Qantas cancelled my Business Class classic reward and tried to charge me $3000 to reinstate!

[cjd600]

You honestly couldn't make this cough up if you tried, absolute shambles....
At least the only dread of calling up re Awards used to be the mind-numbing wait times.....now there's the probability they'll cancel your flights too!

 

[JohnK]

There's quite a few threads on this issue and it's all related to making changes.

What I don't understand is how the agent can cancel the booking unless they've been instructed to cancel by management.

 

[serfty]

What I don't understand is how the agent can cancel the booking unless they've been instructed to cancel by management.

I would presume the agent didn't know what they were doing and the cancellation was accidental.

Any alternative is horrific to contemplate.

 

[Mr H]

I don't have any magic bullets but...

I have had multiple calls with both Cape Town and Fiji in recent months to fix various problems as they have arisen. I have had some awful agents in both centres, but my hit rate has been better in getting Cape Town to fix things. When I first speak to an agent, my heart sometimes sinks if they seem not to speak good English or to sound muffled/faint. But this is where I need to recognise my prejudices and not let them cloud my judgement - some of the most helpful, problem-solving agents did not sound great at first. If I had had a HUACA attitude I would have missed their valued assistance. I try to take each call with the attitude that this may be the agent who can help me if I can help them.

 

[Zanzara]

Not again!

 

[JohnK]

I would presume the agent didn't know what they were doing and the cancellation was accidental.

Any alternative is horrific to contemplate.

I know but happening so often one has to think yield management possibly involved.

Are you sure you want to cancel these flights? If Qantas are doing SQA reviews on the recordings this should come up in the review. Anyone we know work in Qantas IT?

 

[Mr H]

I know but happening so often one has to think yield management possibly involved.

Are you sure you want to cancel these flights? If Qantas are doing SQA reviews on the recordings this should come up in the review. Anyone we know work in Qantas IT?

I cannot believe that this would be intentional. The reputational damage when things go wrong can be immense and we know companies invest a lot in fixing the damage after poor customer experiences. It defies belief they would intentionally cancel correctly issued tickets so they could sell them again at a higher price. And for that to be a directive from management, it would become apparent not in one or two cases but on an industrial scale. None of us would be finding our bookings stuck; none of us would be succeeding with our redemptions. I think this theory needs to be filed with 'stop the steal'.

 

[Guvner]

Seems to be an increasingly common issue, happened to me as well. Evidently if you initiate a change (or in my case QR scheduling/ cancellation initiated a change) the process is the agents cancel the rewards you have then try to rebook, and recalculate fees etc, from scratch. The obvious issue is that where there are no reward flights available you are stuffed. Qantas' attitude seems to be "too bad, not our problem".

The Qantas fanboys constantly inform us that QF is not responsible for other carrier's changes however I vehemently disagree. Qantas acts as the agent in these reward scenarios and, in my view, should take responsibility for fixing issues, just like I'd expect any travel agency to. That's the whole point of using an agent.

 

[sqrt()]

Seems to be an increasingly common issue, happened to me as well. Evidently if you initiate a change (or in my case QR scheduling/ cancellation initiated a change) the process is the agents cancel the rewards you have then try to rebook, and recalculate fees etc, from scratch. The obvious issue is that where there are no reward flights available you are stuffed. Qantas' attitude seems to be "too bad, not our problem".

Such poor form, especially given agents can reticket a changed itinerary without repricing it when QF or a partner has made a change which makes the original itinerary impossible, just with a note, for example: "Invol Reroute Qf Ff Redemption."

Obviously this applies only when the airline makes a change (below allowed MCT, flights moved to or booked the day after a connection etc).

 

[Mr H]

The Qantas fanboys constantly inform us that QF is not responsible for other carrier's changes however I vehemently disagree. Qantas acts as the agent in these reward scenarios and, in my view, should take responsibility for fixing issues, just like I'd expect any travel agency to. That's the whole point of using an agent.

I don't consider myself a fanboy, just a realist.

