Will Qantas pay EU261 compo for QF2 LHR 4hr+ delays?

[tobefree]

Hi all, I was on the July 7th QF2 flight which returned back to Heathrow after 5hrs into its LHR-SING flight with a tech fault. Qantas aircraft then didn't depart LHR for another 12hrs+.
I therefore should be eligible for EU261 compensation of Euros 600.... Am I right?
I have already emailed and requested EU261 directly...but been handballed from "Qantas Customer Care" to "Frequent Flyers" and now to "Qantas Direct Contact Centre' with standard form replies.
How should I deal with this if still no reply in say a few weeks?
Thanks for your advice.
.

 

[serfty]

How should I deal with this if still no reply in say a few weeks?

If you can have your mail delivered to an address in the UK then there is "MCOL" (Money Claim OnLine).

Qantas UK address is 401 King St, Hammersmith, London W6 9NJ, UK

Failing that, you could look here: The Airline Customer Advocate (ACA)

 

[tobefree]

Thanks Serfty.
Home is AU so a bit sad if I cant get this resolved in AU. Will be interesting to see if I get a non stock standard reply from "Qantas Direct Contact Centre" within the next week or so... Will keep up the posts while on this 'journey'. Cheers.

 

[Mattg]

Paging @samh004 to the white courtesy phone.

 

[samh004]

I was also on this flight, it was a hoot! @Mattg

Didn't much care for the ground staff in LHR in the arrivals hall, found them rude and incompetent. Further more, the hotel provided was awful, but when I flew that night I had been upgraded and I got to try all the lounges a second time and must say the lounge staff were fantastic!

It was a hectic morning, but I figured I was looked after well enough that I decided to give Qantas a break on compensating me as they were looking after me the whole time, as best they could given the circumstances.

All my points/SC posted and I still received the doubles from the double SC promotion I had registered for earlier in the year. At the end of the day, I made it to my destination, and in slightly more comfort than planned.

At the time, the thought did cross my mind to proceed. But I'm not sure why I should? Maybe others can convince me of the merits, beyond cash in pocket.

 

[serfty]

At the time, the thought did cross my mind to proceed. But I'm not sure why I should? Maybe others can convince me of the merits, beyond cash in pocket.

It's up to each individual - for me such a delay would likely mean the loss of a day's income, so any compensation available would be chased.

 

[UP4014]

I'm happy if the airlines can sort accommodation and get me back. Having had a longer delay than this one I was happy just to be looked after and did not pursue anything in consideration. Delays happy and if it's due to the machanical condition of the aircraft and I get a hotel I'm happy.

Personally, I would not be bothered in this instance, but everyone's situation is different for each trip.

 

[tobefree]

Thanks for the input. I really feel like pursuing this.
I had to get back to Melbourne urgently and purchased a one way LHR-MELB economy ticket totally with points plus pay. That cost 227000 points. A day's delay caused a lot of hassle and distress for family and work.
I would be very happy just to get a fair amount of points returned in lieu of cash. But struggling to get any direct answer from Qantas to date.

Agree the arrival back to Heathrow was a mess. I actually ended up escorting a first class passenger to the T4 Hilton. She had no idea where to go so happily did 'Qantas work'. But poor service not placing the dear old 80yr old directly in a cab from T3 in the first place!

OK, I've now got case numbers with both 'Qantas Customer Care' and 'Frequent Flyers'. And been handballed and waiting for a reply from 'Qantas Direct Contact Centre' Will give them another week or two....

 

[BD1959]

Agree the arrival back to Heathrow was a mess. I actually ended up escorting a first class passenger to the T4 Hilton. She had no idea where to go so happily did 'Qantas work'. But poor service not placing the dear old 80yr old directly in a cab from T3 in the first place!

If you think the ground-staff in T3 were rude and unhelpful ... try a cab driver going from T3 to just T4 ...

Regards,

BD

 

[samh004]

It's up to each individual - for me such a delay would likely mean the loss of a day's income, so any compensation available would be chased.

As you know, my job is internet based, so I quickly got in touch with my employer and then caught up with work on my laptop at the hotel. I very much appreciate how I can work from anywhere with internet

Personally, I would not be bothered in this instance, but everyone's situation is different for each trip.

Thanks for the advice

But poor service not placing the dear old 80yr old directly in a cab from T3 in the first place!

As I recall, half the problem was by the time we exited the terminal it was morning rush and the roads were log-jammed. I recall waiting for a bus for over an hour, and then spending near 30 minutes on it to an airport hotel. A taxi wouldn't have done much better, perhaps less waiting around.

 

[tobefree]

Yeap - LHR T3 to T4 equals one very grumpy cab driver.
The QF2 arrivals service desk staff were very respectful and apologetic to me. So no complaints there after the chaotic queue.
I also knew the roads around Heathrow would be a mess so caught the train. And this is where I got chatting to the elderly QF2 first class passenger.
Don't get me wrong, I was very happy to escort her over to T4 and she was very appreciative for the help. (It could have been anyone's Nanna.)
But I had enough on my plate dealing with my own issues caused by this plane delay ... let alone dealing with a lost, sweet little old lady which Qantas 'should' have looked after. She was paying enough! )a little rant..)

Anyway back on topic, what do you think is best pursuing - cash or reinstating points? Would just like to see a 'fair outcome'.

