Cathay Pacific and Flight Centre customer focused???

[spudseamus]

This is not a good look for Flight Centre !! what are they there for if not to make sure that you as a customer gets the best service ? it has to be part of their business ethics ? surly --otherwise why do they exist ? I have only had one experience of FC and it was a good one (Shepparton Vic.) Mel to Dub S/A Singapore/Lufthansa but I needed to extend my stay as my Sister was very ill at the time and as I had no experience of doing this I got my wife ,who was at home in oz, to ring the local office --nothing was to much trouble and all was done for me without any hassles but that was only one case --yours is very annoying and if i use a T/A again I surly will keep your problem in mind .

 

[baef47]

-nothing was to much trouble.

Going back, I have experienced this type of travel agent - and I feel sure that they still exist - even in FC. I wonder if the "don't tell the customer about changes to their flight schedules that occurred 3 months ago" approach to customer service is cultural thing across the organisation. Or maybe the local staff are just so busy they don't have the time or support from head office. I can only guess because I don't know.

Following on from the suggestion, at midday yesterday I lodged a complaint via the FC website - but I guess they are on holidays as the follow up link they forwarded suggests - I have not had a response. I also sent a comment/complaint to Cathay but they say that their response time is within 30 days!

A question that arrises for me from all this is, what is Flight Centres raison d'être?

 

[Travel Guru]

My apologies, I didn't mean to trivialize the issue you're having, wasn't the intention of my post.

What you do need to do is separate the two issues/gripes you have; the first being the schedule change, the second being the fact you weren't informed about it by FC.

Irrespective of whether you were told or not, the schedule change is something completely out of the agents hands, whether you booked at FC, HWT, Jetset, with myself or direct with the airline that schedule change would have happened as it was caused by the airline.

FC have no reason not to inform you, it's not like their staff member accidentally booked the wrong date or cancelled off a sector and can't get it back, the schedule change had nothing to do with them and so i'd suggest their failure to inform you simply comes down to their staff member missing the queue or perhaps being on leave and another staff member failing to action their queues on their behalf.

The reason I mention separating the 2 issues is because if you're going to complain, you need to know who to complain to about what, FC should be extremely apologetic for not notifying you of the change, but beyond that they really do bear no responsibility for you missing one day in Rome, that's Cathay's fault, unfortunately these things happen all the time within the airline industry and you drew the short straw on this occasion.

I wouldn't hold out too much hope of getting much more than an apology from FC because at the end of the day, whether or not you'd been notified, you'd still find yourself in the same position, yes it was unprofessional not to be notified and I'd be as equally annoyed at not being told but that's unfortunately all too often the price you pay for using the low cost carrier of travel agents.

I hope that helps and hope you have a brilliant time away.

TG

 

[Simo]

I agree with TG,

FC should have let you know but at the end of the day they didn't cancel the flight.

FC is only an agent.

FC is probably the largest travel agent in Aust and they would have some brilliant staff some very good staff and some staff that are just there because they get cheap travel.

It would be the action of one agent that didn't do there job properly.

I have booked flights via a TA and one flight was cancelled so they had to sort it all out. It cost me a little bit more money or I would have lost a day of my holiday.

I just paid a bit more and all sorted.

Basically one flight was cancelled and they said I had to go to Sydney or stay in BNE and leave a midnight.

I went to Sydney and got to SIN at about the same time as I was suppose to.

One flight was credited and then rebooked and paid only the fare difference which was under $100.

TA charged me no fees as not my problem they just had to sort it out.

 

[baef47]

I like this post from NM (a Moderator) on 2 March 2007 (under the title 'Virgin Blue Flight Cancelled Again') on the subject of cancelled flights. I can't yet post links.

Not that it will help us - but given the inconvenience it would be nice to know why Cathay cancelled. I like the idea of choosing airlines who keep cancellations to a minimum i.e. don't sell tickets for a flight and then cancel at their own commercial whim.

On the subject of FC's failure to notify - I do wonder about their own commercial advantage from the failure. I have learnt that as a result of the flight being cancelled I could have cancelled the whole arrangement. I would have simply gone to Emirates directly and flown on the correct dates for our holiday. It was all too late by the time I discovered the failure.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Thanks to everyone - the help and feedback has been tremendous.

CX appear to do just one FCO/HKG flight per day every day - except Tuesday's which is the day they cancelled. After getting the confirmed e-tickets back in July we went on line to choose our seats. My recollection is that - even in July/August - that a hefty percentage of the seats were unavailable on CX292 (24/1/12) - indicating to me that the plane was well booked. I can't work that one out?

