Flight delayed, missed connection and abandoned by Qantas

[porterble]

Mask up, or possibly invest in a space suit. I’ve just spent a delightful week quarantined at the Ritz in Vienna after testing positive the night we arrived. They are still treating covid seriously here.

Who was doing the testing? I'm heading to AT next week and the visa/travel indication is that testing isn't required.

 

[papeto]

Hi All, finally back from our trip to Europe. I filed a claim with Qantas today for the cancellation and the associated costs and lossess experienced. I’ll keep you posted as to how it went. Still no apology received from Qantas.

 

[papeto]

Only just saw this thread via the front page...

Wow, I'm sorry you had to go through this pepeto! What a shocking, terrible experience.

For comparison, I flew a similar itinerary back in May and got a better result on separate tickets: SYD-BNE on VA + BNE-DOH-ATH on QR

I had to book it that way as the QR ticket was paid J outbound, Qcredits return, and it was impossible to ticket at a non-absurd price. I tossed up whether I should book a QF connection so at least it was same alliance. Ultimately I figured my chances were better if there were IRROPS even on a separate VA ticket, compared to a tight QF connection, since as QF gold it'd take me hours to even talk to somebody.

Turns out it was all true, and I needed it. I'd already allowed a longer connection, but by lunchtime I noticed that the plane that was scheduled to run my SYD-BNE was running late in HBA, and there would undoubtedly be flow-on delays. (It ended up being almost 4 hours late and we 100% would've misconnected.)

Luckily VA looked after my partner and I flawlessly. Called VA twice that afternoon, got through in ~10 min each time. They were happy to move us to earlier flights, even before they formally re-timed our booked flight. Our choice of time, either move now or keep checking in the afternoon and call back to move later (they checked there were enough Y seats later in the day to make this possible).

Yes, we were both platinum, but the words "Fly Ahead" never even came up. The moment I mentioned we had an international connection the follow ups questions were "What time?" and "Can I check you are able to make it to the airport in time for an earlier departure?".

A slight complication was that we'd upgraded from Y to J on SYD-BNE and there was no 2x availability in J on a single flight that afternoon, but no worries, they could do any of split the PNR and put us on two flights following each other, one person in each cabin, or just refund both upgrades and fly together in Y (what I chose in the end). Not that I would've expected anything less than genuinely helpful customer service from VA!

I'm utterly astounded that Qantas didn't do more to ensure so many connecting passengers didn't miss their flight in the first place, as much as I'm outraged to hear about the total lack of service recovery.

Can I just say, I'm really looking forward to flying VA+QR again in the future (one one ticket with the new alliance?)... now what to do with all my QF points hmmm.

Hi Crytocardian, glad to hear VA took good care of you. VA maybe looking to use the current QF fiasco to out service QF. I think the may succeed

 

[N860CR]

Hi All, finally back from our trip to Europe. I filed a claim with Qantas today for the cancellation and the associated costs and lossess experienced. I’ll keep you posted as to how it went. Still no apology received from Qantas.

Did you return home on the original ticket? Or was it totally replaced ex BNE?

 

[SydneySwan]

I learnt COBOL, then RPG III, RPG IV and RPG ILE.

I've been an RPG programmer since 1986. A very stable language, with good screen handling, very good batch processing and does not leak memory nor do you need to program not to leak memory.

System/38, AS400, i-Series one of the most consistent mainframes and a very good server.

Thanks @JohnK. Looks like we have followed parallel paths although I quit working in 2013.

Sorry everyone else for drifting OT.

 

[SydneySwan]

I have a SYD-ADL-DOH-WAW classic reward booked on a Sunday in September with a 125 min connection in ADL. After reading this thread I am seriously thinking to cancel. No other connecting flights to ADL were offered when I booked online.

 

[papeto]

Did you return home on the original ticket? Or was it totally replaced ex BNE?

I had booked a one way reward ticket with Qantas to Europe. For the return I got a cheap Business class fare from Frankfurt to Singapore on SIA ($1.4k only) and from Singapore to Sydney on Scootbiz. So the claim is all based on the one way fare from Syd to Athens. SIA in business is one of the best.

 

[papeto]

I have a SYD-ADL-DOH-WAW classic reward booked on a Sunday in September with a 125 min connection in ADL. After reading this thread I am seriously thinking to cancel. No other connecting flights to ADL were offered when I booked online.

You should be ok, mine happend with the Qld school and Victorian school holidays starting on the same day. Also given what you know now, you can probably demand a rebooking if they stuff it up again.

 

[porterble]

I have a SYD-ADL-DOH-WAW classic reward booked on a Sunday in September with a 125 min connection in ADL. After reading this thread I am seriously thinking to cancel. No other connecting flights to ADL were offered when I booked online.

ADL is also a pretty basic airport to transit in. Just walk through the internal DOM-INT gates. Its not like SYD or BNE which requires a bus or train transit.

 

[RichardMEL]

125 minutes in ADL is absolutely fine. Same terminal really a few steps to the international area from any inbound gate. I would not worry about that connection at all.

 

[JohnK]

125 minutes in ADL is absolutely fine. Same terminal really a few steps to the international area from any inbound gate. I would not worry about that connection at all.

If only delays didn't occur?

I used to be happy with 3 hour connections anywhere but that has now been revised.

 

[wilso1]

The same happened to me with a flight booked Sydney to Frankfurt via Hendra Japan in business class, they canceled the second leg about 6 weeks prior to our trip.

We had no choice but to cancel the flights, Qantas did refund all the points but we ended up cancelling the entire trip.

I say welcome to the new world post Covid, everything is twice the cost with half the service. Try complaining, sorry sir, due to staff shortages we cannot assist you.

