Port Vila - Runway - Immediate removal of QF codeshare on NF flights

[Sukina]

Hi All
Not sure if this should be in a different area? (mods please move/remove as necessary)

Is anyone affected by Qantas removing their QF codeshare from all Air Vanuatu flights effective immediately (Travel updates | Qantas) (Qantas halts codeshare with Air Vanuatu over runway concerns | afr.com) or the cancellation of Air NZ flights (Air New Zealand suspends Vanuatu service due to Port Villa runway concerns | Stuff.co.nz) due to the poor maintenance of the tarmac at VLI?

VA are apparently assessing the situation over the weekend, but it doesn't look good for access to and from Port Vila, and especially for customers currently in Vanuatu.

I fly frequently to Vila on the NF metal with a QF flight number - though I am not there at the moment, it will impact me in the future if it's a permanent measure.

Does anyone know what this means for a customer with an existing QF booking on NF metal?

 

[Red Roo]

Hi All
Not sure if this should be in a different area? (mods please move/remove as necessary)

Is anyone affected by Qantas removing their QF codeshare from all Air Vanuatu flights effective immediately (Travel updates | Qantas) (Qantas halts codeshare with Air Vanuatu over runway concerns | afr.com) or the cancellation of Air NZ flights (Air New Zealand suspends Vanuatu service due to Port Villa runway concerns | Stuff.co.nz) due to the poor maintenance of the tarmac at VLI?

VA are apparently assessing the situation over the weekend, but it doesn't look good for access to and from Port Vila, and especially for customers currently in Vanuatu.

I fly frequently to Vila on the NF metal with a QF flight number - though I am not there at the moment, it will impact me in the future if it's a permanent measure.

Does anyone know what this means for a customer with an existing QF booking on NF metal?

Customers with existing bookings can receive a full refund, change their destination, keep the value of their booking as credit to use at a later date or book a new ticket with Air Vanuatu.

Please see these links as reference:

- STATEMENT ON CODESHARE SERVICES TO/FROM PORT VILA VANUATU (VLI) - Qantas News Room

- Travel updates | Qantas

 

[Interlude]

Since the suspension of the codeshare agreement, pax with QF bookings seem to be getting automatically rebooked onto the NF flight number.....except that the whole situation is now compounded by the plane currently being used by NF on lease from Transavia has itself developed a mechanical issue and is stuck at Vila awaiting a spare part, leading to NF doing a charter from ON, which is helping, but I think a smaller plane and so not enough seats for all the regular NF-booked customers plus those pax holding QF bookings which were transferred to NF. So a lot of disruption for pax at VLI yesterday and today.

As to the codeshare cancellation, that is not Air Vanuatu's making but of course an issue of non-action by Airports Vanuatu Ltd. a state-owned company that in recent months has become severely troubled over political interference at board and management level. And a general election in Vanuatu on Friday has returned a very disparate grouping of independents and small parties (none with over 6 seats in the Parliament), so the business of forming a coalition and then getting a Minister in place who can get AVL working well again is all going to take time.

And of course there is also the background of NF itself losing key international certifications etc. Very messy all around, and could get worse if VA, FJ, IE, PX etc. all follow the lead of NZ and QF.

 

[get me outta here]

That's all very sad to hear. Thanks for the background, very useful.

Since the suspension of the codeshare agreement, pax with QF bookings seem to be getting automatically rebooked onto the NF flight number.....except that the whole situation is now compounded by the plane currently being used by NF on lease from Transavia has itself developed a mechanical issue and is stuck at Vila awaiting a spare part, leading to NF doing a charter from ON, which is helping, but I think a smaller plane and so not enough seats for all the regular NF-booked customers plus those pax holding QF bookings which were transferred to NF. So a lot of disruption for pax at VLI yesterday and today.

As to the codeshare cancellation, that is not Air Vanuatu's making but of course an issue of non-action by Airports Vanuatu Ltd. a state-owned company that in recent months has become severely troubled over political interference at board and management level. And a general election in Vanuatu on Friday has returned a very disparate grouping of independents and small parties (none with over 6 seats in the Parliament), so the business of forming a coalition and then getting a Minister in place who can get AVL working well again is all going to take time.

And of course there is also the background of NF itself losing key international certifications etc. Very messy all around, and could get worse if VA, FJ, IE, PX etc. all follow the lead of NZ and QF.

