Qantas (Cathay) cancelled flight - who pays extra nights accommodation

[Pushka]

Hi guys

This was the first notice I received of cancellation of the flight - it was sent by email:

QANTAS ITINERARY ABN 16 009 661 901
QANTAS AIRWAYS CONTACT CENTRE HONG KONG
06FEBRUARY14 1801 TOWER 1 ADMIRALTY CENTRE ADMIRALTY HONG KONG PH 852 2298 8111 EM

TRAVEL DETAILS FOR : CUSTOMER NAME: MRS ABC (ADT)
BOOKING REF: xx_XX
MEMBERSHIP NO: QFxx_XX

DEAR PASSENGER PLEASE NOTE CX105/04APR IS NOT OPERATING. CATHY PACIFIC HAS REBOOKED THE PASSENGERS ON CX173/05APR. KINDLY CONTACT QANTAS OFFICE TO CONFIRM THE REBOOKING. THANK YOU


CX have cancelled all flights on a Friday direct to Adelaide, and I suspect a couple of other days as well, simply because they can now fly direct into Adelaide to arrive before the curfew, which comes into effect on this very flight.

 

[ReLoad]

Cathays service when the poo hits the fan is woeful at best.

I've been left to sleep in the terminal in HKG before in W and also J.

Only after what can be described as "heated conversations" did I get some action.

CX are notorious for not empowering their staff with the power to do what is needed.

Their hard and soft product is still some of the best around, I guess you can't win them all.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Cathays service when the poo hits the fan is woeful at best.

I've been left to sleep in the terminal in HKG before in W and also J.

Only after what can be described as "heated conversations" did I get some action.

CX are notorious for not empowering their staff with the power to do what is needed.

Their hard and soft product is still some of the best around, I guess you can't win them all.

doesn't travel insurance cover a delay of that magnitude for hotel and additional expenses? If it's less than the 6 hour cut-off then a hotel is probably not worth it anyway.

CX cannot directly alter the underlying e-ticket, but they can issue a schedule change / flight change for that passenger on their booking so that QF can then re-issue the e-ticket.

Exactly what they did in the case of the OP when they cancelled her original flight - they had to send a change request to the booking (for the flight the next day) which was then effected through QF (the agent) and thus the e-ticket was reissued (sometimes this reissue doesn't happen until you contact the agent to confirm it so).

The fact that CX didn't want to do this is odd because they could well do it, especially under the pretense that the original flight was cancelled.

CX probably just auto-booked on the next flight. If that's not suitable you need to ask for what you want. At $5000 for a ticket (even if you are paying by an award) its a contract with a substantial value. Sure it could be more hassle free - but if you want something then sometimes you have to go after it.

 

[Pushka]

Qantas did say they had to ask CX to release a J award seat on the Melb redirected flight the original day. There isn't one available currently.

I've now booked the extra night at the Hotel given the indications weren't favourable.

It's an 18 hour delay.

 

[ReLoad]

Mel_traveller,

You are correct on the travel insurance front, but realistically at 1am in the morning to tell a J pax, come back at 10am is pretty cough, oh and we can't give you a BP so you can't even wait in the lounge.

As I say CX do not empower their staff to make any sort of decision.

It's pretty lame.

While QFs Asia product sucks, their service when things go wrong is amazing.

 

[Pushka]

While QFs Asia product sucks, their service when things go wrong is amazing.

Unless you are on a QF code with another carrier. Then they get to blame each other.

 

[N860CR]

I had such an issue. QF booked ticket (J award) that was cancelled due to the airline pulling off the route about a month before travel. Qantas said "tough". Best they'd offer is a "generous" waiver of any change fees if I wished to book on another award in the region of travel, however only offering flights with award seat availability (so 1 month out before the summer holidays, that meant nothing).

It's not really good enough… but the airlines here seem to get away with whatever they want.

 

[Pushka]

I had such an issue. QF booked ticket (J award) that was cancelled due to the airline pulling off the route about a month before travel. Qantas said "tough". Best they'd offer is a "generous" waiver of any change fees if I wished to book on another award in the region of travel, however only offering flights with award seat availability (so 1 month out before the summer holidays, that meant nothing).

It's not really good enough… but the airlines here seem to get away with whatever they want.

That's really tough. Way worse than what happened with me.

 

[sinophile888]

I was very sorry to hear of your predicament.

I am booked to fly from HKG -> PER on Sunday, April 6[SUP]th[/SUP] so I am keeping my fingers crossed. I have been offered some contract work for 5 days starting on the Monday. I would not be happy if I missed out on the income from that week.

CX runs 10 flights per week in and out of Perth and I take advantage of those flights at every opportunity. This number of flights per week is very convenient for Perth travellers, compared to only 4 per week from Adelaide.

A few years ago, Mr. s. and I were booked to fly J on QF (award) PER -> HKG. I checked on the QF website a month or so before the flight to see that my booking had changed to PER -> SIN. I rang and asked what was going on. The answer was “Sorry, madam, that route has been cancelled.” I asked at what stage we would have been notified to be told “When we had finished with all the other cancellations which are going to occur before your flight.”
Eventually, I spoke to a very pleasant lady based in Hobart and she arranged for CX to release two J seats for us. It made for a very long day but did not involve an overnight flight.

