Qantas cancellations

[SandyS]

I am not sure how Qantas Policy as published there contradicts that article.

sorry, I'm just confused and want to have the correct info if I need to contact Qantas again re any awards flights.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

sorry, I'm just confused and want to have the correct info if I need to contact Qantas again re any awards flights.

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If this is a qantas operated flight, ie qantas aircraft and qantas flight number, and qantas cancels a flight, you are entitled to be booked on the next available flight in the same cabin as originally booked. If award seats are available on the new flight… easy.

But if no award seats, the agent must select the lowest available ‘paid’ fare on the new flight in the relevant booking class. For example if you had an award flight cancelled, and the new flight had availability in J, C, and D class for business, the agent must book in D. If D was not available, the agent could book in C. And so on.

The policy applies to both paid and award tickets. The ‘exclusion’ covers a case where a passenger on a paid fare has had their flight cancelled, the policy says the lowest booking on a new flight cannot be in an award fare. So if you had paid a D class sale fare, and the flight was cancelled, if by some miracle there was award space in U available, that cannot be booked as an alternative. The agent must select a revenue fare basis. (If there is an award seat available there will almost certainly be a paid fare available.)

I believe the Points Hack article may have erred in the categorical statement that QF owes the same level of responsibility if a partner cancels. I would argue that while qantas does need to help, that standard is only ‘best endeavours’… which could simply be a request to the partner airline, which if it comes back as ‘no’ may satisfy their best endeavours if they have followed the stated procedure of going via the oneworld disruption desk.

 

[Sale]

Correct. Joining no direct flights between Perth & Hobart and Adelaide & Hobart

This concerns me greatly - my final leg of an OWA is ADL - HBA and I would hate to have to go through the drama of actually changing the ticket.
Looking in June 2023 there appear to be both PER & ADL direct flights to HBA. Is there a particular time period that these direct flights have been cancelled, please?

 

[RooFlyer]

This concerns me greatly - my final leg of an OWA is ADL - HBA and I would hate to have to go through the drama of actually changing the ticket.
Looking in June 2023 there appear to be both PER & ADL direct flights to HBA. Is there a particular time period that these direct flights have been cancelled, please?

Unaware of a particular time. I had three Hobart to Adelaide direct flights over four different months sequentially cancelled during this year. Current one is in November.

What appears to have been happening is that the airline will ‘zero out’ the flight - that is, it hasn’t been cancelled but it’s not for sale until they are ready to advise actual cancellation. In my most recent case I became aware that the flight had been ‘zeroed out’ and had disappeared from the schedules but hadn’t actually been cancelled, about two months ago. It finally got cancelled only this week. My travel agent couldn’t make any changes to the booking until the formal cancellation.

PS the airline if it cancels the direct flight will allocate alternative flights, probably via Melbourne. Whether or not they are suitable or actually work for you is entirely different matter.

 

[SandyS]

If this is a qantas operated flight, ie qantas aircraft and qantas flight number, and qantas cancels a flight, you are entitled to be booked on the next available flight in the same cabin as originally booked. If award seats are available on the new flight… easy.

But if no award seats, the agent must select the lowest available ‘paid’ fare on the new flight in the relevant booking class. For example if you had an award flight cancelled, and the new flight had availability in J, C, and D class for business, the agent must book in D. If D was not available, the agent could book in C. And so on.

The policy applies to both paid and award tickets. The ‘exclusion’ covers a case where a passenger on a paid fare has had their flight cancelled, the policy says the lowest booking on a new flight cannot be in an award fare. So if you had paid a D class sale fare, and the flight was cancelled, if by some miracle there was award space in U available, that cannot be booked as an alternative. The agent must select a revenue fare basis. (If there is an award seat available there will almost certainly be a paid fare available.)

I believe the Points Hack article may have erred in the categorical statement that QF owes the same level of responsibility if a partner cancels. I would argue that while qantas does need to help, that standard is only ‘best endeavours’… which could simply be a request to the partner airline, which if it comes back as ‘no’ may satisfy their best endeavours if they have followed the stated procedure of going via the oneworld disruption desk.

Thank you for explaining that.

Its interesting because in my case, being a domestic flight MEL - ADL, I was told there were no award flights in any class that day or the next (and so I was cancelled) even though there were many flights available for purchase and I was willing to be very flexible on times and days.

When I had looked before calling, there was 1 J seat left on the 12.50 which I requested although willing to take anything. It was still available for purchase about an hour or so before the flight.
I was quite lucky then.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thank you for explaining that.

Its interesting because in my case, being a domestic flight MEL - ADL, I was told there were no award flights in any class that day or the next (and so I was cancelled) even though there were many flights available for purchase and I was willing to be very flexible on times and days.

When I had looked before calling, there was 1 J seat left on the 12.50 which I requested although willing to take anything. It was still available for purchase about an hour or so before the flight.
I was quite lucky then.

Maybe this is a result of agent training… and the fact that there are so few QF international flights.

Agents have probably been trained to say that if a partner cancels, there will likely need to be award availability to replace a flight.

This somehow gets ingrained, so even when they deal with the case of a Qantas cancellation, they still give the same incorrect advice?

 

[Sale]

Unaware of a particular time. I had three Hobart to Adelaide direct flights over four different months sequentially cancelled during this year. Current one is in November.

What appears to have been happening is that the airline will ‘zero out’ the flight - that is, it hasn’t been cancelled but it’s not for sale until they are ready to advise actual cancellation. In my most recent case I became aware that the flight had been ‘zeroed out’ and had disappeared from the schedules but hadn’t actually been cancelled, about two months ago. It finally got cancelled only this week. My travel agent couldn’t make any changes to the booking until the formal cancellation.

PS the airline if it cancels the direct flight will allocate alternative flights, probably via Melbourne. Whether or not they are suitable or actually work for you is entirely different matter.

Thanks for that RooFlyer.

My OWA final legs are IST-DOH-ADL (overnight) then ADL-HBA. The thought of needing to chase the Qatar flights if it needs re-ticketing is a bit scary. Hopefully if Qantas cancels it after we actually leave Australia a month earlier, they will just sort it somehow. (And if it's before we leave I can panic.)

 

[RooFlyer]

If Qantas change your final domestic sectors and it needs re-ticketing, frankly with the risk of the call centre totally stuffing up the entire itinerary, what I would do is just arrange a separate ticket - points if you can get it get it, revenue if you can’t - from Adelaide to Hobart via Melbourne and just abandon the last two sectors of the OWA.

when I’m doing these days for all my Qantas flights is to book a Virgin flight just a little bit later the same day on the flexible rate so if Qantas cancels I can take Virgin and if Qantas are okay I can cancel Virgin and get a full refund or a credit.

 

[Sale]

If Qantas change your final domestic sectors and it needs re-ticketing, frankly with the risk of the call centre totally stuffing up the entire itinerary, what I would do is just arrange a separate ticket - points if you can get it get it, revenue if you can’t - from Adelaide to Hobart via Melbourne and just abandon the last two sectors of the OWA.

when I’m doing these days for all my Qantas flights is to book a Virgin flight just a little bit later the same day on the flexible rate so if Qantas cancels I can take Virgin and if Qantas are okay I can cancel Virgin and get a full refund or a credit.

Yes - friends last night said their direct QF HBA-ADL flights have been cancelled & changed. Nice to be forewarned, thank you.