I very nearly had a major issue on my flight PER x SYD - YVR on Wednesday. We had initially booked CX PER x HKG x JFK - YVR, but changed (with a nightmare 3 hour call to US) to a direct SYD-YVR flight. I had previously booked separate MEL-PER-MEL flights, and the US agent had some issue with giving me an open jaw PER - MEL, as I wanted th outgoing to start from MEL. Somewhere along the line they decided that my initial booking was illegal (I suspect going HKG-JFK-YVR & the same on the return), and as I couldn't find anything else for my return dates I asked them to leave it alone. The upshot was that they lost part of my return (HKG-PER) and had to contact CX to get another seat released which took another 3 days. I kept checking the saudia site, but it didn't update the changes, & as I could see the eventual confirmation on the CX site, assumed (wrongly) that everything was kosher.
We arrived at PER at 0400 for the 0530 PER-SYD leg & went to check in & the QF agent reaches for the phone & after some discussion says that my ticket hadn't been issued, but my wife's was all in order. She refused point blank to help & directed me to the next terminal to find wifi & chase up with US. I didn't have my mobile, & didn't have any US contact details & she wouldn't help with any, so I asked for her supervisor. He was only slightly better & did get a Sydney AA number for me. Fortunately my wife had her mobile, as he was directing me to a pay phone. After being on hold for over 15 minutes, I finally got to talk to an AA agent, who tried to transfer me but the call dropped out. I re-dialled and had another wait (slightly shorter) & gave the agent the story (flight about to close & failed transfer call etc) & she got me to a US agent. The fun didn't end there though, as I hadn't opened my laptop to get the booking details, & the QF supervisor had written them down with the wrong e-ticket number & only the QF PNR. The US agent couldn't find any record and couldn't find anything in my name, but by this time I had my laptop open & gave the US PNR. She put me on hold & I managed to get the supervisor to check our luggage in so that it would get on the flight (it was now 0500) while she was sorting out the booking. As he finished tagging the luggage, she came back on to say that she had issued a new ticket, & the QF bod could see it as well. I had already sent the +1 down to oversize with the skis as soon as he had tagged them (my main reason for not trying OLCI in the 1st place), and we made it onto the plane just before they closed the doors.
I am not at all impressed by QF in PER. I had an issue a couple of years ago overseas with a BMI award ticket on SQ, that had also been subject to a change. The SQ agent couldn't have been more helpful and sorted it out between herself and the BMI agent at the airport. And again when I lost my passport in the US and was coming back with VA. Again the agents couldn't have been more helpful, finding a motel for us close to LAX (it was late at night), and moving us to the following days flight via SYD (they didn't have a direct LAX-MEL) flight that day, & even bumping us up to business for the SYD-MEL leg.
:mrgreen:
