Pacific Blue notes

[samh004]

At the end of August and in early September I flew SYD-ZQN-(CHC)-BNE on Pacific Blue. I booked the fares with them because they were about half the price of anyone else at the time. Terrific value. They were also a consideration as I have Velocity Gold and thought that might help out.

After my delayed return home, I crafted an email to send to them, and knowing well of the dramas behind their online form, searched far and wide for a real email. I found one and used it, but never got a response, at least not a human response. I know it arrived as I received an "out-of-office" response, what happened to it after that person got back, who knows?

I’ll preface this letter by saying I wasn’t looking for compensation, though considering the BS, it might’ve been nice. I was looking for a response that said, thank you for your comments, we’ll try fix these areas you’ve highlighted and maybe give kudos to the members of staff who did a good job.

So below, in it’s entirety, is the email I sent to them.

To whom it may concern,

I recently travelled with Pacific Blue DJ88 from Sydney to Queenstown on the 31st August 2010 and back again, with a diversion, on DJ113, DJ8003 and DJ83 from Queenstown to Christchurch to Brisbane on the 6th September 2010.

Regarding the flight out, I was very happy to be moved up to the premium seats at the front of the aircraft, but thought the seat allocation could have been better, with the majority of people sat next to each other when they could have all had middle blocked seats, as the premium cabin allows (11 in the cabin, 18 seats total).

My points for that leg recently posted and from a fare of $269 I was given 1341 points, while my travelling companion was given 1345 points. I can't understand why as a Velocity Gold I received less points than a Velocity Red member, but I shall be calling the service centre to get that fixed later today.

I also notice that while it's not a benefit of Velocity, priority bags would be useful, as we ended up waiting a while in Queenstown, and later Brisbane, for our bags to come off, despite being off the plane relatively quick.

On the way back our flight suffered a delay, and then a cancellation, as it had diverted to Dunedin I'm told, before the airport there was shut due to wind. I appreciate that the weather is not something you can control, but the services offered when the flight was finally cancelled weren't what I was expecting.

We were offered a choice of 2 hotels in Queenstown for the night, both being significantly out of town in either direction (one along Frankton Road and the other at Fernhill).

Transport to and from these hotels was not included, so we had to find our own way there, and as a roundtrip from the airport costs close to $100, we're paying close to a third of the ticket price back to Australia, when we shouldn't have to. I do realise the weather isn't something you can control, but I don't think those costs should have been our responsibility.

The meals for the night and morning were also not included. Now I appreciate that you don't provide free meals on your plane either, but had I got to Brisbane on Sunday night, I would have had a meal waiting for me in my fridge at home, while instead I had to buy it in a very expensive town.

I called the service centre to be met with a long wait, as the staff at the airport had told us to call, and was luckily given a chance to catch a bus to Christchurch the following morning and take a flight from there. I as told to be at the airport an hour before the bus departure, at 0600 hours.

The lady who helped me on the phone was very good, telling me everything I needed to know and making sure I got home the next day. I can't recall her name, but your phone staff are very good. Likewise, the staff at Queenstown airport were also incredibly helpful to all passengers and did a great job considering the circumstances.

I was not impressed the next morning though, when I arrived at the airport to find no one had told the Pacific Blue staff in Queenstown to arrive early too, and thus all the passengers taking the bus waited in the cold for half an hour before a staff member from the airport arrived early for work and let us in.

In Christchurch the staff was similarly helpful, though not as nice as the staff you have in Queenstown. Our flight left on time and arrived a little late.

So this email is a lot about praise for the good work your staff did on both flights, but I am disappointed in how some things were handled regarding the diversion, delay and cancellation. I realise the additional expenses I paid for can be claimed back on travel insurance, but I don't think that's the point. They shouldn't have to be.

