"Webjet"

[UP4014]

It's a convenience thing, you pay a bit more but the choices pop in front of you. Look at us, sitting here scouring airline websites and complaining about Virgins poor IT and the new QF look.

They make their money with the flyers who don't care or have the time in squeezing the last point or sc out of a fare.

Matt

 

[burmans]

It's a convenience thing, you pay a bit more but the choices pop in front of you. Look at us, sitting here scouring airline websites and complaining about Virgins poor IT and the new QF look.

They make their money with the flyers who don't care or have the time in squeezing the last point or sc out of a fare.

Matt

I agree, am really not sure what the issue is that people have with them apart from the "I'm so clever and can find things cheaper myself" line. Well true, but there are many examples across many industries where people are prepared to pay for convenience and thats what Webjet provides, for some people its worth the fee to have the convenience.

If thats not you well thats fine too but not sure we you need to whinge about it, its free choice here.

 

[anat0l]

I agree, am really not sure what the issue is that people have with them apart from the "I'm so clever and can find things cheaper myself" line. Well true, but there are many examples across many industries where people are prepared to pay for convenience and thats what Webjet provides, for some people its worth the fee to have the convenience.

If thats not you well thats fine too but not sure we you need to whinge about it, its free choice here.

I suppose one thing is that I don't like the way Webjet manifest their additional charges for "convenience". For example, a "fare lock guarantee" fee. Why don't they just call it a commission or booking fee and be done with it. Sure, the latter two don't exactly sound inviting...

Also, as many of us have mentioned, Webjet only has one key feature that airline websites don't have (but I suppose many online travel agents do), which is the ability to compare across many airlines and times in one view. They still need to provide a fair deal for those who choose to use their services, which should involve being upfront about fees, giving consumers a chance to make an equitable comparison, and, in some cases, actually function properly.

 

[Cynicor]

Surely part f the reason is that many other companies provide the exact same facility for no added fees. Expedia comes to mind, and a bunch of others. I don't think any of us expect the general public to scour the entire web, bt it isn't hard to search kayak or expedia instead of webjet.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

It's a convenience thing, you pay a bit more but the choices pop in front of you. Look at us, sitting here scouring airline websites and complaining about Virgins poor IT and the new QF look.

They make their money with the flyers who don't care or have the time in squeezing the last point or sc out of a fare.

I agree, am really not sure what the issue is that people have with them apart from the "I'm so clever and can find things cheaper myself" line. Well true, but there are many examples across many industries where people are prepared to pay for convenience and thats what Webjet provides, for some people its worth the fee to have the convenience.

Further to what I already mentioned in post #6 of this thread, I believe the consumer doesn't consciously make the decision that they are prepared to pay more for convenience because Webjet are deceptive by showing the exact same prices as what the airlines do so people think "well Webjet's prices are the same so we may as well book our JQ flight BNE/SYD & our VA flight SYD/BNE all at the time time" rather than make 2 separate bookings through the JQ & VA websites.

You only find out the hidden fare guarantees/processing fees/credit card fees if you happen to click on the miniscule link as Webjet blind you with the statement in bold font "all Webjet bookings include all airline fees taxes & charges" however they don't include all the over to top Webjet fees & charges including ones purported to be airline credit card fees when Webjet use their own merchant number & charge the pax hansomely for the privilege by way the their processing fees.

I'm quite sure some families think that the total amount displayed & charged to their credit card is the airfare price displayed on the first page multiplied by the number of pax they are booking for.

Airline Facebook pages are full of whinges by pax who have "made a booking through your Webjet website" so don't even understand the concept of Webjet being a third party website ie not the airline itself. When the pax has gone to change a booking & called the airline direct they have been correctly referred back to Webjet who of course add all their change fees on top of what the airline charges yet the pax still blame the airlines for the Webjet charges.

 

[jacksoo]

I would strongly advise anyone wishing to buy tickets online to think good and hard about using these clowns. I have spent the better part of last 25 years travelling the globe and this is the worst ticketing experience I have ever had. The problems started upon receipt of the itinerary from Webjet. There were two things that came immediately to my attention first off they had got the name of my travelling companion incorrect, my christian name and family name appearing with their christian name. For example if my name is John Butler and my partner is Julie Butler for some reason her ticket was now named Julie John Butler! Second, for the trip to the UK I was with Quantas on first leg (Brisbane-Hong Kong) and then BA to Heathrow. The itinerary showed baggage allowance on first leg as 30kg but on 2nd leg only 23kg!


