Fee and Surcharge different for Jetstar Flights Booked via Qantas Online.

[Rastas]

Hello,

This is my first post and thought I'd share my recent experience booking award flights for a Jetstar flight via the Qantas website.

First off, it doesn't seem right that the Melbourne - Bangkok flights on Jetstar are the same frequent flyer point cost as Melbourne - Hong Kong with Qantas. Hong Kong is actually slightly further away than Bangkok but you will get in-flight dining, blankets, pillows, entertainment and drinks while on the Jetstar flight these are all additional costs that are purchased onboard if you want to use. They don't match the service on Jetstar if you use frequent flyer points to buy the ticket right? Even if it was just 5,000 points discount it would seem a lot fairer.

Anyway, setting that annoyance aside, I've still proceeded in booking my flights to Bangkok on Jetstar via the Qantas Frequent Flyer Award Flight booking engine. I booked.

Oneway ticket Melbourne - Bangkok 26th October 2 Adult and 1 infant.
Oneway ticket Bangkok - Melbourne 16th October 1 Adult
Oneway ticket Bangkok - Melbourne 26th October 1 Adult and 1 infant.

It was booked in this way because the online booking engine doesn't allow for different return dates on a round trip booking.

The fees and surcharges work out to the follows
474.98 (AUD) departure ticket
6125.00 (THB) first return ticket
11190.00 (THB) second return ticket

Converting the Thai Bhat to AUD and totalling the fees and surcharges gives me the grand total or $1012AUD to get two adults and an infant to and from Thailand on a direct award flight. This seemed to be extremely high!

So I investigated how much Jetstar would charge the fees and surcharges via the Jetstar website. Here's what I found.

Jetstar charge
$328.98 (AUD) Departure ticket
$4423.00 (THB) First return ticket
$4423.00 (THB) Second return ticket.

Total in AUD with conversion works out to around $603.58 AUD which means that by booking an Award Flight via for Jetstar via the Qantas website creates and additional $408.00 in fees and surcharges!!!! How on earth can this difference be justified?
Even booking return tickets, with two adults and 1 infant departing on the 26th October returning on the 30th November yields a gap for around $300.

Furthermore, Qantas put fees and charges on the infant that is travelling with us who is only a few months old. From what I can gather such passengers are exempt from these fees and surcharges, they certainly are according to Jetstars booking system.
I called Qantas and was treated to rude indifferent customer service over the phone saying it was not anything that Qantas could help me with and I can't help you etc etc. Btw, I'm a Platinum level member and the appalling lack of assistance and service for what seemed to me as a clear mistake was shocking. The person that I spoke to was unwilling to escalate or follow up for me so I've resorted to posting a letter via their online feedback to see if I can get this acknowledge as a mistake.

After doing all this, it got me thinking, this has had to have been noticed by somebody by now? How many times do they make these charges to other people without them doing a comparison like what I have. How can they charge more fees and surcharges than what JetStar themselves charge when it's the exact same flight. Can they get away with doing this or is it just a big mistake that needs to be fixed?


Am I missing something here or am I correct in thinking that I've been charged an additional $408 extra for no reason? When/if I get feedback from Qantas I'll update this thread with information as to what they say. I'd be interested in hearing from people that have experienced this before or have further information about why there is such a big difference in the charges.

 

[Mal]

Welcome to Aff!

Indeed this looks pretty weird. I'm wondering if the difference may reside around the infant being a lap-infant, or having their own seat.

Are both bookings the same (either infant on lap, or infant having own seat?)

The Qantas T&C's do say:
13.2.6 Infants under two years and not occupying a seat, travel without the need to redeem Points as long as the accompanying adult is travelling on an Award Flight ticket. There is a limit of one infant per adult Award Flight traveller.

Not sure how they would calculate taxes and charges though.

 

[Rastas]

Thanks for your quick reply - good question.

The infant has no seat allocated on the booking. Only the adults have seats on my Qantas bookings page. The infant would be travelling will be sharing the seat with mum or dad which is what we are entitled to do.

Even without an infant travelling with us, the fees and surcharges are different still when booked on a Qantas award ticket v's what Jetstar show on their website.

This can be exposed when you do trial bookings from both websites. However, you will need to have enough points to get to the stage in Qanta's booking system to show the total fees and surcharges.

