HNL Hurricane Lane - bloody Qantas

[amaroo]

FWIW, If I wanted out - I'd pay and get on with it.

 

[Kerrodt]

FWIW, If I wanted out - I'd pay and get on with it.

Exactly.

 

[RooFlyer]

FWIW, If I wanted out - I'd pay and get on with it.

Sure, but presumably you'd ask if the airline would oblige, first?

 

[amaroo]

Sure, but presumably you'd ask if the airline would oblige, first?

On past record - no

 

[GoldCanyon340]

On a separate note and in my opinion, if that indeed is the staff member's name then it's unfair to mention him directly considering:

a) He's not here, I assume, to defend himself
b) He's a cog in the wheel and doesn't make the rules regardless of a non-referral to a supervisor

 

[MEL_Traveller]

You’re adding new information in here that simply does not exist right now. There are no cancellations or delays with QF flights in or out of Honolulu, and there weren’t any when the OP first called.

Sure, if there are flight cancellations or delays, then that changes the dynamics of the situation and for sure change requests will need to be managed and processed.

By the time bad weather strikes it can be too late to do anything. In the US it's common even when bad weather is predicted (but has not yet arrived) that you can call and seek alternatives, or 'fly forward' if you are already at the airport. Once the cancellation actually happens the phone lines could be clogged (and calling QF at the best of times can mean a wait of 1-2 hours).

This is not like the passenger was seeking a waiver to get home to watch a footy match. This is a hurricane, with unknown potential. And tourists remaining in the islands could be an unnecessary burden on the emergency services - potentially taking food, water, medical attention and accommodation that might be needed for residents in the aftermath.

If an airline has seats available they could do their part in this. And its not like airlines are unfamiliar with the effects of weather - they use the excuse often enough to explain away their schedule disruptions.

 

[Pushka]

I'm with you Popeye.I would much rather be out of there early rather than be holed up in a hotel room.

But that isn’t a Qantas issue though.

 

[Forg]

Sure, but presumably you'd ask if the airline would oblige, first?

I definitely would ... but I wouldn’t expect to be given a freebie counter to the terms & conditions I’d agreed-to when buying the fare.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I definitely would ... but I wouldn’t expect to be given a freebie counter to the terms & conditions I’d agreed-to when buying the fare.

Arguably it's a two-way street. The terms and conditions purport to allow the airline to disrupt schedules in the event of bad weather. So why not the other way? The same terms and conditions supposedly provide no compensation for delayed flights, cancelled flights, lost luggage (until 24 hours), or oversold flights, or downgrades. But a passenger wanting to change to an earlier flight because of a major hurricane? I'd argue that's an extraordinary event that deserves a waiver, the same as almost every other airline offered.

Qantas advertises their 'Spirit Goes Further' (sic). But not, supposedly, to assist either passengers or residents of a place about to be hit with a major disruption.

 

[Forg]

Arguably it's a two-way street. The terms and conditions purport to allow the airline to disrupt schedules in the event of bad weather. So why not the other way? The same terms and conditions supposedly provide no compensation for delayed flights, cancelled flights, lost luggage (until 24 hours), or oversold flights, or downgrades.

I guess it depends on expectation. I wouldn’t expect to have $800 in flight-changing fees waived so it wouldn’t bother me; I’d be very annoyed if I were downgraded, that would bother me greatly! So if your espectation was to have those change fees waived as a matter of course, it’d be extremely galling ... even if it wouldn’t bother others. I guess Qantas took the gamble - either not caring about lost future business, or that they wouldn’t lose future business, by sticking to their fare rules in this case?

 

[juddles]

I have several opinions on this matter, some which may appear conflicting.

First and foremost, I understand the logic and desire of the OP to get out of there early and avoid a few days in a hotel room.

But.....

Weather is weather, but it seems that many people expect an airline to "pay for" these eventualities. That is what travel insurance is for. I know it would be much easier to be able to simply phone the airline and get them to change things to suit, but why should they bear the brunt of weather??

So some american airlines offered free changes (which would be hard not to with the hype the USA has put on this heavy rainstorm) - I am very interested what the other 50 airlines (non-USA) who fly to HNL are offering?

To be stuck in a hotel room, if that ended up being the case, during a rare storm event in another land, to me is just part of the enjoyable uncertainties of Life. As the OP said, just grab a few extra beers

It was unfair to name the actual QF rep. They have bosses. He may have been a prat, but I would want to be sure about that before naming him on a public travel forum. Your days of unhappiness at QF may be forgotten very soon, but if a boss finds such public slagging of QF due to his interaction with you, maybe it will harm him for a long time? (as usual, things are grey - he may be deserving of this, or completely undeserving)

Last two thoughts - for the OP: if a one-off event like this makes you want to jump ship from QF, then do it! And then find the grass is not necessarily greener. Or enjoy those beers and be safe!

