Baggage..The hidden cost

[kamchatsky]

dont suppose you are in the travel business?
yes I do have time today to complain on this forum...but not in the lasst few days and todays respite was unexpected. I acccept that I should have reserched this...a I normaly would have. Serves me write for trusting a TA is what your saying...because they obviously are under no obligation in your eyes to do anything that I could not do myself in 10 mins! despite my paying for their "professional" assistance!
Thanks again for your great insite

No. I am not in travel business but lets say I am a person who knows the rules to find the best deal in the market (not just airlines mind you). This is all about personal discipline to be better.

From what I heard, Qatar Airways is pretty good one so I suggest to take it easy, take it as a learning lesson, and be better next time (and maybe ditch your TA)!

 

[ric_melb]

Rather an amazing discussion, with the OP continually trying to justify his position.
I used to travel the world on business for a month at a time within a 20kg limit.
More for issues with carrying heavier luggage, than an airline limit.
As you get older you can't carry heavy luggage. At some stages you have to carry it yourself, there are no outsiders to carry it for you.
Focus should be on reducing weight, not abusing all and sundry.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Jack have you actually discussed the baggage limit with your mum or are you just assuming that she will take a suit for every occasion? Surely if your Mum's major reason for travel is to visit your sister, she will place more importance on that than 3 kilos of baggage.

I have also heard great reports about Qatar Airways. Sometimes things that may seem like a hassle now might turn out for the best in the long run.

I see a lot of oldies travelling and I would say most are extremely frugal with their baggage allowance. Some might only have one bag between them or it might be two pieces for 28 or 30 kilos. It would be extremely rare to encounter an elderly couple that even manage 2 pieces at 40 kilos total between them.

I guess by that age they've done things the hard way before and realise that travelling lighter is easier for them.

Rather than get upset now, isn't it better to have to knowledge that the baggage allowance is only 20 kilos & pack accordingly than to pack 23 kilos then turn up at the airport to find it's only 20 & have your mum get stressed out because she's looking at $114.00 per kg excess?

With regard to the travel agent charging $650.00 to cancel, I'm just a bit suspicous there in that you pay one day & bang the ticket's already been issued. Usually agents have to get the ticket issued by a consolidator or a ticket centre which can take days to issue ie the ticketing is not done 'on site' at the travel agent. If the tickets have been issued they should be able to give you a copy of the eticket itinerary receipt which would show the date it was issued.

I can't help thinking that an decent travel agent would not just cancel the Qatar booking & rebook the Emirates one & use the money you paid towards the new ticket. A lot of unscrupulous travel agents use the airline as a scapegoat/badguy leading you to believe that cancelling the reservation attracts the fee when it wouldn't cost them or you a dime eg "if you cancel the airline will charge you $650.00". That would only be the case once the ticket is issued.

If you call Qatar Airlines ask them if tickets have been issued yet. Even if they're issued by a consolidator the numbers usually generate across to the airline. If there's no ticket numbers in the booking I would say the travel agent is trying to do a number on you. My guess your money is sitting in their client trust account yet to be paid to the airline or consolidator concerned.

 

[possumoz]

+1.

QR clearly defines their limit, and makes no attempt to hide it.

I've been sitting here wondering what its got to do with Queensland Rail....and whether Qfreight would be a cheap way of sending luggage.....maybe I should've had that second coffee...now..where's the number for my optometrist..:shock:

 

[Travel Guru]

With regard to the travel agent charging $650.00 to cancel, I'm just a bit suspicous there in that you pay one day & bang the ticket's already been issued. Usually agents have to get the ticket issued by a consolidator or a ticket centre which can take days to issue ie the ticketing is not done 'on site' at the travel agent. If the tickets have been issued they should be able to give you a copy of the eticket itinerary receipt which would show the date it was issued.

I can't help thinking that an decent travel agent would not just cancel the Qatar booking & rebook the Emirates one & use the money you paid towards the new ticket. A lot of unscrupulous travel agents use the airline as a scapegoat/badguy leading you to believe that cancelling the reservation attracts the fee when it wouldn't cost them or you a dime eg "if you cancel the airline will charge you $650.00". That would only be the case once the ticket is issued.

If you call Qatar Airlines ask them if tickets have been issued yet. Even if they're issued by a consolidator the numbers usually generate across to the airline. If there's no ticket numbers in the booking I would say the travel agent is trying to do a number on you. My guess your money is sitting in their client trust account yet to be paid to the airline or consolidator concerned.

