Bereavement fee waivers?

[lobo76]

Hey all,

A colleague of mine (no Velocity status) has had a bereavement and booked flights for the funeral. The funeral has since been delayed so he needs to change his flights. The call center are asking $60 change fee per flight and wouldn't make an exception, so I just thought I'd check if anyone knows of a bereavement policy at all regarding flight fees?

Cheers

 

[MartinMemo]

They will charge it regardless, though I have had success in the past avoiding change fees. Its best if you get through to the onshore call center, explain the situation honestly, and that this is the first time you (they) have ever had to make a flight change, and ask for leniency in this instance as a once off. It is a lot easier when you have 20+ flights booked that you can point to, or some status, but really; i would just be up-front and ask them as above.

 

[lobo76]

Yea I reckon... I'll tell him to give it one more shot I guess.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

My own experience in a similar circumstance saw little (in fact no) help from VA whilst QF bent over backward to assist. And I'm VA WP and QF NB.

VA have a lot to learn about customer service in this area.

 

[Flywithd]

What I've noticed is that QF ground service and crew do bend over backwards and service standards are impeccable in the instance of an emergency or so but don't have the magic in the air, while its the opposite with VA. Best to stick with QF in this case.

 

[mannej]

I am not going to get into an argument, but ultimately the responsibility for the performance of QF lies with the CEO.
No matter what your essay lays out, I haven't changed my mind and it would seem that others have agreed regarding your comments and what they have inferred.

 

[Burrito]

When my fiancé had her grandfather in hospital and about to pass away last year we needed to bring her flight forward by a day so that she could be there before he went. I called the customer service line and was told something along the lines of the original booked flight would be forfeited and I could rebook the next flight out of Brisbane at around $500. The situation was dire so without hesitation I proceeded with the booking over the phone while in the taxi with my fiancé to the airport. 20 minutes in to the call the line dropped out.

We arrived at the airport shortly after and headed to the service desk. When the story was explained the VA angel changed the original flight with no charge. My fiancé made it home and visited her grandfather one last time. He passed away early the following morning.

VA service at the airport shined. The kindness and care of the ladies at the service desk & checkin had been second to none. We are both very grateful and appreciative to this day. A thank you email was sent to VA in the days following.

 

[straitman]

Several posts have been deleted as they have no relevance to the topic and are becoming personal.