Handling overbooked flights

[eastwest101]

This is what I'm wondering. OP says booked via Velocity - which implies an award? If a ticket wasn't available for a 2 year old, did JohnK know it was being booked as an adult award at the time of booking?

If so, that changes the equation.

Yes, correction, it does say booking via Velocity call centre so JohnK"s daughter may have been booked as a reward seat,

Haven't done this online lately, but if you book a reward seat via the Velocity call centre, for another person do they ask for a date of birth of that passenger? Because if not that would explain a few things.

 

[Matt_01]

This is what I'm wondering. OP says booked via Velocity - which implies an award? .......

I would disagree I book flights for my wife, daughter and or both using VA, or the Accelerate portal and just refer to them as with ‘Virgin’ or ‘Velocity’. It’s all the same.

 

[Matt_01]

Yes, correction, it does say booking via Velocity call centre so JohnK"s daughter may have been booked as a reward seat,

Haven't done this online lately, but if you book a reward seat via the Velocity call centre, for another person do they ask for a date of birth?

Isn’t it one in the same, I rarely ring VA or Velocity but which ever number you ring if you need to make a booking you end up in the reservations queue, QF is the same.

 

[eastwest101]

I would disagree I book flights for my wife, daughter and or both using VA, or the Accelerate portal and just refer to them as with ‘Virgin’ or ‘Velocity’. It’s all the same.

Direct quote from JohnK "booked via Velocity call centre".

Online bookings pick up children in the DOB data entry phase but phone call centre maybe not so sure?

 

[JohnK]

JohnK - were you aware at the time of booking your daughter had been booked as an adult?

I thought I explained in the OP.

I purchased flights for myself using Flybuys points + cash. I then called VA and said I would like to book revenue flights for my 2 year old (almost 3) daughter. Not award flights. The lady on the phone took a long time to make the bookings. She asked for DOB and also my daughters FF# was on booking. As far as I was aware bookings were linked as you cannot have a 2 year old travelling alone. We were seated together. No issues on OOL-SYD flight on Saturday.

The check-in agent did not say anything about me having a seat on flight and daughter offloaded. She said flight is full. The strangest part was not offering next flight but next available flight.

It was only later that I found out she was booked as an adult.

I find it strange that we were 2nd last and 3rd last to check in at T-1 hour unless they were overbooked by more than a few.

@burmans, I'm not certain about VA's overbooking policy. To be honest I don't care and if you think I should just accept it without question then you are sadly mistaken. I purchased 2 seats on that flight. If you want me to move flights then offer me something such as full refund + some sort of compensation.

"Sorry sir, flight is full" is childish and not good enough. Don't overbook flights is the simplest solution.

 

[RooFlyer]

Not sure why you quoted me? I deliberately didn’t make any judgement, let alone suggest it was ‘scandalous’.
Daughter is two, was bumped- ergo bumped 2 year old.

Not making any judgement either , merely pointing out that the '2 year old' issue wasn't the point, as far as VA was concerned (they thought she was an adult).

The strangest part was not offering next flight but next available flight.

Of course its the next 'available' flight'. If the next flight is full, then there's no room, unless they 'offload' some other poor unsuspecting sucker (and/or their daughter).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I thought I explained in the OP.

It wasn't clear in the OP. You said you booked flybuys and then rang velocity to book daughter. Now it is possible, and I'm sure some will do it, that they will try and get away booking a child as an adult award and avoid having to pay cash for a ticket. That can lead to all sorts of problems. I was just confirming that wasn't what happened here.

A linked booking means very little, as you found out.

And your daughter doesn't have a velocity account? The miles from the flight could have been pooled, and the agent should have used the profile to make the booking, with the correct date of birth.

 

[JohnK]

@JohnK so reading many of your post in which you promote the value of QF WP why you you fly VA. Even if you have VA WP status surely you would know that the 2 are poles apart?

I fly VA as most of my travel is not planned in advance and some Qantas airfares are overpriced. If I book a few VA flights then I may as well try to keep VA Gold which I will just about keep by end of this month.

P.S. some suggest it's my fault how flights are booked. There is nothing wrong with the way I book flights. It's all above board. Occassionally I book flights for myself and when we decide daughter is travelling then I call and book. I do this with Qantas and Virgin.

