I had the misfortune to suffer on a business class flight . The seats in front of us were faulty and went to 180 degrees when the seats were not meant to lay flat. This meant our legs got crushed and we could not turn sideways. Also with the seats in front flat we could not get out in an emergency. We had no sleep on a 10 hour flight.
The flight attendants were apologetic on the flight and walked me around the cabin to find alternatives ( there weren't any) and gave me a complaint form but when I complained in writing afterwards I discovered they denied any problem. The reason given was that they examined the reports from the maintenance mechanics and attendants and No seats were found to have a problem and no complaints were logged by the attendants. Obviously there is a process problem at the airline.
Even though we bought our tickets in Australia from an international airline with an office here and an ABN there seems to be no Consumer law that can protect you.
The ACCC is powerless, my travel agent has no responsibility as its only classed as a broker and is not responsible for the product it brokers. The NSW Tribunal will take a case like this but again it has no legal power if the airline does not want to play. The ACA only deals with Australian Airlines.
So the only option seems to be a full court case which is not practical. Any one else found a solution to this consumer problem ? I don't think my travel insurance is interested in me not sleeping or getting trapped after paying thousands for a flight.
The flight attendants were apologetic on the flight and walked me around the cabin to find alternatives ( there weren't any) and gave me a complaint form but when I complained in writing afterwards I discovered they denied any problem. The reason given was that they examined the reports from the maintenance mechanics and attendants and No seats were found to have a problem and no complaints were logged by the attendants. Obviously there is a process problem at the airline.
Even though we bought our tickets in Australia from an international airline with an office here and an ABN there seems to be no Consumer law that can protect you.
The ACCC is powerless, my travel agent has no responsibility as its only classed as a broker and is not responsible for the product it brokers. The NSW Tribunal will take a case like this but again it has no legal power if the airline does not want to play. The ACA only deals with Australian Airlines.
So the only option seems to be a full court case which is not practical. Any one else found a solution to this consumer problem ? I don't think my travel insurance is interested in me not sleeping or getting trapped after paying thousands for a flight.