Qantas has changed

[dajop]

So were the flights on the same ticket or not ?

If not then Qantas is doing what any other airline would do

End of story

Not any other airline, some airlines would offer a full refund (even Tiger does this if it moves flights > certain number of hours), others may offer travel the day before as well as the day after.

 

[ozmille]

What a great point, and i'm sure many people would agree, if you have a status they will help, or at least try to help.

In our case MrsMille is SG flying J and she was not considered a premium pax...

 

[Austman]

I'm very surprised that Qantas would not offer a change of QF flights/dates under the circumstances. They have done so for me in the past.

NB52what was your orignal QF scheduled timings and what did Qantas rebook you to? Is there a big difference?

Also, what would you find acceptable from Qantas? Would a choice of other QF flights/dates be sufficient?

 

[anat0l]

The EU provides regulations for compensation if an airline reschedules or reroutes you (actually it's related to cancellations, but I wonder if you could twist it for schedule changes), however it only applies if the airline makes the change within certain time frames. For example, if an airline gives you at least two weeks notice (i.e. before departure), no compensation is payable. Even if an airline informs you of a change within two weeks of departure, as long as you depart within 1 hour of original time and arrive within 2 hours of original time, no compensation is payable. As we know, sometimes even an hour can make all the difference in connections.

I was wrong on this. According to the EU Regulation 261/2004, if your flight is cancelled under any circumstances you are allowed one of:

• Re-routing to the same destination at the earliest opportunity (under comparable conditions)
• Later re-routing, at the passenger's convenience, to the same destination under comparable conditions (subject to seat availability)
• A refund of the ticket as well as a return flight to the point of first departure, when relevant

Refunds for tickets or parts of tickets may also apply depending on flown segments or redundant segments.

I'm not sure what is meant by "comparable conditions".

You are also afforded the right to care obligations.

Cash compensation is only payable if the airline cancels a flight within and/or fails to reroute customers within certain timeframes.

Still it doesn't address what happens with a retimed flight (unless it is delayed) which is subtly different (and perhaps a way the airlines can "escape" their obligations) to a cancelled one. The regulation also doesn't cover completely any obligation of an airline to help passengers beyond the affected flight. So even if we had such regulation in place our OP could ask QF for a full refund of their flight or ask for an earlier flight. That would inevitably help, except the other sundries like either rebooking a new flight to meet the connection time, or the costs of meals+accommodation for waiting longer to meet the connecting flight, are still unmet and still may not be covered by travel insurance.

If such regulation came into Australia I think it would be good, albeit it would push up ticket prices. Not that I would mind - a few less certain kinds of people on planes and back to airlines focussing seriously on carriage of passengers. Either that or get the airlines to wear it (forced by regulation), and a few stuffy airline shareholders will have to put up with the share price hit.


We still haven't found out from the OP whether the two flights (including the QF flight) are on the same ticket (although my gut says 'no' because there is "another airline involved"). Had they been on the same ticket, QF would have a much stronger obligation to help the OP travel to the final destination (the "nothing we can do" argument would fall flat fairly quickly).


I know one case of recent: We had two flights on MH going back to Australia. Both flights were on separate tickets. My sister had a QF flight she had to catch from our destination in Australia (again, another ticket). Connecting time between the last MH flight and the QF flight was over 10 hours.

When we arrived for our first MH flight it was cancelled due to technical problems. This means we would miss our next MH flight. MH scheduled us for the next available flight for each, which for the first one would be in an hour, but for the longer one to Australia would be the next day! This meant my sister would miss her QF flight.

Since it happened on the same day, MH offered us accommodation and meals between our two MH flights. MH did not, however, cover the cost of my sister having to change her flight with QF to the next day. My sister didn't have travel insurance, but in any case a typical travel insurance excess would have exceeded her claim. Lucky for my sister it only cost her $50. I'm sure the OP would be looking at much more in similar cost.


What this goes to show, though, is that it is not just QF who won't do these kinds of things. Certainly, there is no suggestion that QF do this all the time, but if it's enough for the OP to move to another airline, then so be it.

