Qantas Compensation Query

[flighty32]

I booked a Quantas ticket from Ireland to Australia/NZ via the UK and Hong Kong. When in Hong Kong on my way back (4 day stopover) my flight got cancelled due to the volcano and I was told the next flight available for me was 3 weeks later. They also said I was not entitled to anything in regards to food/accommodation.

Rather than wait for 3 weeks I decided it was cheaper to make my own way back and spent about €1500 returning. Am I entitled to anything other than a refund for flights not taken which my travel agent is pursuing?

 

[Dave Noble]

Re: Quantas Compensation Query

Since you were on a flight from Asia to Australia there is no right to compensation for the delays. If you had been stuck in Europe , then European regulations would have applied and the airline would have been responsible for accommodation

You may well be able to claim for additional costs of flights off of travel insurance minus the refund amount from Qantas

Dave

 

[Mal]

Qantas were compensating for hotel expenses, even if you weren't eligible under EU regs. This policy changed a bit over time, and not all staff knew what was happening.

See:
United Kingdom and Europe Flight Disruptions

What about customers with expenses as a result of the flight disruptions?

Customers are understandably anxious about the costs incurred due to flight disruptions.

For passengers affected by flight disruptions who have not been placed in Qantas accommodation, Qantas will reimburse expenses for accommodation, meals and incidentals accompanied by receipt of up to AU$300 per day per booking. Bookings of more than three passengers may be supplemented up to AU$100 per passenger per day.

Claims will be processed by Customer Care - [email protected].

Qantas requests customers are patient in processing claims, due to the large number of passengers affected by the incident.

Unfortunately as you chose to re-route yourself, I don't think Qantas will entertain a compensation payout. But it is still worth pursuing if you want. Just don't be disappointed if they come back with "no" as the answer.

Do you have travel insurance (either bought, or free by using certain credit cards for the booking)? If you do, contact them for advice as to whether they will process your claim.

 

[samh004]

Re: Quantas Compensation Query

Since you were on a flight from Asia to Australia there is no right to compensation for the delays. If you had been stuck in Europe , then European regulations would have applied and the airline would have been responsible for accommodation

You may well be able to claim for additional costs of flights off of travel insurance minus the refund amount from Qantas

Dave

I read the above post as they were in HKG heading back to Europe, not heading away from it.

I can’t recall the rules, but they apply to EU carriers and flights leaving the EU? Was there something about EU residents travelling to the EU on non-EU carriers being entitled?

 

[Dave Noble]

Re: Quantas Compensation Query

I read the above post as they were in HKG heading back to Europe, not heading away from it.

I can’t recall the rules, but they apply to EU carriers and flights leaving the EU? Was there something about EU residents travelling to the EU on non-EU carriers being entitled?

re-reading it, it looks like u are right in that the person was travelling to Europe. Even so , the situation is the same for the poster

If travelling from Asia to Europe on an EU carrier, then the airline would have been responsible for providing accommodation etc

Travelling on a non EU carrier however, the airline has no requirement to do so

Dave

 

[ejb]

Hi all,

This may seem harsh but why do people expect airlines to cover the cost of a volcano erupting.

QF/BA/EK et al did not cause the problem and they have been affected by this and people seem to think it is their right to be covered by them.

S&*t happens and lives get messed around but sometimes there is no one to blame and you just need to deal with it.

YMMV (and more than likely will)

ejb

 

[Alanslegal]

Definitely agree with you there, I am thinking that the airlines are being 'very accommodating' financially and with on-ground assistance because the media will be jumping up and down on them the moment they say No to anything - and hence very bad publicity.

 

[Travel Guru]

Hi all,

This may seem harsh but why do people expect airlines to cover the cost of a volcano erupting.

QF/BA/EK et al did not cause the problem and they have been affected by this and people seem to think it is their right to be covered by them.

S&*t happens and lives get messed around but sometimes there is no one to blame and you just need to deal with it.

YMMV (and more than likely will)

ejb

I completely agree with you.


The one I had the biggest chuckle over was on last nights news, an older lady they interviewed who got as far as asia and decided to come home after a couple of days and will try again in a couple of months, her comment "I hope my travel agent is going to honour the original ticket I booked"...hmm yeh sure, because it was your TA's fault that the volcano erupted for the first time in almost 2 centuries!!

Hmm. :mrgreen::mrgreen:

TG

 

[Gunsh0tglitt3r]

The airlines aren't really being that accommodating. Yes... they may be helping the people with accommodation/flights... BUT it is the traveller (like me) who months down the track are paying peak fares for off peak periods!..They’ll always get their money back. Their hearts aren’t as big as their pockets!​

 

[samh004]

The airlines aren't really being that accommodating. Yes... they may be helping the people with accommodation/flights... BUT it is the traveller (like me) who months down the track are paying peak fares for off peak periods!..They’ll always get their money back. Their hearts aren’t as big as their pockets!​

I haven’t seen any price increases yet, in fact there’s a sale on for Qantas right now

 

[Gunsh0tglitt3r]

I haven’t seen any price increases yet, in fact there’s a sale on for Qantas right now

Ahh, well on Wed or Tues, I was trying to book my flight to LHR, without success due to several website issues..
Next day, no problems and an extra $200 on the fare..