QF can fix any problem by offering a full refund - but that is seldom the outcome we are looking for - so we are compelled to work with their agents to reach a solution.

If another carrier cancels a flight they may sometimes offer alternatives, but when they cancel whole routes they just seem to say "too bad, so sad".

Yes, I do expect QF to work to resolve the issues, especially when it is their own error that has caused an issue. And while that theory works at a corporate or legal level, when it is just you and Rolf from Cape Town on the phone you have to work with what is in front of you.

 

[Guvner]

A refund that may take up to 8 weeks doesn't solve the problem, it transfers it.

 

[Mr H]

A refund that may take up to 8 weeks doesn't solve the problem, it transfers it.

As I said, it is often not the outcome we want, which is why we need to work with the agents rather than just crossing our arms and saying 'fix it'.

 

[Guvner]

As I said, it is often not the outcome we want, which is why we need to work with the agents rather than just crossing our arms and saying 'fix it'.

By working with the agents do you mean:
- being called a liar,
- calling 15 times to discuss the same issue,
- being hung up on mid call,
- being told there are no options even when you've done the homework and provided them,
- promised call backs that never happen,
- having tickets incorrectly repriced,
- being told OW airlines are not eligible for OWA's
- any or all of the above?

 

[Mr H]

By working with the agents do you mean:
- being called a liar,
- calling 15 times to discuss the same issue,
- being hung up on mid call,
- being told there are no options even when you've done the homework and provided them,
- promised call backs that never happen,
- having tickets incorrectly repriced,
- being told OW airlines are not eligible for OWA's
- any or all of the above?

Yes, I have experienced many of those things. I also have a 34,910 mile redemption using 14 flights and 7 airlines, all in J, due to commence in 2 months' time. I did not manage that by harrumphing at the poor service and saying 'fix it'.

 

[Guvner]

The alleged harrumphing and fix-it attitude is not the scenario being discussed. It's just a strawman argument.

 

[Mr H]

The alleged harrumphing and fix-it attitude is not the scenario being discussed. It's just a strawman argument.

OK, my apologies. I had perhaps misunderstood the nuance behind

"The Qantas fanboys constantly inform us that QF is not responsible for other carrier's changes however I vehemently disagree. Qantas acts as the agent in these reward scenarios and, in my view, should take responsibility for fixing issues, just like I'd expect any travel agency to. That's the whole point of using an agent."​

 

[Guvner]

Apology accepted.

 

[offshore171]

One take away observation from the recent threads like this:

If you are lucky enough to secure a coveted long haul award booking in J...

For the love of god, don't mess with it!
Especially if it's with a partner airline.​

Don't be tempted to make date changes, stopovers, routing changes etc. Just leave it.

Of course it can still go pear shaped when the airlines make involuntary changes, but making your own changes appears to be tempting fate.

Not saying this is acceptable, but the evidence is that in reality it's just too risky to go messing with confirmed awards.

 

[serfty]

There's quite a few threads on this issue and it's all related to making changes.

Not all, one of the worst was when a call was made to enquire about availability. They had an existing booking with no need to mention it in the context of the call but they did.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

One take away observation from the recent threads like this:

If you are lucky enough to secure a coveted long haul award booking in J...

For the love of god, don't mess with it!
Especially if it's with a partner airline.​

Don't be tempted to make date changes, stopovers, routing changes etc. Just leave it.

Of course it can still go pear shaped when the airlines make involuntary changes, but making your own changes appears to be tempting fate.

Not saying this is acceptable, but the evidence is that in reality it's just too risky to go messing with confirmed awards.

There does seem a pattern…

small or inconsequential awards… ticketed immediately. For example Qantas domestic, or US domestic. Anything ‘small’.

anything ‘big’… like finding a long haul premium award… well that needs closer examination to make sure no one is gaming the system. Or if they’re not gaming it, how can we make sure such good value redemptions don’t happen again?

Of course if you’re CL or P1, you are important. Your tickets get issued instantly. (Really, premium awards should only be available to CL or P1, and we even hold them back so you can ask for them to be created and ‘released’.)