DAY 1 - Called Webjet to try and get this sorted out. Was my allowance 30kg as with Quantas and they just flip bags on to BA? No! Apparently the allowance was in fact 23kg on both legs. Nice of them to send me bum information. So I could easily have turned up at Brisbane with 30kg (x2 passengers) only to be told that I had to either ditch 14kg of items or pay ~$250 in excess charges! Waaayyyy to go Webjet for sticking me a problem. Also ask them to change name of my companion but was cut off.....great start.


It gets worse. Day 2 - Called BA first just to confirm situation with baggage as between itinerary and telephone call with Webjet information was mixed. BA confirmed it was in fact 23kg per leg and Webjet should not have said it was 30kg as I would have faced excess charges. Called Webjet again.........


After a very long call , 55 mins, during which time I was told it would cost $75 to get the name changed (aaarrgghhhh) I was then told that in fact I could take 30kg of baggage and their itinery was correct! Now strike me dumb. You see, I think they were just trying to cover their backsides because I was pointing out to them that if they could make one clear error i.e. stating 30kg on the itinerary then they could also make the error of getting the name of my companion wrong. They insisted that it was impossible to get the name wrong and they don't make errors, thus the defence, despite evidence from BA and even Webjet the day before, that the itinerary and 30kg allowance was correct all along.


What a crock of *hit! After 2 hours on the phone with this lot I'm still getting conflicting information about the allowance and they still say they couldn't have got the name wrong. I asked for a screenshot of the page where I entered the data but they couldn't provide this so I was unable to prove my contention that I entered all the information correctly. They are also now applying tacit threats by saying how urgent it is to get the names changed (i.e I should cough up $75) implicit in this the fact that I could loose the flight & money! What a professional bunch these clowns are! So no further ahead, no idea about baggage allowance and no name change......been waiting 30mins for a promised call back (said 5mins) and quietly going bonkers.


I feel I've lost the will to live. My life is running away from me dealing with these people. This has to be the worst customer service I have ever experienced. Please, please take heed of my sad deranged experience and think LONG and hard about booking any flights with Webjet. You could live to regret it.

 

[anat0l]

jacksoo, welcome to AFF.

Upfront, none of the following is intended to exonerate Webjet in any way.

First, I assume you did not (or couldn't possibly) make a mistake when entering your names into the booking process. Apart from that, I would have also attempted to check the underlying e-ticket (e.g. if it was issued using Qantas ticket stock, then you could go to checkmytrip.com with the Qantas reference to check the ticket). If the names were incorrect there and you were sure that you didn't make a mistake entering your names in Webjet's engine, then you definitely have a case, albeit really unusual how it could manifest this way.

All said and done, $75 only would seem little pain relative to what they could do, e.g. refuse altogether the name change and/or force you to forfeit the ticket / pay fare difference. Then, you would have a much, much more difficult battle to fight.


As for the baggage, are your Brisbane - Hong Kong (Qantas, no u) and Hong Kong - London Heathrow flights connected? That is, you fly BNE-HKG then straight onto HKG-LHR (timing wise, this means a transit at Hong Kong airport of approximately six hours or so, if my memory of the timing serves me correctly).

Somewhat technically, Webjet are kind of correct. Assuming both of your flights are transit-connected, you would have the option when checking in at BNE to check your bags all the way to LHR. In this case, since the allowances of both carriers are different, the baggage allowance of the Most Significant Carrier (MSC, defined in IATA conventions) will apply. The MSC in this case is BA, so the BA baggage allowance (1 piece of no more than 23 kg) will apply when you check in at BNE.

However, if your flights are not connected and you have a stopover in Hong Kong, then you will likely only check your bags at BNE to HKG. In this case, it is possible to be accorded the QF allowance when you check in your bags going to HKG, and then the BA allowance when you check in your bags from HKG to LHR.

Still, if you had the six hour connection or so in Hong Kong, the two allowances may still apply if, for example, you go to HKG, claim your bags, take something out (e.g. a gift for someone), and then the resulting bag meets the onward carrier's allowance (BA in this case). For example, if you meet someone briefly for dinner and have something to give them. In that case, however, you would need to ask the staff in BNE to short check your bag to HKG so you can claim it there.

The previous two paragraphs are my understanding; I've been told in some cases the allowances have been marked on the tickets which may make the second of the two previous paragraphs difficult to work, or impossible.

What is not possible is for you to check your bag in BNE all the way to LHR (no claiming in HKG), and expect to have the QF allowance of 30 kg.


In the end, the agents cannot change your baggage allowance entitlement - it is up to the carrier. So unless the agent is the carrier (i.e. you bought the ticket on the airline's website), then baggage allowances should always be checked with the carrier.

