Qantas have just downgraded four of us

[robert kennelly]

Between 4 and 8 months ago I bought four business class tickets from Canberra to Santiago de Compostella starting on 22nd April at a cost of $400+K.
through Travel associates at Belconnen
Recently when reviewing my QFF web page I noticed they had down graded our flight from Canberra to Melbourne. No notice from qantas or agent.
When I emailed agent he blythly said it was an aircraft/schedule change!! I asked when was he advised of this change? Where was the refund offer and would Qantas be charging me for excess luggage given that our case on this trip would be 20+K

 

[RooFlyer]

When I emailed agent he blythly said it was an aircraft/schedule change!! I asked when was he advised of this change? Where was the refund offer and would Qantas be charging me for excess luggage given that our case on this trip would be 20+K

This is an issue for your travel agent, not Qantas. Aircraft changes regrettably jhappen all the time and those short sectors out of Canberra are particularly suspect. Your agent has just been slack.

I don’t think you’ll have a problem with luggage allowance as it should be calculated for the long haul sector. But again your travel agent should be able to advise you.

Could I advise you get an app like Flighty which should let you know when there’s an aircraft type change or a seating change. It will often let you know about a change before the airline itself officially announces it.

 

[serfty]

When I emailed agent he blythly said it was an aircraft/schedule change!! I asked when was he advised of this change? Where was the refund offer and would Qantas be charging me for excess luggage given that our case on this trip would be 20+K

Did your TA respond to your follow up email?

A good TA would be trying to get your CBR flights moved to one with available Business class seating.

Qantas even have a published downgrade policy and such moving to another flight should be at no cost.

Invonantary Downgrade | qantas.com

If the involuntary downgrade is not acceptable to your customer, please refer to the Qantas Schedule Change Policy for rebooking options.

If the new flight is not acceptable to you then there are further options under the following policy:

Qantas Schedule Change Policy | qantas.com

Rebooking​

Rebook to another QF operated and marketed flight ... :

• On the same day; or
• A day either side; or
• To the next available; or
• To connecting QF operated and marketed flights as permitted by the route map; or
• To connecting QF marketed flights operated by Emirates or QF operated and marketed flights as permitted by the route map if the schedule changed flight is operated by Emirates; and
• In the same cabin and same class; or
• In the lowest available class in cabin (except P/U/Z/X) if the same class is not available.

 

[DC3]

Between 4 and 8 months ago I bought four business class tickets from Canberra to Santiago de Compostella starting on 22nd April at a cost of $400+K.
through Travel associates at Belconnen
Recently when reviewing my QFF web page I noticed they had down graded our flight from Canberra to Melbourne. No notice from qantas or agent.
When I emailed agent he blythly said it was an aircraft/schedule change!! I asked when was he advised of this change? Where was the refund offer and would Qantas be charging me for excess luggage given that our case on this trip would be 20+K

It would be good to have some more information. I’m not sure if we are being asked a question or if the OP just wants to let off some steam about the T/A, or QF.

Edit: Anyway, my understanding is that QF would notify the T/A about any changes, and not the OP. That’s how it’s meant to work, isn’t it?

 

[equus]

at a cost of $400+K.
through Travel associates at Belconnen

Remind me to never go near that TA. I know QF have a reputation for being expensive in J to Europe, but over $100,000 per ticket is a bit rich,, so the TA must be making a killing. Or is $400+K some weird notation for something different?

 

[Aeryn]

A cash fare from CBR Australia to SQC in Spain in Business would typically be about $10k-13k per person depending on airline and routing. Maybe OP meant $40k rather than $400k?

Or was the TA helping you with award tickets? Possibly Classic Plus?

 

[robert kennelly]

Between 4 and 8 months ago I bought four business class tickets from Canberra to Santiago de Compostella starting on 22nd April at a cost of $400+K.
through Travel associates at Belconnen
Recently when reviewing my QFF web page I noticed they had down graded our flight from Canberra to Melbourne. No notice from qantas or agent.
When I emailed agent he blythly said it was an aircraft/schedule change!! I asked when was he advised of this change? Where was the refund offer and would Qantas be charging me for excess luggage given that our case on this trip would be 20+K

Thanks for your comments. Sorry yes I was letting off steam. Yes it as 40K for 4 bus tickets not 400k.
Agent says it came through a week ago! and no qantas wont refund as we can all get bus seats on a flight four hours earlier!!
Robert

 

[Himeno]

Remind me to never go near that TA. I know QF have a reputation for being expensive in J to Europe, but over $100,000 per ticket is a bit rich,, so the TA must be making a killing. Or is $400+K some weird notation for something different?

The agent largely considered to be the "best" travel agent in Canberra used to be in that store. She moved to Jamison just before covid.

 

[TheInsider]

no qantas wont refund as we can all get bus seats on a flight four hours earlier!!
Robert

Qantas can't refund the first sector as the entire fare calculation is based on the entire journey, not individual sectors. Tbh the CBR fare is probably very minimal anyway in the fare calculation.
But a competent TA would be able to see this and basically their job to 'refund' or fix up.

 

[RooFlyer]

@robert kennelly you can edit your post, if you like, for 24hrs - conventional to mark the change with EDIT or similar

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks for your comments. Sorry yes I was letting off steam. Yes it as 40K for 4 bus tickets not 400k.
Agent says it came through a week ago! and no qantas wont refund as we can all get bus seats on a flight four hours earlier!!
Robert

Not ideal, but as Theinsider says, there may not be any fare difference. Talk to your TA.