 

[Austman]

On travel insurance:

Mine (underwritten by Zurich) states:

Under this section Zurich covers you for the unexpected cancellation of travel arrangements and other unexpected expenses, provided the claim is not covered elsewhere in this policy.

(If) your arranged travel is cancelled or delayed by the carrier because of unexpected:
• mechanical break down; or
• weather conditions; or
• natural disasters; or
• riots, strikes, civil commotion (but not acts of terrorism, any war like activities, war, whether it has been formally declared or not, any hostilities, rebellion or revolution, or military coup, or overthrow of a government);

So last minute cancellations due to mechanical or weather conditions are covered. Missconnects due to advance notifications of reschedules are not.

I had a look at some others (NRMA, CHU, GIO) and they don't cover reschedules either. Maybe some do, but it's not industry standard and a bit rich for airlines just to say take it up with your travel insurance!

 

[N860CR]

I'm not fully understanding this one... I've had a number of issues with Qantas over the years regarding rescheduling flights and each time the new flight hasn't worked (for any reason, even as simple as arriving too late for somebody to pick me up at the airport), they've offered a move onto another flight at another time or a full refund.

While they aren't going to help change a flight on another airline (on a seperate ticket), I find it a little difficult to believe that they have just said "stiff"? At the very least, I'd imagine they should offer a change onto a suitable flight or a refund.

 

[pshepvic]

In these situations I firstly research available alternative options for flights that I can deal with

Only then do I call to discuss the change with Customer Service. I then provide my achievable solution to the situation and I have had 100% results with this.

Great approach - with my team at work I always say "don't present me with a problem, unless you also present me with a potential solution". You might not always get exactly what you wanted, but you stand a much better chance of getting some sort of positive result.

 

[pshepvic]

I'm not sure what is meant by "comparable conditions".

Ensuring you still receive a glass of Bollinger in the First Class lounge, even if the new flight is at 8 o'clock in the morning?

 

[dizperliz]

Notice there's no specific details of the sectors booked or wether it was same PNR or not.

Makes me wonder if the other sectors were on another carrier and expects QF to foot the bill. Get over it.

 

[NB52]

Thanks for your reply. I booked my trip with Qantas, the last part of the flight is with LAN -as I've found out when I phoned them , I think they share the plane or something like that ?-Qantas tells me it is Lan's fault for cancelling the flight and it is not theirs-so, "there is nothing they can do about it" as Qantas keeps on saying, after trying so many times- (yes,I have Gold FF)-I approached LAN , they were a lot more helpful and tried to change the flight that was cancelled, however, they could not do it unless Qantas agreed to it -as I booked the tickets (and paid )with Qantas-so, the story continues....."can not be done" as Qantas keeps on saying; my trip is in June I have a lot of time to wait and stress out. If I could change anything would be to book with Lan direct and forget about Qantas (maybe forever).

 

[NB52]

I booked with Qantas, apparently they share part of the route with Lan ? as I've found out, Qantas made the booking/agreement with Lan, however, Lan cancelled the section of the trip
I have tried approaching Lan -although I booked with Qantas -I have found Lan very helpful, unless Qantas agreed to what Lan wants to do there is no much Lan can do either -as Qantas has decided not to change. Does this clear your thoughts ?

 

[serfty]

Thanks for coming back with more information.

It seems you were booked on a codeshare QF flight number on LAN metal and LAN have cancelled the flight.

I'm guessing Qantas have put you on a later flight between Auckland and Sydney.

Was this an award booking?

 

[niemann]

I don't think your situation was any better handled in 'the good old days', when, don't forget you paid 5x as much in real terms as you do today.

There seems to be an unwritten rule "we'll get you there - within a day or two". Commercial airlines couldn't stay in business (not that they're necessarily doing so now) if they were fulling accountable for your jouney.

IF (and I'm not 100% sure from what you've said) your booking was done and paid for ENTIRELY through Qantas it's their responsibility to sort you out even though LAN cancelled the flight. I'm guessing your problem is you're unclear about (or you're not saying) what it is you actually want from them. Would you be happy with a refund? Or do you want free RTW First class tickets? They're not mind readers, and neither are we.