I believe that we are on the same cruise and I predict we will be staying at the same hotel in HK. At least when the cruise leaves from your home port, there are no problems. We always have a few days in the departure port when it is not Fremantle, for the very reason of flight delays and cancellations.

 

[Pushka]

Goodness. They cancel your flight then just pop you onto a completely random one and don't tell you!

QM2? I leave from Adelaide for 23 wonderful nights. Looking forward to Shanghai in particular. And would that be Langham Place?

I think you'll be fine. My issue or rather Adelaide's issue is that the curfew is being released for 5am arrivals so cathay cancelled flights to Adelaide the day before.

 

[sinophile888]

Yes. QM2 departing a few days earlier from Fremantle.

And no. Not Langham Place. We have chosen a hotel with direct access to the train to Shenzhen.
Starting to get very excited.

 

[Pushka]

Indeed as QM 2 is just a couple of days off Fremantle for the first time round. For me, tomorrow marks four weeks until I embark. There's another AFF'er embarking in Brisbane. I plan on shopping big in Shanghai. Have booked a shopping tour there. I've been to Shenzhen and wouldn't go again. I dont even plan on shopping much in Hong Kong. I've got too much luggage as it is.

Have you been on QM 2 before?

 

[sinophile888]

No, we haven’t been on QM2 before. We do have friends whose first ever cruise was on QE in a Princess suite. Where does one go from there? We started cruising on the Costa Allegra, a converted container ship with no balcony cabins and no stabilizers.

This will be cruise No. 14 for us. Azamara was by far our favourite but it has been “enhanced”, especially price wise.

We embark on March 6[SUP]th[/SUP] but plan to have a look at what is in store for us on the 12[SUP]th[/SUP] Feb when QM2 is in Fremantle on the first time around. I see the cruise is sold out for our 27 day leg.

I hope you enjoy our day in Shanghai. We were becalmed and befogged off Shanghai once and so missed most of our overnight stay. We are planning a visit to People’s Park and also the Bund to chat to the locals. My husband has rudimentary Mandarin but it always goes down a treat whenever we are in China. He often ends up surrounded by young ladies in fits of giggles.

We have been to Shenzhen many times and love it. It is China although only just across the border. We especially enjoy the Dongmen Pedestrian area and the DaFen Painting Village. We always keep a current annual multi-entry visa in our passport.

I look forward to meeting you and the other AFFer. I have never met an AFFer but I did once speak to The Winchester on the phone.

 

[JohnK]

I've decided to stay the extra night. Might be nice if the new QP is open and I'll consume a fair share of sparkling (I'm guessing not the real stuff) before departure.

Why does it matter if the Qantas lounge is open or not? Lounge is OK but is new lounge supposed to be really special? You have access to at least 4 other lounges.

 

[Pushka]

Why does it matter if the Qantas lounge is open or not? Lounge is OK but is new lounge supposed to be really special? You have access to at least 4 other lounges.

Because it's new JohnK.

 

[JohnK]

The Bridge is also a new lounge.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

pushka... did you check with your travel insurance if they will cover the hotel for the night? I read somewhere of a person in a similar situation as yours... they made a successful claim.

 

[Pushka]

pushka... did you check with your travel insurance if they will cover the hotel for the night? I read somewhere of a person in a similar situation as yours... they made a successful claim.

Gah. I posted a long reply and the App crashed.

I rang them and like all matters Insurance they were cagey. But they suggested I try to claim. Either now or when I return.

Cathay have sent me a full explanation of the cancellation and rebooking which is helpful. I'll wait until I get back just in case the policy gets cancelled once you claim on it. It's an overseas trip on a cruise and flights so I don't want to jeopardise medical claims.

I'll update later in April. Cheers.

 

[Pushka]

The Bridge is also a new lounge.

Clearly I need some more education on all these lounges.

I'm travelling J and am QP member but lowly silver.

Travelling around 7pm. CX obviously. Which lounges would you suggest for nice Champagne?

But if the new Qantas Club has it's grand opening on Saturday 5th April well then of course I will be waiting for my special AFF invite from Red Roo.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Clearly I need some more education on all these lounges.

I'm travelling J and am QP member but lowly silver.

Travelling around 7pm. CX obviously. Which lounges would you suggest for nice Champagne?

But if the new Qantas Club has it's grand opening on Saturday 5th April well then of course I will be waiting for my special AFF invite from Red Roo.

I think all the CX business lounges serve the same champagne. I don't know if the qantas one serves champagne at all?

qantas club will make no difference to your choice if lounge. you will be gaining entrance by class of service.

all the cx business lounges are slightly different in their theme. the bridge is supposed to the one now. before that I liked the cabin.

the original clubs have noodle bars, whereas the cabin (and bridge I think) focus on more deli style (fresh made pizzas, toasted sarnies etc) in addition to a nice tapas/salad bar and other hot dishes.

you can't go wrong with cx lounges... there is no comparison with the current dark, windowless qantas club. however the new QF lounge might be ok if it is on the same standard as Singapore (which is good for it's bar).