Reimbursement/refunds due to disruptions caused by volcanic ash

[Austman]

How are Qantas handling your reimbursement/refunds due to flight disruptions caused by volcanic ash?

I was stranded in New Zealand for some days and I eventually bought an Air New Zealand ticket to get home. I'm now in the process of claiming on my Travel Insurance, which requires that I first claim what I can from the carrier (Qantas).

When Qantas first cancelled my flight, they told me that no reimbursement at all would be offered as I was not in transit. They continued with that advice over the next days and the on-going flight cancellations. There were however re-booking and refund offers made. Eventually I took the Qantas refund offer and bought a ticket on Air New Zealand. When I returned home, I contacted Qantas Customer Care to request a letter that my Travel Insurance provider required, which detailed the cancellations and any offered compensation. I was then told that Qantas would pay for accommodation, meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and transfers for stranded passengers. Customer Care emailed me a letter with those details and the information also appeared on the Qantas website. Thank you Qantas! A few days later the lunch and dinner compensation offers were dropped from the website and the accommodation offer became limited to 3 nights.

I've submitted my claim to Qantas some days ago via the link Refund Claim Form due to Volcanic Eruption in Chile but have heard nothing back - not even an acknowledgement email that it's been lodged. I've claimed, as per my letter from Qantas, for all meals. I thought the link was a good idea but it's a bit hard to get all your expenses scanned and put into a single file that's smaller than 0.5 MB. It's also been 11 days since I requested a fare refund. It hasn't happened yet but I was warned that it would take some time.

I've also sent off a claim to my Travel Insurance provider for the additional cost of my Air New Zealand ticket over the eventual Qantas ticket refund. And for $55.00 in phone calls (5 calls totalling 19 minutes - thanks to international roaming costs) when I contacted Qantas, at their request, to re-book the cancelled flights.

So far for me it's been a lot of paperwork, but no results yet.

How are others going?

 

[Sprucegoose]

Who is the travel insurance underwriter?Let's us know how you get along

 

[Mal]

It shouldn't have to be that hard.

Qantas needs to review their customer service and how they handle incidents like this one. This isn't something new, it is a repeat of a previous experience that they've handled, and will be repeated yet again numerous times over the next few years.

Their compensation policy is way too generous IMHO. Stuff the travellers who are stuck. They should be offered a refund, nothing more. Travel Insurance (And you've done the right thing) is the direction for getting reimbursement for meals, hotels etc.

Anyways, good luck with the insurance claim. The information requested sounds standard - so they don't seem to be handling this poorly. Qantas does need to pick up their act though.

 

[Austman]

Who is the travel insurance underwriter?Let's us know how you get along

Mine is Zurich Insurance. It's the free Travel Insurance included for Citibank Plantinum credit cards.

They have some info on this stituation: Zurich Financial Services - Flight disruptions due to volcanic ash cl; credit card insurance

Their claim form is 12 pages long ...

 

[Robert K]

Mine is Zurich Insurance. It's the free Travel Insurance included for Citibank Plantinum credit cards.

They have some info on this stituation: Zurich Financial Services - Flight disruptions due to volcanic ash cl; credit card insurance

Their claim form is 12 pages long ...

Their job is to make it as hard as possible for you to claim money

 

[straitman]

Their job is to make it as hard as possible for you to claim money

Not really.

Their job is to ensure that all the requirements are in place before they pay you the money. They cannot simply hand out the cash as they get audited in both a positive and a negative sense.

 

[Robert K]

Not really.

Their job is to ensure that all the requirements are in place before they pay you the money. They cannot simply hand out the cash as they get audited in both a positive and a negative sense.

omg it's a joke. did you not see the winking face -.-

 

[Pvcmenace]

I'm traveling to Hobart this Friday so am worried about this situation also, as there is a possibility of more disruptions. Does anybody rely on insurance covered by their credit card. I've never made a claim before, whereas friends of mine make it a ritual to go to the police station on every holiday to file a report to claim when they get home, subsequently I no longer travel with them as it totally grinds my gears.Regards

 

[pshepvic]

Amex platinum insurance (ACE) is fine with our claim for being stuck in Tassie - all they need is a letter from JQ saying the flight was cancelled - let's see how long that takes though!

(Mind you, they said the refund for the flight would be up to 6 weeks, but I received an email today saying it had been authorised and would be paid within 5 days).

