Jaryd
Member
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2012
- Posts
- 187
Hi guys,
I'm relatively new here, please be nice. I'm a Gold level QFF/ Gold Etihad Guest Member so fly enough, but the events which occurred on the 8th of August 2013 on QF636 (MEL-BNE) have just astounded me. I've lodged this with Qantas on their customer service feedback page, but I'm not sure that anyone there will give a toss, to be honest.
Story goes as follows (apologies for the length - read the whole thing before you form an opinion - gets progressively worse!):
On the 8th of August I, along with approximately 100 other passengers boarded QF636 to Brisbane. The flight to Brisbane was great, however upon descending into Brisbane, we were advised by the Pilot that we had been put in a 55 minute holding pattern by Brisbane Air Traffic Control. Approximately 20 minutes later, we were advised that we had been further delayed, as aircraft who were low on fuel had been placed before us in the queue. Again, approximately 20 minutes later again, we were advised that more aircraft had been put in front of us in the queue, and that as a result we did not have sufficient fuel to land in Brisbane, so we would be diverting to Coolangatta (OOL) on the Gold Coast.
At just before 11pm we landed at Coolangatta, and were advised to immediately use our phones to send waiting friends and relatives at Brisbane airport home (I mean immediately - we would have still been doing 100kmh on the runway). We taxied to somewhere near the terminal (it was pitch black outside as the airport closed at 9pm) and waited there.
After a few minutes The pilot advised that we would be refueling and would be flying back to Brisbane. However as Coolangatta was closed, the fuel company needed to bring people in from home to refuel the aircraft. There were also no staff at Coolangatta airport, so we were unable to exit the plane. The fuel truck arrived at about 11:30 and we were all extremely happy that we would be able to fly back to Brisbane (I never fly to OOL so at this time had no idea about the curfew restrictions). We kept waiting...
At approximately 11:40, the Pilot advised that there was in fact a curfew, and that we had not been granted permission to take off. we were told that we would need to exit the aircraft. The Pilot noted that they were trying to contact the Airport operators to bring in staff, as we were unable to exit the aircraft, or access the terminal as it was closed and locked up. They could not confirm at this time if we would be sent to Brisbane by bus, or if we would be accomodated on the Gold Coast. We stayed on the plane waiting (which was low on water, food etc. by this time).
At approximately 12:10, the Pilot annnounced that the airport would be open at around 12:30, but they were unable to call in Baggage handlers (or couldnt confirm if they would be able to) and advised us to leave without our baggage, which would be sent to us immediately the next morning. We were also advised that we would be provided with a Bus to Brisbane Airport. and that Cab charge vouchers were being authorised by the Qantas Operations Centre in Sydney, and that a lot of Cabs would be waiting for us at Brisbane Airport - which they estimated that we would arrive at, at 2am.
At approximately 12:30, airport staff arrived and we were able to exit the aircraft, we boarded a coach. The poor coach driver had no idea what was going on and waited with a full bus for about 30 minutes before he decided we would leave for BNE just after 1am. A few people slept, a few of us chatted quietly on the trip up. We couldnt wait to get in a cab and go home, as we were already 3 hours late.
At 2:05am we arrived at Brisbane Domestic Airport and discovered that the airport was pitch black, with lights off, terminal closed, no cabs or Qantas staff in sight. There was literally not a soul in sight, and it was so quiet that once we arrived at the cab rank, we could hear the plants rusting in the breeze - and it was freezing! A few of the passengers and I started to wonder if the Cabs were running late, and everyone was wondering how the cabs would be paid for since we were not provided with physical vouchers. After a few minutes, a few people tried to call Qantas, after which we discovered that all Customer Service numbers were closed. Out of frustration (And just exhaustion), a few people also tried to order cabs themselves, but after 10 or 15 minutes, we discovered that no cabs were arriving at Brisbane Domestic airport as it was closed - we thought that the cabs were going to the international, or dismissing them as prank calls given it was after 2am in the morning.