 

[NM]

I would be asking QF for a detailed breakdown of the charges. I suspect they have indeed included some taxes (perhaps Australian departure tax) and possibly even fuel fine for the infant. I had them do that for an award once before.

 

[Rastas]

Yes I've asked for a please explain and will find out why the same flights cost so much different in their fees and charges and will update the thread with any response I get from them.

In the meantime, here's some more food for thought. 1 Adult to Christchurch from Melbourne on the 26th October returning on the 27th November. No infant or second person, just a simple 1 person round trip ticket.

JetStar Jetflex class charges $404 each way with $78.63AUD in Fees and Taxes. Total price is $886.63. AUD

If I booked this same flight, via Qantas using my Frequent Flyer points. I would be charged 36,000 points for the trip plus $222.61 Charges/taxes ( Excludes local airport taxes collected at time of check-in)

According to Qantas website, my points purchased a Jetflex ticket. There is a massive difference in the charges/taxes/fees yet again.

I think there should be some concern for everyone that books international flights for Jetstar off the Qantas Frequent Flyer website. It seems to be passing on some unreasonable fees and charges that are out of line with the full JetFlex economy tickets.

 

[dajop]

Simple explanation (as dubious as the approach is) is that Qantas and Jetstar are different airlines and charge different surcharges. You will find that rife throughout the airline industry, particularly when codeshares come it play, the surcharge will depend on the airline marketing the flight. QF is essentially codesharing on the JQ flight, so are entitled to charge what they want.

Indeed QF itself charge different surcharges depending on where you originate, so someone travelling SYD-LHR-SYD will pay different surcharges to someone travelling on the same flight numbers from LHR-SYD-LHR (usually those travelling ex-AUS pay more, as we love QF that much more than travellers in other countries).

The most extreme case of what you are referring to is when JQ have sales on, I have seen flights available on JQ for $5 in total (no surcharges). On those same flights and the same day you could if you were a raving lunatic, or where gullible and didn't know any better spend 8,000 pts + approx $40 in surcharges.

 

[Platy]

I noticed the same problem when investigating a trip to Honolulu on award flights originating in either CNS or BNE and then picking up one of the SYD-HNL flights, which surprise surprise was only available on JQ metal with a QF fight number. Yes, indeed, the taxes and surcharges on a QF award ticket far exceeded those if I had purchases separate JQ fares for the two sectors. And that was just for me, no possible catch such as an infant, etc.

I concluded that it simply wasn't worth using up points for such a journey.

QF are out to screw you as their customer at any and every opportunity. They are selling (or rewarding depending on your point ofview) a QF branded product on a JQ aircraft, but without supplying the services advertised for the QF brand.

The same thing happens even if you PAY for a QF flight on JQ metal - you don't get service or even FF points or status credits.

So QF are
1. ripping off the customers, and
2. confusing the branding differential between JQ and QF

Now, admittedly one can imagine this creates a short term profit benefit, but IMHO at an intangible cost both to their customer relations and to their brand integrity.

Personally, I would keep ringing back until I got to speak to someone who would give me the taxes and surcharge breakdown over the phone. It is my undersanding that they legally have to supply this information (any legal brains feel free to correct me on this one).

Perhaps, the customer service staff know full well there is a blatant rip off in the system and that is why they are cagey and unhelpful having been put in the "embarrassing" position of defending the indefensible.

PS. try using your QF points for awards on American Airlines flight internally in the USA and they levy just US$2.50 per sector!!!

 

[Rastas]

Thanks dajop and Platy for your replies.

I've yet to get a response from Qantas as yet, but expect it to take a bit more time.

If what you are saying is right Dajob, which I also suspect, it seems fairly flimsy. Has nobody tested this previously? We are after all buying a Jetstar flight and services with Qantas Frequent Flyers points and should only have the pay the fees and surcharges that apply to that flight.


As far as I can tell, on all my examples, the price for the JetFlex ticket is the highest possible offered by Jetstar, and is not on sale. It is simply not possible to have fees and surcharges charged to the same levels as what Qantas charge via a frequent flyer booking.

I would expect to be charged the fees and surcharges that other Jetstar passengers would be charged for the full Jetflex ticket as that is what I am essentially seeing.


Would this be potentially a case for the office of Fair Trading? Imagine if Qantas had been found to have overcharged fees and surcharges on Jetstar award flights.

I wait with baited breath from Qantas. At the minimum, they should not be charging me for the infant so I think I have a certain case there.