 

[opusman]

I was stuck in Hobart for 3 days due to ash, filled in the form on the Qantas website for reimbursement of hotel expenses after I got back. 3 days later got a call to say claim had been approved for $750 :mrgreen:

Could have claimed for food too but I actually enjoyed my extra 3 days in Hobart and would have felt a bit guilty claiming for that as well.

 

[Austman]

A week has passed since I submitted my claim to Qantas. Yesterday Qantas acknowledged my claim form by email and asked for my credit card details. I've heard nothing yet from my insurance company.

 

[Austman]

An update.

Dates I was stranded in NZ: 13th, 14th June.
Date I flew on Air NZ, WGN-MEL: 15th June.

Claim 1: I cancelled my Qantas ticket and requested a refund (as per their offer), by phone call, on 15th June.
Claim 2: I submitted my compensation claim (hotel and meals, as per their offer) to Qantas, via their website link, on 22nd June.
Claim 3: I claimed other costs (Air NZ ticket extra cost and phone calls) to my travel insurance provider, by snail mail, on 23rd June.


Progress:
Claim 1: On 3rd July Qantas advised by email that the refund should be processed in 3 business days. Nothing has been paid yet.
Claim 2: On 28th June Qantas acknowledged my claim and requested my credit card details. Nothing has been paid yet.
Claim 3: On 1st July, Zurich Insurance paid my claim (minus the $200.00 excess) directly into my bank account.


It was the first time I have made a claim on my credit card travel insurance. Apart from the 'mountain' of paperwork they required, it seemed to be fast!

 

[markis10]

Thats a quick claim, well done, QBE took 8 weeks with my claim for the cyclone in DRW!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Their compensation policy is way too generous IMHO. Stuff the travellers who are stuck. They should be offered a refund, nothing more. Travel Insurance (And you've done the right thing) is the direction for getting reimbursement for meals, hotels etc.

Not sure if you're joking here?

Offering a refund is useless when the next cheapest (full economy fare) is $1000 (which I saw reported for some trans-tasman flights on NZ for example).

Making the airline pay for its breach of contract, in full, is the correct thing to do.

If we all turn to insurance that will put up the premiums in future.

Insurance is certainly not there to allow QF the luxury of cancelling flights left right and centre without responsibility.

 

[Mal]

Not sure if you're joking here?

Offering a refund is useless when the next cheapest (full economy fare) is $1000 (which I saw reported for some trans-tasman flights on NZ for example).

Making the airline pay for its breach of contract, in full, is the correct thing to do.

If we all turn to insurance that will put up the premiums in future.

Insurance is certainly not there to allow QF the luxury of cancelling flights left right and centre without responsibility.

Nope, not joking, and I apologise in advance if people are offended.

It's a weather event. Out of the control of the airline. Why should they mollycoddle people, pay for replacement flights and/or accommodation? Qantas were using sound judgement to cancel flights.

The traveller who CHOOSES to not have Travel Insurance is accepting the risk and deciding they wish to self-insure. Fine, except when things go bad and then the traveller who CHOSE not to get insurance then wants the rest of the world assisting them.

I see this type of event time and time again. Society goes "Oh, Poor You. We must help". But, if the person had've done their true diligence, they wouldn't be in the position where society needs to assist.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Nope, not joking, and I apologise in advance if people are offended.

It's a weather event. Out of the control of the airline. Why should they mollycoddle people, pay for replacement flights and/or accommodation? Qantas were using sound judgement to cancel flights.

The traveller who CHOOSES to not have Travel Insurance is accepting the risk and deciding they wish to self-insure. Fine, except when things go bad and then the traveller who CHOSE not to get insurance then wants the rest of the world assisting them.

I see this type of event time and time again. Society goes "Oh, Poor You. We must help". But, if the person had've done their true diligence, they wouldn't be in the position where society needs to assist.

But I absolutely refuse to have to pay (through insurance premiums) for breach of contract (within the airline's control).

yes it was a weather related event.. but Qantas chose to be overly cautious. Which is fine, but they then should pay for that decision.

They should be ones that pay for deciding not to fly rather than fly under the ash cloud like other airlines.

It's a little bit similar to travel warnings by DFAT. If they issue a 'do not travel' then Qantas and other airlines allow you to reschedule. But if it's one step below that, Qantas does not allow you to reschedule, even if you the passenger want to be 'overly cautious' and even if you are using sound judgement (think of the bangkok riots, there were times when the travel advice was still just 'extreme caution' IIRC).