Note that your baggage allowance and lounge access (to the business lounge in Canberra if you’re not already platinum/emerald) will continue to apply as if you were flying business class out of canberra.

 

[TheInsider]

Not ideal, but as Theinsider says, there may not be any fare difference. Talk to your TA.

The fares constructed on that route seem to be the same costs anyway for an economy trip on the first sector. With out knowing the actual fare, this is what a Y class fare on the first sector looks like, compared to a I class on the first sector:

CBR QF MEL LA SCL M 2402.23ZLEEVZ0R NUC 2402.23 END ROE 1.60309 XT 70.00AU 40.99QR 16.47WG 21.00WY 38.50YR - This fare is a Y to Z
CBR QF X/MEL LA SCL M 2402.23ZLEEVZ0R NUC 2402.23 END ROE 1.60309 XT 70.00AU 40.99QR 16.47WG 21.00WY 38.50YR = This fare is a I to Z

First sector below is with a business cabin on the CBR-MEL flight
Second sector below is with an economy cabin on the CBR-MEL flight



After all of that as well, I'm assuming it would be a LATAM issued ticket, so Qantas wouldn't be holding any money anyway.

Edit: Clearly got the destination incorrect, but the basics of the fares would be the same.

 

[robert kennelly]

The agent largely considered to be the "best" travel agent in Canberra used to be in that store. She moved to Jamison just before covid.

Thanks, is she still at Jamieson? How is the agent at Southland Travel at Mawason?

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Without knowing the specifics of your itinerary, your best bet would be to see if Qantas can rebook you onto a flight to Melbourne that is in business class. With that being said, it is not a big difference either way travelling in business or economy on such a short flight (although I would be pushing Qantas for original routing credit to ensure you receive business class status credits and points for the Canberra to Melbourne flight as it's not your fault that you couldn't travel in business on that leg).

To your point about baggage, for travel aside from anywhere except Canada/USA, the baggage rules that apply are determined by the carrier which is deemed the most significant carrier. The most significant carrier would be the first carrier that cross an IATA zone (i.e. the airline that crosses first from Asia-Pacific to Europe). For instance, if you flew Qantas from Canberra to Melbourne and Melbourne to Singapore then connected onto FinnAir from Singapore to Helsinki, followed by FinnAir from Helsinki to Santiago, then it would be FinnAir's baggage rules, not Qantas' which would apply since the FinnAir's flight between Singapore to Helsinki crosses an IATA zone (Asia-Pacific to Europe). If on the other hand, it was Qantas for some reason, then the baggage rule that would apply wouldn't be for the first flight but actually the rules Qantas has for international flights, quoting from Qantas' baggage site:

If you're transferring from a Qantas domestic to a Qantas international flight, or vice versa, on the same calendar day*, the international baggage allowance is accepted on both flights. Present both tickets when checking in your baggage.

The fares constructed on that route seem to be the same costs anyway for an economy trip on the first sector. With out knowing the actual fare, this is what a Y class fare on the first sector looks like, compared to a I class on the first sector:

CBR QF MEL LA SCL M 2402.23ZLEEVZ0R NUC 2402.23 END ROE 1.60309 XT 70.00AU 40.99QR 16.47WG 21.00WY 38.50YR - This fare is a Y to Z
CBR QF X/MEL LA SCL M 2402.23ZLEEVZ0R NUC 2402.23 END ROE 1.60309 XT 70.00AU 40.99QR 16.47WG 21.00WY 38.50YR = This fare is a I to Z

First sector below is with a business cabin on the CBR-MEL flight
Second sector below is with an economy cabin on the CBR-MEL flight

View attachment 434129

After all of that as well, I'm assuming it would be a LATAM issued ticket, so Qantas wouldn't be holding any money anyway.

Uhh, I'm not sure how LATAM has anything to do with this thread considering LATAM does not fly to Santiago de Compostella in Spain. The airport code for that is SCQ which is in no way to be confused by Santiago, Chile (SCL).

 

[dajop]

After all of that as well, I'm assuming it would be a LATAM issued ticket, so Qantas wouldn't be holding any money anyway.

Um I think you missed the “de Compestela” bit after Santiago !!

 

[TheInsider]

Um I think you missed the “de Compestela” bit after Santiago !!

I did.

Fact remains that the first sector will generally be of nil value.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Without knowing the specifics of your itinerary, your best bet would be to see if Qantas can rebook you onto a flight to Melbourne that is in business class.

Qantas offered flights in business class 4 hours earlier, the OP declined to take those.

 

[TheInsider]

Without knowing the specifics of your itinerary, your best bet would be to see if Qantas can rebook you onto a flight to Melbourne that is in business class. With that being said, it is not a big difference either way travelling in business or economy on such a short flight (although I would be pushing Qantas for original routing credit to ensure you receive business class status credits and points for the Canberra to Melbourne flight as it's not your fault that you couldn't travel in business on that leg).

As they stated they can go Business, but way earlier. Looks like we both can't read.

 

[Himeno]

Thanks, is she still at Jamieson?

The website for that location says so. My parents book their travel through her. Their last trip was in December.

 

[sudoer]

Looks like we both can't read.

I'd bet only one of you will admit it though!