Missed flight: No notification of Lord Howe Island flight rebooking/time change

[bam71]

If booked through a TA, Qantas notify the TA via the GDS on a Queue. The status code goes from HK ( Have Confirmed) to TK ( Time change). When the agent changed the code back to HK, they are acknowledging to Qantas they are aware of the change and have accepted it ( in this case - on behalf of the passenger). I would ask Qantas or the TA to supply the history of the booking. Its full of codes but I ( and others here) can decode that! That will tell you when the agent accepted the change, and by whom in the TA office.

 

[serfty]

If booked through a TA, Qantas notify the TA via the GDS on a Queue. The status code goes from HK ( Have Confirmed) to TK ( Time change). When the agent changed the code back to HK, they are acknowledging to Qantas they are aware of the change and have accepted it ( in this case - on behalf of the passenger). I would ask Qantas or the TA to supply the history of the booking. Its full of codes but I ( and others here) can decode that! That will tell you when the agent accepted the change, and by whom in the TA office.

Maybe the agent never accepted the change given it was apparently Sunday evening less than 24 hours before the flight.

 

[ShezMac]

Apparently the time change happened at 7pm the night before our departure. As for the other questions Qantas will not answer them apart from saying they notified the TA. I have a long standing relationship with our TA and she assures me she did not receive any email. I have asked for a copy of the said Email but to date Qantas have failed to provide it.

 

[ShezMac]

Correct, Sunday 13th flights were cancelled but our flight 11.40 Monday 14 departed and landed, likewise so did the 7am flight. Yes Qantas did have a backlog of passengers from the Sunday flight/s, but why move us to an earlier flight. That is what I want to know why, and why weren't we notified. Qantas keep ignoring the fact that had we flown on the Monday we would have enjoyed our holiday on LHI and not spent 3 wasted days hanging around Sydney Airport and its environs. The weather did not affect our flight, so why do Qantas keep insisting that it is a weather issue and travel insurance should cover it. Yes I am in the process of making an insurance claim once Qantas refunds our flight monies, but it is the expensive accommodation I want Qantas to refund.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

Apparently the time change happened at 7pm the night before our departure. As for the other questions Qantas will not answer them apart from saying they notified the TA. I have a long standing relationship with our TA and she assures me she did not receive any email. I have asked for a copy of the said Email but to date Qantas have failed to provide it.

Contact consumer affairs in your state. They provide free advice on consumer issues like this. Now we have the details from Serfty the case is rather straight-forward...

• Qantas moved us from our original flight to one leaving four hours earlier.
• on checking-in at the airport we were told we had missed our new flight
• our original flight still flew as normal, on time.
• Qantas won't tell us why they moved us
• Qantas say they notified our travel agent, but this was not received either by the agent or by us (we have double checked with our agent and they did not receive the notification)
• Qantas won't provide any further information about the change, such as the time they sent the notification (it was a sunday and our agent was closed)
• qantas refunded our fare, but we lost a night's accommodation which we are out of pocket.

based on the above Consumer affairs should be able to give you some advice on how to proceed.

 

[bam71]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

I have a long standing relationship with our TA and she assures me she did not receive any email.

Travel agents don't get emails from airlines regarding changes, they receive them on the GDS. If it happened the evening before departure, then I guess it shows the agent would not have confirmed the change, and your booking would would still have been in a TK ( time change) status. The Qantas staff would have seen this and realised you did not know about the change.........

 

[madrooster]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

Apparently the time change happened at 7pm the night before our departure. As for the other questions Qantas will not answer them apart from saying they notified the TA. I have a long standing relationship with our TA and she assures me she did not receive any email. I have asked for a copy of the said Email but to date Qantas have failed to provide it.

As you now have over 10 posts, you should be able to send a private message.

If you are comfortable with sending me a private message with your Qantas booking reference, I will see if I can get you the detailed history of the booking (depends on what system was used to make the booking). The booking history will make it pretty clear (literally black and white) what happened.

 

[bam71]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

You're obviosuly QF staff mad rooster ( I'm ex QF Staff). Careful the OP doesn't implicate you if you pull the history and find out what really happened, and it goes against what the "official" Qf line is. not worth it to lose your job ......

 

[madrooster]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

You're obviosuly QF staff mad rooster ( I'm ex QF Staff). Careful the OP doesn't implicate you if you pull the history and find out what really happened, and it goes against what the "official" Qf line is. not worth it to lose your job ......

