Have I been joyced by Qantas ?

[RooFlyer]

However if we are saying that one airline is the better airline, then there should be evidence that it is performing at a higher level than the others.
The suggestion is that people are not necessarily observing the differential.

Sounds like another case of the new Qantas slogan: "Qantas. We are just as bad as everyone else".

It has always been the case that airlines have oversold seats and then dealt with the consequences afterwards. The passengers with the stickiest booking have always tended to be the ones who paid the most for the ticket/ have significant frequent flyer status, or some other notation on their ticket.

A reminder though that the OP was told that there had been a plane change, whereas there was still a B737 on the service. From what we've been told, it appears to have been a lie to get them off the plane. If it was a case of being oversold, then the OP should have been offered compensation to give up their seat or more compo if forced to.

____

'Overselling' is just a red herring introduced introduced into this thread to deflect the behaviour of the airline which was to get them off the plane; likely to accommodate a revenue pax.

 

[Vic]

It had one seat when I checked earlier. I don't know why QF oversold it, thinking maybe they need to deadhead 2 crew to MEL? But that would explain why they rebooked you and were still selling a single seat. I think it's complete conjecture that QF is cancelling bookings for the direct intent to resell those seats at profit. People here might argue otherwise, some don't like reality. However I think it is true that if someone has to be offloaded, points bookings are easy targets as the worst case for them (full refund) doesn't cost them cash.

Yeah, you're right. It is complete conjure that qantas are cancelling to resell seats at a profit when oversold. I wonder who suggested that idea...

What date?

If it was Saturday or Sunday AM, there is 1x J seat selling for each flight, so they were probably only oversold by 1 seat, then when they moved you they had 1 free.

It it was Monday AM, there are no J seats.

 

[Quickstatus]

OP was told

Agreed, but I suspect the person doing the “telling” likely had no idea of the actual truth. Possibly they were reading off a script on a screen.

Is the “reason” with path of least resistance and cost to the airline likely the reason closest to the truth?. The “operational reasons” come to mind.

I’m not sure that there is any obligation on the airline to offer compo if an oversold condition bumps the passenger, especially if the passenger gives up the seat and accepts a new seat prior to checkin. The airline knows that and have all the cards…

 

[NM]

I can report another event very similar recently. 2 x U awards BNE-MEL. Received the SMS saying flight was cancelled and rebooked on next flight. Accepted the change even though we preferred the timing of the original booking. Then later found the original flight had not been cancelled and still operated, but no U class available (of course).

In the end, the original flight was delayed and departed at the same time as our rebooked flight which was pretty much on-time. So its not the end result that was the concern, but the lie that the original flight was cancelled when clearly they just wanted to move us to the later departure to make space available for other people on the earlier flight.

 

[Quickstatus]

clearly they just wanted to move us to the later departure

Was the original flight at a time which would be considered peak?

 

[RooFlyer]

Agreed, but I suspect the person doing the “telling” likely had no idea of the actual truth. Possibly they were reading off a script on a screen.

Doesn't matter whether the person doing the telling knew the truth. He/she was their airline rep telling the customer. I don't think the seeming lie would have originated with them.

Is the “reason” with path of least resistance and cost to the airline likely the reason closest to the truth?. The “operational reasons” come to mind.

Sure, it happens all the time, I'm sure. But sometimes airlines are honest enough to say (for example) : Oops, we oversold, who wants to volunteer to come off, we'll pay $x. If they don't get enough volunteers, it goes to $X+ etc. Happens in the US all the time; regular part of airline business there.

In this case, it appears that the airline deceived the customer and that's the issue for me. Not 'oversold' or 'compo' - they seem to have just deceived their customer.

I’m not sure that there is any obligation on the airline to offer compo if an oversold condition bumps the passenger, especially if the passenger gives up the seat and accepts a new seat prior to checkin. The airline knows that and have all the cards…

Again, its not about compo, its about the airline being honest with their customer. 'Holding all the cards' by a large corporation and them playing the cards against an individual customer - is that the type of business you'd want to be associated with?

