Are other airlines also as bad as Qantas?

[Flying mermaid]

I think you should be able to get a partial refund. I got $449 refunded last year when my SYD - CBR segment of a LHR - CBR flight was downgraded from J to Y. The difference may be because the flight change was made a month before the original outbound flight so I had time to negotiate with them.

Oh really? I clearly should have pushed more - not a pushy type really - just want a peaceful life and the flights to work properly!

 

[Flying mermaid]

Why the hell do you continue to give business to a company that has no regard for you?

I am really hoping Singapore Air will be better. Miss FM is flying Singapore air (Silk Air I think), from Singapore to Langkawi in Y. She has had a schedule change with them as well and she was really impressed at how they phoned her and made sure everything was OK. I don't get that sort of consideration flying in F from Qantas, so we will see how things go with SQ later in the year. I am trying to keep my expectations down, but hoping they will be less annoying than Qantas.

 

[TomVexille]

... so we will see how things go with SQ later in the year. I am trying to keep my expectations down, but hoping they will be less annoying than Qantas.

I would be interested in hearing how that goes when the time comes

 

[Flying mermaid]

I would be interested in hearing how that goes when the time comes

I have already promised someone a trip report. It is not a very exciting trip though - no furry things, unless we are lucky with bears in Yosemite

 

[TomVexille]

I have already promised someone a trip report. It is not a very exciting trip though - no furry things, unless we are lucky with bears in Yosemite

You can get a SQ bear

 

[travelislife]

You are way too accepting FM! You absolutely should be getting $$$ back! Also can't believe you had to argue for ORC. QF should be proactive in these cases.

 

[JohnK]

No - the lady at ticketing did tell Miss FM that there would be a refund but it never turned up and to be honest once I had the OR status credits I didn't hassle any further.

Don't leave it. Chase them and don't let go until you get compensation.

And no. The difference between the most expensive economy fare bucket and the cheapest sale business class fare bucket is not fair compensation? The compensation should be the difference between economy and business class on the day you booked.

Airlines seem to get away with these changes way too easily.

I hate having to monitor my bookings regularly as an A333 gets subbed by an A332 and vice versa. The bulkhead seat I chose does not exist in new configuration so the computer puts me in the second seat.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I think you have had a rough trot. I've been relatively fortunate with QF but it sounds as though the CBR connectors are a free for all when it comes to service. It's such a short flight that it makes little difference comfort wise whether in J/Y as part of a long haul booking but I can totally understand why you would be angry and asking for suitable restitution in the event of a downgrade that you had paid more for initially.
I would think that there isn't a big pool of passengers who are similarly affected and for whatever reason this has just slipped off QF's radar.
I would summarize what you have put in your posts here in writing to them.
As a regional QF passenger with a choice of JQ/VA or one QFLink flight to BNE I feel your pain at being abandoned.

 

[opusman]

Canberra has so many economy only flights that to be honest there often isn't any difference in price whether you pick one that is J CBR-Mel or Y CBR-Mel. You pay the same fare, you just get the dreaded comment that the leg will be in Y.

I mean, maybe it's different when it's an international connection, but for the sector itself the difference is significant. A random date a couple of weeks from now, the cheapest J ticket is $769 and the most expensive Y is $369 - so $400 difference.

Of course if you're actually told at the time you book that a particular sector will be in Y then I don't think you have any cause for complaint (except maybe with the booking system), but if it tells you you'll be in J at the time of booking and then you end up in Y you should definitely be compensated.

 

[Flying mermaid]

I probably will send them an email tomorrow - it does seem a bit wrong they can just do these changes at will with no thought to the customer. I am more a vote with my feet person than one to go and fight over money though.

 

[aussiel]

I'd be interest to hear people's opinion on the T&C's of these tickets. I'd nearly put my house on the fact that a class downgrade with no compensation wouldn't be compliant with Australian Consumer Law. Would also appreciate an official response from Qantas if you get one!

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

While I haven't been kicked by an airline as hard as the OP, I would say, when it suits them, airlines can be (to use an American term ***bad cough***).
I have been kicked by JQ when they cancelled a single flight, with what would have been a great holiday, on my way back from NZ in Dec. They gave me a 10 QF SC for the replacement flight, the next day, for which I did not take, as I had to be back in Adelaide the day I needed to flew back, ie, the cancelled flight day.
NZ also did an equipment swap on me when I wanted the 777, they put me onto a 737.
Miniscule compared to the OP's case, but yes, airlines can be bad.