I'm not QF staff so there is no risk to me. I am in the industry though.

 

[bam71]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

Excellent ....

 

[juddles]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

Just a question, is there any end to what passengers hold the airline responsible for? If you missed a flight because a booked taxi failed to arrive would you be suing the cab company for the missed business deal that you had planned 7 days and three countries later?

In this case Qantas "assures" that they sent an email to the TA. That the TA "assures" that they didn't get same is IMHO no solid proof that Qantas did not make correct contact with the TA.

I know that to be bumped from one flight to another is a pain, but on the other hand the only reason Qantas could have to do this is to try to get other pax to their destination who otherwise wouldn't have due to the previous days cancellations. Qantas fly a route that is plagued by weather problems - surely a difficult task.

Instead of demanding that the world's sins get rectified from Qantas's pocket, why not seek the same sort of level of compo from the TA? If it really is Qantas's fault, the tA should have no problem of getting that from them.

World travel is susceptible to myriad hiccups - that is why people get travel insurance. In this case, it appears to me Qantas have done the right thing in their area. The real reason that the trip was ultimately impossible was continuing weather problems. Claim against your insurance for the subsequent flights, not the original. May work?

Anyway, although I dislike Qantas always being the entity everyone seeks to resolve everything (and as such I dislike your apparent angle), I also understand that a holiday became a nightmare. I feel for you.

 

[ShezMac]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

I have never had a problem with Qantas, it is just that they will not provide proof of such email or explain why they shifted us to an earlier flight. Sure if they had passenger from Sunday's flights why not put them on the 7am flight and leave as booked. Qantas ground staff are a wonderful caring group it is the way they have handled this whole situation that has upset us and fellow passengers. We are not set to destroy Qantas just asking for help and ways to resolve this issues. I have received a lot of positive feedback from members of this forum, thank you everyone. I now think the subject should be closed.

 

[samh004]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

Just a question, is there any end to what passengers hold the airline responsible for? If you missed a flight because a booked taxi failed to arrive would you be suing the cab company for the missed business deal that you had planned 7 days and three countries later?

Just on that point, I would think it comes down to how much contingency (MCT) you have baked into the scenario. I know that the Brisbane Airtrain guarantees* compensation if they stuff up and you miss your flight, but when you look at the fine print it requires you to catch the train to arrive something like 3 hours before the flight, and only covers your ticket up to a certain value. So in your taxi example, if you plan the trip to get you to the airport just in time, I think that's poor form holding the cab company responsible. However, if you book it so they get you there 3 hours before and they can't manage that (and somehow you can't find a backup mode of transport), then perhaps they should be responsible.

Also worth considering if the taxi booking is booked as part of the airfares (unlikely). I know many people rely on airlines to look after them when you've met MCT and the connection is part of the same booking, however are fully aware that if they're separate bookings, it's all on yourself. Therefore, I would [-]imagine[/-] expect a chauffeur as part of a First class ticket would be covered, if it was selected through QF/EK MMB.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

Just a question, is there any end to what passengers hold the airline responsible for? If you missed a flight because a booked taxi failed to arrive would you be suing the cab company for the missed business deal that you had planned 7 days and three countries later?

In this case Qantas "assures" that they sent an email to the TA. That the TA "assures" that they didn't get same is IMHO no solid proof that Qantas did not make correct contact with the TA.

I know that to be bumped from one flight to another is a pain, but on the other hand the only reason Qantas could have to do this is to try to get other pax to their destination who otherwise wouldn't have due to the previous days cancellations. Qantas fly a route that is plagued by weather problems - surely a difficult task.

Instead of demanding that the world's sins get rectified from Qantas's pocket, why not seek the same sort of level of compo from the TA? If it really is Qantas's fault, the tA should have no problem of getting that from them.

World travel is susceptible to myriad hiccups - that is why people get travel insurance. In this case, it appears to me Qantas have done the right thing in their area. The real reason that the trip was ultimately impossible was continuing weather problems. Claim against your insurance for the subsequent flights, not the original. May work?

Anyway, although I dislike Qantas always being the entity everyone seeks to resolve everything (and as such I dislike your apparent angle), I also understand that a holiday became a nightmare. I feel for you.

A company should be held accountable when its own actions cause inconvenience. Here QF supposedly decided to move the passengers and notification failed to reach them.

