Qantas fails, again

[DonaldD]

When is a changeable ticket NOT changeable?

When the selling airline is QANTAS!

I purchased a ticket BNE to ORD on Qantas/American Airlines.
I need to change the return journey but American Airlines no longer has that booking class so the return can't be changed. Even the Qantas rep admitted that it was ridiculous.
So now I'm going to fly with another airline. I wish Virgin Australia still flew to the US.

 

[SYD]

Not even the fare difference or another flight ORD-LAX?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

When is a changeable ticket NOT changeable?

When the selling airline is QANTAS!

I purchased a ticket BNE to ORD on Qantas/American Airlines.
I need to change the return journey but American Airlines no longer has that booking class so the return can't be changed. Even the Qantas rep admitted that it was ridiculous.
So now I'm going to fly with another airline. I wish Virgin Australia still flew to the US.

Is it the booking class itself that has been deleted from all AA flights, or is it that the booking class is full on the alternative flights you want?

Out of interest, because this will possibly impact others, what is the booking class?

I suspect this isn’t an issue for qantas, it would affect any airline selling that booking class on AA.

It’s also possible - unless you reached auckland or hobart - that the agent may not have the experience to understand the issue, or how to get it resolved.

I would have thought that if a booking class had been permanently deleted, that it would be mapped across to the new equivalent.

 

[DonaldD]

Not even the fare difference or another flight ORD-LAX?

I called to complain but this rep insisted that she could sort it out. She did - but at a cost. Bearing in mind that this is an Economy ticket, the cost to reschedule was over USD5000 + the AUD225 change fee. Did she think that I was stupid?
A quick search showed that a one way fare with Cathay Pacific was USD1429.
Obviously Qantas has no intention of encouraging a passenger to stay with them. I know Qantas is in the business to make money, but this philosophy seems crazy. Surely it must be easier to keep an existing customer than to have to win over new customers all the time?

 

[SYD]

Unfortunately, US airlines are notorious for overbooking flights. Even if you had a “Fully flexible” Economy (Y) ticket, you might have been the told the same thing. Crazy as the $$$ figure was.

QF is at the mercy of AA but they probably could have come up with an alternate routing. Including looking at Alaska Air.

The irony is, if AA do a schedule change you can usually rebook yourself on pretty much any alternate flight for free.

 

[TheInsider]

I called to complain but this rep insisted that she could sort it out. She did - but at a cost. Bearing in mind that this is an Economy ticket, the cost to reschedule was over USD5000 + the AUD225 change fee. Did she think that I was stupid?
A quick search showed that a one way fare with Cathay Pacific was USD1429.
Obviously Qantas has no intention of encouraging a passenger to stay with them. I know Qantas is in the business to make money, but this philosophy seems crazy. Surely it must be easier to keep an existing customer than to have to win over new customers all the time?

Once again, nothing to do with Qantas, but the price that the other airline is charging and also fare constructions. Your basic economy ticket may not be compatible with a full Y fare class, therefore changing other fare classes.

 

[DonaldD]

Unfortunately, US airlines are notorious for overbooking flights. Even if you had a “Fully flexible” Economy (Y) ticket, you might have been the told the same thing. Crazy as the $$$ figure was.

QF is at the mercy of AA but they probably could have come up with an alternate routing. Including looking at Alaska Air.

The irony is, if AA do a schedule change you can usually rebook yourself on pretty much any alternate flight for free.

Thanks.

 

[DonaldD]

Is it the booking class itself that has been deleted from all AA flights, or is it that the booking class is full on the alternative flights you want?

Out of interest, because this will possibly impact others, what is the booking class?

I suspect this isn’t an issue for qantas, it would affect any airline selling that booking class on AA.

It’s also possible - unless you reached auckland or hobart - that the agent may not have the experience to understand the issue, or how to get it resolved.

I would have thought that if a booking class had been permanently deleted, that it would be mapped across to the new equivalent.

It wasn't straight forward but the booking class is 'S' and hasn't been deleted but the reps didn't tell me that the class was available the day before I requested. As with AA, some reps are so much more knowledgable than others