 

[jacksoo]

Thanks for the feedback. I detest poor customer service and Webjet have been extremely poor since my first call. To answer your question; I told them if i was wrong no problem I'd cop the bill , could you please give me a screen shot of my data entry......they couldn't/wouldn't. Yeah, flights connect in HK limited stop so BA allowance applies. My issue is that they provided information that is wrong and could clearly cause an awful lot of problems or cost, even both. Their attitude in handle this issue has been somewhat derogatory and fluctuated hugely in detail. In later tel call they suggested that $75 was only for BA name change and could also be a charge for Quantas leg.......I'm just pretty pissed at the errors and then the tone in which they addressed my complaint. Shocking customer service. I wish I'd Googled this lot before I booked the tickets but unusually for me I just jumped on in. Having now Googled my complaint is just one of many, many out there. They have a poor track record bordering on criminal.....lots of stories of them calling travellers a day or two before departure claiming further charges had to be paid or the flights would be lost! What company pulls that kind of stunt?

jacksoo, welcome to AFF.

Upfront, none of the following is intended to exonerate Webjet in any way.

First, I assume you did not (or couldn't possibly) make a mistake when entering your names into the booking process. Apart from that, I would have also attempted to check the underlying e-ticket (e.g. if it was issued using Qantas ticket stock, then you could go to checkmytrip.com with the Qantas reference to check the ticket). If the names were incorrect there and you were sure that you didn't make a mistake entering your names in Webjet's engine, then you definitely have a case, albeit really unusual how it could manifest this way.

All said and done, $75 only would seem little pain relative to what they could do, e.g. refuse altogether the name change and/or force you to forfeit the ticket / pay fare difference. Then, you would have a much, much more difficult battle to fight.


As for the baggage, are your Brisbane - Hong Kong (Qantas, no u) and Hong Kong - London Heathrow flights connected? That is, you fly BNE-HKG then straight onto HKG-LHR (timing wise, this means a transit at Hong Kong airport of approximately six hours or so, if my memory of the timing serves me correctly).

Somewhat technically, Webjet are kind of correct. Assuming both of your flights are transit-connected, you would have the option when checking in at BNE to check your bags all the way to LHR. In this case, since the allowances of both carriers are different, the baggage allowance of the Most Significant Carrier (MSC, defined in IATA conventions) will apply. The MSC in this case is BA, so the BA baggage allowance (1 piece of no more than 23 kg) will apply when you check in at BNE.

However, if your flights are not connected and you have a stopover in Hong Kong, then you will likely only check your bags at BNE to HKG. In this case, it is possible to be accorded the QF allowance when you check in your bags going to HKG, and then the BA allowance when you check in your bags from HKG to LHR.

Still, if you had the six hour connection or so in Hong Kong, the two allowances may still apply if, for example, you go to HKG, claim your bags, take something out (e.g. a gift for someone), and then the resulting bag meets the onward carrier's allowance (BA in this case). For example, if you meet someone briefly for dinner and have something to give them. In that case, however, you would need to ask the staff in BNE to short check your bag to HKG so you can claim it there.

The previous two paragraphs are my understanding; I've been told in some cases the allowances have been marked on the tickets which may make the second of the two previous paragraphs difficult to work, or impossible.

What is not possible is for you to check your bag in BNE all the way to LHR (no claiming in HKG), and expect to have the QF allowance of 30 kg.


In the end, the agents cannot change your baggage allowance entitlement - it is up to the carrier. So unless the agent is the carrier (i.e. you bought the ticket on the airline's website), then baggage allowances should always be checked with the carrier.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Is it just the middle name of your travelling companion that is incorrect ie is her first name and last name on her passport what's on the ticket?

When I say ticket, I mean double check how the name is spelled on the eticket itinerary receipt in case it's different from what appears on the Webjet itinerary. How the name appears on the eticket will be how it's spelled in the airlines' reservation system.

I wish I'd Googled this lot before I booked the tickets but unusually for me I just jumped on in. Having now Googled my complaint is just one of many, many out there. They have a poor track record bordering on criminal.....lots of stories of them calling travellers a day or two before departure claiming further charges had to be paid or the flights would be lost! What company pulls that kind of stunt?

They are also now applying tacit threats by saying how urgent it is to get the names changed (i.e I should cough up $75) implicit in this the fact that I could loose the flight & money!

Sounds like a blatant case of blackmail by Webjet.

The booking is paid and ticketed (assuming you have the eticket itinerary receipt as evidence) so the airline(s) would have no reason to want to cancel your booking. The fact that the ticket may need to be a re-issue due to a name change shouldn't suddenly make your booking subject to cancellation as far as the airline is concerned.

 

[whatmeworry]

Did a dummy booking with Webjet... Wow $50 dollars in fees if I want a one way trip to Asia. What a ripoff.

One guy recalling his experience with Webjet.
https://youtu.be/o1nHUDBRlgQ