You may argue QF notified the agent, but is that acceptable if it was a sunday and the agent wasn't there? Do you think QF should have realised that and taken the time to go into the booking, get the phone number, and make direct contact? And if direct contact was not possible, not make the change?

If the change was made on a Saturday, or Sunday, or even at any other time 'close in' where immediate and direct contact is needed (rather than relying on someone checking email), do you think a company should hide behind terms and conditions?

If it is the airline's action which has caused this loss, why should the travel agent or insurance pay for it? That just puts up the prices for the rest of us with service charges or insurance premiums.

Qantas (just about any airline) isn't a charity. You would have us believe they are flying as a favour and we should just accept when things go wrong. Sure, if it's weather or ATC there is some leeway. But when it comes to a commercial decision there should be accountability. Airlines make 100s of commercial decisions every day... who they will downgrade (in Qantas' case with little or no compensation), who they will give preferential treatment to (in QF's case CL and P1). But potentially in this case they decide a notification to a travel agent on a Sunday to non-status pax is ok?

If the facts are as they seem to have evolved, if the pax hadn't been moved they would have enjoyed their full holiday. It all began with the decision to move them to the earlier flight. Why wouldn't the airline, operating in a commercial setting, take responsibility for that?

 

[Flyerqf]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

Normally when you miss a flight, you forfeit the fare paid. Therefore given that Qantas rebooked you onto a new flight the following day to me seems like an admission that you were not at fault. If you were at fault they would have certainly made you forfeit the fare.

 

[ashleyn]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

A little OT but how many of you rely on the carrier or service provider to advise you of changes to your itinerary ? Not me, I check, check and check again in the days leading up to whatever event it is (flight, train, cruise, whatever). At the end of the day it is you who suffers (as per the OP) so surely it should be you who takes primary responsibility for your travel arrangements. Still feel for the OP who has a ruined holiday but maybe a lesson learned.

 

[kpc]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

A little OT but how many of you rely on the carrier or service provider to advise you of changes to your itinerary ? Not me, I check, check and check again in the days leading up to whatever event it is (flight, train, cruise, whatever). At the end of the day it is you who suffers (as per the OP) so surely it should be you who takes primary responsibility for your travel arrangements. Still feel for the OP who has a ruined holiday but maybe a lesson learned.

I'm like you...I obsessively check, the frequency of which increases as the flight gets closer :shock:...whilst I don't subscribe to the (paid) TripIt Pro, it does automatically send you an email if you flight is changed or cancelled! Travel Insurance should cover the accommodation on the subsequent days when the flights to LDH were cancelled. 4 years ago, we were booked to go to LDH for 3 nights...we went to the airport on 2 consecutive days but all flights to LDH were cancelled. We decided going to LDH for 1 night wasn't worth it, so cancelled the whole trip and recouped the accommodation costs from travel insurance.

To the OP, don't give up on LDH...it is a remarkable place where we have been the last 2 Februarys...

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

A little OT but how many of you rely on the carrier or service provider to advise you of changes to your itinerary ? Not me, I check, check and check again in the days leading up to whatever event it is (flight, train, cruise, whatever). At the end of the day it is you who suffers (as per the OP) so surely it should be you who takes primary responsibility for your travel arrangements. Still feel for the OP who has a ruined holiday but maybe a lesson learned.

Agree and '+1' for checking flights and any retimings. But if the change was made at 7pm the night before, and the OP lives 3 hours from SYD, what's the cut-off when it's no longer reasonable for them to keep checking? What if they checked at 6pm? What if QF didn't make the change until 9pm? At what time can you comfortably switch off and not need to worry about a schedule change?

Their new departure time of 7am would have meant a departure from their place of residence at least 5 hours before... or 2am in the morning. I think that's somewhat unreasonable.

 

[moa999]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

World travel is susceptible to myriad hiccups - that is why people get travel insurance. .

And then people realise that travel insurance only actually covers them for a very small subset of those myriad of issues

 

[Peter D]

Re: Dismissed without consultation

A little OT but how many of you rely on the carrier or service provider to advise you of changes to your itinerary ? Not me, I check, check and check again in the days leading up to whatever event it is (flight, train, cruise, whatever). At the end of the day it is you who suffers (as per the OP) so surely it should be you who takes primary responsibility for your travel arrangements. Still feel for the OP who has a ruined holiday but maybe a lesson learned.

I agree 100% and always check. But the OP did just that and checked at 5.30 am only to be told the flight was on time. What they did not know was that they had been moved to an earlier flight.