At approximately 2:20am I called the Qantas Frequent Flyer number and ran through the situation with a representative on the phone. I advised that there was a busload of passengers who had been dumped at Brisbane domestic airport, and that there was at least one more busload of passengers on its way who would be requiring cabs pre-arranged as advised. She checked with the Operations Centre and after a while came back to tell me that a single bus had been organised to take us to our hotel, but there had been no cabs or cab charge vouchers organised by Qantas as promised on the plane.
At this point my phone was on speakerphone and her response astounded everyone. Our initial thoughts were:
I quickly indicated to the QFF Rep that this was not acceptable I reiterated that we had been told to send our awaiting friends and family home. I also re-iterated that we were told that cabs would be organised by Qantas, that cab charge vouchers would be provided by Qantas, and that our attempts to order cabs were being ignored as the airport was closed and we assumed the cab drivers were going to the international terminal. We were effectively dumped at the domestic airport and were stranded with no way home except for a single bus taking us to some mystery hotel that no one had any idea about!
The QFF Rep advised that since cabs had not been organised, any cabs would need to be paid by us, and that we would need to submit our receipts to be processed by Qantas for a refund (if approved). She was clearly not listening so I reiterated that we were unable to order cabs as they were not arriving.
At this point I (and many others) had had enough. Her response was "I'm sorry, but I dont know what you want me to do". It was 2:30am, we were tired, grumpy, extremely thirsty and were stranded at an airport in the dark with strangers. Many passengers were becoming upset, some had small children (i.e. 18 months old) and it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to stay awake.
I then told the QFF Customer service representative that we needed Qantas to order about 100 cabs as we were unable to get the cabs to arrive, to which she replied "But I dont catch cabs". I asked her to clarify what she mean as I was confused, to which she replied "Well I dont catch cabs, so I have no idea about what number to call". I was astounded. After explaining what we had been through, and explaining that a vast number of passengers had been dumped at Brisbane airport and were effectively stranded, the customer service rep was telling us this!
I asked her to go back to the Operations Centre and ask them to order the cabs, to which she replied "I can't direct them to do anything". At this point I was angry. I asked if she was going to leave us stranded at the airport, to which she replied "I'm Sorry, I don't know what you want me to do".
At this point I ended the call.
After this, many of the passengers were visibly distressed. We had no idea or way of getting home. The bus had left without anyone on it whilst I was on the phone, but it had not even opened its doors to let anyone in.
A few of us started to talk, and decided that we would try to all call the Cab company at the one time, tell the same story, and stress that we were at the Domestic Terminal, not the International, alongside a lot of stranded passengers. Luckily this worked. At about 2:35am a few cabs started to trickle through, and the first cab radioed back to base to inform them that another 30-40 cabs would be needed straight away. We could finally get home, but would have to pay our own way and claim the trip back later. I arrived home at 3am with no clothes and extremely tired.
The next day (9/8/13)
The following morning I attended a meeting at 9am (in the clothes from the night before - which I was fine with) and was expecting a call from Qantas to confirm luggage delivery.
At 10am I had not received a call so I called QFF Customer service who advised me that the luggage had not been taken off the plane yet, and that someone would be in touch with me as soon as it was taken off the plane and catalogued.
At around 11am I travelled back to Brisbane Domestic to collect the hire car that I was unable to pick up the night before. Whislt I was there I spoke with the Customer Service desk, and Qantas' Brisbane Airport Customer Service Manager who was "horrified" (in her words) at what had happened. She mentioned that there was a crew member/former crew member on board QF636 who was in the airport requesting to speak with her about the same matter - to which she had no knowledge about until I spoke with her. She asked me to lodge this feedback on the QF Website to ensure this gets investigated further. She was very nice and accomodating, and advised that she would be escalating this, but I have not heard anything since.
