Air Australia (From 17/2 suspended ops)

[smithy]

Re: Air Australia goes under

Reminds me of the excess displayed by christopher skase

This doesn't really represent the actions of a smart businessman.

High flyers come crashing down with fall of Air Australia | News.com.au

 

[UP4014]

I thought there was a story (possibly urban legend) before that an airline didn't have enough money to pay for the fuel so that a plane could take off, then the captain went around the cabin looking for "donations" so that they could pay the fuel bill.

Of course, little comfort and a nonsensical suggestion in this case.

Aeroflot before they got broken up.

According to KordaMentha the airline is up for sale - perhaps this is an opportunity for VA to get their hands on some fire-sale cheap A330s? Also the unused traffic rights into China might snare someone's interest also...

I value VA for being a Boeing airline.

Two outstanding offers on the table for stranded passengers:

Well done to AAX, didnt expect to see any assistance coming from that direction.... especially such a generous offer.
​

They aren't doing it for the LCC passengers stranded, they are doing it for PR and raise their profile here. But for whatever reason it's of course welcome.

Without only 4000 people stuck, it's very cheap PR to offer up to help, considering 3 or 4 other airlines have all thrown their hat in the ring with the same offer.

Matt

 

[muppet]

Re: Air Australia goes under

And they most likely skimped on paying for travel insurance as well.

Have you ever read your travel insurance elbarto?
I know that mine have NEVER covered the finacial collapse of an airline (which is absurd that they dont). This includes TID, amex CC, Visa Plat CC, RACV Trav and covermore.
If anyone knows of insurance thats useful in this case - please post.

m

 

[straitman]

Re: Air Australia goes under

Have you ever read your travel insurance elbarto?
I know that mine have NEVER covered the finacial collapse of an airline (which is absurd that they dont). This includes TID, amex CC, Visa Plat CC, RACV Trav and covermore.
If anyone knows of insurance thats useful in this case - please post.

m

muppet,

Read post #100 where elbarto elaborates his point.

 

[Mal]

Re: Air Australia goes under

Have you ever read your travel insurance elbarto?
I know that mine have NEVER covered the finacial collapse of an airline (which is absurd that they dont). This includes TID, amex CC, Visa Plat CC, RACV Trav and covermore.
If anyone knows of insurance thats useful in this case - please post.

m

My Mastercard insurance does (Zurich)... Zurich Financial Services - IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Air Australia and Zurich Credit and Debit Card Insurances My QBE TI also appears to (they do exclude coverage if you can claim the money through an industry fund etc), although I haven't read it in detail.
What I do find shonky is that some travel agents knowingly sold travel insurance to Air Australia customers that did not include coverage for the airline going insolvent...

 

[markis10]

Aeroflot before they got broken up.

Comtel was a recent example of the onboard fuel tax:

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2011/11/17/airline-passengers-asked-for-extra-cash-for-fuel/

 

[rbakker]

My first post, be gentle!

I flew Air Australia BNE-HNL on Dec 23rd. Great airline (especially the price), I had no idea that they were in trouble!

Some in-laws have tickets to Hawaii next month. They paid by credit card and contacted their bank, who told them to contact their travel agent. I have advised them to go after the CC company and file a dispute due to non-delivery of services. What do you think?

Sorry, I don't know which CC it is. They had travel insurance but it doesn't cover company collapse.

thanks

 

[markis10]

A chargeback would be the first thing I would do, the travel agent is unlikely to be able to help.

 

[harvyk]

Re: Air Australia goes under

Some of these people really shouldn't take holidays if they can't afford to for an alternative if something goes wrong. If a few thousand dollars in airfares will push you over the edge, don't go on holidays! Things do go wrong sometimes......

I agree that some people should just not be allowed out of the country, but not because they don't have an extra couple of grand sitting around.

The thing that annoys me is the fact that Travel Insurance is refusing to pay up. I personally had no idea Air Australia was in trouble, and I don't sit there studying the financials of a travel company prior to booking. I do however usually take out travel insurance, which I was always under the assumption that if the proverbial hit the fan, I would at least be able to get home.

I do wonder if we'll see some sort of no exclusion laws as a result of this, meaning that travel insurance providers must provide cover for the event that an airline goes belly up and can not exclude them, as this is likely to do damage to DFAT's "If you can't afford travel insurance, then you can't afford to travel" tag line.

 

[markis10]

Re: Air Australia goes under

I do wonder if we'll see some sort of no exclusion laws as a result of this, meaning that travel insurance providers must provide cover for the event that an airline goes belly up and can not exclude them, as this is likely to do damage to DFAT's "If you can't afford travel insurance, then you can't afford to travel" tag line.