Sincerely,

Samuel Heathfield
Velocity #210xx_X446

+61 401 xx_ xx_
+61 7 xx_X xx_X

I was never planning on detailing (other than what I detailed live as it happened) the events, as I don’t think they need to be named and shamed or named for praise, it was a mixed bag on a TT flight. But they never responded, so in a way, this is my path to getting things noticed.

But feel free to discuss. I did get my points corrected, and later had to call again to get the second lot of points to post. Regarding the awful first flight seat allocation, this is how we were seated:

0X0 0X0
xx_ X[B]XX[/B]
xx_ 000

Today I saw a thread about a Velocity Gold being upgraded to Premium as a full service, not just seats. I don’t know if this was the case on my flight as we certainly weren’t offered freebies, and were all sat together, apart from the 2 at the front, who might I add spent about half an hour arguing at the check-in desks… presumably to block the whole row for themselves?

 

[straitman]

A very good description thanks Sam.

It is a pity when large companies (not just airlines) get it wrong and then even fail to respond to real feedback.

 

[AdMEL]

After my delayed return home, I crafted an email to send to them, and knowing well of the dramas behind their online form, searched far and wide for a real email. I found one and used it, but never got a response, at least not a human response. I know it arrived as I received an "out-of-office" response, what happened to it after that person got back, who knows?

I’ll preface this letter by saying I wasn’t looking for compensation, though considering the BS, it might’ve been nice. I was looking for a response that said, thank you for your comments, we’ll try fix these areas you’ve highlighted and maybe give kudos to the members of staff who did a good job.

Sam, I'm not sure of the 'well known dramas behind their online form' you're referring to, but I had reasons to make a complaint about a very poorly handled cancelled MEL-SYD flight about about 6 months ago (I posted the details on AFF) and used their online complaints function in the contact us section and, like you, the reason for my complaint was constructive criticism and I wasn't expecting compensation, but was pleasantly surprised when I received a response less than 2 weeks later with a credit for flight amount paid!

By contrast, I made two complaints to Thrifty via their online contact facility, regarding their very poor service (mainly the sheer arrogance of a staff member who tried to tell me a Camry was the car I had booked when I had actually booked a Falcon, which they categorise differently, because the Falcon hadn't been returned on time) and never received a response to either!

 

[samh004]

Sam, I'm not sure of the 'well known dramas behind their online form' you're referring to, but I had reasons to make a complaint about a very poorly handled cancelled MEL-SYD flight about about 6 months ago (I posted the details on AFF) and used their online complaints function in the contact us section and, like you, the reason for my complaint was constructive criticism and I wasn't expecting compensation, but was pleasantly surprised when I received a response less than 2 weeks later with a credit for flight amount paid!

I was referring to the fact it’s got a character count that limits how much you can say, and I believe I was over the count, yet didn’t want to re-word what I had to say, as I felt I was to the point.

Regardless, I sent an email instead, received an automated response that in essence, told me the email had been received, and then nothing else.

 

[dajop]

samh004, Re your original complaint, one thing you will discover the more you fly is that during weather related delays/cancellations often all you will get from the operating airline is a two (or one) fingered salute. QF being an exception to that rule, which is one reason to fly them. Getting accommodation is lucky, there is certainly no obligation to feed you. That's what travel insurance is for.

For example, when I arrived in EWR on CO connecting to SQ to fly to SIN earlier this years (on conjunction tickets as a star gold -in J) I missed my connecting flight and was stuck there for 24 hrs. As it was weather/ATC related, all I was given was a list of hotels to call and I couldn't even retrieve my luggage .... basically a one fingered salute. All because it was due to weather. Thankfully was a work trip, so they paid for it.

 

[samh004]

samh004, Re your original complaint, one thing you will discover the more you fly is that during weather related delays/cancellations often all you will get from the operating airline is a two (or one) fingered salute. QF being an exception to that rule, which is one reason to fly them. Getting accommodation is lucky, there is certainly no obligation to feed you. That's what travel insurance is for.

