Missing meals on 17 hr trip: ask for compensation?

[Tanga]

My family is in the US after travelling MEL-SYD-LAX and onward via Virgin's partner Delta. We requested special meals at the time of booking, a few months ago, and I checked that they were registered before we left. None of the meals were loaded, although the steward did his best in finding some fresh fruit for the kids. Everybody was pretty grumpy because they'd gone 17+ hours without a meal and we basically wasted our morning in LA getting everybody fed - most places were closed, because it was Christmas.

I feel pretty bad about this because I'm the one who booked us on Virgin instead of our usual route. Should I ask Virgin for compensation, and what would be an appropriate request? Also, where should I direct this to have the best chance of it being heard?

 

[straitman]

Personally I would ask for an explanation. Depending upon the response as to what to do next IMHO.
Airlines are not perfect but at the same time need to be accountable for when they get it wrong.

 

[juddles]

As per straitman, ask for explanation first.

It seems that in so many cases (as per in any service industry) the aggrieved person ends up wasting a hell of a lot of time seeking ¨compensation¨ with never a good outcome that satisfies BOTH the original aggrievement AND the stress caused by having to chase it up.

IMHO for many reasonable complaints, such as yours, the best you can do is write letter of complaint/request for explanation, but then just leave it at that.

I understand your feeling of guilt for being the person ¨responsable¨for the airline selection, but cheer up, we all know these things happen on any airline at any time

 

[Mark3000]

It's a good idea to always bring at least some food in your carry on. Delays happen and special meal request soften don't happen, especially in economy. My wife likes gluten free meals but when we used to fly economy, we gave up stressing about it and would bring back up food in case.

 

[Quickstatus]

Its just a feature of travel. There's always going to be the possibility of your trip becoming less than expected at the best and something like an airplane falling out of the sky at worst.

Frequent travellers have options up their sleeve.
For example I know when I have a long layover in LAX, i would after rechecking bags take a free hotel shuttle ride to one of the nearby hotels and have a meal there. Better than any lounger IMHO and all hotels are open during holidays.

Next time you travel try to think like an airline pilot (think about alternatives and contingencies). While you will never be able to plan every contingency into your trip, it will hopefully cover some of the possibilities.

Write a letter - For this matter forget about compo - you have better things to to than to worry about compo for this. Once you go down the compo route your expectations of whats fair and reasonable will never be same as what the airline believes it is.

BTW - its not a Virgin/Delta/Qantas/other airline issue. Its just a travel hiccup.. enjoy your holiday!!!

 

[JessicaTam]

Welcome to FF, Tanga.

I agree with the others that a complaint letter/email with a request for an explanation is the best path to take in the first instance. It gives them an opportunity to improve their service rather than duck and weave to avoid a compensation request.

I have had special meal stuff ups in the past and the FAs are pretty good to find something suitable (usually accompanied with a glass of something nice). If VA choose to offer you some points or a voucher, then that is a bonus.

 

[RooFlyer]

It's a good idea to always bring at least some food in your carry on. Delays happen and special meal request soften don't happen, especially in economy. My wife likes gluten free meals but when we used to fly economy, we gave up stressing about it and would bring back up food in case.

Its just a feature of travel. <snip>- you have better things to to than to worry about compo for this. Once you go down the compo route your expectations of whats fair and reasonable will never be same as what the airline believes it is.

BTW - its not a Virgin/Delta/Qantas/other airline issue. Its just a travel hiccup.. enjoy your holiday!!!

Whilst I agree with the above sentiments I think they avoid the issue. I agree with the others that the airline concerned should be contacted and an explanation sought. If just fobbed off with some generic reply, escalate the issue.

We shouldn't let things like this just pass. For one, any good business would want to know that there has been a service failure - and as described, this isn't trivial. Secondly, if we just shrug our shoulders at every service failure, then we contribute to the problem - if we don't care, why should the airline?

I'm now in my 50s and have learnt though many experiences that if you don't notify or complain of a service failure (whichever is appropriate in the circumstances), then you simply get walked over. But you have to judge your level of feedback to the service provider - don't go for the jugular over a trivial issue but equally don't take a step back if its significant.

 

[get me outta here]

I agree. And, point out to the airline that children were involved. Some people would be OK not eating properly for 17 hours, for some others, this may cause a serious medical event.

Whilst I agree with the above sentiments I think they avoid the issue. I agree with the others that the airline concerned should be contacted and an explanation sought. If just fobbed off with some generic reply, escalate the issue.

We shouldn't let things like this just pass. For one, any good business would want to know that there has been a service failure - and as described, this isn't trivial. Secondly, if we just shrug our shoulders at every service failure, then we contribute to the problem - if we don't care, why should the airline?

I'm now in my 50s and have learnt though many experiences that if you don't notify or complain of a service failure (whichever is appropriate in the circumstances), then you simply get walked over. But you have to judge your level of feedback to the service provider - don't go for the jugular over a trivial issue but equally don't take a step back if its significant.

 

[JohnK]

Definitely worth sending feedback asking for an explanation.

 

[kpc]

A year ago, our party of 5 (in Y) missed out on breakfast on a Mel-Lax flight on QF due to a failure of onboard refrigeration - the crew threw everything perishable out incl. eggs...all we got for breakfast was a cold croissant. I emailed QF, who comped us 25K QF points for the inconvenience which I thought was pretty fair. At $0.01 per QF point, those points were worth at least $250 ....

 

[Ausbt]

I was involved in a similar situation to the OP. I wrote an email about it and received the equivalent of about $400 in compensation. I think it was down to the way my email was phrased (along with multiple follow-ups) - certainly throwing out abuse won't get you the result. Keep it constructive and fair while explaining the inconvenience and you might get a reasonable result. Or not.

 

[CJEMNMAC]

Flew LAX - SYD a few years ago on VA. My daughter requires Gluten Free meals. She was served a meal marked GF however it ended up being the standard meal for kids.

12 hours in Y with a sick child.........

I understand this is not the same as not receiving a meal, however in the following week, with some follow up from me, VA could not do enough. They accepted the error and resolved the matter very quickly.

I would suggest keeping the conversation constructive ( as Ausbt says above ) and you may go ok. It is certainly worth raising