What about if you wanted to cancel your flights to Tokyo right now? would QF let you free of charge on the basis you decided to be overly cautious?

In this case, the regulator did not say 'it is not safe to fly' - they didn't close airspace. Qantas chose therefore to take the path it did and should pay, contractually, for that.

 

[Austman]

An update.

Dates I was stranded in NZ: 13th, 14th June.
Date I flew on Air NZ, WGN-MEL: 15th June.

Claim 1: I cancelled my Qantas ticket and requested a refund (as per their offer), by phone call, on 15th June.
Claim 2: I submitted my compensation claim (hotel and meals, as per their offer) to Qantas, via their website link, on 22nd June.
Claim 3: I submitted other costs (Air NZ ticket extra cost and phone calls) to my travel insurance provider, by snail mail, on 23rd June.


Progress:
Claim 1: On 3rd July Qantas advised by email that the refund should be processed in 3 business days. On 5th July the refund appeared in my credit card account, dated 1st July.
Claim 2: On 28th June Qantas acknowledged my claim and requested my credit card details. Nothing has been paid yet.
Claim 3: On 1st July, Zurich Insurance paid my claim (minus the $200.00 excess) directly into my bank account.

So, as of today, two out of three have been paid. One to go...

 

[Travel Guru]

Nope, not joking, and I apologise in advance if people are offended.

It's a weather event. Out of the control of the airline. Why should they mollycoddle people, pay for replacement flights and/or accommodation? Qantas were using sound judgement to cancel flights.

The traveller who CHOOSES to not have Travel Insurance is accepting the risk and deciding they wish to self-insure. Fine, except when things go bad and then the traveller who CHOSE not to get insurance then wants the rest of the world assisting them.

I see this type of event time and time again. Society goes "Oh, Poor You. We must help". But, if the person had've done their true diligence, they wouldn't be in the position where society needs to assist.

I completely agree with you Mal, I don't see it at all as a breach of contract, and people should learn to have adequate travel insurance.

@Mel_Traveller - I'd be more concerned about people making dodgy claims for things they didn't lose or cancellation benefits they weren't entitled to driving up your premiums before you worry about the odd natural disaster affecting them.

TG

 

[serfty]

Nope, not joking, and I apologise in advance if people are offended.

It's a weather event. Out of the control of the airline. Why should they mollycoddle people, pay for replacement flights and/or accommodation? Qantas were using sound judgement to cancel flights.

The traveller who CHOOSES to not have Travel Insurance is accepting the risk and deciding they wish to self-insure. Fine, except when things go bad and then the traveller who CHOSE not to get insurance then wants the rest of the world assisting them. ...

But I absolutely refuse to have to pay (through insurance premiums) for breach of contract (within the airline's control).

yes it was a weather related event.. but Qantas chose to be overly cautious. Which is fine, but they then should pay for that decision....

I completely agree with you Mal, I don't see it at all as a breach of contract, and people should learn to have adequate travel insurance....

I have travel insurance, but would not have accessed it in this case.

Instead I would have availed myself the airline's offered compensation as MEL_Traveller has done.

There are two main reasons for this:

1. Excess! To claim though my Insurance would have resulted in me being out of pocket.
2. The Insurance underwriter will almost certainly a claim on the airline after paying the claimant out (less excess).¹

In this specific instance, I believe Qantas were being a bit twee. They were so concerned for the safety of their PAX that they rebooked many PAX onto the flights of other carriers who were operating (including professional rugby league players onto AirNZ).

¹ When analysing most claims, underwriters assess the likelihood of alleviating some or all of any payout with a subsequent claim against another entity, such as an airline. When accepting payout on a claim the insured generally assigns all rights to such subsequent claim to the underwriter.

 

[Austman]

I have travel insurance. But as part of the claim process the insurer required written details from the travel provider (Qantas in my case) of any compensation or refunds offered. So I contacted Qantas to get the letter and it was only then that they offered to pay for accommodation and meals (they had said no two times earlier, on the phone). If Qantas had not offered it, I would have claimed accommodation and meals on my travel insurance. Qantas never did offer to transfer me nor any of my fellow strandees at the hotel where I was staying over to an Air New Zealand flight.