I'd have to disagree with you, I'm not sure when you last used a consolidator or who you use but unless there's a backlog of ttl fares at end of month, all of my tickets (including complex rtw fares) are ticketed same day by my consolidator, so I think it's a bit rich to assume the TA is doing a number on him, if a ticket has been issued, aside from that day it cannot be voided, so by the next day there's no choice but to put it in for a refund and cop the airline cancellation fee.



As for Jack, thankyou, you've reminded me why I don't miss my years working at Flight Centre dealing with difficult and unreasonable customers when I now instead work for myself and pick and choose who I deal with.


As someone else pointed out, you get what you pay for, and if you used the cheapest TA, you're going to get the cheapest service...if luggage was an issue, it might have been helpful to mention that in the booking process, after all, would it also be the TA's fault if the airline they booked you on only had 5 new release movies on the AVOD vs. 15 on another airline? Not in my book, well not unless you made a point of mentioning that it was important to you.

There are so many variables within airlines that it's ridiculous to expect a bucket shop TA who isn't charging a service charge (and as mentioned all good TA's charge a service charge) to know all of the differences and to read your mind regarding what is or isn't important to you....after all, it's no different to using a bucket shop accountant to do your tax return and wondering why he didn't pick up some potential deductions that a larger firm charging higher fees would have.

TG

 

[serfty]

...
Personally, I would book Qatar Airlines flights online myself (assuming the fares are the same).

A quick look online and I see an inclusive MEL-//-MAN rt fare for $2036.

Change fee is $50, Cancellation fee is $500!

 

[jackcollins1960]

I'd have to disagree with you, I'm not sure when you last used a consolidator or who you use but unless there's a backlog of ttl fares at end of month, all of my tickets (including complex rtw fares) are ticketed same day by my consolidator, so I think it's a bit rich to assume the TA is doing a number on him, if a ticket has been issued, aside from that day it cannot be voided, so by the next day there's no choice but to put it in for a refund and cop the airline cancellation fee.



As for Jack, thankyou, you've reminded me why I don't miss my years working at Flight Centre dealing with difficult and unreasonable customers when I now instead work for myself and pick and choose who I deal with.


As someone else pointed out, you get what you pay for, and if you used the cheapest TA, you're going to get the cheapest service...if luggage was an issue, it might have been helpful to mention that in the booking process, after all, would it also be the TA's fault if the airline they booked you on only had 5 new release movies on the AVOD vs. 15 on another airline? Not in my book, well not unless you made a point of mentioning that it was important to you.

There are so many variables within airlines that it's ridiculous to expect a bucket shop TA who isn't charging a service charge (and as mentioned all good TA's charge a service charge) to know all of the differences and to read your mind regarding what is or isn't important to you....after all, it's no different to using a bucket shop accountant to do your tax return and wondering why he didn't pick up some potential deductions that a larger firm charging higher fees would have.

TG

Well TG If you had have read the posts you would have noticed that I DID pay the agent a booking fee! Guess your selective viewing did not pick this up? or it did not suit your argument?
Also I must add that I am pretty happy your not my TA if you consider the number of movies on a flight as important as luggae allowance which could potentialy cost your clients hundreds of dollars when they arrive at the airport! Perhaps thats what they teach at Flight center?

 

[mannej]

I've been sitting here wondering what its got to do with Queensland Rail....and whether Qfreight would be a cheap way of sending luggage.....maybe I should've had that second coffee...now..where's the number for my optometrist..:shock:

QR has nothing to do with Queensland rail in this case;-)

Jack, some people deem the choice of IFE more important than baggage allowance so give TG a break...
Sent from my iPhone using AustFreqFly

 

[markis10]

QR has nothing to do with Queensland rail in this case;-)

Jack, some people deem the choice of IFE more important than baggage allowance so give TG a break...

+1, the more you tell someone what is important to you the better chance of you getting what you want, that includes baggage allowance both checked and carry on, timing of flights, entertainment choices, food and drink choices, ability to pick a seat, ability to fly a particular aircraft type, preferred terminal for departure of the flight etc etc.

Until the human race has acquired the ability to read each others minds we rely on other communication methods to get our message across and express our needs.

You have been hard done by if you asked for the cheapest option based on the need to travel with xx kg of luggage and if thats the case you have the right of redress under the consumer protection laws which you should follow up on because what you have been sold does not meet the requested criteria, if that truly is the case.

