Loss of exit row - Facebook rant

[justinbrett]

I just saw this on facebook - a public post to Qantas (you should be able to find it via the Qantas page).

I am expressing my utter disgust and disappointment at my treatment from QANTAS yesterday and today.
I have had my tickets booked flying Sydney to Los Angeles since the beginning of February.
As we are a large group flying together we pre-booked our seats so we could be assured that we would be seated together as we have 5 small children travelling with us.
We paid a premium (more that $1500) to book seats together and extra leg room for the taller adults.
We logged onto our ...Frequent Flyer account to check last minute details as we fly out on the 12th October, only to discover that all of our booked seating has been wiped and we were scattered throughout the plane with my minor children sitting nowhere near me.
I called QANTAS yesterday to try and have this situation rectified only to be told by the “customer care” staff that QANTAS can change the seating whenever they feel like it and they will not be either putting us back into our seats we had chosen more than 8 months ago, nor would they be refunding our money.
There is a loophole apparently that states that Gold and Platinum Frequent Flyer passengers have the right to basically get priority seating and they can kick Bronze and Silver members out of their seats no matter how long ago those people booked.
Because the flight is so close to take off they were unable to seat us together hence my young children not sitting with me, on an overnight long haul international flight.
To say I am disappointed is an understatement at the fact that a much anticipated family holiday is now off to such a sad start and my husband and I will not be sitting together nor with my children.
I don’t think a system that means people who book last minute have the right to completely disrupt a family just because they have a marginally higher ranked Frequent Flyer level is either fair, just or Australian.

So many negative comments against Qantas - but I think the post is B.S.

Yes, she probably got kicked out of the exit row for a P1 customer - but she'll definitely get a refund of any seat selection fees paid, and whilst they might have different seats now (note - they aren't actually flying for 48 hours) - that should be fixed prior to them arriving at the airport.

Lots of elite FF bashing in the comments too!

 

[opusman]

I don't see why it's BS. You'd be annoyed if Qantas did it to you.

 

[GoldCanyon340]

It's "book", not "pre-book".

 

[Denali]

For the life of me, I do not understand how and why minors are seated separately from their parent/adult when on the same booking.

If this was me (stuck in Y with kids and paid exit or bulkhead), the rage could make me one of those, "never fly QF again" people.

I've seen AFFers voice disappointment over losing an aisle seat in J or F so I understand the Facebook rant.

 

[UP4014]

I don't think its BS, if they paid and QF took the money first they should get the seats.

That's is really appalling treatment and QF fails t deal with it properly yet again.

If you wanted the 4 tyres on you car changed and they did 3 and said here is the money back for the 4th bald one sorry another customer bought it I wouldn't be happy, I didn't get what i asked and paid for.

Airlines do need to be held to account more. Just waiting for someone here to be bumped out of a paid exit row seat, the Sparks will fly.

I've been on flights where people had been charged for an exit row and didn't get it. That's a fail.

Matt

 

[justinbrett]

I don't see why it's BS. You'd be annoyed if Qantas did it to you.

No - BS that they wouldn't get a refund. And not able to sit together.

It has actually happened to me as a Gold member flying LAX-SYD quite a few years ago. Well, I didn't pay for the exit row and I was travelling solo, but I got bumped. They looked after me on the day though.

 

[justinbrett]

For the life of me, I do not understand how and why minors are seated separately from their parent/adult when on the same booking.

If this was me, the rage could make me one of those, "never fly QF again" people.

I've seen AFFers voice disappointment over losing an aisle seat in J or F so I understand the Facebook rant.

I think benefit of the doubt for Qantas - the flight isn't until Thursday (~48 hours away). They'll most certainly fix it prior to or on check in at the airport.

 

[mannej]

Gremlins due to an equipment change is it? I’m assuming as it’s ~48 hours away so under airport control and not much the call centre can do at this stage

 

[RooFlyer]

They'll most certainly fix it prior to or on check in at the airport.

That's confidence! I wouldn't utter the words "certainly fix it" in relation to ANY airline and Qantas is one of those at the bottom of the list.

Paying J pax have been bumped back to Y or off the flight and basically told to get lost when they sought compensation.

 

[UP4014]

I think benefit of the doubt for Qantas - the flight isn't until Thursday (~48 hours away). They'll most certainly fix it prior to or on check in at the airport.

They shouldnt have to fix it, the customer has paid already and it was in place. I don't want to pay for an exit row when I buy a ticket and hope check in can fix it for me when I get to the airport.

I'm a great supporter of QF and when this sort of stuff happens I wonder why.

 

[Hvr]

I wonder if any of the highlighted issues below are involved?

From the interesting page on Qantas regarding Exit Rows:

Exit Row seats are not available if you are part of a group booking (9 passengers or more in one booking).

To find out which aircraft you will be travelling on+, log in to Manage Your Booking, retrieve your booking and click on the flight number.

To book an exit row seat, you must:

• be at least 15 years old;
• be able to assist in the unlikely event of an emergency;
• be able to understand and carry out instructions;
• not be travelling with someone that needs your assistance in an emergency;

 

[justinbrett]

That's confidence! I wouldn't utter the words "certainly fix it" in relation to ANY airline and Qantas is one of those at the bottom of the list.

