Very Disappointed with Qantas Grab for cash

[Martin Stobnic]

Hi all

I am writing this post as a caution to all bosses booking and paying for any flights for employees.

I have recently had the unfortunate situation where one of my staff advised at the last moment(SAT) that she is resigning and will not be travelling to Sydney(SUN)for work planned in Sydney for the week. I imediately rang Qantas upon finidng out this information to advise and to reallocate the seat for Sun and Thursday. I now find myself in a hopless situation of losing approximately $500. Even though Qantas clearly ackowledges that I paid for the ticket on credit card in my name they will not let me do anything with the return ticket in my employee's name because apparantly names cannot be transferreed even though it is comon practice for all the large airlines overseas. I thought that Qantas was on the same scale as the large International Airlines however after spending time on the phone with the supervisor of reservations to be told that nothing can be done other than crediting the ticket in HER NAME for 12 months, leaves a lot to be desired as the solution. Do they think that after an employee has caused me so much grief by resigning at the last moment and leaving me short of staff for an event in Sydney that I will give her a bonus return ticket to Sydney for this?

Any suggestions on how to handle this situation would be greatly apreciated. It simply does not seem just that nothing can be done to assist and that I will be wasting $500. I offerred to even pay to upgrade the ticket and then change the name as I was told that full tickets allow this. I am not even allowed to do this. Please help or at least be aware when booking tickets with Qantas because if you have a mishap as I have had you WILL BE OUT OF POCKET.

If anyone can suggest a course of action or can assist me please let me know.
Thanks for reading Martin

 

[haydensydney]

Hi Martin

Welcome to AFF.

Personally, I feel it is fairly unprofessional to mention the employee's name on a public forum. It may also be an idea to remove your mobile number - from a privacy perspective at least.

The changing of names on prior booked/paid tickets is usually quite difficult to achieve at the best of times - most airlines won't change names unless they specify openly that they will (i.e. Jetstar).

I would put this down to an unfortunate business reality: people leave occasionally and when they do, these types of scenarios will occur.

 

[Will]

1. Bad form to provide name of the employee, and with possible legal implications. I strongly advise you to edit your post.

2. If the ticket was fully flexible (ie booked in Y or B class) then you can refund the return segment.

3. If the ticket was not fully flexible, then "no name changes" is pretty standard. You may have recourse against the employee for some of the value of the ticket, but it is unlikely to be worthwhile pursuing it.

 

[samh004]

Surely this was in the terms and conditions and you could have read this when purchasing. Out of interest, have you checked if Virgin Blue would allow you to change the name on a cheapie fare? I would imagine they’d give you the same answer.

If you’re looking for a way to be vindictive, can you just cancel the ticket? You’re out of pocket, but it’s not QF’s fault, if you’re directing the blame it should be at your former-employee.

Also, I agree, names should not be posted online in this situation. I have asked a moderator to edit the post, if you don’t do it first

 

[koonyaflyer]

I have not ever had a problem transferring a credit for a Virgin Blue fare to another name, even cheapies. Mind you the credit was in my name, and I was booking for my husband in both cases. Just ends up expensive by the time you pay cancellation fees and phone booking fees!

 

[munitalP]

Hi all

I am writing this post as a caution to all bosses booking and paying for any flights for employees.

I have recently had the unfortunate situation where one of my staff advised at the last moment(SAT) that she is resigning and will not be travelling to Sydney(SUN)for work planned in Sydney for the week. I imediately rang Qantas upon finidng out this information to advise and to reallocate the seat for Sun and Thursday. I now find myself in a hopless situation of losing approximately $500. Even though Qantas clearly ackowledges that I paid for the ticket on credit card in my name they will not let me do anything with the return ticket in my employee's name because apparantly names cannot be transferreed even though it is comon practice for all the large airlines overseas. I thought that Qantas was on the same scale as the large International Airlines however after spending time on the phone with the supervisor of reservations to be told that nothing can be done other than crediting the ticket in HER NAME for 12 months, leaves a lot to be desired as the solution. Do they think that after an employee has caused me so much grief by resigning at the last moment and leaving me short of staff for an event in Sydney that I will give her a bonus return ticket to Sydney for this?

Any suggestions on how to handle this situation would be greatly apreciated. It simply does not seem just that nothing can be done to assist and that I will be wasting $500. I offerred to even pay to upgrade the ticket and then change the name as I was told that full tickets allow this. I am not even allowed to do this. Please help or at least be aware when booking tickets with Qantas because if you have a mishap as I have had you WILL BE OUT OF POCKET.

If anyone can suggest a course of action or can assist me please call me onxx_xx_xx_xx_. Alternatively, if you know a xx_xx_xx_xx_XX who needs a return trip to Sydney lt me know as I have some cheap flights.

Thanks for reading Martin

poor form old man, I have been in this situation with missed flights and employees many times, but never publicly shamed them!

Online checkin will solve all your problems wen you find a replacement body.

munitalP

 

[Martin Stobnic]

I have not ever had a problem transferring a credit for a Virgin Blue fare to another name, even cheapies. Mind you the credit was in my name, and I was booking for my husband in both cases. Just ends up expensive by the time you pay cancellation fees and phone booking fees!