 

[Cocitus23]

We all encounter daily bumps on the road of life. In your case, jack, one such bump has been 3 kg of luggage allowance. Maybe you should have been more explicit to the TA about your requirements, and maybe the TA should have been more explicit with you about the allowance. But you are stuck with it. Or rather, your elderly mother and her elderly companion are. So the question is how best to handle the situation.

It seems to me that ozbeachbabe talks eminent sense when she points out that 40kg, plus hand luggage, is as much or more than any two seniors can handle between them. So the restriction might be a blessing rather than a curse.

I presume, Jack, from your endless anger on this post, that you have also vented your spleen to the hapless TA and said that they will never again get your business. That's fine. But I also suspect that the poor devil said under his/her breath "Thank God for that." In short, I think that you are being more relentless in your fury than the situation warrants, and that you are not listening to this same message which is being delivered by the overwhelming majority of contributors to this discussion.

Messages delivered in anger attract less sympathy than those delivered coolly and dispassionately. Furthermore, if your spoken English is as careless as your efforts in writing, which contain a couple of glaring errors in every line, then I would suggest that you should really address your communications skills if you want to enjoy harmonious transactions.

Cocitus 23.

 

[Flashback]

We all encounter daily bumps on the road of life. In your case, jack, one such bump has been 3 kg of luggage allowance. Maybe you should have been more explicit to the TA about your requirements, and maybe the TA should have been more explicit with you about the allowance. But you are stuck with it. Or rather, your elderly mother and her elderly companion are. So the question is how best to handle the situation.

It seems to me that ozbeachbabe talks eminent sense when she points out that 40kg, plus hand luggage, is as much or more than any two seniors can handle between them. So the restriction might be a blessing rather than a curse.

I presume, Jack, from your endless anger on this post, that you have also vented your spleen to the hapless TA and said that they will never again get your business. That's fine. But I also suspect that the poor devil said under his/her breath "Thank God for that." In short, I think that you are being more relentless in your fury than the situation warrants, and that you are not listening to this same message which is being delivered by the overwhelming majority of contributors to this discussion.

Messages delivered in anger attract less sympathy than those delivered coolly and dispassionately. Furthermore, if your spoken English is as careless as your efforts in writing, which contain a couple of glaring errors in every line, then I would suggest that you should really address your communications skills if you want to enjoy harmonious transactions.

Cocitus 23.

+1 Cocitus23. Well said.

 

[anat0l]

<<snipped>>

+1 Cocitus23. Well said.

+1 here as well. Cocitus23 you deserve a cigar (or whatever the equivalent reward is if you don't smoke).

 

[kezsco]

I wish I was as erudite, comprehensible and unambiguous as Cocitus23. Well said.

 

[Justchecking]

Time and time again people point the finger because "someone" failed to read their mind and make the best choice for them. Isn't it time that we took responsibility for our own choices and do a bit of legwork for ourselves? The TA didn't tell you that Qatar was the only option and was probably unaware that baggage allowance was a priority for you, perhaps because you failed to tell them that?

As travellers it's our own responsibility to check the fine print for ourselves. It exists everywhere, for every product or service we purchase. Surely by now we're all used to checking out the details before we sign on the dotted line.

 

[serfty]

Well TG If you had have read the posts you would have noticed that I DID pay the agent a booking fee! Guess your selective viewing did not pick this up? or it did not suit your argument? ...

I have been sympathetic to your issue, but I am tiring of your demonstrative approach.:-|

It was not until post #55 of this thread at 9:30pm last night you confirm you paid a booking fee to the TA ... and that is tucked up in the middle of a paragraph - very easy to miss.

Twice I have asked how much you paid the TA and you have not bothered to answer either time. (Of course, you do not have to, it was only so some more pertinent advice could be possibly be offerred.)

Going back to you your original post:

I just booked and paid for 2 seats for my 85 year old mum and her partner to travel from Melbourne, Australia to Manchester, England. For expediency I used a travel agent (1st mistake). ...

Yes, that was a mistake. For travel that can be easily researched and booked using the internet it seems unusual for someone with your professed experience to use a TA.

FWIW, your first post here on this forum could easily have been a question about how best to book this sort of travel. You would have had no end of informed assistance, FOC.

I agree with Cocitus23; that it's time to suck it up and work with your mother and her partner in enjoying their trip to the Old Dart, rather than continue to complain about 6Kg of luggage allowance..