 

[Flying mermaid]

I'd be interest to hear people's opinion on the T&C's of these tickets. I'd nearly put my house on the fact that a class downgrade with no compensation wouldn't be compliant with Australian Consumer Law. Would also appreciate an official response from Qantas if you get one!

Well people have motivated me enough to email Qantas tomorrow and I will report back. Thanks for support guys I was feeling very unhappy earlier - probably silly to get so cranky over it!

 

[Ansett]

Well people have motivated me enough to email Qantas tomorrow and I will report back. Thanks for support guys I was feeling very unhappy earlier - probably silly to get so cranky over it!

Good Luck FM hope you get a much better outcome than you have had as they have treated you absolutely disgracefully.

 

[DC3]

... So Qantas - the airline where you pay for business fares in order to fly economy

LTG is no easy feat for most. Many of those flights will have been on QF. I hope that you receive fair compensation for your troubles.

Writing (including email), clearly setting out the issues, rather than trying to do any more on the phone, would be my way to go, and see what they come back with.

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

I fly SQ and MI quite a bit both intra-Asia and long haul and have never once had a change of aircraft or seating of any type. When my flight from London on Monday changed by 5 minutes they emailed and texted me and were willing to get in contact if necessary. With SQ you know exactly what you're getting and its usually pretty damn good hard product and service. If you fly paid J too and make PPS they will look after you.

I am really hoping Singapore Air will be better. Miss FM is flying Singapore air (Silk Air I think), from Singapore to Langkawi in Y. She has had a schedule change with them as well and she was really impressed at how they phoned her and made sure everything was OK. I don't get that sort of consideration flying in F from Qantas, so we will see how things go with SQ later in the year. I am trying to keep my expectations down, but hoping they will be less annoying than Qantas.

 

[jono88888]

As one who is always at the back of the plane I had no idea that an airline could sell you J, put you in Y and then just say "tough luck". If I had paid for J and that happened to me I would be pretty pissed off to put it mildly.

You're obviously a frequent flyer of status, so if this is how they treat somebody like yourself, what hope is there for the average passenger. Hopefully you'll have better luck with Singapore - though luck should have nothing to do with it.

 

[Altair]

Like many of these thread there are always "the airline should" statements based on personal belief on what they think the law should be or how a business treats its customers.
For me I am not too happy with Qantas customer service on two occasions but the one related to this thread is travelling on the QF code EK413 AKL-SYD First Class. Flight cancelled and I was offered an Economy seat on the next QF flight or to wait for the next day's EK413 or refund. This is in accordance with the QF Customer Charter
As I had to be in Sydney that night I took the Economy seat. I was travelling with a WP and they were given a Business class seat and Qantas contacted them and stated they would arrange a refund, which eventually occurred after a chase up. I a SG had an Economy seat, no contact or proactive refund and initiated the request for refund myself. I did get a refund between the First Class fare I paid and the high economy fare I supposedly agreed to when I accepted the Economy alternative. I also was refused original routing credit as I was getting a refund so only entitled to the Full/Flex Economy fare I now appeared to have paid. The WP I was travelling with was told the same thing and he is a very experienced FF that formerly frequented this site but remains active on FT so has gone through many flight disruptions in his travels.
In short, you should get a refund of some sort, how that is calculated may not be fair by many on AFF, you will not get compensation and if you get a refund do not expect ORC or if you get ORC do not expect a refund seems to be the stance of QF.
But QF can stand by their Customer Charter as that is the minimum they should do, unfortunately it seems to be the maximum they will do for you as well, which is related to my other issue....

 

[Nug300]

I had a J flight cancelled on me too recently from CBR.

Was flying to BNE on a Saturday and specifically picked a 717 J flight as it was direct. Day before QF cancels that flight and replaces it with a D8-400 all Y at the exact same time.

Ended up re routing via SYD because i wanted the class I booked and I had time on my side.

 

[dajop]

Can you imagine if other industries pulled this stunt?

"Yes we have confirmed your new BMW M3 for delivery today, but since we sold it to another customer we have a Toyota Corolla waiting for you to pick up. Unfortunately due to our terms* there is no refund."

Closest analogy I can think of is hotel industry. Do they pull this sort of cough as well?

"Sorry madam, a number of rooms you booked were damaged when sprinklers went off last night, therefore the high floor ocean front executive suite you booked is unavailable, we have instead allocated you one of our standard rooms with internal views". "We can arrange a refund for the difference in room rate, please contact customer service to arrange for the refund' .... several weeks later ..... " In this instance, as you paid a special advance purchase rate of $500/night for the executive suite, and the rack rate for our standard room is $490, we'll give you a refund of $10. This will be processed to your credit card within 12 weeks. "