Qantas Business Class customers bumped to economy in Tokyo

[juddles]

The USD500 is a start - but the real interest will be the 'difference in ticket price'... Qantas may have a completely different idea on how to calculate this compared to anyone in the real world. As i mentioned above, you may only be offered the difference between the fare you paid (divided by two) against the full walk up economy fare on the day. Which could mean a tiny refund. Don't accept if you're not happy, and seek advice if you need it (consumer affairs in your state may offer free advice).
.....

I understand that airlines, for many reasons, may end up over booked or for some reason need to move pax from J to Y. Given that this need does exist, it makes sense that when choosing who to upset, they do it in order of status. At the end of the day they need to have some system.

Yet it is that old "paying the fare difference" that really peeves me - as per Mel-T, that figure is often absolutely wrong. And even if it was somehow correct, it still disregards that the pax (a) actually WANTED to fly J and not Y, and (b) the fact that a pax is forced to suddenly travel in a lesser class should come with very strong compensation.

 

[juddles]

Regarding the side topic that developed in this thread between the OP's initial post and her followup, this seems to be something that is causing much angst amongst certain AFF members. To the OP, Janet, did you feel as a first time poster bullied or whatever by other posts?

Feel free to disregard this whole side issue - this is your thread and the topic is your experience. As others like Drron have said, perhaps the way to put pressure on QF is through social media. I agree with that angle as simply talking to their "machine" can be totally unrewarding and adds further pain to the initial horrible experience.

I may have missed the detail, but were you offerred to fly J on a different flight? I know that this is a common solution, but one that is often unacceptable to the pax because of their other plans and needs....

 

[SpudOz]

Check in staff at airport ( Not Qantas staff)
Told us the flight had been overbooked and as we did not have high enough frequent flyer status we had to fly in economy.
We said this was not good enough and eventually a Qantas employee came and said we had no choice, there were 3 seats not working in Business class . I told her not to lie and I would check ( which I did - all seats in business class were used- surprise surprise).
We were offered US$500 compensation plus difference between ticket price .
The flight crew tried very hard to make us feel better but of course can’t make up for lack of space etc. My travel companion was unable to sleep or stretch out as is too tall, and my back was very sore by the end of the flight.
We are now having difficulty getting thru to Qantas Customer Service on the phone, holding for 2 x 1 hour so far with not success.
so the frustration continues and the diss appointment in Qantas .

It's great that you have come back to us with more info. You dont deserve that treatment from QF and good luck with pursuing them for decent compo.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I understand that airlines, for many reasons, may end up over booked or for some reason need to move pax from J to Y.

This may be the case. But the problem is that airlines don't seem to care. The only 'fair' compensation is perhaps that offered by EU261. And the airlines hate it.

QF - and many other airlines - will try to get away with as little compensation as possible. The passenger is always the last consideration.

Had the the OP been given USD500 and a business class boarding pass on Singapore Airlines, or Cathay, or given a full refund together with an economy boarding pass on Qantas... that might ease the cynicism.

The issue that peeves many is that airlines are selling the same sets of seats twice, and can stand to make huge profits from doing so.

i would be happy with a change in the law that prohibited airlines making a profit from over selling on any single occasion.

 

[RooFlyer]

RooFlyer enters the building.

No, I was here at post #47, as usual, noting those who rather have a go at a newbie rather that the issue at hand.

 

[DC3]

No, I was here at post #47, as usual, noting those who rather have a go at a newbie rather that the issue at hand.

Oh. My apologies. Re-enters, then?

 

[Pushka]

Check in staff at airport ( Not Qantas staff)
Told us the flight had been overbooked and as we did not have high enough frequent flyer status we had to fly in economy.
We said this was not good enough and eventually a Qantas employee came and said we had no choice, there were 3 seats not working in Business class . I told her not to lie and I would check ( which I did - all seats in business class were used- surprise surprise).
We were offered US$500 compensation plus difference between ticket price .
The flight crew tried very hard to make us feel better but of course can’t make up for lack of space etc. My travel companion was unable to sleep or stretch out as is too tall, and my back was very sore by the end of the flight.
We are now having difficulty getting thru to Qantas Customer Service on the phone, holding for 2 x 1 hour so far with not success.
so the frustration continues and the diss appointment in Qantas .

Can I suggest you tweet Qantas as this makes your very real complaint very much public. And the outright lie of seats broken. Seriously poor effort there.

 

[Rich]

This may be the case. But the problem is that airlines don't seem to care. The
Had the the OP been given USD500 and a business class boarding pass on Singapore Airlines, or Cathay, or given a full refund together with an economy boarding pass on Qantas...

The full refund is right on the money, whether it is a paid fare or points.
If QANTAS value another customer more, then it should be at their expense, not the expense (by inadequate compensation) of another passenger.
A full refund would mean the OP doesn't have much to complain about. Sure she may still be unhappy but most would say QF have done as much as they should have to.

 

[bernardblack]

Possibly worth trying contacting Qantas on Facebook.They don't like negative vibes and sometimes speed things up.

Is Facebook better? Because their Twitter team is appalling.

