Qantas Business Class customers bumped to economy in Tokyo

[SOPOOR]

Its times like this i wish i could do a chargeback via credit card 7 months later.

Imagine the 180 degree change in attitude from qantas if it were thrm chasing for money

 

[Pushka]

Its times like this i wish i could do a chargeback via credit card 7 months later.

Imagine the 180 degree change in attitude from qantas if it were thrm chasing for money

I’d assumed you could do exactly that?

 

[agentgerko]

As a TA for over 40 years, I can definitely confirm that the refunds provided by airlines when doing an involuntary downgrade are ALWAYS less than should be fairly provided. They should refund the difference between what the client paid for Business and what the client would reasonable be expected to have paid for Economy, i.e. the lowest available fare. What is usually done, however, is the airline refunds the difference between the Business fare paid and a much higher Economy fare that it's extremely unlikely the client would have ever considered purchasing.
As for who gets downgraded, the one who booked seven month ago should get preference over the one who booked a week ago. When it comes to loyalty, who is the more loyal? A Bronze member who only travels 2-3 times a year but pays out of their own pocket and always chooses Qantas, or a Gold member who travels frequently because the boss pays, who is also a Star Alliance member and a SkyTeam member, and flies Qantas only when the flights suit?

 

[SOPOOR]

I’d assumed you could do exactly that?

I believe in my experience the window for charge backs is 60-90 days,
anyone else in banking clarify?

 

[SOPOOR]

As a TA for over 40 years, I can definitely confirm that the refunds provided by airlines when doing an involuntary downgrade are ALWAYS less than should be fairly provided. They should refund the difference between what the client paid for Business and what the client would reasonable be expected to have paid for Economy, i.e. the lowest available fare. What is usually done, however, is the airline refunds the difference between the Business fare paid and a much higher Economy fare that it's extremely unlikely the client would have ever considered purchasing.
As for who gets downgraded, the one who booked seven month ago should get preference over the one who booked a week ago. When it comes to loyalty, who is the more loyal? A Bronze member who only travels 2-3 times a year but pays out of their own pocket and always chooses Qantas, or a Gold member who travels frequently because the boss pays, who is also a Star Alliance member and a SkyTeam member, and flies Qantas only when the flights suit?

who pays for the flight shouldnt matter, they are still a customer,

also I dont think qantas could tell who paid for the flight given that credit cards often have personal names on them, plus some people pay and then get reimbursed

 

[grussellt]

To OP and all. It's always worth remembering the australian airline advocate :

Home

There have some posts covering good results even where the fight was over missing Qantas points.

 

[MR61]

Didn't a German court rule in September that a passenger who purchased a business class ticket and was subsequently downgraded to economy was unfair and that airlines and travel agents have an obligation to rebook passengers in their original purchase class of service? See

Economy is No Replacement for Business Class, Court Rules

Passengers that book a Business Class ticket should not have to accept a downgrade to Economy Class, a German court has ruled.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[csugowdz]

Had a similar experience last month. Qantas tried to downgrade me to premium economy on a flight from Haneda to Sydney. I was offered $400 cash and a points refund.
They admitted to being overbooked and obviously as a bronze FF I was high on their list to downgrade. I refused the downgrade, suggested they could get me on a flight the next day or with another airline and pointed out that the reason I used points for a business class was a back problem. They also told me that I would probably be upgraded at the gate as they usually had no shows. Didn't believe that one.
Anyway I stood my ground and got my original seat in business class but I made sure I was at the gate early. I never fly Qantas unless I am using points and this just confirmed my negative opinion. The plane was awful, I think their oldest 747. The lockers for seats 3 F and 3 J were literally held together by duct tape. Not a patch on Qatar or even Vietnam Airlines very cheap business.

 

[SOPOOR]

Had a similar experience last month. Qantas tried to downgrade me to premium economy on a flight from Haneda to Sydney. I was offered $400 cash and a points refund.
They admitted to being overbooked and obviously as a bronze FF I was high on their list to downgrade. I refused the downgrade, suggested they could get me on a flight the next day or with another airline and pointed out that the reason I used points for a business class was a back problem. They also told me that I would probably be upgraded at the gate as they usually had no shows. Didn't believe that one.
Anyway I stood my ground and got my original seat in business class but I made sure I was at the gate early. I never fly Qantas unless I am using points and this just confirmed my negative opinion. The plane was awful, I think their oldest 747. The lockers for seats 3 F and 3 J were literally held together by duct tape. Not a patch on Qatar or even Vietnam Airlines very cheap business.

Im surprised their offer was an option!