We need to be back home sometime on the 25th.

What I would really like Flight Centre to do is find us a comparable flight home on our original travel date with another airline - given that Cathay do not meet our travel needs. Is that reasonable?

I don't know whether CX fly out of FRA daily but one option would be to fly FRA/HKG on 24Jan but I don't know whether FC will cough up for the FCO/FRA sector & what the cost would be for that flight.

I would ring CX Sales in SYD & tell them how unhappy you are with the situation & if they will authorise the reissue of your ticket to FRA/HKG (assuming there's a flight 24Jan) or another CX European city to HKG instead of Rome.

You could ask your travel insurance company however I don't think they'd wear it & would probably refer you back to the agent who it seems won't do much.

I would ring the FC Head Office & tell them how dissatisfied you are with the lack of service from the Neutral Bay office & tell them you want to be reimbursed for the sector airfares FCO/FRA.

 

[Travel Guru]

On the subject of FC's failure to notify - I do wonder about their own commercial advantage from the failure. I have learnt that as a result of the flight being cancelled I could have cancelled the whole arrangement. I would have simply gone to Emirates directly and flown on the correct dates for our holiday. It was all too late by the time I discovered the failure.

As someone who spent almost 5 years inside the beast that is FC (and I was one of the great ones among many average and ethic-less ones which is why I left and went out on my own), I'm telling you, you're was over analyzing it and reading far too much into it...it was human error pure and simple.

TG

 

[serfty]

beaf47, did you book any land component (Accomodation, Tour, transfers etc.) for your trip through FC at the same time?

 

[baef47]

beaf47, did you book any land component (Accomodation, Tour, transfers etc.) for your trip through FC at the same time?

We did all of this (accommodation, transfers, trains etc etc) directly with the providers. We asked FC for a quote on the accommodation but the rates were out of the ball park.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

We did all of this (accommodation, transfers, trains etc etc) directly with the providers. We asked FC for a quote on the accommodation but the rates were out of the ball park.

again... sorry to hear about the travel being cut short. however, as TG points out, even if fright centre informed you, the end result would have been the same... the flight is still cancelled and you would either have to travel a day earlier, a day later, or re route your travel via another city from which Cathay has daily services... the latter would be up to Cathay to offer alternatives.

you will be covered by any EU compensation guidelines... so the re routing would be required by law under those circumstances. (edited) the flight cancellation is more than two weeks prior to departure, so no cash compensation is payable... but I think you might be entitled to accommodation if you reroute for the day after??)

 

[Jobu]

again... sorry to hear about the travel being cut short. however, as TG points out, even if fright centre informed you, the end result would have been the same... the flight is still cancelled and you would either have to travel a day earlier, a day later, or re route your travel via another city from which Cathay has daily services... the latter would be up to Cathay to offer alternatives.

I'm not convinced this is true.

If flight centre did their job and informed him 3 months out, he may very well have had more than enough time to find alternative travel arrangements and enjoyed the holiday he had planned, even if at an extra cost. I have regular issues with travel agents and they are often quick to blame the airlines for their faults.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I'm not convinced this is true.

If flight centre did their job and informed him 3 months out, he may very well have had more than enough time to find alternative travel arrangements and enjoyed the holiday he had planned, even if at an extra cost. I have regular issues with travel agents and they are often quick to blame the airlines for their faults.

yes.. although I only thought at the end of writing my post abut the EU laws... so potentially Cathay has the obligation to rebook, even via another route.

 

[medhead]

I haven't read the whole thread. But my suggestion for doing Rome in a day is:

• Get on a Vatican tour in the morning to see the Sistine chapel, maybe skip St Peters (up to you, I've not seen St Peters). This is an early start but tours get in earlier than general public.
• The tour bus will get you back to your hotel usually by a long circular route so that gives a feel for the city.
• then lunch and either Treve fountain or Spanish steps. I found both to be touristy and full of dodgy characters but the view from the top of the Spanish steps is great. Use no more than 2 or so hours on this
• for the afternoon and evening colosseum, roman forum and palatine hill. You need to pay to see the forum but you can get your colosseum tickets at the forum and hence avoid queues at the colosseum. This is all lit up at night hence my suggestion to do it last. You also need to check when entry to the colosseum shuts - if you want to go in.

Long day but that is my best suggestion, it might also help you sleep on the flight.

Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app so please excuse the lack of links.

 

[Travel Guru]

I'm not convinced this is true.

If flight centre did their job and informed him 3 months out, he may very well have had more than enough time to find alternative travel arrangements and enjoyed the holiday he had planned, even if at an extra cost. I have regular issues with travel agents and they are often quick to blame the airlines for their faults.

