Which airline do I contact for delays ?

[Big John]

Hi all

Never had to think about this before, so your assistance would be most appreciated. I had a quick look in the forums, but couldn't readily find the answer.

I have booked a QF reward flight (i.e. not revenue flight) in Y from SYD to NWR with the following itinerary :

Out : SYD to LAX on QF, then LAX to EWR on AS
In: EWR to LAX on UA, then LAX to SYD on QF.

3.5 hours transit in LAX both ways. Both legs are on the same PNR.

Query : Which airline do I talk to at the airport when the first flight of each leg is delayed ? i.e.

- If the outward QF flight is delayed, do I talk to QF or AS in SYD to change the AS flight ?
- If the inward UA flight is delayed, do I talk to QF or UA in NWR to change the QF flight ?

Unfortunately, QF's Conditions of Carriage do not make the answer obvious !

Your assistance would be most appreciated.

 

[DAC1]

How did you get a UA flight on a QF award ticket? Was this a points plus pay ticket (which is actually more akin to a revenue ticket) as opposed classic reward ticket?

 

[TheRealTMA]

Hi all

Never had to think about this before, so your assistance would be most appreciated. I had a quick look in the forums, but couldn't readily find the answer.

I have booked a QF reward flight (i.e. not revenue flight) in Y from SYD to NWR with the following itinerary :

Out : SYD to LAX on QF, then LAX to NWR on AS
In: NWR to LAX on UA, then LAX to SYD on QF.

3.5 hours transit in LAX both ways. Both legs are on the same PNR.

Query : Which airline do I talk to at the airport when the first flight of each leg is delayed ? i.e.

- If the outward QF flight is delayed, do I talk to QF or AS in SYD to change the AS flight ?
- If the inward UA flight is delayed, do I talk to QF or UA in NWR to change the QF flight ?

Unfortunately, QF's Conditions of Carriage do not make the answer obvious !

Your assistance would be most appreciated.

Generally you need to talk to the airline through which you booked, so QF. Best of luck with that.

 

[muppet]

I wouldn’t describe an award ticket as non-revenue … particularly during IRROPS as true non-rev pax get left behind during IRROPS.

In any event, the operating carrier that causes the misconnect is responsible for fulfilling the ticket. Although, easier said than done - most will attempt to direct you to the ticketing carrier (which is not correct).

 

[justinbrett]

If the QF flight is delayed you should be met at the gate at LAX by an agent with a fluro orange boarding pass for the next flight.

Unsure how that works going from UA to QF, but I doubt UA can do anything about your QF flight so would go straight to QF.

I doubt you can do anything for either until the first flight departs. So it’s done on misconnect, not in anticipation of a misconnect (unless a schedule change that’s caught during check in)

 

[encryptededdy]

In practice, I would do the following;

If the QF SYD-LAX is delayed whilst I'm in SYD and I'm confident I'll misconnect onto the AS flight, I could try talking to QF Check-In or Lounge staff in Sydney. Other than that though, I would just arrive at LAX and see what happens. Oftentimes it would've been resolved by the time you land.

Generally I'd try to avoid trying to resolve this on the phone with Qantas, and engage ground staff instead. For instance if for some reason you're not given a replacement boarding pass on landing in LAX, I'd approach the AS/QF counters (depending on which direction I'm travelling) first (if convenient) before trying to call Qantas.

 

[Himeno]

There are oneworld support teams based at major oneworld hubs, including LAX, and monitor inbound oneworld flights for possible misconnections.
If there is a problem with the QF flight into LAX, the oneworld team will meet you at the gate and either give you a boarding pass for a rebooked connection or help expedite you though any requirements to get to the flight.

That will cover the QF>AS connection if there is a problem.
If there is an issue coming the other way, they likely won't help and if UA doesn't fix it themselves, you'll have to find a QF agent to assist in the event of a problem.

In the event of a problem, you'll be more likely to get help at the connection point then before the first flight.