While that’s all true, perhaps citizens should be lobbying governments to get airlines to do more, after all, someone has to eventually pay, and if it’s all going back to travel insurance then eventually those rates will rise…

Also, while I realise there’s no such rules or guidelines about this, and you shouldn’t expect it, you’d think that a higher status pax would/should be getting better service in a delay, otherwise, what’s the point of loyalty. Now I didn’t fly my way to Gold, nor am I disgruntled because I didn’t get free food and transport to my hotel, but I’m just saying… you treat the people that choose you more often better perhaps.

I recall a QF flight that was delayed to ZQN recently, weather related, flew all around the country before settling in AKL. The J pax were given a bigger credit than Y pax, which is fair as they’d paid more, but it’s not always about who pays more, it should be who flies more too.

Regardless, this all means nothing on this subject as I doubt it’ll change anytime soon, but my gripe was not so much the food, or lack of transport (and that is a big one really, as they booked the 2 hotels furthest out of town in each direction, how is that going to help anyone… some pax may have paid more for the return taxi cost to the hotel than their ticket TT), but just how it was handled. The staff did their best and certainly in ZQN (they all seemed to be seasonal, from the UK) were all fantastic. When we get to CHC, they’re locals and surly… this after all we’ve been through, praise where it’s deserved, scorn elsewhere?

And of course, points crediting problems, for both legs, and no uniform level of service. From both SYD and ZQN we were given Premium seats, due to the ZQN flight not making it, we were on a bus, and given standard seats in CHC. True, I didn’t pay Premium so didn’t expect it, but the plane had about the same loads, yet there was an inconsistency.

Bottom line was I wanted an acknowledgement.

The overall experience was positive.

I’d fly them again.

 

[777]

Sam,

I'm not sure if you're aware but there's a dedicated velocity gold email address and phone number. I use it whenever i need to email DJ and usually get a response from a real person within 24 hours - mostly they're pretty helpful and go the extra mile. If you DM me i'll send it to you if you can't find it.

It should have come in with your card.

777.

 

[jsd]

Sam,

I'm not sure if you're aware but there's a dedicated velocity gold email address and phone number. I use it whenever i need to email DJ and usually get a response from a real person within 24 hours - mostly they're pretty helpful and go the extra mile. If you DM me i'll send it to you if you can't find it.

It should have come in with your card.

777.

We have an email address now :shock:, never knew about that and it certainly didn't come in any of my welcome documentation.

Velocity gold phone contact team has always been good to me, but email would be so much easier.

Is this said email just (status)@velocityrewards.com.au??? like red and silver or is it something different?


Josh

 

[777]

We have an email address now :shock:, never knew about that and it certainly didn't come in any of my welcome documentation.

Velocity gold phone contact team has always been good to me, but email would be so much easier.

Is this said email just (status)@velocityrewards.com.au??? like red and silver or is it something different?

It could be something remarkably like that. Not sure where i got it from but i didn't just make it up and it definitely works. You need to quote your membership number. In my experience you get a reply on most issues within 24 hours on a week day.

777.

 

[Justchecking]

While I can appreciate that this is a frustrating experience there does come a point at which a company is no longer responsible for something beyond their control (ie, weather). If a company decides to cover absolutely all expenses for all pax in any kind of disrupt then how will they ever make money? They have to draw the line somewhere and considering you got accomodation and eventually to your destination I really think that's all they are obliged to provide.

It always surprises me how much people expect through loyalty programs and simply buying a cheap fare. There are costs associated with everything and if you've scored a cheap fare to begin with that how much more do you really expect? Businesses are only in business while they are making money, not giving away the farm. Perhaps your taxi fare only seemed expensive because your fare was so cheap. If you want to be back in the good old days where airlines covered the cost of everything then you'll need to be paying $750 for your ticket not $269.

The problem with the modern world is that the cheaper products\services become the more people expect. There comes a point where you just can't give anymore without going broke.