 

[Quickstatus]

about the airline being honest with their customer

Agreed. Trust is a major component of reputation. That the airline co-opts employees to do it for the management just makes the work of coalface/frontline employees even more difficult

 

[Kendall Roy]

Slightly OT, but I was on J MEL-AKL and in Row 3 (I'm 6'2, so don't do Row 1 on anything over an hour).

Anyway, boarding pass beeped at gate, moved to 1F with limited legroom as the gate agent advised "Seat recline broken".

Low and behold, someone was sitting in my original seat and happily reclining immediately after the seatbelt sign went off. I queried the CSM who advised "I'd been moved into a row with more legroom, to which I responded with ummm".

Anyway, 2hrs later, CSM apologises, said I was told a furphy and that QF should be more transparent and offered points as compensation (which I'm still yet to see hit the account).

 

[Princess Fiona]

Yeah, you're right. It is complete conjure that qantas are cancelling to resell seats at a profit when oversold. I wonder who suggested that idea...

Seems it’s happened at another airline
Is VA low priced J fully flex Y in disguise.

Hasn’t quite attracted the same attention as this flight change.

 

[Isolar]

I've just had this happen on a multi-sector paid J ticket (albeit a sale one). Originally booked through Amex to use my travel credit. Wasn't contacted by QF, just an email from Amex to say one of my flights had been cancelled and was put on one an hour later (no choices given). Didn't think much of it but on checking QF are still selling seats on my original flight but J is sold out.

I'm WP so I'm not sure status has anything to do with this (unless a whole lot of WP1's & CL's wanted seats on that specific flight). Possibly a yield maximisation exercise?

 

[Vic]

Seems it’s happened at another airline
Is VA low priced J fully flex Y in disguise.

Hasn’t quite attracted the same attention as this flight change.

that's certainly rather F'ed up...

I wonder why people haven't jumped onto that one?

 

[Princess Fiona]

that's certainly rather F'ed up...

I wonder why people haven't jumped onto that one?

I don’t know.
I saw it a few days ago. It’s certainly worthy of discussion.

 

[Quickstatus]

Hasn’t quite attracted the same attention

Maybe because people expect more from one airline than the other?

Maybe because more passengers fly on one compared with the other

Maybe because one airline uses icons/songs suggesting it is something but people are finding incongruous with their experience?

And just maybe because the CEO of one airline is blaming everyone else but himself and his management?

For me personally, it didn’t even pop up for me. Not all threads pop up for everyone

 

[jb747]

Rejoyce in your new enhancements.

 

[odysseus]

Seems it’s happened at another airline
Is VA low priced J fully flex Y in disguise.

Hasn’t quite attracted the same attention as this flight change.

Not the same. There it wasn't that the plane still was operating but they just kicked someone off. But that due to cancellations the pax got put to a different routing (which is no big deal). In another case flight got cancelled and all they had left was economy as next recommendation. Not a good experience, but nobody lied to the passenger and it wasn't duplicitous like this.

 

[offshore171]

What happens if you just don’t answer these calls from qantas?

They change you anyway?

 

[RooFlyer]

What happens if you just don’t answer these calls from qantas?

They change you anyway?

The calls seem to be the exceptions, and the other case I was think about above the call came from the agent's private mobile IIRC.

 

[turtlemichael]

The calls seem to be the exceptions, and the other case I was think about above the call came from the agent's private mobile IIRC.

In my case the call came from an an 02 number. If I had not answered it I guess I would have been downgraded or moved, in all likelihood. I figured it was very late, on past performance, for a scam call.

 

[NM]

Was the original flight at a time which would be considered peak?

It was a Sunday, 4:20pm departure. We were moved to the 5:20pm departure. But 4:20pm still operated, albeit about 1 hour late.

We originally chose 4:30pm as the arrival time into BNE suited us better. But was not a major issue to be 1 hour later, hence I just accepted the change rather that pursue other options.

 

[JohnK]

No, I'm pretty sure even the QF Fanboi's have accepted that QF really isn't doing its finest work right now.

I'm now starting to panic about my economy award flight to BKK in 3 weeks. I'm due to arrive 4:40pm and meeting up with wife/daughter arriving from CNX at 5:30pm.

These flights are now very expensive.