That's funny, the airlines are often quick to blame TA's for their faults too...who would have thought people would be passing the buck in this age of self-responsibilty :mrgreen::mrgreen:



While it might have given him more time, the outcome would have been the same, rescheduled flight (by the airline not the TA...not that I'm a FC supporter by any means).

The only difference as you point out is that he may have been able to cancel the original flight and re-book on another carrier but in all likelihood there still would have been out of pocket expense.

No-one's suggesting the TA isn't at fault here, but as I pointed out in my previous post, there's no sense blaming the TA for the actual schedule change, that was out of their hands, it's the poor communication they need to be concerned with making amends for.

TG

 

[baef47]

A very positive development has come about.

We have reshuffled - with some difficulty - things at this end - enabling us to arrive home on the 26th. So, I have just rung Cathay Pacific and asked about availability of the flights on those days. They needed to contact FC but the end result was that we now depart FCO on the 25th and arrive back in Sydney on the 26th.

FC have issued an updated itinerary.

With regards to compensation - well I am very happy now - and none received.

My lesson from this - no matter who you booked with - check and recheck all aspects of the booking (online and documented) - in the minutest detail- often - even if you struggle with such things - right up to the point that you leave for the airport.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

A very positive development has come about.

We have reshuffled - with some difficulty - things at this end - enabling us to arrive home on the 26th. So, I have just rung Cathay Pacific and asked about availability of the flights on those days. They needed to contact FC but the end result was that we now depart FCO on the 25th and arrive back in Sydney on the 26th.

FC have issued an updated itinerary.

With regards to compensation - well I am very happy now - and none received.

My lesson from this - no matter who you booked with - check and recheck all aspects of the booking (online and documented) - in the minutest detail- often - even if you struggle with such things - right up to the point that you leave for the airport.

I'm glad it worked out for you after you contacted the airline direct. It's a shame FC couldn't be bothered to do this in the first place when you brought the matter to their attention. They may have still been able to retain your business for the future if they'd at least tried to help. I can't really see CX knocking FC back as it's not exactly a 'favour' as it was CX after all who did the sked change.

It's all very well to say it's not the agent's fault because it was the airline who changed the flight, however I think the major issue here is not the sked change but the way FC handled the whole situation.

 

[Travel Guru]

I'm glad it worked out for you after you contacted the airline direct. It's a shame FC couldn't be bothered to do this in the first place when you brought the matter to their attention. They may have still been able to retain your business for the future if they'd at least tried to help. I can't really see CX knocking FC back as it's not exactly a 'favour' as it was CX after all who did the sked change.

It's all very well to say it's not the agent's fault because it was the airline who changed the flight, however I think the major issue here is not the sked change but the way FC handled the whole situation.

True though from what I can tell from the OP's posts, it wasn't an option to change the return date until he/she re-arranged their schedule today and contacted the airline...as hopeless as FC agents can be at times, I'm sure they would have called CX had it been an option previously (although who knows sometimes).

TG

 

[anat0l]

My lesson from this - no matter who you booked with - check and recheck all aspects of the booking (online and documented) - in the minutest detail- often - even if you struggle with such things - right up to the point that you leave for the airport.

This is very good advice for any of us - novice or seasoned traveller, or simple or complex itinerary. I know I always check because I'm not one keen to rely on the TA/airline to inform me as quickly as possible when things do change.

The irony of this is that throughout all of my travel that I've done, I've always been contacted of schedule changes or cancellations with a decent amount of time. (Either that or I've been reaccommodated very well and in a streamlined manner). Sometimes the advice of a schedule change was only 10 minutes difference from when I booked! (That is, 10 minutes on an itinerary where that difference doesn't matter...)


Good to hear that you got a resolution that works. When I went to Rome with another AFFer, we did Rome in 2 days (some time before and after for arrival / departure allowance), with Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps all during that day. The next day was at least half spent at Vatican City, and mostly in the Sistine Chapel. Looking at medhead's idea, I guess one can do it all in a day, though that's a tight squeeze and a very early start to get to the Vatican. Still, looks possible!


In a sense, if FC failed in their responsibilty to timely inform of a schedule change, what kind of remediation would be deemed reasonably appropriate? An apology? Flexibility in making booking changes? Monetary? I know some of the answer might be, "Well, what would you ask for?" It would also depend on when FC advised one of the change (i.e. the consequences between informing of a schedule change issued months ago would be different if it were 1 week before departure vs. 1 week into the trip!).