 

[extracta]

On the way back our flight suffered a delay, and then a cancellation, as it had diverted to Dunedin I'm told, before the airport there was shut due to wind. I appreciate that the weather is not something you can control, but the services offered when the flight was finally cancelled weren't what I was expecting.

We were offered a choice of 2 hotels in Queenstown for the night, both being significantly out of town in either direction (one along Frankton Road and the other at Fernhill).

I have been at QUEENSTOWN airport after it has been snowed in and watched while all of the inbounds from Australia get diverted elsewhere and while the outbound passengers are left wondering what is going on.

The interesting thing is that the Air NZ pilots seem to be able to get in when others can't. I am thinking that they may have some sort of rating system for landings under certain conditions.

The last time I was there the airport was snowed in twice.

The bottom line is that Queenstown Airport is going to be closed for a certain amount of days during winter, due to wind, snow or cloud cover.

I would recommend that anybody going to Queenstown during winter use Air New Zealand, as in the event of a closure (and there will be closures it is just a matter of when) they are the ones in the best position to look after you.

 

[markis10]

I am surprised that someone is complaining about a free hotel stay in terms of location, its entirely possible that all the other hotels were full, something that is again out of the control of the airlines, especially in seasonal towns. Its not unknown for some airlines to insist on passengers making their own arrangements, I would take a room for free in whoop whoop anyday over an airport bench.

 

[docjames]

Interesting thread.

Not wanting to sound like i'm having a go at you Sam (because i'm not) but a couple of observations: :-|

I tend to agree with some of theother responses - a hotel room was provided, you got the bus to connect back to Australia rather than being stuck in Queenstown for longer. You got a hotel room that at the last minute probably cost more than oneway of your airfare. Given it's peak season, getting a hotel room at all was a good effort. And you certainly got looked after better than would be the case in most other countries /airlines where they would just say "see you tomorrow". Airlines have now essentially "outsourced" the cost of disruptions to travel insurance - otherwise travel insurance costs would just be built into the airfares and you would be paying the $750ew fares.

With regard the feedback issue, you chose not to use the "routine" method and went to an email that gave you an out of office (and probably isnt attended at all) - is it any surprise you've not had a response? If you really want feedback, i'd have thought using DJ's "preferred" method significantly increases your chance of a response.


Welcome to the joys of travelling........

 

[pauly7]

Interesting thread.

Not wanting to sound like i'm having a go at you Sam (because i'm not) but a couple of observations: :-|

Welcome to the joys of travelling........

I add my welcome

To be honest I think you were damn lucky to get anything at all out of Pac Bro.

They are a LCC with no frills. In my opinion they have exceeded expectations (which should be set at zero) for this situation!

 

[straitman]

I add my welcome

To be honest I think you were damn lucky to get anything at all out of Pac Bro.

They are a LCC with no frills. In my opinion they have exceeded expectations (which should be set at zero) for this situation!

Not disagreeing with the general sentiments here other than Pacific Blue and the Virgin Blue group generally have moved a long way since the LCC days.

 

[samh004]

Sam,

I'm not sure if you're aware but there's a dedicated velocity gold email address and phone number. I use it whenever i need to email DJ and usually get a response from a real person within 24 hours - mostly they're pretty helpful and go the extra mile. If you DM me i'll send it to you if you can't find it.

It should have come in with your card.

777.

I have PMed you, but have looked through all the stuff I got in the membership pack and can’t see a dedicated email address. There’s a number on the back of the card, but it’s far from priority.

While I can appreciate that this is a frustrating experience there does come a point at which a company is no longer responsible for something beyond their control (ie, weather). If a company decides to cover absolutely all expenses for all pax in any kind of disrupt then how will they ever make money? They have to draw the line somewhere and considering you got accomodation and eventually to your destination I really think that's all they are obliged to provide.