In any case, hope you make it out ok, and even more so, enjoy the unusual event

 

[Mal]

Looks like a waiver might be in place now

Options are available to Qantas customers holding a valid ticket issued on/before 23 August 2018 who are affected by Hurricane Lane for travel to/from Hawaii on/after 23 August 2018 and on/before 27 August 2018.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I guess it depends on expectation. I wouldn’t expect to have $800 in flight-changing fees waived so it wouldn’t bother me; I’d be very annoyed if I were downgraded, that would bother me greatly! So if your espectation was to have those change fees waived as a matter of course, it’d be extremely galling ... even if it wouldn’t bother others. I guess Qantas took the gamble - either not caring about lost future business, or that they wouldn’t lose future business, by sticking to their fare rules in this case?

It's not waiving fees 'as a matter of course' - this is for an extraordinary event. And one in which multiple US carriers and at least one Japanese carrier were waiving fees.

@ juddles - is this a case of expecting the airline to bear the brunt of weather? If they have an empty seat, should they profit out of people with a motive to leave solely based on an extraordinary weather event? This is not someone wanting to leave just because it's overcast and they were expecting a sunny beach holiday. (I guess I don't see this as an entirely voluntary decision to want to leave early.)

And as I mentioned above, this may not be as simple as settling down to ride out the storm. In the event this storm causes damage, those vacated hotel rooms could provide much needed accommodation. If water or food is compromised, valuable resources could be going to those who live on the island rather than having to be shared with tourists stranded because an airline was unforgiving in its charging of fees.

Whether the OP can 'enjoy' the unusual event really depends on the severity. At a worst case, hot humid conditions coupled with days without power can make the aftermath of a significant event pretty miserable.

 

[juddles]

It's not waiving fees 'as a matter of course' - this is for an extraordinary event. ..... In the event this storm causes damage, those vacated hotel rooms could provide much needed accommodation. If water or food is compromised, valuable resources could be going to those who live on the island rather than having to be shared with tourists stranded .....

I understand the logic - so why does not the US government encourage (and pay for) this?

 

[juddles]

BTW, what disruption to scheduled flights has this weather actually caused?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I understand the logic - so why does not the US government encourage (and pay for) this?

Pay for what though? It doesn't cost the airline $800 to change a ticket to accommodate someone in an empty seat. It costs them maybe $20 in terms of actual wages to process the ticket via a call centre agent.

I guess European governments sort of have a 'reverse' way of handling this via EU261. Even if there are extraordinary circumstances which absolve the airline paying compensation for delayed or cancelled flights, airlines still have a duty to provide care to passengers. This includes hotels and meals. So potentially if we or the US had similar rules the airlines would - one assumes - prefer to reacommodate pax as soon as possible rather than be faced with the cost of hotels and meals etc.

 

[serfty]

Thanks for this. Cheers Popeye

Travel updates | Qantas AU

Hurricane Lane in Hawaii
We are closely monitoring the activity of Hurricane Lane in Hawaii and associated weather conditions

Our scheduled services between Hawaii (Honolulu) and Australia are currently operating normally, and we will contact customers directly if there are any changes to their flights.

Options are available to Qantas customers holding a valid ticket issued on/before 23 August 2018 who are affected by Hurricane Lane for travel to/from Hawaii on/after 23 August 2018 and on/before 27 August 2018.

Customers can visit our Flight Status page for updates on services and can contact us to discuss the options available to them

 

[juddles]

....I guess European governments sort of have a 'reverse' way of handling this via EU261. Even if there are extraordinary circumstances which absolve the airline paying compensation for delayed or cancelled flights, airlines still have a duty to provide care to passengers. This includes hotels and meals.. ....

I am unfamiliar with the details of EU261. I thought it was all about things caused by the airlines. Does the EU truly make them responsible for the weather??!!

 

[juddles]

Pay for what though? It doesn't cost the airline $800 to change a ticket to accommodate someone in an empty seat. It costs them maybe $20 in terms of actual wages to process the ticket via a call centre agent.......

but surely using your concept, this would be the same in the absence of a hurricane - ie airlines should never charge more than your "$20" for pax who on a whim want to change flights?

 

[serfty]

I am unfamiliar with the details of EU261. I thought it was all about things caused by the airlines. Does the EU truly make them responsible for the weather??!!

YES! In that Airlines have a "Duty of care" for passengers affected by cancellations and significant delays for any reason. The regulation states that PAX so affected must be accommodated, and fed.