 

[moa999]

Is Facebook better? Because their Twitter team is appalling.

Suspect it's the same social media team

 

[Pushka]

Suspect it's the same social media team

The only reason I mentioned twitter is that it seems to get a better coverage.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

If you use twitter use messages which are visible to the public, only use DMs for sensitive info, then revert to public messages.
Also start each tweet with a word, not the mention of @qantas. That keeps each tweet visible to the public not just people who follow both accounts.
Public visibility is the key to shaming them into action.

 

[woodborer]

Oh yes they do - and I posted about it. They cancelled a Mel-BKK i had booked in their business (really PE I Know) and despite assurances and texts saying business only offered me an economy class seat 30 minutes before flight closing. The Mel Jetstar staff were appalling - putting on their lippy as they talked to me was the least offence thing they did. Rebooked on Thai - they even stuffed up the refund and had to fight for that. Got a letter publshed in traveller in the Herald about it. I had the same situation with Eurowings going to BKK from STN in their premium. But they sorted it out in 30 minutes and flew me in Lufhansa Business from LHR with taxi from STN to LHR. Jetstar clearly did not believe this story - really the worst customer experience ever,

Well, yes when they've cancelled a flight. Haven't heard of it when people have been on the scheduled operating flight.

 

[DC3]

.... We were just bumped down to economy for overnite flight from Tokyo ...

If you felt intimidated/bullied into taking that flight in Y, or if the options provided (if any) for travelling on another route/flight were not suitable/acceptable for you, think about going for a full fare refund as part of any compensation.

 

[muppet]

The full refund is right on the money, whether it is a paid fare or points.
If QANTAS value another customer more, then it should be at their expense, not the expense (by inadequate compensation) of another passenger.
A full refund would mean the OP doesn't have much to complain about. Sure she may still be unhappy but most would say QF have done as much as they should have to.

Exactly.
In no other industry can you sell a product in advance and then swap that with an alternative product, at the point of delivery, without consent or recourse and simply refund the difference between the purchased product and the random product you’ve chosen to deliver...

and to add salt to that, determine the price of the product you have delivered to be the price charged in the top 1% of cases, not the heavily discounted price sold in 90% of cases.

 

[SeatBackForward]

If you've paid for the fare, then status shouldn't really be a factor surely _ I can understand if it was case of a points upgrade.

Exactly.
In no other industry can you sell a product in advance and then swap that with an alternative product, at the point of delivery, without consent or recourse and simply refund the difference between the purchased product and the random product you’ve chosen to deliver...

And have that in your contract with the customer to boot!

 

[muppet]

If you've paid for the fare, then status shouldn't really be a factor surely _ I can understand if it was case of a points upgrade.


And have that in your contract with the customer to boot!

Wow. Do the conditions or carriage or fare actually state they can accommodate you in any class irrespective of which one they sell you?
I mean kudos to airlines if they do.

 

[RooFlyer]

Regarding the side topic that developed in this thread between the OP's initial post and her followup, this seems to be something that is causing much angst amongst certain AFF members.

To me, the angst seemed to be from several members who cried, as before, ‘one post whinger’ or similar, when the OPs electrons were barely dry, so to speak.

This is three out of three recent ones where the OP has happily returned in their own good time. I’m sure it won’t be the last ( yep, I’ll be counting

 

[SeatBackForward]

Wow. Do the conditions or carriage or fare actually state they can accommodate you in any class irrespective of which one they sell you?
I mean kudos to airlines if they do.

Well it says they can provide alternatives, paraphrasing the conditions of carriage are to get you from Point A to Point B, how they do it is up for grabs.

Here's the reelvant section of QF's condtions of carriage relating to the OP's event:

Conditions of Carriage | Qantas AU

Refer to Qantas Conditions of Carriage that define the passenger rules, fares, refunds and more set out in your ticket.

www.qantas.com

10.3 Overbooked Flights - Denied Boarding Compensation
Airline flights may be overbooked. This means there is a slight chance that there may be more reservations than available seats on your flight. In these circumstances, where practicable, we will offer an incentive for volunteers not to travel on their booked flight. Volunteers will not be entitled to any further payment, refund or compensation. If there are not enough volunteers, we may need to deny boarding to one or more Passengers involuntarily.
If you are denied boarding due to an overbooking of our flight for which you have a valid Ticket and a confirmed reservation, and you have met our Check-In Deadline and complied with all applicable requirements for travel as set out in these Conditions of Carriage, we will offer you a seat on the next available flight on our services. If this is not acceptable to you, we will provide compensation and any care required by any law which may apply, such as the Australian Consumer Law (under which you may have rights to remedies), or in accordance with our policy if there is no applicable law. This will depend on the jurisdiction in which the denied boarding occurs.
Our denied boarding compensation policy is available on request.

Has OP requested this compensation policy?

 

[support]

Please limit future discussion in this thread to the issue the OP described in the first post and subsequent replies. If you would like to discuss the prevalence of "one post wonders", you can start/find a thread in the playground on the issue. Future posts in this thread on "one post wonders" may be removed.