 

[serfty]

The cash (~AU$950) is basically a given; points would be a goodwill gesture on behalf of Qantas ...

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Airlines are required to provide care and assistance in addition to compensation under EU261.

The hotel and meals and whatever else had to be provided, by law. So they weren’t doing one thing over and above what they had to do anyway. (It’s all contained in EU261.)

The compensation is there to redress the passenger imbalance when things go wrong. A mechanical issue is unlikely to be extraordinary. And why wait 24 hours? Were there no other flights, on any other airline, that would arrive sooner? If an airline wants to save money by keeping a passenger on their own metal, they should pass on those savings, in the form of compensation, to the passenger.

Most people don’t claim their entitlement under the law. This reduces the incentive on airlines to improve their punctuality.

Passengers should claim the money to further the incentive. Points cost the airline nothing. Unless of course it’s some out of the park points offer, like 150k points or something. But even then, award seats are unsold seats, and QF makes a profit off the fuel surcharges.

 

[ftm]

We had clients on this flight and they contacted us after it became apparent to them that QF on the ground in London weren't doing much to help (never mind the Customer Journey Managers in Sydney who should have looking after the key people onboard while the aircraft was returning to London).

We just reissued them onto the lunchtime EK flight and they headed up to the lounge. QF weren't offering that, or any other option other than the 24hr delay, even though everyone was entitled to it.

It wasn't QF at its best.

 

[tobefree]

Qantas ground staff definitely did not offer me any alternatives other than on the QF2D that night.

 

[italianlover]

Thanks for the input. I really feel like pursuing this.
I had to get back to Melbourne urgently and purchased a one way LHR-MELB economy ticket totally with points plus pay. That cost 227000 points. A day's delay caused a lot of hassle and distress for family and work.
I would be very happy just to get a fair amount of points returned in lieu of cash. But struggling to get any direct answer from Qantas to date.

Agree the arrival back to Heathrow was a mess. I actually ended up escorting a first class passenger to the T4 Hilton. She had no idea where to go so happily did 'Qantas work'. But poor service not placing the dear old 80yr old directly in a cab from T3 in the first place!

OK, I've now got case numbers with both 'Qantas Customer Care' and 'Frequent Flyers'. And been handballed and waiting for a reply from 'Qantas Direct Contact Centre' Will give them another week or two....

Hi just wondering if you have heard anything from Qantas re compensation? I am assisting my 23 year old daughter with a claim. 12 hr delay to QF2 LHR-SYD 6/8 which resulted in costs for hotel overnight and meals. Passengers were issued with EU261 information at check in. Delay apparently a crew issue nothing to do with weather or an "extraordinary event". We have contacted customer care and now get this message when trying to attach documents despite using correct email.
Hello,

Thanks for getting in touch with Qantas.

It appears your reference ID is not valid. If this is in regards to a current case, please reply to the email associated to the case in order to ensure action. If this is new feedback, please submit this through the Customer Care form on Qantas.com

Kind regards,
Qantas Customer Care

Just a stalling tactic hoping we will go away???
I have sent another message via twitter as it seems they do eventually respond. Grateful for any feedback. Thanks

 

[samh004]

We had clients on this flight and they contacted us after it became apparent to them that QF on the ground in London weren't doing much to help (never mind the Customer Journey Managers in Sydney who should have looking after the key people onboard while the aircraft was returning to London).

We just reissued them onto the lunchtime EK flight and they headed up to the lounge. QF weren't offering that, or any other option other than the 24hr delay, even though everyone was entitled to it.

It wasn't QF at its best.

My emphasis. While I agree that their ground staff were woeful at best, the agents I spoke to over the phone were offering to rebook me here there and everywhere. I was offered EK. I was just a little worried that I wouldn't get my ORC and then the doubles on top of that, so was more insistent about keeping my flights.

Qantas ground staff definitely did not offer me any alternatives other than on the QF2D that night.

Staff were much friendlier on the phone

 

[tobefree]

Just an update. Today happily received an apology email from Qantas Customer Care with a payment form to complete!
So it has taken about 6 weeks since the Heathrow QF2 delay and in that time done a complete circle from Customer Care to QFF Centre to Direct Contact Centre and back to Customer Care..
By all accounts I've done well with this "quick" progress and cheers for the advice all! (And thank you Qantas..)

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Just an update. Today happily received an apology email from Qantas Customer Care with a payment form to complete!
So it has taken about 6 weeks since the Heathrow QF2 delay and in that time done a complete circle from Customer Care to QFF Centre to Direct Contact Centre and back to Customer Care..
By all accounts I've done well with this "quick" progress and cheers for the advice all! (And thank you Qantas..)

Thank you European Union! Without them no ‘thank you Qantas’!

 

[tobefree]

I ask Qantas about simply reinstating my points instead of a cash payment. The response was "Our Conditions of Carriage do state that we do not guarantee flight times, and we do not offer any form of recompense for flight delays. By way of explanation, Regulation EC261/2004 is a regulation applied to non-Community carriers in relation to flights they operate that depart from an airport located within the European Union.
This regulation is not under our control and is an European law. I am sorry I unable to reinstate the points used for your booking."
Would have been nice to get some points back as a goodwill gesture.. but happy with this payment outcome and nice QF staff who assisted.
So yeap, thanks to EU law for something back.