Paying J pax have been bumped back to Y or off the flight and basically told to get lost when they sought compensation.

I meant fixing the family not sitting together. Not the exit row - I'd say that's gone for them.

I also wonder if being such a large group (she doesn't specify how many) has anything to do with this? Separate bookings?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

No - BS that they wouldn't get a refund.

I can see how this misunderstanding would arise. Refunds for paid seating is only provided after the flight has departed. So the passenger may have demanded an instant refund and been denied. In cases like this it should be mandatory for an instant refund if the passenger wants it, or proactively managed by the airline. Pax should not be left paying for a service they will not receive, nor have to submit a refund request. I'd be interested to know if it's even legal for the airline to impose a limit on the time to lodge a refund request in these cases. I'd have though consumer laws would override the time limit.

• If your seat is changed by Qantas for operational, safety or security reasons, or you are affected by a flight disruption, you may apply for a refund after departure by completing the refund form. Refunds can only be requested after departure of the affected flight. Refund requests must be lodged at qantas.com no later than 3 months after the affected flight.

 

[drron]

Definitely not BS.In fact I would call it a QF scam.They have had $1500 for 8 months and probably will keep it for another 2-3 months.Should be instantly refunded if asked for.
Why pay to book seats on QF.There have been other stories just like this on social media.

 

[RooFlyer]

There have been other stories just like this on social media.

... including here on AFF!

 

[justinbrett]

Definitely not BS.In fact I would call it a QF scam.They have had $1500 for 8 months and probably will keep it for another 2-3 months.Should be instantly refunded if asked for.
Why pay to book seats on QF.There have been other stories just like this on social media.

I am surprised by the number of people quick to get on the "bash QF" bandwagon based on a single facebook rant. I expected it from facebook, not here.

We don't know all the facts. We are relying on this person telling the entire story truthfully, and that she has got sound advice from the call centre operator. I'm tipping it's likely she got some really bad advice, and she's neglected to tell us one or two pieces of vital fact (ie, the group has 20 pax taking up the first three rows in economy including the entire exit row). Don't know. It could be 100% correct.

The only issue I have here is whether QF can bump a Nil/Bronze/Silver member for Gold/Plat/P1. I've heard of this happening but can't see any written reference to it - probably prior to paid seating (it happened to me prior to paid seating but I was never told why). I think Qantas is pushing it by classifying the change for "operational" reasons - sounds like commercial reasons to me. Regardless of the reason I am sure Qantas is not intending to keep their money or split the family apart.

I take these social media rants with a good helping of salt - knowing there are always two sides to every story.

 

[trooper]

Could it be related to exit rows and 5 small children?

 

[UP4014]

I am surprised by the number of people quick to get on the "bash QF" bandwagon based on a single facebook rant. I expected it from facebook, not here.

We don't know all the facts. We are relying on this person telling the entire story truthfully, and that she has got sound advice from the call centre operator. I'm tipping it's likely she got some really bad advice, and she's neglected to tell us one or two pieces of vital fact (ie, the group has 20 pax taking up the first three rows in economy including the entire exit row). Don't know. It could be 100% correct.

The only issue I have here is whether QF can bump a Nil/Bronze/Silver member for Gold/Plat/P1. I've heard of this happening but can't see any written reference to it - probably prior to paid seating (it happened to me prior to paid seating but I was never told why). I think Qantas is pushing it by classifying the change for "operational" reasons - sounds like commercial reasons to me. Regardless of the reason I am sure Qantas is not intending to keep their money or split the family apart.

I take these social media rants with a good helping of salt - knowing there are always two sides to every story.

The trouble we've seen it all before or even been in the same situation ourselves with QF.

QF is certainly an above average airline let down woefully by its customer care in situations this this.

This web site is social media (slightly more refined one hopes )

Qantas was happy to take the money and now two days before they have to deliver they change their mind.

People posting a detailed complaint to Facebook are showing a degree of desperstion to get their complaint dealt with.

Here is a Qantas refund story. Booked a Qantas holiday, Qantas cancelled the flights, not the customer and a refund was requested. It took 2 months for the money t come back. The comment from Qantas was we don't always give a refund even if we cancel the ticket.

The arrogance sometimes is astounding.

Lucky for Qantas they are a big fish in a small pond so they have the mass to ride through stuff ups.

Having said all that, I rarely have bad service when on a QF aircraft and am generally pleased.

Matt

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I am surprised by the number of people quick to get on the "bash QF" bandwagon based on a single facebook rant. I expected it from facebook, not here.

We don't know all the facts. We are relying on this person telling the entire story truthfully, and that she has got sound advice from the call centre operator. I'm tipping it's likely she got some really bad advice, and she's neglected to tell us one or two pieces of vital fact (ie, the group has 20 pax taking up the first three rows in economy including the entire exit row). Don't know. It could be 100% correct.

We do know that QF's terms and conditions don't allow for an automatic refund in cases where a passenger has been denied a particular seat they have paid for. This is manifestly unfair.

QF should be called out on this alone.

 

[GoldCanyon340]

I can’t imagine they got bumped for a Platinum or P1, let alone Gold. CL possibly but probably for an entirely different reason.