Absolutely Disgusted with Qantas

[missanalytical]

My connecting flight to Sydney was delayed... arrived at international check in 35 minutes prior to departure and I was not let board... I know airlines have their policies.. but it is the staff's attitude that I was upset about.. They were rude and totally unhelpful.. suggested I fly back home and reorganise my entire trip.. if you can believe that...

I was so stressed out I was standing in the airport in somewhat of a daze.. when a United staff member approached me.... hearing my story he stated ' Like I havent heard this before'

He then escorted me to their counter... gave me a heavily discounted one way ticket, upgraded me to premium economy at no extra cost... and contacted the US airline to reschedule my flights once I got there.... More importantly all of this was done with their flight leaving in only 25 minutes...
Once at my destination... I emailed qantas... telling them pretty well what I have said here... and that their customer service needs some work... 2 weeks later I havent even had a reply...
All I can say is from here on in.. I am joining the United program where I know the staff go out on a limb to help you in these situations...and yes I have been a loyal Qantas customer for a loooooooooong time...

 

[opusman]

Is it just me that finds this story a little hard to believe?

 

[Mal]

Horrid situation indeed, and one that should have been easily sorted.

But can you give some more details?

Was your X<somewhere in Australia>-SYD/SYD-Y<somewhere in the US> on the same ticket - ie booked through a travel agent together/Airline together - or were they 2 seperate bookings?
Who flew you to SYD?
How late was your flight from X-SYD?

 

[missanalytical]

Ummmm which part do you disbelieve??? All of it is true... I have better things to do with my time than to post some sort of made up story...

 

[missanalytical]

HIya Mal

I booked everything myself.. as I always do.. I travel overseas 4 times a year on average...
Flew Jetstar from the Gold to Sydney... flight was 25 minutes late.... Qantas did tell me that I had missed checking in by 10 minutes....
In New Orleans at the moment.. getting to evacuate due to hurricane.. Has this been a great trip or what lmaooooooooooooo

 

[anat0l]

Any international connection not on the same PNR is pretty much asking for trouble without a decent amount of time left between the two for transfer. Allowing a lot of time between each should minimise the chance of any trouble. Some say 3 hours is sufficient. 90 minutes is the absolute bare minimum IMHO; it should be more than that considering you have to factor in delays (I don't know how many delays JQ domestic has had over QF domestic, but traffic at SYD always brings a hullaballoo).

I had a QF->LA connection to make (BNE-SYD-AKL) a couple of months ago. Thank goodness oneworld provisions so I could check my bags all the way through from BNE and I got both sets of boarding passes from BNE domestic too! (Could be a function of the check-in clerk there than actually whether this is permissible by the rules of the game.) Needless to say, though, I arrived in SYD at 0725 for my connecting international flight at 1055, so that should have been more than enough time. (And thank goodness QF501 was not delayed. Even had it been delayed about 30 minutes, still should be more than enough time.)

JQ is not as lenient. JQ "aren't part of oneworld" and emphasise that there are only very limited circumstances where baggage connections will be made. Moreover, finding enough people in QF that understand JQ (and v.v.) is a hit-and-miss affair, even though they are "the same group".

As for the "rude" QF desk attendant and their reply, that I can't justify. Don't think there would be many humans at all out there that would even suggest, "Fly back home and reorganise."

Then again, the apparent "rudeness" of another individual who cannot help you seems to be directly proportional to one's level of stress, and many people can't make that distinction until their mind is clear. Just throwing another variable into the melting pot...........

Hope you're safe from the hurricane....

 

[Mal]

Firstly, I would be checking your travel insurance to see if they can help you with the expense of the missed transfer.

As I read it, you planned a connection at Syd of around 1 hour (including the bus/train between T2 and the International terminal).

This is achievable at times, but really isn't recommended. You should have given yourself a better buffer at SYD to transfer and connect to your flight. Normally this is at least 2-3 hours, or even more. Especially if your baggage can't be checked through to your final destination/your boarding passes for your Intl flight issued when you check in domestically.

Some of how you were treated by Qantas I can understand. They have quite a few tasks to do between 'closing' a flight and the actual flight leaving (eg finalising passenger manifest / starting to transfer details to the US Government for pre-clearance/ ensuring that baggage is making it's way through the system and onto flights / finalising seating arrangements etc) , so their reluctance to check you in is based on real issues - not just their mood. That doesn't really explain them telling you to go back home and sort out the issues. They should have advised you to see ticketing and chat to them about your options, or have tried to find a way to get you onboard.

IMHO, Qantas should have offered you a seat on the next plane (if there are seats available) to wherever you flew into in the US (I assume LAX or SFO based on leaving SYD), but they didn't. Unfortunately offering nothing was the base level of assistance they should have provided based on the time of your check-in attempt.

Qantas Feedback does often take some time to respond, but I believe you will get a response. I'd be interested to know how they respond.

A potential issue that you may have not yet considered is how you are going to get back home (assuming a return ticket). By not flying the QF flight to the US, your return ticket may have been cancelled, and you may have issues getting from US-> SYD.

Good luck in sorting things out. I hope they work out well. United did an amazing job of assisting you with your issue and getting you where you wanted to be. I also Hope the Hurricane pitters out and doesn't affect your plans.

For next time, ensure the gap between arriving at SYD and departing SYD is >3 hours. I know it's difficult with Qantas pulling out of OOL to get connecting flights, but you need to allow a bit more time to connect. Will help prevent (but not fully stop the chance) of something like this happening again.

 

[tuapekastar]

Ummmm which part do you disbelieve??? All of it is true... I have better things to do with my time than to post some sort of made up story...

missanalytical, good to hear UA were able to step up to the plate and help, and bad to hear you got some 'attitude' from QF (though as Mal states there were certainly legitimate factors influencing the fact they wouldn't check you in for the flight).

I suspect (and I'll stand corrected) opusman's doubts may have been related to "I was so stressed out I was standing in the airport in somewhat of a daze.. when a United staff member approached me.... hearing my story he stated ' Like I havent heard this before'" ...that's pretty odd IMHO if an airline employee just wandered up and said/did what happened, out of the blue. But good for you!

 

[Mal]

Also, a couple of other things regarding timing.

Jetstar will through check luggage to an International flight leaving SYD where you have a minimum connection of 2 hours, and both flights are on the same booking (not seperate tickets). Otherwise luggage can't be through checked:

Connecting Flights - At The Airport - Travel Information - Jetstar Airways

Qantas itself has the following check-in times:
Flying with Us - At the Airport - Check-in - Check-in Times

[B]Class check-in		Recommended Check-in	Latest[/B]

Check-in for international Qantas operated services at all
Australian international airports (QF001-QF399).

Premium Economy/Economy	120 minutes		60 minutes
First/Business 		90 minutes 		60 minutes

 

[munitalP]

perhaps a more approprate title should be "I didn't leave enough time between flights, I screwed up and paid the price..." in my humble opinion - disgusted with Qantas? I'm betting there were 300+ others on that flight who had a satisfactory experience..


Sorry if my opinion offends you



Mr!

 

[markis10]

I am now waiting for the "now they have cancelled the return leg because I complained" post, if you are surprised at missing a connection because you did not allow enough time, then dont be surprised when the rest of the flights on that ticket are cancelled because the first leg was not used!

Your issue arose not because you took Jetstar (you dont have much choice ex OOL) but because you did not book them on the one ticket with legal connection times, next time I would just go to BNE!

 

[bambbbam2]

Class check-in Recommended Check-in Latest

Check-in for international Qantas operated services at all
Australian international airports (QF001-QF399).

Premium Economy/Economy 120 minutes 60 minutes
First/Business 90 minutes 60 minutes

I don't mean to be picky with this, but on wed night I am taking the redeye to SYD and arriving 0615 (from PER). My flight to AKL leaves at 0715 and that is a legal connection, though I imagine perhaps somewhat tight.

I had to use a TA and they have said it is legal, just not really likely.. so I am on the 1125 from SYD.

 

[ColinP]

Also, a couple of other things regarding timing.

Jetstar will through check luggage to an International flight leaving SYD where you have a minimum connection of 2 hours, and both flights are on the same booking (not seperate tickets). Otherwise luggage can't be through checked:

Connecting Flights - At The Airport - Travel Information - Jetstar Airways

That hasn't been my experience Mal.

Twice when flying ADL - SYD - KIX on JQ I have had to collect my baggage at SYD T2 and cart it across to T1 on the bus.

The first time,when I pointed out the policy that you have quoted above, the check in agent at ADL simply shrugged and said "No, you must collect your baggage and re-check it". She also tried to tell me that JQ 17 would depart from SYD T2. It's at that point I realised that further negotiation was futile as she didn't have a clue.