Sometimes I book return revenue flights for daughter, sometimes one revenue flight and an award flight or 2 award flights.

 

[RooFlyer]

I agree that this is probably true, but VA should have used some common sense once they realised they were in fact bumping a two-year-old from the flight.

Sure, but the OP's aggressive tone, as quoted by themselves, (although ire was perhaps understandable) wouldn't have helped a rational resolution.

Also, if/when they realised the 'adult' was in fact an infant, presumably that would have raised other questions in the VA system's 'mind'.

 

[blackcat20]

Airlines make no guarantees as to what time you’ll fly either. You may be booked on a certain flight but that isn’t part of their carriage contract. As long as they get you from A to B they’ve done their job.

 

[PDog]

Not making any judgement either , merely pointing out that the '2 year old' issue wasn't the point, as far as VA was concerned (they thought she was an adult).

Yup, I understood that.
I’m puzzled why they held a seat for one status pax and not another, despite apparently checking in a lower status pax (assuming the 2 y/o isn’t gold or platinum) first?

 

[sjk]

With snips:

"Flight is full"
"That's not my problem. I have confirmed bookings on this flight"
"You haven't checked in, I can offer you seat on next available flight"
"That's irrelevant. I'm not interested in any other flights. I'm going on this flight. Take someone else off the flight"

By this time I'm very angry.

She arrogantly laughs.

"No that's not right either. I don't want to take someone else's seat.

I reckon you should send them thanks. If you'd done the equivalent of that (outright aggression and incoherent inconsistency) when I was working for JL, no way you would have got on that plane.

 

[TomVexille]

Yup, I understood that.
I’m puzzled why they held a seat for one status pax and not another, despite apparently checking in a lower status pax (assuming the 2 y/o isn’t gold or platinum) first?

I'm guessing that the other pax did OLCI and was thus already checked in

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Airlines make no guarantees as to what time you’ll fly either. You may be booked on a certain flight but that isn’t part of their carriage contract. As long as they get you from A to B they’ve done their job.

That’s what they would like you to believe Aussie consumer law overrides the conditions of contract. Flight timings can be a reason to invoke your rights, despite anything in the contract.

 

[zenyattamondatta]

That’s what they would like you to believe Aussie consumer law overrides the conditions of contract. Flight timings can be a reason to invoke your rights, despite anything in the contract.

Can you please point to something concrete?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Can you please point to something concrete?

Australian consumer law overrides the conditions of contract. The same protections and consumer guarantees apply to airline tickets as anything else: Flight delays & cancellations

 

[blackcat20]

Australian consumer law overrides the conditions of contract. The same protections and consumer guarantees apply to airline tickets as anything else: Flight delays & cancellations

That link clearly states exactly what I said, that flight times aren’t part of your contract.

While airlines will endeavour to operate according to their published schedules, they do not guarantee flight times, and flight times do not form part of their contract of carriage with you.
If you need to be at your destination at a specific time (for example, if you are attending an important social event or have onward travel plans with another service provider such as a different airline or a cruise), you should:

• carefully consider your travel requirements
• allow yourself extra time to arrive at your destination
• take out travel insurance to cover you for any unexpected disruptions to your travel plans.

 

[sjk]

Australian consumer law overrides the conditions of contract. The same protections and consumer guarantees apply to airline tickets as anything else: Flight delays & cancellations

You cut and paste an awful lot.

 

[JohnK]

And your daughter doesn't have a velocity account? The miles from the flight could have been pooled, and the agent should have used the profile to make the booking, with the correct date of birth.

Daughter has Velocity account and pools to me. Velocity number was in booking and bookings should have been linked as we were seated together. The service desk said bookings were not linked so they must have been unlinked by someone or not linked correctly in the first place.

Boarding pass was printed at service desk with daughters Velocity number on boarding pass. When I went back to check-in bag the new check in agent mentioned daughter was booked as an adult. I don't know how VA allows a child to be booked as an adult and it was this error that led to the offloading issue.

 

[RooFlyer]

I don't care too much about fine print either

Its called a contract. I think this explains your very many rants about misfortune at the hands of various organisations and circumstances over the years.

Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you (ie agree to what they committed to do in the first place).