Involuntary flight change now original flight operating but won't re-instate

[Daver6]

After some advice from the experts here.

I used VS points to book award flights on GA. DPS direct to SOQ. A few months after booking the direct flights were scrapped so I was put on connecting flights via CGK. Far from ideal but need to get to my destination.

I just happened to check today and noticed the original direct GA flight is now running. I called VS and asked to have my original flight re-instated, especially given the change was involuntary. They advised that there were no partner award seats available to them and for me to contact GA directly to get some issued into the ticket. Contacted GA who said there is X available, they don't touch the ticket go back to VS.

I guess X isn't quite what VS need. Explained this to VS who then contacted GA directly. GA refused to released partner award seats to get my back on my original flight.

I then asked VS if I could just cancel the outbound leg, thinking I might just pay for the direct flight and keep the return. To do so, VS a) want to charge me as a voluntary change and b) tell me there are no partner award seats on the return sector anyway.

I don't really want to cancel the whole thing as I'd just have a bunch of VS points that will land up orphaned (I only transferred some Amex MR points in for these flights).

So thoughts, do I have any recourse to force GA to release partner award seats on my originally booked flights? Or do I just need to suck it up here?

Why this is a big deal is the direct flight is a 8:10am DPS departure verse a 9:40pm connecting flight in whY, so a night of no sleep.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

After some advice from the experts here.

I used VS points to book award flights on GA. DPS direct to SOQ. A few months after booking the direct flights were scrapped so I was put on connecting flights via CGK. Far from ideal but need to get to my destination.

I just happened to check today and noticed the original direct GA flight is now running. I called VS and asked to have my original flight re-instated, especially given the change was involuntary. They advised that there were no partner award seats available to them and for me to contact GA directly to get some issued into the ticket. Contacted GA who said there is X available, they don't touch the ticket go back to VS.

I guess X isn't quite what VS need. Explained this to VS who then contacted GA directly. GA refused to released partner award seats to get my back on my original flight.

I then asked VS if I could just cancel the outbound leg, thinking I might just pay for the direct flight and keep the return. To do so, VS a) want to charge me as a voluntary change and b) tell me there are no partner award seats on the return sector anyway.

I don't really want to cancel the whole thing as I'd just have a bunch of VS points that will land up orphaned (I only transferred some Amex MR points in for these flights).

So thoughts, do I have any recourse to force GA to release partner award seats on my originally booked flights? Or do I just need to suck it up here?

Why this is a big deal is the direct flight is a 8:10am DPS departure verse a 9:40pm connecting flight in whY, so a night of no sleep.

New ticket, new contract.

Appreciate the original flight has been reinstated, but trying to deal between parter airlines on this, especially when they probably don’t delve into the history of the booking, is complicated.

If this was you dealing with qantas/VA for a qantas or VA ticket, things would be a lot easier. And you’d have ACL to back you up.