It always surprises me how much people expect through loyalty programs and simply buying a cheap fare. There are costs associated with everything and if you've scored a cheap fare to begin with that how much more do you really expect? Businesses are only in business while they are making money, not giving away the farm. Perhaps your taxi fare only seemed expensive because your fare was so cheap. If you want to be back in the good old days where airlines covered the cost of everything then you'll need to be paying $750 for your ticket not $269.

The problem with the modern world is that the cheaper products\services become the more people expect. There comes a point where you just can't give anymore without going broke.

I appreciate that they can’t be expected to pay for everything, and I opened the can of worms by suggesting that they pay for transport and food, but I really didn’t care in the end. I’m just saying, on the side, wouldn’t it be nice if loyalty to an airline gave you services where there are delays too, something about what the ticket cost, because you have status.

I realise they need to make money and all, but if you really would prefer an airline to treat you the same or less because you have status, how’d you become so care free?

It was just an idea… and it’s not really the complaint, I mentioned it because it seemed like a lot of money considering the distance to the airport.

As for the weather being the cause… it should be on Virgin and Qantas to deliver more in these situations when their competitor, Air NZ, has a system and has invested in the system to land the planes in that weather you quite often find at ZQN, while those two generally just fly somewhere else, and leave everyone in the lurch.

But I’m getting side tracked again, so feel free to flame because I have higher expectations of airlines, at least when the airlines know where they’re flying to.

I have been at QUEENSTOWN airport after it has been snowed in and watched while all of the inbounds from Australia get diverted elsewhere and while the outbound passengers are left wondering what is going on.

The interesting thing is that the Air NZ pilots seem to be able to get in when others can't. I am thinking that they may have some sort of rating system for landings under certain conditions.

The last time I was there the airport was snowed in twice.

The bottom line is that Queenstown Airport is going to be closed for a certain amount of days during winter, due to wind, snow or cloud cover.

I would recommend that anybody going to Queenstown during winter use Air New Zealand, as in the event of a closure (and there will be closures it is just a matter of when) they are the ones in the best position to look after you.

Unfortunately, Air NZ prices seem to have risen a lot, and perhaps their prices are higher because they can land, but when you have competitors with fares for much less… it’s not worth it. I’d rather be delayed than poor

I am surprised that someone is complaining about a free hotel stay in terms of location, its entirely possible that all the other hotels were full, something that is again out of the control of the airlines, especially in seasonal towns. Its not unknown for some airlines to insist on passengers making their own arrangements, I would take a room for free in whoop whoop anyday over an airport bench.

My main issue wasn’t the hotel, it was how everything was handled, the whole situation. I’m sorry if it looks like I was upset because of the hotel, but I’m not. We didn’t even stay at the hotel in the end, we simply went back to our house, it was easier.

Interesting thread.

Not wanting to sound like i'm having a go at you Sam (because i'm not) but a couple of observations: :-|

I tend to agree with some of theother responses - a hotel room was provided, you got the bus to connect back to Australia rather than being stuck in Queenstown for longer. You got a hotel room that at the last minute probably cost more than oneway of your airfare. Given it's peak season, getting a hotel room at all was a good effort. And you certainly got looked after better than would be the case in most other countries /airlines where they would just say "see you tomorrow". Airlines have now essentially "outsourced" the cost of disruptions to travel insurance - otherwise travel insurance costs would just be built into the airfares and you would be paying the $750ew fares.

With regard the feedback issue, you chose not to use the "routine" method and went to an email that gave you an out of office (and probably isnt attended at all) - is it any surprise you've not had a response? If you really want feedback, i'd have thought using DJ's "preferred" method significantly increases your chance of a response.


Welcome to the joys of travelling……

Yes, the overall impression I had was a positive one. They looked after us, I was a little miffed over a few things, but they did really well and it would make me fly them again.

I’m not sure why everyone picks on the negatives, I had positive experiences that I wrote about too.