 

[crum]

Hope they sort it out before March. Interlude, we still need to have those shells....

 

[ReLoad]

Ah cough, got a stack of work flights in and out to fix. not good.

Also thanks to the above poster for the inside scoop. Please keep us in the loop

 

[Dead5pur]

Ah cough, got a stack of work flights in and out to fix. not good.

Also thanks to the above poster for the inside scoop. Please keep us in the loop

My wedding is scheduled for March 24th in Vanuatu! Starting to stress now as we have 40 people who have booked flights with Qantas, Virgin or Air New Zealand...

 

[eastwest101]

My wedding is scheduled for March 24th in Vanuatu! Starting to stress now as we have 40 people who have booked flights with Qantas, Virgin or Air New Zealand...

I would be looking at making alternative arrangements for the wedding now if it was me. I hear that Fiji and NZ are both nice at that time of the year.

 

[Dead5pur]

I would be looking at making alternative arrangements for the wedding now if it was me. I hear that Fiji and NZ are both nice at that time of the year.

Yeah I've emailed the resort asking what options we have and they aren't really playing ball in terms of providing a full refund. They say because Air Vanuatu say it's safe, the terms still apply and we have to forfeit the majority of our deposit, plus all of our guests would lose 50% of the accommodation booking.. Not ideal at all!!!

I checked with Air Vanuatu for equivalent flights online and virtually the same as what we have now are over $1,000 in addition to what we have already paid... per person!

 

[bam71]

I think you should contact Qantas ( or your agent if you went through one) and from what I can see they will rebook you free of charge on the NF flight number.

• ********If the same booking class is not available, the lowest booking class within the same cabin may be booked (e.g. within Business or Economy cabin). ********

Updated 29 January - Suspension of Qantas Codeshare Services Between Sydney - Port Vila and Brisbane - Port Vila

22 January 2016

The following options are available to Qantas customers holding a valid ticket issued on/before 22 January 2016 who are affected by the suspension of the Qantas codeshare services with ‘QF’ flight number operated by Air Vanuatu, between Sydney-Port Vila and Brisbane-Port Vila (and vice versa) for departures from Australia on/after 23 January and on/before 18 March 2016. For customers holding a Qantas (081) issued ticket: SYDVLI and BNEVLI (and vice versa) Passengers may, without fee: Rebook to alternative flight using: Air Vanuatu service with ‘NF’ flight number operated by Air Vanuatu. Change destinations The value of the existing ticket can be used towards the purchase of a new ticket. If the new fare is more expensive than the existing ticketed fares, the fare difference is payable by the passenger. Applicable surcharges, fees and taxes may apply. Retain the value of the ticket in credit Retain the value of the ticket in credit for future travel within 12 months from the original ticketed date of departure. If the new fare is more expensive than the existing ticketed fare, the fare difference is payable by the passenger. Applicable surcharges, fees and taxes may apply. Refunds For customers who have commenced their journey, a full refund of the affected sector(s) will be available For customers who have not commenced their journey a full refund will be available. Conditions All changes must be made prior to the original ticketed departure. Travel dates must be within ticket validity. ********If the same booking class is not available, the lowest booking class within the same cabin may be booked (e.g. within Business or Economy cabin). ******** All other rules and conditions of the ticket remain unchanged. Customers are permitted to make changes as outlined in this policy. Any subsequent changes made after the ticket is reissued will be subject to the rules and conditions of the original ticketed fare purchased. Qantas will not be responsible for paying any other costs or expenses such as hotel or other ground operator fees arising due to events beyond our control, unless required by applicable laws. Refund requests must be submitted no later than 30 April 2016. Trade Information Ticket Reissue: All Qantas flight changes need to be actioned (re-issued or revalidated) prior to travel, regardless of which airline the ticket is validated to. Re-book travel The agent can reissue the ticket in-house if validated to Qantas (QF-081) Ticket to be reissued with no additional collection or refund Additional fare, surcharges, ticket taxes and change fees associated to the ticket do not apply All details of the original ticket to be shown on the new ticket including fare basis and fare calculation Authority number 423470 must be entered into the endorsement box to prevent ADM For tickets validated to another carrier, please contact the Qantas Industry Centre for ticketing.

 

[bigray73]

We have flights to Vanuatu booked (through Webjet) for the September school holidays. Qantas say they can't help us because tickets were booked through a travel agent. Webjet aren't interested in helping us and don't even have up to date information regarding the situation at the airport.