Thank you for the info....From now on Virgin Airways it will be it seems.

 

[samh004]

Thank you for the info....From now on Virgin Airways it will be it seems.

For your staff, I’d just recommend the cheapest on the day, for yourself, go where you get the most benefits

 

[straitman]

Thank you for the info....From now on Virgin Airways it will be it seems.

Martin Stobnic,

Welcome to AFF.

As someone suggested earlier, the same type of fare rules apply with all airlines when you buy a discount ticket.

or the outcome with Virgin would be exactly the same!

 

[thewinchester]

I don't know how useful this will be to you, but we have this happen from time to time in the Government sector.

As you may know, Govt. agencies are generally bound by the best fare of the day rules (which is usually a Red eDeal from QF, or whatever Virgin is offering). From time to time, the employee will not be able to travel, ticket is held in credit and the employee then leaves.

Our advantage is that all our travel is booked under Common Use Arrangements (CUAs) meaning we have to go through a travel management company. In our case, it's Carlson Wagonlit.

When this scenario arises, all we do is fax them a notification that the employee has either left the company or will not be able to travel nor will they be travelling within the next 12 months. Once we've sent them this fax, they will deal with QF Reservations and have the credit transferred to the person we've specified on the fax.

This ensures that credits don't get wasted and we're not out of pocket too much through the year when these circumstances arise. Some agencies with heavy travel requirements can and do lose a couple of grand a month by not keeping on top of the problem. The smarter agencies who are on the ball know the process and ensure any credit held doesn't unnecessarily go to waste.

So, here's two possible suggestions:

1. Send Qantas a fax
   I can only find their Head Office fax number, which is (02) 9691 3339, so attention to Domestic Reservations to ensure it's routed correctly. Explaining the situation like I've mentioned above, include the details of the reservation in question and nominate the name of the person you'd like the credit moved to. Be nice, and stick to the facts - and facts only.
2. Chargeback
   If that does not work, look at your credit card & the Qantas conditions of carriage to see if you can legally request a chargeback through your credit card company for this. I won't advise on the legality of chargebacks, you need to look into this yourself.

Good luck.

 

[Martin Stobnic]

It seems Jetstar does not have a problem changing names on a ticket........

 

[oz_mark]

As someone suggested earlier, the same type of fare rules apply with all airlines when you buy a discount ticket.

or the outcome with Virgin would be exactly the same!

Depends where they were flying from. $500 may be a cheapie ticket (Perth) or not so cheap ticket (Mel).

 

[farstar]

It seems to me that it is not Qantas' fault that the OP's employee resigned and the terms and conditions were agreed to when booking.

Also how often does the OP expect this to happen or do his employees resign a lot. For $500 dollars for a once in a blue moon occurrence I would suck it up and move on.

 

[pauly7]

Seems bizarre to me a business owner doesn't know/understand the terms and conditions of products the company is buying.... Travel especially.

Good luck!

 

[odysseus]

If you’re looking for a way to be vindictive, can you just cancel the ticket? You’re out of pocket, but it’s not QF’s fault, if you’re directing the blame it should be at your former-employee.

There's nothing to show it's the employee's fault. They are entitled to leave an employer, and the reasons aren't given so it could well have been 'appropriate' for them to leave at such short notice.

If anything, the blame is with the purchaser, as they purchased a ticket that was not appropriate for their desired circumstances. There may be better choices for their situation, but since the employee presumably didn't force them to buy that ticket, and nor did the airline, the onus is on the purchaser to buy something that suits their needs.

I don't see how it would be vindictive to cancel the ticket. The employee isn't going to use it, so it's just going to sit empty. As QF aren't refunding, whether cancelled or not, they don't lose out either.

 

[straitman]

Depends where they were flying from. $500 may be a cheapie ticket (Perth) or not so cheap ticket (Mel).

I based my comment upon the inability to name change. If it was a discount ticket then name changes are not allowed. If it is not a discounted ticket then name changes are generally allowed.

To my knowledge this is pretty standard throughout the industry.



Sent from my iPhone using AFF Mobile

 

[oz_mark]

I based my comment upon the inability to name change. If it was a discount ticket then name changes are not allowed. If it is not a discounted ticket then name changes are generally allowed.

To my knowledge this is pretty standard.

Qantas don't allow it on most of their standard domestic fares, flexible or otherwise.

 

[farstar]

There's nothing to show it's the employee's fault. .

That is true except it depends on the terms of employment. For me I need to give 4 weeks notice. It is strange to be able to give such short notice unless you are casual without breach of contract.

 

[munitalP]

That is true except it depends on the terms of employment. For me I need to give 4 weeks notice. It is strange to be able to give such short notice unless you are casual without breach of contract.

or quit

there is no common law i am aware of that says you cannot quit and walk away from a job.


munitalP

 

[Travel Guru]

If you wanted a ticket you could refund, you should have purchased a flexible ticket...seems pretty simple to me.

Why should you be able to do a name change just because your employee has left? If they allow that, it just opens the flood gates...should they then be able to do a name change when Aunt Nelly gets sick and her niece wants to take her place? I think not.

TG