At 1pm I had still not received a call about my baggage, so I called Qantas Baggage Services who advised they were waiting for me to call them with my address. I advised them that we were told that they would call us, so there would be a lot of people who did not know they needed to call, and would be without their luggage. The Baggage Rep advised that my luggage would be delivered in three hours.
After work, when I arrived back at my accomodation at 5pm, the bags had not arrived. I thought they may be slightly delayed given the number of bags to be delivered, so I called at 5:30pm to enquire again. I was advised that my bag had been left at Coolangatta by mistake, and that a Courier would be organised immediately to dispatch my luggage to me. I advised that I had a dinner that I had to leave for straight away, and that I would need to purchase new clothes as I had been wearing my current clothes for almost 40 hours and due to my commitments I had been unable to shower. The Customer Service rep advised that he would be able to authorise $60 to spend, however I indicated that I was attending a work function, and in the limited time I had before the shops closed, it would be hard to find a business shirt for $60. The rep said that generally this was fine, and was very apologetic about the entire process.
My Gripe
Throughout this entire process, I was absolutely horrified that a full service airline like Qantas could abandon its passengers, forget about their luggage, and go about organizing this situation in such a hap-hazard manner. In my opinion, every passenger on this flight deserves a full apology or a refund. I'm not the type of person who would usually ask for money back for something that goes wrong, but this was just humiliating, uinsulting and degrading to everyone on board.We were made to feel like we didn't matter once we stepped off the plane, which was further compounded by the lack of any compassion or willingness to assist by the QFF representative on the phone, and the complete disregard for our safety being abandoned at a closed airport in the middle of the night.
I want Qantas to actually respond to me, but I dont actually think that anyone will take the time through the normal channels (As is often the case nowadays). I'm completely OK withthe delay in being diverted, and the Captain and Cabin crew were more than accomodating, but after we left that plane, we were completely forgotten. No transport home, no compassion, no bags. IT was a mess!!
Has anyone else had an issue like this before? Any how did they deal with it!
I'm relatively new here, please be nice. I'm a Gold level QFF/ Gold Etihad Guest Member so fly enough, but the events which occurred on the 8th of August 2013 on QF636 (MEL-BNE) have just astounded me. I've lodged this with Qantas on their customer service feedback page, but I'm not sure that anyone there will give a toss, to be honest.
Story goes as follows (apologies for the length - read the whole thing before you form an opinion - gets progressively worse!):
On the 8th of August I, along with approximately 100 other passengers boarded QF636 to Brisbane. The flight to Brisbane was great, however upon descending into Brisbane, we were advised by the Pilot that we had been put in a 55 minute holding pattern by Brisbane Air Traffic Control. Approximately 20 minutes later, we were advised that we had been further delayed, as aircraft who were low on fuel had been placed before us in the queue. Again, approximately 20 minutes later again, we were advised that more aircraft had been put in front of us in the queue, and that as a result we did not have sufficient fuel to land in Brisbane, so we would be diverting to Coolangatta (OOL) on the Gold Coast.
At just before 11pm we landed at Coolangatta, and were advised to immediately use our phones to send waiting friends and relatives at Brisbane airport home (I mean immediately - we would have still been doing 100kmh on the runway). We taxied to somewhere near the terminal (it was pitch black outside as the airport closed at 9pm) and waited there.
After a few minutes The pilot advised that we would be refueling and would be flying back to Brisbane. However as Coolangatta was closed, the fuel company needed to bring people in from home to refuel the aircraft. There were also no staff at Coolangatta airport, so we were unable to exit the plane. The fuel truck arrived at about 11:30 and we were all extremely happy that we would be able to fly back to Brisbane (I never fly to OOL so at this time had no idea about the curfew restrictions). We kept waiting...