I've had 2 times where I've known while waiting for the first flight that I'd miss the connection. In both cases, I knew about the possible problem before the airline did. But that was when I was sitting at the gate/lounge waiting to board.
CBR-SYD-TYO. Weather in SYD, down to 1 runway. Delays everywhere. CBR lounge staff tried to wave me off when I asked about the delays until I pointed out that I had an international connection. Soon afterwards, there were 3 QF staff trying to find new routing via MEL.
CAE-PHL-LGA. ATC delays to northbound flights, weather delays to west bound flights. I had found a alternative routing on expertflyer and was making my way to the US agent when the airline called people with connections to come talk to them. They wanted to put in a hotel overnight either at CAE or PHL, then into NY the next morning, until I pointed out that I could get on the next flight to CLT and connect to JFK (getting me there the same night and not requiring them to pay for a room), which they then rebooked me on to.

 

[RichardMEL]

In the past LAX has been great like this. the oneworld team there has worked a few times for me on connecting itins (but not had an issue since covid so.... YMMV) but at least once met off AA inbound with BP's and all set to go to get to QF (in the end all was fine, but they were prepared anyway) and another time had BP's for pax waiting on a delayed arrival (I was not affected). If it's still working like that, I would have few concerns about an online connection at LAX as the setup there was very impressive that I've noticed.

 

[Quickstatus]

I had the OneWorld team assistance at LAX and also at SIN (pre Rona)

Though IIRC the LAX one had blue vest.

Both great service.
In SIN the OW agent could not walk faster than me - she was petite and she gave up trying to keep up with me. I assured her I knew my way around

 

[Himeno]

They have oneworld global support teams at LHR, MAD, JFK, MIA, DFW, ORD, LAX, NRT and HKG.
At other ports, it is up to each member airline to sort out any issues with their own flights. Some are better then others.

For example, if a QF flight to LAX is delayed where 30 people will miss connections to AA, the QF rep just has to talk to the AA rep in the same office and they work together to rearrange everything as needed.
Meanwhile, the same problem at SFO would likely require someone in Sydney to call Fort Worth, sort it out on the phone, then find someone at SFO to meet the flight with new boarding passes.

 

[elanshin]

Usually it's hard for them to action something before you're in the air en-route to your destination partly because it won't be known that your actually on the way with an accurate eta.

Even if you're in SYD and they already know it's impossible to make your connection at LAX, until your plane is off the ground, they won't know how long the delay will actually be. So while you could approach QF staff to inform them of the situation, it won't be actioned then.

I've had a 4hr delay from SFO > MEL which meant my connection to SYD at MEL is missed. About an hour before landing the crew informed me of my new rebooked flight and if there were any issues to speak to the service desk on the ground. I knew i had a missed connection while sitting at the lounge in SFO, but just raised it with the gate staff once before boarding.

 

[Himeno]

I've had a problem at HND before, back when AA was trying to make the JFK-HND night slots work.
I was booked CX HND-HKG-JFK then AA to BOS. Due to a typhoon the night before, the wind stopped the trains part way to the airport and CX check in closed before I (and some other people on the same train) could get there.
There were still CX staff at the check in desks when we arrived and they rebooked us to the next CX flight. However that meant that I'd now be going through CBP at JFK when my AA BOS flight was boarding (rather then the planned 6 hour wait at the airport for AA to open for the morning flights)

Because of the typhoon, the AA flight was delayed and they were checking people in. I went and spoke to them and the HND AA staff rebooked my JFK-BOS flight.

 

[justinbrett]

In any case it's all on the one PNR so you'll be rebooked, plenty of options in Y on that route (I assume OP means EWR, not NWR) - although could mean using JFK or LGA instead.

 

[Big John]

How did you get a UA flight on a QF award ticket? Was this a points plus pay ticket (which is actually more akin to a revenue ticket) as opposed classic reward ticket?

