Qantas Revenue booking cancellations (under covid19)

[Mqrko]

I hope you mean that they offered you 110% value, rather than 10% off the original value.
Why was a refund not offered?

sorry yes, 110%.
they offered me a refund as well but it is very likely I'll be using all of it by december 2023
they also offered me 100SC to keep the voucher.

 

[Port Power]

sorry yes, 110%.
they offered me a refund as well but it is very likely I'll be using all of it by december 2023
they also offered me 100SC to keep the voucher.

This is all new. There has obviously been a rush of refund requests.

 

[zig]

sorry yes, 110%.
they offered me a refund as well but it is very likely I'll be using all of it by december 2023
they also offered me 100SC to keep the voucher.

Good offer if it works for you. I wasn’t offered anything to keep the vouchers I was seeking a refund on.

 

[Rangalad]

I am going to put in a bit of a guess here based on some knowledge but happy to be corrected (it's been that sort of month for me!)

JQ use a different booking platform and management system. A very much LCC centered platform with dedicated functionality.
QF OTOH use legacy amadeus with a lot of manual processing on top for any number of reasons. QF refunds are taking so long, I believe, because every single one has to be manually processed by a human by the far queue. and the agents are WFH and all the rest... so takes time with a huge volume

I imagine JQ's platform is much better at processing. It's probably a button push for them and all integrated much more easily.

One of the main reasons is, that codeshares aside, the vast majority of JQ bookings are done through THEIR portal on their system.... they have a much better control over the incomings and outgoings than the legacy of Amadeus (specially with the hodge podge way QF seems to implement things on the platform which is likely because of codt reduction rather than an issue with the GDS itself).

IMO

Post automatically merged: Jun 23, 2020

Good offer if it works for you. I wasn’t offered anything to keep the vouchers I was seeking a refund on.

Qantas has disabled the auto refund functionality.

 

[zig]

✔

Post automatically merged: Jun 23, 2020

Qantas has disabled the auto refund functionality.

I didn’t use the auto refund, I phoned the call centre to request a refund.

 

[maidmarion]

Not all domestic flights were cancelled.

Is there any way to find out if our flights were cancelled. I opted for the credit for my June flight from Sydney to Cairns. I did this in April when they were offering flight credits.

 

[Port Power]

Is there any way to find out if our flights were cancelled. I opted for the credit for my June flight from Sydney to Cairns. I did this in April when they were offering flight credits.

I had cancelled my March flights before Qantas did and they still gave me the refund for my credit voucher yesterday.

I just noticed it is also mentioned in the first paragraph of the AFF article published yesterday that Qantas must refund if requested even if pax cancelled before QF did.

 

[zig]

I had cancelled my March flights before Qantas did and they still gave me the refund for my credit voucher yesterday.

Refunds are being offered for flights from 17 March - 31May, so the June flights wouldn’t be covered.

 

[NM]

Is there any way to find out if our flights were cancelled. I opted for the credit for my June flight from Sydney to Cairns. I did this in April when they were offering flight credits.

My understanding is that the timing and sequence is important as to whether a refund or a credit is the correct outcome.

If you chose to cancel your flight booking at a time when the flight was still scheduled to be operating, then you are entitled to a credit. But if Qantas cancelled the flight while you stil had a confirmed booking and hence cancelled your flight booking and they automatically converted it to a credit (as was Qantas' standard practice) then you are entitled to request that Qantas provide a full refund. I have done this successfully when Qantas cancelled flights for which I had valid bookings and they had initially converted to a credit and I wanted a refund.

 

[serfty]

My understanding is that the timing and sequence is important as to whether a refund or a credit is the correct outcome.

If you chose to cancel your flight booking at a time when the flight was still scheduled to be operating, then you are entitled to a credit. But if Qantas cancelled the flight while you stil had a confirmed booking and hence cancelled your flight booking and they automatically converted it to a credit (as was Qantas' standard practice) then you are entitled to request that Qantas provide a full refund. I have done this successfully when Qantas cancelled flights for which I had valid bookings and they had initially converted to a credit and I wanted a refund.

I believe there was an additional impost by the ACCC in that if someone cancelled the booking for a Mid-March to end of May flight before Qantas had cancelled it to get a voucher, they can now ask for a refund instead. This may have been due to 'unclear' information published by Qantas around the time.

 

[Ade]

I also have a flight to India in August that I wont be going to, but in the process of figuring out how to cancel everything associated with that trip.

