJ would be fuming.

Firstly; huge computer/IT crash leaves passengers stranded across the East Coast (l think 2 major ones now) and then this drops out of the sky. Not a good way to finish the year. Hold on, there is still about 9 weeks to go...

 

[Shazza90]

Its a well used broom, especially with the international division.

OMG, I'm laughing again! Must be back in Oz...

Now, back to writing my email to VAustralia...

 

[NM]

I've heard oon the grapevine that there is an unimpressed CEO at Virgin Blue that has got his broom out of the cupboard.:shock:

Sounds like a few hundred brooms (of the Harry Potter style) were needed to be distributed to some affected passengers in LAX.

 

[anat0l]

Anyhow, as oz_mark said, JB at DJ would be fuming.

Understandably he would be fuming. Not so simple: at who?

Firstly; huge computer/IT crash leaves passengers stranded across the East Coast (l think 2 major ones now) and then this drops out of the sky. Not a good way to finish the year. Hold on, there is still about 9 weeks to go...

Yeah but they're still the "good guys"...

I wouldn't say the aircraft "dropped out of the sky".... that's sensational speak. Had it really dropped out of the sky, the reaction would be a lot, lot different (you wouldn't have pi**ed off pax for one, for they would be dead...)

 

[pauly7]

Its a well used broom, especially with the international division.

Yes, one he has used alot internally at the Virgin village HQ as well... A lot of heads have rolled out the door since JB has started!

Now the broom needs to hit navitaire and some heads at LAX by the looks of things!