I do realise I dragged it to where it is now by suggesting they do more based on my status, but that was just an idea, I wasn’t expecting them to. And I don’t understand the hostility from wanting such a benefit to come with status. I think it’s a great idea, others clearly don’t want extras for loyalty. Strange on such a forum as this

What I really liked was the helpfulness of the staff at ZQN, despite not knowing anything about the situation, they did their best. On the phone I had a lovely operator who did all she could to get me home quickly, it was really good customer service.

Things I didn’t like were the discrepancies in how I was treated between SYD, ZQN and CHC. In CHC they didn’t seem to care about me at all, yet in the other 2 places they did. I feel that’s something they should look into. I didn’t like that the operators on the phone that night told us to arrive at the airport at 06:00 for an 07:00 bus, yet didn’t tell their staff to also come in early, so everyone turned up and spent half an hour in the cold waiting to get inside the warmer airport. An Air NZ staffer coming to work early saw us and opened the doors for us. Surely that’s miscommunication that they don’t want.

I’m not having a go at you, or anybody, but the hotel drama wasn’t a drama, I was just saying. What I’ve written above are the areas I think should be examined by the airline.

And yeah, I chose an option to contact them that wasn’t usual, but had I not received an auto-reponse, I probably would have tried another option. The fact I got the response made me think I’d eventually get a real response, as it obviously went to the right spot.

I add my welcome

To be honest I think you were damn lucky to get anything at all out of Pac Bro.

They are a LCC with no frills. In my opinion they have exceeded expectations (which should be set at zero) for this situation!

They’re slightly better than an LCC actually.

 

[Australian]

lol this is TOT, but u express urself really well! lol - HQ writing...

 

[Ric]

They are a LCC with no frills. In my opinion they have exceeded expectations (which should be set at zero) for this situation!

Food for thought.......
Where do we draw the line between an LCC or "Non-LCC"?? Frills vs No frills? Lounges vs No lounges etc
Or should there be another category: "No man's land" which seems to be where Pac blue is sitting at?
IMHO, an airline that has a FF Loyalty Program should not be classified as an LCC.
Comments?

 

[k_sheep]

Food for thought.......
Where do we draw the line between an LCC or "Non-LCC"?? Frills vs No frills? etc
Or should there be another category: "No man's land" which seems to be where Pac blue is sitting at?
IMHO, an airline that has a FF Loyalty Program should not be classified as an LCC.
Comments?

Isn't that what the term "new world airline" was penned in aid of? *shrug*

I find all airlines are generally accommodating when it comes to problems (except of course DJ ). For instance, on a flight this year with AK (undoubtably a LCC) I was notified in advance of a flight time change and given a RM200 voucher for my troubles. Far cry from the "screw you" we were entitled to given the <RM50 flight cost . I think it really depends on the staff of the day whether you get the "screw you" or if they go the extra mile.

 

[extracta]

As for the weather being the cause… it should be on Virgin and Qantas to deliver more in these situations when their competitor, Air NZ, has a system and has invested in the system to land the planes in that weather you quite often find at ZQN, while those two generally just fly somewhere else, and leave everyone in the lurch.



Unfortunately, Air NZ prices seem to have risen a lot, and perhaps their prices are higher because they can land, but when you have competitors with fares for much less… it’s not worth it. I’d rather be delayed than poor


QUOTE]

There are a lot of occasions where the Air New Zealand pilots can't land/takeoff either and the airport is shut completely.

The mountains surrounding this airport are fairly significant, anybody who has driven to the remarkables ski field I am sure would agree.

The Air NZ prices can actually be cheaper than DJ and are generally cheaper than QF and due to the fact that the weather can change quickly and the proximity of those mountains I will only use Air NZ when flying to Queenstown. Its there part of the world. I don't use Air NZ anywhere else.

There was an incident this year and I have attached a link to the news clip which I think you might find interesting.
Pacific Blue under investigation for risky flight - Business - Video - 3 News