No idea how I ended up on UA ! The original booking was on AA. It then went through multiple versions over 8 months before ending up on UA. There was a time that my transit in LAX was 10 hours, which changed to 2 hours, which changed to 0.5 hours. It eventually self corrected without my intervention.

Not complaining, but just interesting !

 

[RichardMEL]

I wonder if AA exited the market and rebooked to UA as alternative. That's pretty neat if that's how it worked out.

Definitely makes far more sense that you were originally ticketed on AA as part of your reward.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Best contact depends on the timing and length of the delay or disruption.

If, prior to departure it is clear you cannot make the connection, speak to QF outbound and UA on the return. Both of those are responsible for getting you to the final stop on your ticket for that day.

If you already end up in LAX and miss the connection, speak to the next onward carrier. If you can’t find anyone from that carrier, contact the airline that brought you to LAX.

 

[Big John]

In any case it's all on the one PNR so you'll be rebooked, plenty of options in Y on that route (I assume OP means EWR, not NWR) - although could mean using JFK or LGA instead.

Yes, sorry I meant EWR. Original post edited accordingly.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Never had to think about this before, so your assistance would be most appreciated. I had a quick look in the forums, but couldn't readily find the answer.

I have booked a QF reward flight (i.e. not revenue flight) in Y from SYD to NWR with the following itinerary :
Out : SYD to LAX on QF, then LAX to EWR on AS
In: EWR to LAX on UA, then LAX to SYD on QF.

3.5 hours transit in LAX both ways. Both legs are on the same PNR.

Query : Which airline do I talk to at the airport when the first flight of each leg is delayed ? i.e.
- If the outward QF flight is delayed, do I talk to QF or AS in SYD to change the AS flight ?
- If the inward UA flight is delayed, do I talk to QF or UA in NWR to change the QF flight ?

Unfortunately, QF's Conditions of Carriage do not make the answer obvious !

Your UA flight on a QF award is unusual. Little surprised AA did not out you in AS (a close partner of AA). UA is not a ff partner of QF
Keep your boarding pass. A possibility have been put into a revenue UA fare class, so may be able to claim ff miles to a Star Alliance ffp or VA Velocity.

At the airport the airline causing the delay has to fix. But award flights can be more problematic.

 

[bmcc]

With apologies for the thread hijack, I have a related relevant question.

I have a QF awards flight coming up. The routing is:

1. HKG>PEK on Cathay in J
2. PEK>DXB on Emirates in F

The connection in PEK (1 hour 20 minutes) is legal, but tight, and I would say my chances of making the Emirates flight are around 50/50 from experience (the Cathay arrival into Beijing is consistently 30-40 minutes late).

If I misconnect, am I right in thinking that Emirates is my best recourse? The issue is they did not issue the ticket, and they were not responsible for the delay (which would be Cathay's problem). Cathay will likely not assist, and I can't imagine Qantas actually being willing to do anything.

Any experience / tips in this regard? Thanks!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

With apologies for the thread hijack, I have a related relevant question.

I have a QF awards flight coming up. The routing is:

1. HKG>PEK on Cathay in J
2. PEK>DXB on Emirates in F

The connection in PEK (1 hour 20 minutes) is legal, but tight, and I would say my chances of making the Emirates flight are around 50/50 from experience (the Cathay arrival into Beijing is consistently 30-40 minutes late).

If I misconnect, am I right in thinking that Emirates is my best recourse? The issue is they did not issue the ticket, and they were not responsible for the delay (which would be Cathay's problem). Cathay will likely not assist, and I can't imagine Qantas actually being willing to do anything.

Any experience / tips in this regard? Thanks!

Hopefully someone will be at the gate to meet you if you misconnect. Before then, you race for the gate. The gate agents there will rebook you. If they have packed up and left, go to the transit counter and ask for either cathay or EK.

You should be ok for a transit without visa in the event you overnight in China.