Qantas says no compensation for damaged ...wet....bags...wet....seats

[JayBan]

I flew Johannesburg Sydney after the flight was delayed by a thunderstorm. The seats....$180 extra each for the exit row were wet. We put blankets on them to keep dry. No extra blankets or explanations were offered. On arrival all our bags were wet. My new shirts had colours running in to them and the stains are permanent.
on requesting Qantas for a measly compensation we got the following reply:

Thank you for your letter dated 23 February 2014.


I was very concerned learn that your baggage was wet when you collected it in arrival in Sydney. Please accept our apologies.



During dangerous weather conditions, the Airport Authorities may tell our staff to evacuate the ramp area for safety reasons. We do ask our baggage handlers to take great care when transferring baggage to and from the aircraft and terminals. It is certainly not our usual practice to leave customers’ bags in the rain for any extended period.



It is not always possible to avoid the rain completely and I can assure you it was certainly not our intention to upset you. I regret the airline is unable to offer compensation for water damaged baggage.



You may be able to claim the difference through any travel insurance policy you may hold




I appreciate you taking the time to bring this matter to our attention.

in future I will carry my bags on my lap, and carry ponchos or raincoats...or never fly Qantas!!
please note that they did not "mean" to upset me!

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Why were your seats wet? Did you think to ask for a blanket?

Baggage being wet... this is not a Qantas thing. Does not matter what airline you fly the story would have been the same and the airline would not offer any compensation.

 

[JayBan]

Why were your seats wet? Did you think to ask for a blanket?

Baggage being wet... this is not a Qantas thing. Does not matter what airline you fly the story would have been the same and the airline would not offer any compensation.

Finally asked for a blanket, but they "forgot" till we froze. I agree that thunderstorms are not in their hands, but I am sure an offer of a few points (or kind words enroute) etc would have "bought" my loyalty forever. I am a huge qantas (disappointed) fan.

 

[lovestotravel]

Welcome to the Forum!

I have never experienced this personally, and my bags have only ever been slightly wet on the outside, but never soaked.

Honestly, I wouldn't accept that my bag was soaked but then again they are transported outside in the elements, so I guess it happens.

A token 2000 points or 5000 points would have been nice though

 

[Cynicor]

Do you have travel insurance? It is designed for this sort of thing.

 

[JayBan]

Yup, I have insurance....thanks for the welcome!
when I "chose" Australia...I had three dream visions...Kangaroos, The Fair Go, and Qantas. The first two have not disappointed!

 

[gizzard]

I had a wet bag and contents after a MEL-ADL trip a couple of months ago. The baggage office at ADL gave me a document indicating that they agreed that the baggage was wet and a leaflet indicating who I should contact. QF got back to me offering dry cleaning costs but I decided not to take up the option.

 

[RooFlyer]

Why were your seats wet? Did you think to ask for a blanket?

Baggage being wet... this is not a Qantas thing. Does not matter what airline you fly the story would have been the same and the airline would not offer any compensation.

Well, it is sort of a Qantas thing. When a pax checks in bags, they are then in the airline's 'care'. The airline sub-contracts that 'care' to the airport baggage handling company but as far as the pax is concerned, Qantas is transporting their bag from the check-in point to the end point carousel.

I know and agree that bags do get wet if they need to be left unattended whilst being loaded but that doesn't mean the airline should just say "oops ... sorry". If one of the baggage handlers stole one of the bags outright ... (or lets say the bag simply disappeared) - I trust no-one would say that its 'not a Qantas thing and the same for all airlines', and too bad. The airline would have to pay some compensation for the disappeared bag. Palpable damage due to bags being left out in a rainstorm should be claimable.

I find it rare that a thunderstorm rain shower just happens without any warning. I believe usually there is a 5 minute warning horn on an airport tarmac, or some such? But even if not, visually there would usually be adequate warning such that bags that are not loaded should be able to be towed back under cover. But if not, then the airline should be good enough to recognize that their pax has suffered actual loss and compensate them for it.

 

[Lonely Flyer]

I flew Johannesburg Sydney after the flight was delayed by a thunderstorm. The seats....$180 extra each for the exit row were wet. We put blankets on them to keep dry.