 

[samh004]

Ahh, well on Wed or Tues, I was trying to book my flight to LHR, without success due to several website issues..
Next day, no problems and an extra $200 on the fare..

I remember the thread, prices fluctuate. They may have sold all the seats in the fare class that was $200 less. Admittedly it sucks that the website wasn’t working properly, but somehow they got sold. Maybe others phoned up?

Depending on how long away the flight is, there could still be discounts or sales coming up.

 

[Gunsh0tglitt3r]

I remember the thread, prices fluctuate. They may have sold all the seats in the fare class that was $200 less. Admittedly it sucks that the website wasn’t working properly, but somehow they got sold. Maybe others phoned up?

Depending on how long away the flight is, there could still be discounts or sales coming up.

Well this is true, but I just did a mock booking on the "sale price.." and the price I paid before the sale, is the exact same price.

It's to depart on the 30th Sept.. might be jumping the gun bookin the flight now, but it is the last plane departing ADL and flying direct to SIN.. (7hrs flying time).. Everything from Oct onwards.. off-peak flies ADL-MEL-SIN, ADL-SYD-SIN.. taking my flying time to 13+ (noo! would much rather a shorter first leg!)

 

[albatross710]

This may seem harsh but why do people expect airlines to cover the cost of a volcano erupting.

Isn't this a question of equity. Put this statement the other way, why should just the passengers whom were booked on affected flights have to carry the burden. Should the people travelling now have to contribute something or those that landed an hour before the airways closed.

By routing the compensation through the airlines and the insurers it spreads the burden across a wider pool of people. No single person or small group of people can afford to take the burden of a 1 in 200 year event.

Unfair on the airlines, whom will spread the burden across their shareholders, their own insurers and future travellers.

And I know it is also unfair on the insurers whom really don't like people making claims on these events.

I recall an article about a sophisticated society and how we use insurance to spread these risks across a much wider pool. This is that activity in practice.

Back to the OP, I don't like your chances but also given the response you heard from QF, maybe there will be something coming your way...and I hope you had insurance.

 

[oz_mark]

By routing the compensation through the airlines and the insurers it spreads the burden across a wider pool of people. No single person or small group of people can afford to take the burden of a 1 in 200 year event.

You assume that the airlines are insured for this type of thing, but you may be wrong.

Qantas is not insured for the $1.5m to $2m per day that has been ripped from pre-tax profits as a result of the crisis -- $700,000 a day going to hotels for 2000 stranded passengers -- but it expects this to taper off.

Qantas waits for regulators to catch up: consolidation | The Australian

 

[albatross710]

You assume that the airlines are insured for this type of thing, but you may be wrong.

Thanks for that oz_mark. Looks like it will not get spread as wide as I was thinking.

 

[serfty]

... You assume that the airlines are insured for this type of thing, but you may be wrong. ...

Actually many extremely large companies choose to "Self Insure".

They do their sums and if it works out for them to be likely to more cost effective in the long run to do this then they take the risks themselves.

Qantas is one of these companies.

When I was much younger, one of my aims in life was to be in the position where I would not require insurance. Car stolen? ... meh ... buy another one; house burns down? ... meh, build a better one.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

It's to depart on the 30th Sept.. might be jumping the gun bookin the flight now, but it is the last plane departing ADL and flying direct to SIN.. (7hrs flying time).. Everything from Oct onwards.. off-peak flies ADL-MEL-SIN, ADL-SYD-SIN.. taking my flying time to 13+ (noo! would much rather a shorter first leg!)

I'm the opposite - I would rather get the longer sector from Oz to Asia out of the way first as that's more likely to be during the day when you're not too tired and you don't have to touch your baggage enroute. If you have friends or relatives in MEL you could take an am flight ADL/MEL have lunch with them then take the late arvo flight MEL/SIN.

If the longer sector/s are on the return journey, you're often on a red eye eg SIN/MEL then have to pick up your luggage and clear customs in MEL as it's your first port of entry into the country then continue on MEL/ADL domestically. I'd much rather take a non-stop flight SIN/ADL eg QF82 and avoid the bunfight when everyone's tired and cranky.

Cheers

Oz

 

[ajw373]

I booked a Quantas ticket from Ireland to Australia/NZ via the UK and Hong Kong. When in Hong Kong on my way back (4 day stopover) my flight got cancelled due to the volcano and I was told the next flight available for me was 3 weeks later. They also said I was not entitled to anything in regards to food/accommodation.

Rather than wait for 3 weeks I decided it was cheaper to make my own way back and spent about €1500 returning. Am I entitled to anything other than a refund for flights not taken which my travel agent is pursuing?

As you booked another flight of course Qantas is not going to pay you for that.

Also you shouldn't use the word compensation in your case. Compensation is much different from reimbursment which is what you are after. Indeed under the European regulations airlines are obliged to take care of people (meals and accomodation), but as the volcano was caused by an act of nature they don't have to pay compensation. Compensation is only payable if they had control over the event. Compensation is a cash payout over and above the cost of meals and accomodation to compensate for the delay.

 

[N860CR]

I'd have to agree with the op. I don't think telling a pax that they have to wait in a transit city for 21 days, at their own expense, is acceptable. If Qantas were unable to offer a suitable flight, they should have paid for the flight the op ended up taking. One or two days... That's ok, but 3 weeks??? Who here would sit around and wait?