At approximately 11:40, the Pilot advised that there was in fact a curfew, and that we had not been granted permission to take off. we were told that we would need to exit the aircraft. The Pilot noted that they were trying to contact the Airport operators to bring in staff, as we were unable to exit the aircraft, or access the terminal as it was closed and locked up. They could not confirm at this time if we would be sent to Brisbane by bus, or if we would be accomodated on the Gold Coast. We stayed on the plane waiting (which was low on water, food etc. by this time).
At approximately 12:10, the Pilot annnounced that the airport would be open at around 12:30, but they were unable to call in Baggage handlers (or couldnt confirm if they would be able to) and advised us to leave without our baggage, which would be sent to us immediately the next morning. We were also advised that we would be provided with a Bus to Brisbane Airport. and that Cab charge vouchers were being authorised by the Qantas Operations Centre in Sydney, and that a lot of Cabs would be waiting for us at Brisbane Airport - which they estimated that we would arrive at, at 2am.
At approximately 12:30, airport staff arrived and we were able to exit the aircraft, we boarded a coach. The poor coach driver had no idea what was going on and waited with a full bus for about 30 minutes before he decided we would leave for BNE just after 1am. A few people slept, a few of us chatted quietly on the trip up. We couldnt wait to get in a cab and go home, as we were already 3 hours late.
At 2:05am we arrived at Brisbane Domestic Airport and discovered that the airport was pitch black, with lights off, terminal closed, no cabs or Qantas staff in sight. There was literally not a soul in sight, and it was so quiet that once we arrived at the cab rank, we could hear the plants rusting in the breeze - and it was freezing! A few of the passengers and I started to wonder if the Cabs were running late, and everyone was wondering how the cabs would be paid for since we were not provided with physical vouchers. After a few minutes, a few people tried to call Qantas, after which we discovered that all Customer Service numbers were closed. Out of frustration (And just exhaustion), a few people also tried to order cabs themselves, but after 10 or 15 minutes, we discovered that no cabs were arriving at Brisbane Domestic airport as it was closed - we thought that the cabs were going to the international, or dismissing them as prank calls given it was after 2am in the morning.
At approximately 2:20am I called the Qantas Frequent Flyer number and ran through the situation with a representative on the phone. I advised that there was a busload of passengers who had been dumped at Brisbane domestic airport, and that there was at least one more busload of passengers on its way who would be requiring cabs pre-arranged as advised. She checked with the Operations Centre and after a while came back to tell me that a single bus had been organised to take us to our hotel, but there had been no cabs or cab charge vouchers organised by Qantas as promised on the plane.
At this point my phone was on speakerphone and her response astounded everyone. Our initial thoughts were:
- how the hell is one single bus going to get an entire planeload of people home, and b)
- where the hell were the cabs?
I quickly indicated to the QFF Rep that this was not acceptable I reiterated that we had been told to send our awaiting friends and family home. I also re-iterated that we were told that cabs would be organised by Qantas, that cab charge vouchers would be provided by Qantas, and that our attempts to order cabs were being ignored as the airport was closed and we assumed the cab drivers were going to the international terminal. We were effectively dumped at the domestic airport and were stranded with no way home except for a single bus taking us to some mystery hotel that no one had any idea about!
The QFF Rep advised that since cabs had not been organised, any cabs would need to be paid by us, and that we would need to submit our receipts to be processed by Qantas for a refund (if approved). She was clearly not listening so I reiterated that we were unable to order cabs as they were not arriving.
At this point I (and many others) had had enough. Her response was "I'm sorry, but I dont know what you want me to do". It was 2:30am, we were tired, grumpy, extremely thirsty and were stranded at an airport in the dark with strangers. Many passengers were becoming upset, some had small children (i.e. 18 months old) and it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to stay awake.
I then told the QFF Customer service representative that we needed Qantas to order about 100 cabs as we were unable to get the cabs to arrive, to which she replied "But I dont catch cabs". I asked her to clarify what she mean as I was confused, to which she replied "Well I dont catch cabs, so I have no idea about what number to call". I was astounded. After explaining what we had been through, and explaining that a vast number of passengers had been dumped at Brisbane airport and were effectively stranded, the customer service rep was telling us this!