 

[anat0l]

Yes, that was a mistake. For travel that can be easily researched and booked using the internet it seems unusual for someone with your professed experience to use a TA.

FWIW, your first post here on this forum could easily have been a question about how best to book this sort of travel. You would have had no end of informed assistance, FOC.

Ironically, had we had something from the OP asking for help about booking this fare, we may* not have picked out that baggage allowance was important and may have suggested the same option with the same 'small' amount of checked baggage with the same exorbitant excess baggage fee! And, of course, we would have the same argument (only that then the collective forum would be the ones who would be branded as 'thieves').

* Big emphasis here, because the risk of us not mentioning something like baggage allowance (viz. at least a point that EK gives 30 kg in Economy) is lower than that of the TA, but not entirely an eliminated risk.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I see a lot of oldies travelling and I would say most are extremely frugal with their baggage allowance. Some might only have one bag between them or it might be two pieces for 28 or 30 kilos. It would be extremely rare to encounter an elderly couple that even manage 2 pieces at 40 kilos total between them.

.

Yes I agree and that was the point I made back in Post 5, though you have expressed it better.

My dad is an ex-builder and was always a very strong man (and he still has his CAMS racing licence)...but now at 77 there is no way I would suggest he travel with a 20Kg bag. And as for my mum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Personally I have always been an advocate of travelling as lightly as possible.

On my recent J trip to Europe (UK, France and Amsterdam) we for once let this go and had bags of 25kg, 18kg and 2 of about 14 kg for the 4 of us travelling together(mum, dad and 2 teenagers and so all fit)......and during the trip did we reget having the extra weight and vowed to never do so again as it was simply an unecessary hassle....and as usual the "extras" that we put in were not needed.

Far better to travel light and if you find you need something else to buy it there, which being the UK will be easy.



With respect to your mum and her partner...can they even lift a 23kg bag easily off a baggage carousel?

 

[JohnK]

Depends on whether the purchasing of alchohol is something that would expect the club to be paying for. Seems reasonable for him to be paying for his own additional alcohol rather than the club doing it. If he pays for the drinks himself , then the $50 saving is still there

The club had given the 4 of them money to spend on food, drinks and any other entertainment for the week that they were away. So no issue for him to purchase an extra drink or two but he chose not to purchase.

I was trying to make a point that sometimes in our endeavours to save money we lose some of the benefits available ona more expensive airline. Some people are happy with the savings some not so happy. Best to investigate all options before booking if these things are important.

 

[Flashback]

The club had given the 4 of them money to spend on food, drinks and any other entertainment for the week that they were away. So no issue for him to purchase an extra drink or two but he chose not to purchase.

I was trying to make a point that sometimes in our endeavours to save money we lose some of the benefits available ona more expensive airline. Some people are happy with the savings some not so happy. Best to investigate all options before booking if these things are important.

I think the issue he was raising though, was that in the eyes of the company, how many 'free drinks' he would get on the flight would not be an important factor to them. It may be to the person flying the actual flight, but not to the company who is flying him somewhere for a reason.

 

[anat0l]

Personally I have always been an advocate of travelling as lightly as possible.

On my recent J trip to Europe (UK, France and Amsterdam) we for once let this go and had bags of 25kg, 18kg and 2 of about 14 kg for the 4 of us travelling together(mum, dad and 2 teenagers and so all fit)......and during the trip did we reget having the extra weight and vowed to never do so again as it was simply an unecessary hassle....and as usual the "extras" that we put in were not needed.

Just out of some humourous value (potentially), what were some of the "extras" that you did not need during your journey?

Also, how was it a hassle? Was it that the heavier bags were just getting irritating to lug around after a while (although lugging is probably the wrong word, given that most bags these days are the type with a retractable handle and wheels, although lifting them (onto check-in bag belts, off baggage reclaim belts, on and off of transport, in the hotel room) is still a problem). Not that I'm advocating a kitchen sink approach (like the OP), but rather I'm just curious.

I thought travelling light might suit you well. After all, IIRC you have two daughters? That's three women = a huge potential for shopping = a sizeable risk of going overweight on the way back (yes, even if you were booked into a premium class).

With respect to your mum and her partner...can they even lift a 23kg bag easily off a baggage carousel?

I guess the OP would be relying on having some assistance handy in most situations (i.e. if an old lady was struggling to lift a bag and you were passing by, wouldn't you help them?)