The changes were only applicable to new policies, and we're covered here at the time:
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ia-strategic-underwriters-removing-35240.html

 

[harvyk]

Re: Air Australia goes under

The changes were only applicable to new policies, and we're covered here at the time:
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ia-strategic-underwriters-removing-35240.html

The AFF community did, but we're not the average flyer (and in saying that I don't remember reading that thread, although I had no plans on booking with Air Australia, so I wouldn't have gone looking for it).
I would hazard a guess that the average flyer simply jumped on line and booked both tickets and insurance without giving it too much of a thought over if the airline was in danger of going under, how many people here had bookings with AN for the 15/09/2001?

I know for my own bookings, will the airline still be trading is not something I normally consider.

 

[markis10]

The AFF community did, but we're not the average flyer (and in saying that I don't remember reading that thread, although I had no plans on booking with Air Australia, so I wouldn't have gone looking for it).
I would hazard a guess that the average flyer simply jumped on line and booked both tickets and insurance without giving it too much of a thought over if the airline was in danger of going under, how many people here had bookings with AN for the 15/09/2001?

I know for my own bookings, will the airline still be trading is not something I normally consider.

It was also splashed across all the major newspapers at the time, so it was pretty hard to miss by the average joe.

 

[nlagalle]

It was also splashed across all the major newspapers at the time, so it was pretty hard to miss by the average joe.

Actually it was swamped by the events of 9/11. I think I have posted pages before that never made it to press (or were pushed right back).

 

[markis10]

Actually it was swamped by the events of 9/11. I think I have posted pages before that never made it to press (or were pushed right back).

It was just before Christmas

Cookies must be enabled. | The Australian

Air Australia under insolvency imsurance coud | Plane Talking

 

[nlagalle]

It was just before Christmas

Cookies must be enabled. | The Australian

Air Australia under insolvency imsurance coud | Plane Talking

Sorry I was thinking it was AN you were talking about.

 

[drron]

Now I live in the electorate of our(un)worthy Speaker.The local hardware place has a saying for the day.Today it was-A pity Mr.Slipper didnt travel Air Australia.

 

[elbarto]

Re: Air Australia goes under

Have you ever read your travel insurance elbarto?
I know that mine have NEVER covered the finacial collapse of an airline (which is absurd that they dont). This includes TID, amex CC, Visa Plat CC, RACV Trav and covermore.
If anyone knows of insurance thats useful in this case - please post.

m

Yes I have, and my understanding of it is that it would cover me in the event of financial failure. The policy for my CBA Diamond card says that cover is provided in the event of financial collapse or insolvency of a licensed service provider. I could be wrong, but that's my understanding of the policy.

See page 11, benefit 3 http://www.commbank.com.au/personal/apply-online/download-printed-forms/ADB631.pdf

 

[Geegeela]

Platinum Cards Insurance

Insurance Policy Information | 05.11

ANZ Frequent Flyer Platinum
ANZ Rewards Platinum
ANZ Platinum

General Policy Exclusions

What We Will Not Pay For Under Any Types Of Cover

We will not pay claims for, or which are directly or indirectly caused by, any of the following:

Platinum Cardholder.

20. The failure of any travel agent, tour operator, accommodation provider, airline or other carrier, car rental agency, or any other travel or tourism service provider to provide services or accommodation due to their Financial Default, or the Financial Default of any person, company or organisation they deal with.

 

[Mal]

Re: Air Australia goes under

Yes I have, and my understanding of it is that it would cover me in the event of financial failure. The policy for my CBA Diamond card says that cover is provided in the event of financial collapse or insolvency of a licensed service provider. I could be wrong, but that's my understanding of the policy.

See page 11, benefit 3 http://www.commbank.com.au/personal/apply-online/download-printed-forms/ADB631.pdf

Yep, insurance through Zurich (also see the Zurich reference I made in an earlier post). I was going to claim on that, but unfortunately I didn't meet the "$950 prepaid" rule / 100% of expenses" required clause, so I'm now claiming through QBE. (After excess, I'll be about $200 out of pocket... assuming claim is paid, so not too shabby really. ~$500 total for a J one-way on DJ... and 120SC/15K points!)

 

[kristophe]

Re: Air Australia goes under

I booked with Air Australia thru an agent in Nov. not directly with AA. Hadn't secured insurance as we aren't heading out until May. In hindsight, this was a mistake.

I did a bit of due diligence on the airline and the agent, as I'm skeptical of those "too good to be true" kind of deals (still not rock bottom prices, but seemed very competitive), plus I don't trust Queenslanders but it seemed kosher.

The agent thus far is cooperative, and yesterday was our absolute last chance to charge back (we could have cooersed the bank), but I hate chargebacks (I've run ecommerce businesses for a while, they irk me), and my wife thinks we should give the agent an opportunity to remedy our situation (suggestions are, they'll contribute cash toward new holiday, and try to locate good deal on the flight component, while continuing to honour the hotel bookings).

Otherwise, we'll rely on our frequent flyer points to get us to our destination.