I suspect that it is unlikely that the runway will be repaired but we are stuck in limbo. I am concerned that the situation won't be resolved until just before our proposed travel dates by which time it will be very difficult to cancel our Vanuatu accommodation and book an alternate holiday?

Do you think that we should be happy to change to a NF flight number if the runway has been deemed unsafe by Qantas (and Virgin and Air New Zealand)?

Do you think that we should pursue Webjet? Does travel insurance cover this sort of situation?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[bam71]

We have flights to Vanuatu booked (through Webjet) for the September school holidays. Qantas say they can't help us because tickets were booked through a travel agent. Webjet aren't interested in helping us and don't even have up to date information regarding the situation at the airport.

I suspect that it is unlikely that the runway will be repaired but we are stuck in limbo. I am concerned that the situation won't be resolved until just before our proposed travel dates by which time it will be very difficult to cancel our Vanuatu accommodation and book an alternate holiday?

Do you think that we should be happy to change to a NF flight number if the runway has been deemed unsafe by Qantas (and Virgin and Air New Zealand

If you are holding Qantas tickets you HAVE to change to an NF flight number.

Do you think that we should pursue Webjet? Does travel insurance cover this sort of situation?
Web jet are the ones that HAVE to change you over to an NF flight number. They liase with Qantas using that authority code posted the other day. Web jet can't say they are not interested in helping, they HAVE to do it as a Qantas agent.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

...........

 

[ReLoad]

We have flights to Vanuatu booked (through Webjet) for the September school holidays. Qantas say they can't help us because tickets were booked through a travel agent. Webjet aren't interested in helping us and don't even have up to date information regarding the situation at the airport.

I suspect that it is unlikely that the runway will be repaired but we are stuck in limbo. I am concerned that the situation won't be resolved until just before our proposed travel dates by which time it will be very difficult to cancel our Vanuatu accommodation and book an alternate holiday?

Do you think that we should be happy to change to a NF flight number if the runway has been deemed unsafe by Qantas (and Virgin and Air New Zealand)?

Do you think that we should pursue Webjet? Does travel insurance cover this sort of situation?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Speak to Webjet, as your travel agent they are responsible to do it, they will put you on an NF ticket and you'll be on the same plane you were in the first place.

At our work we've decided that until it all gets cleaned up and sorted out any travel to VLI is suspended. I've heard QF have a date in mid march to turn the codeshare back on giving all parties time to sort the mess out.

The last few press releases from NF are pretty inflamatory:

"We continue to share information with overseas carriers, some of whom have not attended any of these briefings nor conducted independent inspections, yet suspended jet services."

 

[ozbeachbabe]

As you have booked through
Webjet you will need to go back to them as they are the agent or intermediary between you and the airline.

Webjet charge like wounded bulls for 'service fees' and a whole host of other extras so they need to step up and take ownership of the situation.

You can avoid any extra charges in future by booking direct on the QF website and purchasing a gift voucher eg for AUD50.00 which means you can avoid the QF international cc fee of AUD30.00.

 

[Dead5pur]

Well this whole situation has made our wedding planning go from easy to stressful! We've had to completely rebook our return flight back into Australia due to Virgin pulling out. Our outbound flights were Qantas and because they we're departing on the 21st of March (there cut off was the 18th March), we weren't allowed to cancel, change dates or get a credit. So to change our flights to depart a day earlier was going to cost us an additional $850 per person (for a one way flight!!). We've now had to cut our trip short due to flights not operating on certain days.

Had QF just said OK we will allow you to cancel and obtain a refund, I could have easily booked new return flights, on more suitable dates for only $650. But instead, I have to mess around with different one way options, paying more and losing time for our trip.

 

[Mark3000]

Has anyone heard any updates on when Virgin and Qantas will resume flights to Vanuatu?
Google indicates repairs have started, and one article from a vanuatu newspaper suggests it may be finished by May???
I'm hoping someone here may have some insider knowledge

 

[pjm99au]

Air Vanuatu announced yesterday the resumption of the code share agreement with Qantas for flights between Sydney and Brisbane and Port Villa from 15 June 2017

Good news for Vanuatu and for Qantas customers

 

[OzEire]

Some of the clearest info on the situation at VLI has been shared by Tony, the owner of the beautiful Eratap resort. You can read it here on the resort blog.

http://www.eratap.com/port-vila-runway-latest-update-nov-2016/