Hey @SeatBackForward , just wondering if you got around on how to cancel the tickets for your August trip? As mentioned earlier, I've got one to India booked via AMEX Qantas credit ... I tried calling AMEX a few times, but the waiting times were too long

 

[Berlin]

I'd prefer some action against Qantas taking their sweet a$#e to process those refunds. I got one by now but still waiting for over 2k for another one and keep calling basically once a week with various responses, depending where you end up. Funny how quickly they can always CHARGE their customers, it's pretty much instant

 

[JB expat]

Hey @SeatBackForward , just wondering if you got around on how to cancel the tickets for your August trip? As mentioned earlier, I've got one to India booked via AMEX Qantas credit ... I tried calling AMEX a few times, but the waiting times were too long

I got through to AmEx online at 4:50pm on the day this change in Q policy was announced. Spent a while on the phone while they went through the new Q refund/credit rules but the end result was (for a trip booked in early March for a 1 Oct departure):
- full credit to my AmEx within 12 weeks
- return of AMEX voucher with a credit life of 12 months which means I will have 2 vouchers, the current year's and this returned one

I'm fairly confident that I will get the credit to my credit card - I'm a bit skeptical re: the $450 credit return but will wait and see. If Qantas is telling those who booked directly 8-10 weeks, it makes sense that those of us who booked through a third party need to wait a bit longer. I'm happy that I'm getting a full refund though.

 

[maaz]

Hope someone can help me with the wording of the Qantas email I received on 19 June.

"Flight Credits and refunds

If you were originally booked to travel between 17 March and 31 May 2020 and, on or after 17 March:

you cancelled your flight (before we did), or

we cancelled or made a significant change to your flight,

and you received a Flight Credit, just a reminder that your other options include a refund. If this is your preferred option, contact us on 131 313. You won’t be charged any change or cancellation fees."

We booked our flights last year but were travelling in July-September 2020. These flights have been cancelled by Qantas. PER-SYD-SFO-MEL-PER business class for 2 pax.
I asked our travel agent about a refund in April and yes I could have had a refund at the time but it would be over $1,000 per person for a refund. We then applied and had our flights put in to a credit voucher which is currently controlled by the Travel Agent (it does not show up on my My Bookings page as other vouchers I booked and cancelled myself do).

From my reading of the Flights Credits and refunds email - we were originally booked to travel after 17 March (check), we cancelled our flight before Qantas did (check - all international flights are cancelled for July - September), we received a flight credit (check) - but our travel agent says we are not eligible for a refund unless we pay the $1,000 per person. But the email says "You won’t be charged any change or cancellation fees.

Am I reading the email wrong? Where is says "If you were originally booked to travel ...etc etc" do they actually mean if you "made a booking between 17 March and 31 May 2020 and, on or after 17 March:"

If they mean if you made a booking in those dates then I agree that we are not eligible for a refund with no fees but if they actually mean that if you have a booking to travel in those dates then I think we would be eligible for a refund with no cancellation fees.

I would really prefer to have this approx $12,500 in my bank account than floating around out of my control.
Hopefully someone can clear it up for me to know the next step to take.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Hope someone can help me with the wording of the Qantas email I received on 19 June.

"Flight Credits and refunds

If you were originally booked to travel between 17 March and 31 May 2020 and, on or after 17 March:

you cancelled your flight (before we did), or

we cancelled or made a significant change to your flight,

and you received a Flight Credit, just a reminder that your other options include a refund. If this is your preferred option, contact us on 131 313. You won’t be charged any change or cancellation fees."

We booked our flights last year but were travelling in July-September 2020. These flights have been cancelled by Qantas. PER-SYD-SFO-MEL-PER business class for 2 pax.
I asked our travel agent about a refund in April and yes I could have had a refund at the time but it would be over $1,000 per person for a refund. We then applied and had our flights put in to a credit voucher which is currently controlled by the Travel Agent (it does not show up on my My Bookings page as other vouchers I booked and cancelled myself do).

From my reading of the Flights Credits and refunds email - we were originally booked to travel after 17 March (check), we cancelled our flight before Qantas did (check - all international flights are cancelled for July - September), we received a flight credit (check) - but our travel agent says we are not eligible for a refund unless we pay the $1,000 per person. But the email says "You won’t be charged any change or cancellation fees.

Am I reading the email wrong? Where is says "If you were originally booked to travel ...etc etc" do they actually mean if you "made a booking between 17 March and 31 May 2020 and, on or after 17 March:"

If they mean if you made a booking in those dates then I agree that we are not eligible for a refund with no fees but if they actually mean that if you have a booking to travel in those dates then I think we would be eligible for a refund with no cancellation fees.

I would really prefer to have this approx $12,500 in my bank account than floating around out of my control.
Hopefully someone can clear it up for me to know the next step to take.

In April (when you decided to take action), I don’t think flights in July were being cancelled by Qantas (happy for someone to correct me as my recollection is foggy).

So this means you cancelled your whole itinerary into a flight credit before Qantas cancelled.

So you tick the box of cancelling after 17/3 and tick the box for cancelling before Qantas did, but you don’t tick the box of flights to take place between 17/3 and 31/5.

 

[Melburnian1]

I'd prefer some action against Qantas taking their sweet a$#e to process those refunds. I got one by now but still waiting for over 2k for another one and keep calling basically once a week with various responses, depending where you end up. Funny how quickly they can always CHARGE their customers, it's pretty much instant

Agreed. There needs to be a fine imposed, preferably at least $1 million. Interest rates are low at present, but there's still a benefit to companies holding on to your money. Most unfair on you.