I keep telling the Captains not to fly with the "top down"

AJ

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I flew Johannesburg Sydney after the flight was delayed by a thunderstorm. The seats....$180 extra each for the exit row were wet. We put blankets on them to keep dry. No extra blankets or explanations were offered. On arrival all our bags were wet. My new shirts had colours running in to them and the stains are permanent.
on requesting Qantas for a measly compensation we got the following reply:

Thank you for your letter dated 23 February 2014.


I was very concerned learn that your baggage was wet when you collected it in arrival in Sydney. Please accept our apologies.



During dangerous weather conditions, the Airport Authorities may tell our staff to evacuate the ramp area for safety reasons. We do ask our baggage handlers to take great care when transferring baggage to and from the aircraft and terminals. It is certainly not our usual practice to leave customers’ bags in the rain for any extended period.



It is not always possible to avoid the rain completely and I can assure you it was certainly not our intention to upset you. I regret the airline is unable to offer compensation for water damaged baggage.



You may be able to claim the difference through any travel insurance policy you may hold




I appreciate you taking the time to bring this matter to our attention.

in future I will carry my bags on my lap, and carry ponchos or raincoats...or never fly Qantas!!
please note that they did not "mean" to upset me!

yeah - i would be following up with Qantas with a polite 'says who?' and 'why?'

Who says QF is unable to compensate for wet luggage? The way they have phrased their reply makes it sound like there is some contractual or legal element that doesn't allow them to assist you. What they mean to say is not that they are 'unable' to help you, it is that they 'don't want' to help you.

There is probably no excuse for luggage to be left outside in the open before the departure of an intercontinental flight. Baggage is stored in baggage containers, one of which doesn't seem like it may have been sealed all that well.

Thousands of bags each year get caught in the rain. They don't all come back to the owner wet.

So why did yours?

 

[BAM1748]

Water outside on my bag, no big deal, water inside but no damage no big deal.

Water on the seats? Whats going on there (probably a bottle of drinking water), I have come across water in the overhead bin and water dripping into the cabin from an emergency exit door but not on the seat. Yes that's poor and poor to damage the contents of a bag. If worthwhile I would take it further but you need to work out when you need to give up rather than waste time.

Matt

 

[harvyk]

Just out of interest, where there any other seats available on the plane?

 

[11sjw]

Yup, I have insurance....thanks for the welcome!
when I "chose" Australia...I had three dream visions...Kangaroos, The Fair Go, and Qantas. The first two have not disappointed!

Meatloaf said "2 out of 3 aint bad" so it looks like you're doing ok. Sorry to hear about the damage. Welcome to AFF and Oz!!

 

[amexmerchantsettlement]

How does a seat get soaked?

 

[Ansett]

How does a seat get soaked?

Well there is only two possibilities in my mind

Either a person has what we shall call an accident, or some one spilt something on the seat

 

[Fantic125]

Well there is only two possibilities in my mind

Either a person has what we shall call an accident, or some one spilt something on the seat

I wonder if they were sitting in feper's seat? ;-)

 

[Boris spatsky]

Well there is only two possibilities in my mind

Either a person has what we shall call an accident, or some one spilt something on the seat

Sounds to me like the exit was open on the ground for an extended period of time on a stand off bay and it rained; or the aircon overhead duct had a leak.

 

[juddles]

+1 for the camp of those who believe the airline should be responsable for the care of your baggage.

As for this case, it is hard to pass judgement without knowing the content of the letter to which the published QF letter was responding to. But it did seem a bit broad and final in th erejection of any wáter damage matter.

If anyone has more time and younger eyesight than me, can you check that wáter damage isnt specifically excluded in the fine print of the ticket purchase process??

 

[JohnK]

+1 for the camp of those who believe the airline should be responsable for the care of your baggage.

Couldn't agree more.

Airlines offer to provide carriage for you and your luggage and once the luggage leaves your hands it has to be their responsibility.

Personally I persevere if I have issues. My golf bag had damage and holes from what appeared to be dragging on tarmac/concrete for a fair bit of time. I managed to get compensation from Cathay Pacific so I could replace the golf bag.