 

[Rahamat]

I think Qantas should be punished for this otherwise they will continue doing this to other passengers. Take Qantas to court, let us all help this passenger to take this matter to court for compensation and refund of the difference of air fare.

 

[Peter Giorgis]

Qantas is now behaving like Jetstar. We were just bumped down to economy for overnite flight from Tokyo to Melbourne. Ticket paid and booked 7 months earlier, discounted but still not cheap!
As only Bronze status we got bumped.
Will definitely never fly Qantas business again!

I took Qantas 1.5 months to get back to me and I’m a Platinum FF. I have now moved over to Virgin who surprisingly are very good and I will make sure most of my flights are booked with Virgin. I am now one of the top 5% of their top flyers. Virgins Gain and Qantas’s loss, for very poor customer service

 

[blaz]

My only criticism is (a) an alternative business class flight should have been offered and(b) the refund should have been the difference between 1/2 of what they paid minus the cheapest economy fare at the time that it was originally booked...with a few thousand bonus points to sweeten the deal.

 

[GlennT]

I would think that there would be at least a couple of passengers in J cabin who had no status at all who should have been targeted before even a Bronze member. Not that it appears to apply in this instance, I wonder whether a J passenger of any stripe who is registered on that flight as requiring Special Assistance, that is they have a disability to some degree, would get bumped. I know that some disabled folk simply cannot travel Y under any circumstances and therefore are forced to book J or even F if available. Any thoughts on this scenario?

 

[SOPOOR]

what a joke the whole situation is and how the consumer is now accustomed to such atroscious service

you go to a restaurant, order a $100 wagyu steak, they cannot provide it for whatever reason,

they give you a regular $50 steak , and they promise to send you a cheque in the mail for $25, and in the end they dont or take for ever to do so

would most people accept this, I wouldnt!

 

[timster]

I weaned myself off Qantas after the Emily's Parents debacle. Went over to Star Alliance. It's now some years since I have flown with Qantas. It just made me so angry that such compensation behaviour is legal, and that a 1st world airline would engage in it ... just because they can. And that there was effectively no recourse. Ethically it's theft to my mind. You buy something. You don't get what you paid for. The fault is entirely theirs. So you get the option of either a full refund, an equivalent replacement, or a non-equivalent plus reasonable compensation. Simple.
Of course Qantas will continue to behave this way regardless of what I do. But at least I don't have to sit on their planes anymore.

 

[V Singh]

A review of Qantas Cabin "Downgrade" Policy being fair & equitable to both parties is overdue.

 

[FrankC]

I wonder, since Qantas calculate the refund by using the difference between the discounted J price and the full Y price, that means the customer is paying full Y price for the Y seat. At full Y price, the ticket should come with very flexible condtions, like allowing a full refund? Can the customer then request a full refund of the Y price and use that money to get whatever alternative flights available (at the normal J/W/Y price), and now with the options to using competing airlines

 

[Danielb56]

Qantas is now behaving like Jetstar. We were just bumped down to economy for overnite flight from Tokyo to Melbourne. Ticket paid and booked 7 months earlier, discounted but still not cheap!
As only Bronze status we got bumped.
Will definitely never fly Qantas business again!

I have a good friend who worked for Qantas for 30 years. he use to look after 1st class check in etc. He left about 2 years ago because he said they are not the same company he joined. Customer service use to be a high priority with Qantas when I started flying in mid 80s and IU looked forward to flying home with them when I was overseas. Back then when you entered the cabin it felt like a breath of fresh air after flying and living in underdeveloped countries. Now you feel like you are entering an underdeveloped country when you fly Qantas. I fly the minimum required for Status etc and then use their partners where I get much better service. To be honest I fly more Emirates than Qantas.

Under Alan Joyce the standard has dropped. He has no idea what customer serviced is all about as it flows from the top down. It is a shame that we feel that way about Qantas (and I don't want to) but that is the state of affairs. Loyalty does not count...In the past Qantas would have either put you up in a hotel and fly you out next day on business or found some other option... now they don't care.

 

[TRANSMAC]

Qantas is now behaving like Jetstar. We were just bumped down to economy for overnite flight from Tokyo to Melbourne. Ticket paid and booked 7 months earlier, discounted but still not cheap!
As only Bronze status we got bumped.
Will definitely never fly Qantas business again!

This is so not on, offer should be much more & also an offer of a hotel & next day flight at a minimum.

 

[Mrmaxwell]

For this kind of treatment you are better off going straight to fair trading and organising a hearing in your states’ tribunal.

Don’t waste your valuable time chasing what is rightfully yours from a corporation that has a lot to answer for when it comes to fair and equitable.

Let’s be clear; if you pay for a product/service and don’t receive it that’s fraud.