qantas and customer care

[baraciolli]

My son flew with Qantas on a flight to the Uk when security was supposed to be high and he could not carry enough medicine for more than his flight while on the same flight some passengers had cigarette lighters and bottles of spirits. The lighters were being played with to read the time in the dark until the passenger beside my son told the hostess and the alcohol and lighter was confiscated.
On that same flight the plane was diverted to Manilla due to supposed bad weather in Hong Kong and in the end all up he arrived at his final destination after 47 hours instead of 27. We were told the wrong day and time by Qantas staff to pick him up from the airport he was given misinformation about where to get his information so stood in a que at the Hong Kong airport only to be told to que again in the UK.
His luggage was lost for 6 days. After the exhausting flight he had to stand in another que for 2 1/2 hours to fill in a lost luggage report.
I have complained to Qantas and after teling them he has been made sicker by the trip as he suffers chronic fatigue syndromme and the flight has made him worse they have emailed us a medical form to be filled in to see if he is fit to fly and expect us to pay for a doctor to check him out when it is due to their flight he is so exhausted.
he joined and paid to h join the Qantas frequent flyers program expecting they would be a good airline but he has been severely disillusioned by the fact that they haven't bothered to respond at all to his initial emails except on the automated system. I am thinking on his behalf of contacting consumer affairs in Australia and if anyone has any other suggestions please I would be happy to hear them. I am so angry at their lack of concern and care which I did not expect.
disillusioned traveller

 

[aus_flyer]

"qantas" and "customer care" should not be used in the same sentence.

Unfortunately, I don't think you'll get far.

As a side note, I flew up to HKG a couple of days after you son's flight and the cabin crew were telling me about how they had been diverted to Manilla. They too were not particularly impressed!

 

[baraciolli]

thanks for your reply. The cabin crew on the flight did the best they could but were left in the dark as well. I don't blame them for the misinformation or the fact that Qantas has not bothered to reply to us.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Welcome to AFF baraciolli

While Qantas could have done better it sounds like your son had a run of bad luck.

Diversions can happen any time, although they are very rare (I can count on one hand the number from almost 1000 flights). It is better to divert somewhere than fall out of the sky waiting for the weather to improve. Unfortunately diversions normally mean a major delay. This is because pilots and crew will be out of hours not too long after arriving at the diversion airport and have mandatory break for safety reasons. Airlines don't just have spare crew sitting all around the world waiting, and it may be difficult to fly in replacement crew for the same reason the flight was diverted in the first place. So often there is a delay of a day in order that the same crew can continue. Hopefully Qantas put your son up in a hotel, paid for meals and transport to & from the hotel, and took care of any visa issues at Manila for the unplanned visit.

In some countries, including UK and ironically also Philippines, there are currently restrictions on liquids, as you're aware. There are some exemptions for medical reasons however it can be difficult convincing an non-medically trained security person of the need for particular liquids and quantities. This restriction has been in place for a month now, so you have had an opportunity to re-route via Europe (ie have a short flight for your son to be without significant quantity of medicine instead of a long flight). Qantas has no ability to change the rules, and had nothing to do with lighters and alcohol being brought through security (or possibly bought airside at the airport).

With the lost luggage again he is unlucky in that it isn't too common (although happens far more than it should). This is true of all airlines and is why some passengers (like me) try to carry on bags if possible. Granted this is difficult due to the current restrictions for flights from UK.

As far as complaining. I find Qantas generally do respond quickly to emailed feedback (using the form on their website), however for a complaint generally it is better to ring and talk to someone with a follow up by email.

 

[NM]

While Qantas could have done better it sounds like your son had a run of bad luck.

I agree here. Certainly a bad and unfortunate experience, but these things can and do happen with all airlines from time to time. Nothing in the story is unique to Qantas, and much was beyond their direct control. Perhaps a more caring and listening ear could be provided by the airline, and rude/curt responses are not acceptable.

Lets hope this experience does not put him off travelling in the future. By all means chose a different airline if you believe Qantas has not delivered the desired service, but don't miss out on the life experience of travelling just because of one bad trip experience.

 

[ronone69]

Definitely should not be used in the same sentence. Qantas international staff DON'T HAVE A CLUE.

Recently travelled from MEL->JFK in First. The food was cold, the service poor, the staff arrogant (they were all far to interested in how pretty they looked in their new outfits - these were the boys of course), all in all a very poor experience that reminded me why I don't fly Qantas International.

Coming back was worse. Flight from JFK->LAX was late, missed the MEL connection, ended up flying to SYD and then domestic to MEL. Not even an apology from Qantas. Arrive back 6 hours late !!!

The last 2 weeks have been travelling SQ, CX and TG. All have been great. CX business class is better that QF First - at least the food was hot and had taste. Just got of a TG flight from BKK->LHR. The service was SENSATIONAL !!!.

But it looks we won't have to suffer with the Qantas excuse for international service too much longer. Rumour has it almost ALL QF international flights (apart from a couple of trunk routes) will be replaced by Jetstar International. At least Jetstar meet expectations - they advertise they don't provide service - and they don't.

Some advise: If you have a choice on ANY route, fly with ANYONE other than Qantas (apart from United to the US who are WORSE than QF - I know you think that is not possible but it truly is):evil::evil::evil::evil:

 

[maninblack]

I find that they just read their info off the website so if it's not there then they have no better clue than you. If you look at the website you would think that the internalional J class is all Skybed* with AVOD*. Of course half of the intl fleet are not such as all 743's, 763's, 737's Even many 744's have the bed but no AVOD* and the customer care staff are comletely oblivious to this. For example I recently asked if you got a DVD player flying in J MEL-ZQN. They couldn't tell me and in fact couldn't even tell me what the mainscreen entertainment would be. Okay this is only a weekly, seasonal flight but their job is to know the answers. As it happened I was supplied a personal DVD and a proper colour printed menu of the movies available, so it showed that the customer care people really have no idea.

By the way, the service both ways was absolutely top notch, could not fault it. Made me worry again that these routes will go to JQ as well. Sad for those of us who like to fly up front.

*Being progressively introduced except in half of the fleet which will never have these features but we will still charge you the same fare. :!:

 

[Gazza]

To quote the great philosopher “cough happens”

All airlines have bad days, if you fly often enough the law of probabilities states that you will get caught eventually.

While I believe that there are several 1st tier airlines in our region (CX, SQ as TH come to mind) I find Qantas to be acceptable and generally like their international staff (being in Brisbane the pool of international staff is smaller than say Sydney or Melbourne so you get to know the staff reasonably quickly).

If you are confronted with bad service – complain; if you get good service thank the staff involved.

Most importantly, don’t carry on like a Pratt because you are “flying first” or a “triple platinum” It makes you look like a w@nker.

Gazza

 

[Yada Yada]

Definitely should not be used in the same sentence. Qantas international staff DON'T HAVE A CLUE.

Recently travelled from MEL->JFK in First. The food was cold, the service poor, the staff arrogant (they were all far to interested in how pretty they looked in their new outfits - these were the boys of course), all in all a very poor experience that reminded me why I don't fly Qantas International.

While I agree that service on SQ, TG, CX etc is very good, I am a bit surprised at your comments. I fly QF international 3 or 4 times a year generally in business class but I have also flown in first and have never found the food in these cabins to be cold, aside from the food that is meant to be cold. In first class they usually cook your meal for you when you want it, so it should always be hot and fresh.