 

[anat0l]

I don't mean to be picky with this, but on wed night I am taking the redeye to SYD and arriving 0615 (from PER). My flight to AKL leaves at 0715 and that is a legal connection, though I imagine perhaps somewhat tight.

I had to use a TA and they have said it is legal, just not really likely.. so I am on the 1125 from SYD.

I find it hard to believe that 60 minutes is a legal connection for Dom->Int at SYD; if you can obtain check-through luggage and both sets of boarding passes at PER, maybe. Let's not even start talking about the red-eye being delayed.

I had AKL-SYD-BNE before (linked PNRs) and QF advised a 75 minute connection window (I had 95 minutes - phew?). Mind you, had customs not been a breeze (it was the end of the day on Saturday - thank goodness!), I would have been hosed easily.

 

[Harpoon]

The thing that always raises an eyebrow for me with these threads is the person always claims staff were rude and they did nothing to provoke it.

Mmmhmm I'm sure the qantas staff told you just to simply go home to OOL after you calmly said "can i please checkin?".... yeah... *rolleyes*

Happens every time... passenger makes a mistake (in this case ddn't allow enough transfer time) and then suddenly decides its the checkin staff fault and delivers a verbal shellacking to them then complains when the staff don't take it too well.

/yawn

 

[oz_mark]

I find it hard to believe that 60 minutes is a legal connection for Dom->Int at SYD; if you can obtain check-through luggage and both sets of boarding passes at PER, maybe. Let's not even start talking about the red-eye being delayed.

Well, all I can say, is that the Qantas booking engine returns the option when you look for PER-AKL flights. I just checked PER-AKL on Wed night and the system certainly returns those flights.

 

[nlagalle]

Well, all I can say, is that the Qantas booking engine returns the option when you look for PER-AKL flights. I just checked PER-AKL on Wed night and the system certainly returns those flights.

I can agree with that.. when i flew to PEK in July, we were originally booked to arrive in SYD from MEL at 9.00am and the PEK flight was 10.10.. Also this was the day after World Youth Day finished. i changed to an 8am arrival and it was all ok..

 

[NYCguy]

Well, all I can say, is that the Qantas booking engine returns the option when you look for PER-AKL flights. I just checked PER-AKL on Wed night and the system certainly returns those flights.

Booking systems can sometimes offer crazy connections that seem reasonable when you're looking at them on a computer screen, but turn out to be a little scary in the real world. I have booked SYD/LAX/JFK trips aboard UA services with a 78 minute connection at LAX. A passenger who has checked bags without priority tags is going to have quite a stressful experience making the connection, especially with the number of international arrivals at LAX in the morning. Despite this, the computer reservations system will merrily sell the trip to anyone who wants it.

Further to the OP, I don't think it's unreasonable to deny boarding to a passenger who arrives at the check-in desk 35 minutes before an international departure. Perhaps the attitude of the desk staff was more of a "you have gotta be kidding us, lady"? When you think about it, it was a pretty bloody big ask, wasn't it? Maybe if you were a CL on a full-fare F ticket they MIGHT have given it a go, but for just about anyone else it really would have been totally out of the question.

Oh, and the "like I haven't heard this before" comment from the UA agent is almost certainly correct - I would be surprised if there was ANY airline employee who hasn't heard several tales of woe relating to missed connections, be it late taxis, traffic-jams, sick children, flat tires, power blackouts, lost passports, thunderstorms or bomb-threats. It's also a rare frequent flyer who hasn't suffered from one of the above, or something similar. Take it in your stride, learn from it, and be happy that you got to your destination in one piece.

PS - I agree with the advice about commencing all future journeys that require a Dom-Int connection @ SYD from BNE. You can't rely on bargain-basement operators when you have a narrow connection window, because they don't give a flying diddly cough*.

 

[serfty]

That hasn't been my experience Mal. ...
It's at that point I realised that further negotiation was futile as she didn't have a clue.

At which point I would have asked for a supervisor.

Were these JQ->JQi or QF->JQi?

(In such circumstances, I would always endeavor take a printout of the JQ "Connecting flights" page as well as a note of the URL.)

 

[drron]

I always allow 2 hours at SYD for an international connection and usually longer.Though now as I can Flounge the reason is certainly not connection times now!