Not all companies are publicly listed but directors of those that are like Qantas need to understand the need to behave morally and ethically. This hasn't occurred with the denied refunds, even if we accept some pressure on software and staff due to an unprecedented number of requests from passengers.

If what some on AFF say is the 'schoolchildren like' IT department can write programs to accept our money for fares, airlines can presumably just as easily write software that automatically refunds fares including any refundable taxes and charges.

It's hard to think of businesses that abuse this more than airlines. They get away with behaviour that's arguably worse than used car dealers.

Can we imagine Woolies or IGA holding on to our money for weeks upon weeks if we wanted a refund for an acceptable reason? The only changes the latter have made to their terms and conditions is because of a few panic buying toilet paper and then when they found it couldn't be sold on eBay, trying to bring it back to the store for a refund.

 

[Port Power]

Hope someone can help me with the wording of the Qantas email I received on 19 June.

"Flight Credits and refunds

If you were originally booked to travel between 17 March and 31 May 2020 and, on or after 17 March:

you cancelled your flight (before we did), or

we cancelled or made a significant change to your flight,

and you received a Flight Credit, just a reminder that your other options include a refund. If this is your preferred option, contact us on 131 313. You won’t be charged any change or cancellation fees."

We booked our flights last year but were travelling in July-September 2020. These flights have been cancelled by Qantas. PER-SYD-SFO-MEL-PER business class for 2 pax.
I asked our travel agent about a refund in April and yes I could have had a refund at the time but it would be over $1,000 per person for a refund. We then applied and had our flights put in to a credit voucher which is currently controlled by the Travel Agent (it does not show up on my My Bookings page as other vouchers I booked and cancelled myself do).

From my reading of the Flights Credits and refunds email - we were originally booked to travel after 17 March (check), we cancelled our flight before Qantas did (check - all international flights are cancelled for July - September), we received a flight credit (check) - but our travel agent says we are not eligible for a refund unless we pay the $1,000 per person. But the email says "You won’t be charged any change or cancellation fees.

Am I reading the email wrong? Where is says "If you were originally booked to travel ...etc etc" do they actually mean if you "made a booking between 17 March and 31 May 2020 and, on or after 17 March:"

If they mean if you made a booking in those dates then I agree that we are not eligible for a refund with no fees but if they actually mean that if you have a booking to travel in those dates then I think we would be eligible for a refund with no cancellation fees.

I would really prefer to have this approx $12,500 in my bank account than floating around out of my control.
Hopefully someone can clear it up for me to know the next step to take.

You might find that the cancellation fee is from your travel agent and not Qantas. Have you asked the TA that question? Otherwise, as you say that you cancelled the flights, you are not then entitled to a full refund from Qantas. What are your travel agent’s cancellation terms and conditions?

In the same situation with QR, my TA refunded the lot. They did not charge any fees (unlike a certain brand well known nationally).

 

[NM]

Hope someone can help me with the wording of the Qantas email I received on 19 June.

"Flight Credits and refunds

If you were originally booked to travel between 17 March and 31 May 2020 [A] and, on or after 17 March:

you cancelled your flight (before we did) [D], or

we cancelled or made a significant change to your flight [E],

and you received a Flight Credit [C], just a reminder that your other options include a refund. If this is your preferred option, contact us on 131 313. You won’t be charged any change or cancellation fees."

I think you have misunderstood the wording from Qantas.

The first part states"If you were originally booked to travel between 17 March and 31 May 2020" and from your presented information you were originally booked to travel in July-September. So you do not meet that criteria, so the next part that follows the "and" is irrelevant because you did not meet the first criteria.

Think of this as: If A and B and C are all true, then you may be entitled to a refund. And in this case for B to be true, either D or E must be true. And since A was not true, the criteria has not been met.

 

[NM]

I believe there was an additional impost by the ACCC in that if someone cancelled the booking for a Mid-March to end of May flight before Qantas had cancelled it to get a voucher, they can now ask for a refund instead. This may have been due to 'unclear' information published by Qantas around the time.

Yes, I believe that is for a small window when QF may have failed to disclose all the options available and may have suggested that inaction might result in loss of the "generous" offer of waived cancellation/change fees.

 

[Ade]

I got through to AmEx online at 4:50pm on the day this change in Q policy was announced. Spent a while on the phone while they went through the new Q refund/credit rules but the end result was (for a trip booked in early March for a 1 Oct departure):
- full credit to my AmEx within 12 weeks
- return of AMEX voucher with a credit life of 12 months which means I will have 2 vouchers, the current year's and this returned one

I'm fairly confident that I will get the credit to my credit card - I'm a bit skeptical re: the $450 credit return but will wait and see. If Qantas is telling those who booked directly 8-10 weeks, it makes sense that those of us who booked through a third party need to wait a bit longer. I'm happy that I'm getting a full refund though.

Thank you @JB expat - I will get on the phone with AMEX and see how I go. Will report back