I asked her to go back to the Operations Centre and ask them to order the cabs, to which she replied "I can't direct them to do anything". At this point I was angry. I asked if she was going to leave us stranded at the airport, to which she replied "I'm Sorry, I don't know what you want me to do".
At this point I ended the call.
After this, many of the passengers were visibly distressed. We had no idea or way of getting home. The bus had left without anyone on it whilst I was on the phone, but it had not even opened its doors to let anyone in.
A few of us started to talk, and decided that we would try to all call the Cab company at the one time, tell the same story, and stress that we were at the Domestic Terminal, not the International, alongside a lot of stranded passengers. Luckily this worked. At about 2:35am a few cabs started to trickle through, and the first cab radioed back to base to inform them that another 30-40 cabs would be needed straight away. We could finally get home, but would have to pay our own way and claim the trip back later. I arrived home at 3am with no clothes and extremely tired.
The next day (9/8/13)
The following morning I attended a meeting at 9am (in the clothes from the night before - which I was fine with) and was expecting a call from Qantas to confirm luggage delivery.
At 10am I had not received a call so I called QFF Customer service who advised me that the luggage had not been taken off the plane yet, and that someone would be in touch with me as soon as it was taken off the plane and catalogued.
At around 11am I travelled back to Brisbane Domestic to collect the hire car that I was unable to pick up the night before. Whislt I was there I spoke with the Customer Service desk, and Qantas' Brisbane Airport Customer Service Manager who was "horrified" (in her words) at what had happened. She mentioned that there was a crew member/former crew member on board QF636 who was in the airport requesting to speak with her about the same matter - to which she had no knowledge about until I spoke with her. She asked me to lodge this feedback on the QF Website to ensure this gets investigated further. She was very nice and accomodating, and advised that she would be escalating this, but I have not heard anything since.
At 1pm I had still not received a call about my baggage, so I called Qantas Baggage Services who advised they were waiting for me to call them with my address. I advised them that we were told that they would call us, so there would be a lot of people who did not know they needed to call, and would be without their luggage. The Baggage Rep advised that my luggage would be delivered in three hours.
After work, when I arrived back at my accomodation at 5pm, the bags had not arrived. I thought they may be slightly delayed given the number of bags to be delivered, so I called at 5:30pm to enquire again. I was advised that my bag had been left at Coolangatta by mistake, and that a Courier would be organised immediately to dispatch my luggage to me. I advised that I had a dinner that I had to leave for straight away, and that I would need to purchase new clothes as I had been wearing my current clothes for almost 40 hours and due to my commitments I had been unable to shower. The Customer Service rep advised that he would be able to authorise $60 to spend, however I indicated that I was attending a work function, and in the limited time I had before the shops closed, it would be hard to find a business shirt for $60. The rep said that generally this was fine, and was very apologetic about the entire process.
My Gripe
Throughout this entire process, I was absolutely horrified that a full service airline like Qantas could abandon its passengers, forget about their luggage, and go about organizing this situation in such a hap-hazard manner. In my opinion, every passenger on this flight deserves a full apology or a refund. I'm not the type of person who would usually ask for money back for something that goes wrong, but this was just humiliating, uinsulting and degrading to everyone on board.We were made to feel like we didn't matter once we stepped off the plane, which was further compounded by the lack of any compassion or willingness to assist by the QFF representative on the phone, and the complete disregard for our safety being abandoned at a closed airport in the middle of the night.
I want Qantas to actually respond to me, but I dont actually think that anyone will take the time through the normal channels (As is often the case nowadays). I'm completely OK withthe delay in being diverted, and the Captain and Cabin crew were more than accomodating, but after we left that plane, we were completely forgotten. No transport home, no compassion, no bags. IT was a mess!!
Has anyone else had an issue like this before? Any how did they deal with it!
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