 

[OATEK]

We have a SYD-LHR-MAN outgoing trip, where BA have cancelled the LHR-MAN leg twice. Gone from 8:45am to 8:35 pm, so looks like a London walkabout in between flights.

The latest cancellation came today, and I rang QF about 7:30am, got straight on to someone who's accent was very difficult to assess. A deep gruff voice, but didn't have any SA twang so guess closer to home (Fiji, NZ, perhaps even AU). The agent started to look at alternative dates/routes out of SYD but I had already researched options, and pointed him towards the evening flight. Now just have to hope it tickets.

Decided we might spend a few hours in the lounge at T5 after we arrive (given how early QF1 lands), and then leave our carry on with the Left luggage provider and head into town for the day.

 

[jrfsp]

We have a SYD-LHR-MAN outgoing trip, where BA have cancelled the LHR-MAN leg twice. Gone from 8:45am to 8:35 pm, so looks like a London walkabout in between flights.

The latest cancellation came today, and I rang QF about 7:30am, got straight on to someone who's accent was very difficult to assess. A deep gruff voice, but didn't have any SA twang so guess closer to home (Fiji, NZ, perhaps even AU). The agent started to look at alternative dates/routes out of SYD but I had already researched options, and pointed him towards the evening flight. Now just have to hope it tickets.

Decided we might spend a few hours in the lounge at T5 after we arrive (given how early QF1 lands), and then leave our carry on with the Left luggage provider and head into town for the day.

Why don’t you just get the train up?

 

[RAM]

Why don’t you just get the train up?

If your trip is in UK winter then be warned that even small snow falls can see trains cease running. Meanwhile over in Austria or Germany - snowfalls 4 or 5x that amount see little to no disruption of services. Worth doing some research on past train service 'cancelations' on that route.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Why don’t you just get the train up?

Agreed or hire a car and drive.
I wouldn’t hang about in LHR for 12 hours and faff around with left luggage when I could be in MAN long before if that’s the destination.

 

[OATEK]

Why don’t you just get the train up?

We have used the trains several times and even with only our cabin bags it is a pain. Getting the luggage across town to Euston and fighting for space on the small racks they provide would be difficult. Our standard carry-ons won't fit in the overhead racks and so we don't really find it easy at all. Plus train strikes are ongoing at present, so a lottery at this stage.

Agreed or hire a car and drive.
I wouldn’t hang about in LHR for 12 hours and faff around with left luggage when I could be in MAN long before if that’s the destination.

Yes, a one way drive is possible, although not that cheap. Have also considered going across to LGW where they have flights to MAN, but are they any more likely to fly?

At least if the LHR-MAN flight is likely to go, we will have no trouble filling in the day in London. In fact London is our final destination for the trip overall, after visiting family in MAN will return to London by car about 10days later to be with daughter's family.

The one thing I am reluctant to say to QF is please cancel one of my flights - we all know where that could end up!!!

 

[RichardMEL]

If only delays didn't occur?

I used to be happy with 3 hour connections anywhere but that has now been revised.

Fair enough and specially these days understandable.

I did think of making a comment about delays.. but let's face it, delays can and do happen as opposed to a ridiculous MCT causing a scheduled connection.

And yes, 3hours makes sense. I have one coming up in SYD where I specifically picked just under 3h transit to QF11 (because that's the most I could do without going up the night before) just because. Now unlikely a delay on the first flight of the day, but one never knows, and heck if I get over to int and through formalities around 8am (or 8:30) for a 1015 departure, then I get to relax in the F lounge.. and if there's a snag somewhere well I have a reasonable buffer. Fully get it.

In the case of 125 scheduled minutes at ADL it even allows for say an hour delay into ADL and to still comfortably (imo) make it through to the QR flight.

I suppose where does one draw the line thoiugh. In the vast majority of cases delays are not going to be that much.. and if one makes too long a connection for worry then one can be bored out of their brain for a few hours if/when things run more or less as expected. Now for me I'm probably OK with a few hours - rather be safe and bored then sorry and up that creek without a paddle...

these days it definitely does seem to be an ever expanding "buffer" we need to make for ourselves for less stress connections.. and that's pretty sad on the state of the industry/travel situation now.

However this thread is about scheduled MCT and so I still feel 2 hours at ADL is enough for a comfortable connection.

 

[marcellal]

Did you mean QR revenue sold by QF? If yes, I'd think (& happy to be corrected) that the airline I purchased the ticket from, regardless of the other partner airlines in the itinerary, is responsible for the whole ticket? So if I booked say a flight on QF website that involves a MH or JQ or QR segment (operated by the partner airline), then because I purchased the ticket from QF, isn't QF responsible?

There is an issue with code shares. I was on the first Sydney to London Flight in June to travel to Dublin. On arrival in London I missed my connecting flight due to a baggage and terminal transfer issue. Although my bag made it to London, I did not and British Air refused to assist. I was on hold with Qantas for an hour and then found another BA customer service desk that was able to help me to get on a flight that day. Partner Airlines are exhausted with their own issues and not holding up a consistent experience that Qantas customers anticipate.

 

[SydneySwan]

However this thread is about scheduled MCT and so I still feel 2 hours at ADL is enough for a comfortable connection.

Thanks for your input. I agree that 2 hours in Adelaide should make for a comfortable connection. It is the late departure or cancellation of the Qantas flight from Sydney that bothers me. If the connection was Qantas to Qantas then I would be slightly more confident. I am on the 1640 from SYD which arrives ADL at 1815 for 2020 departure to DOH. I would be more relaxed if I could have booked the 1540 from SYD.