Qantas Staff Incompetence - Ticketed 2 adults and not infant, leading to denied boarding

[hb13]

Hi All,

Qantas incompetence has reared its ugly head again. My brother, his wife and infant son booked a flight on Malaysia Airlines in J through QFF awards. When they showed up, they told them the infant was not ticketed, and were denied boarding.

At the check in, the agent said to my brother he can see an infant on the booking, but he isn't ticketed and they won't be able to check them in and could not board.

My brother and wife then found a Qantas staff member who was extremely rude and basically said "tough luck, we can't do anything, book another flight" - those words are verbatim. I have that staff member's name, but obviously I won't be publishing it here.

They have had to find flights two days later, in Y and QF has once again not copped any consequences. SURELY there is something that can be done or someone we can speak to with regards to compensation?

How is this still allowed to happen?? Has anyone got a way of helping please? This is the third time in 2 years this happens and we surely this cannot be legal. It has been a complete nightmare.

 

[TheInsider]

Did you speak to any managers at the airport?

 

[Kerrodt]

What did the tickets disclose regarding the infant booking?

 

[hb13]

Did you speak to any managers at the airport?

The person we spoke to was a manager.

 

[TheInsider]

The person we spoke to was a manager.

So the Qantas person they found was the manager straight away?
Probably didn't notice, but did they have a completely red tie or were they at a checkin counter or sales desk?

 

[hb13]

So the Qantas person they found was the manager straight away?
Probably didn't notice, but did they have a completely red tie or were they at a checkin counter or sales desk?

I will ask about the tie - but it wasn't the first person, they asked for a manager and he spoke to them. I didn't include that in the initial post as I was trying to keep it as short as possible.

Post automatically merged: Apr 6, 2024

What did the tickets disclose regarding the infant booking?

The booking showed all three pax, but they didn't check the ticket, which after we checked it did only show the two adults.

It was a case where they saw the booking was fine, so they didn't check the ticket. How do you ticket a booking and miss a passenger?

 

[ChrisMars]

Out of curiosity, anyone knows why they couldn't re ticket on the spot? I assume the infant was to travel on lap / bassinet (not using a seat), I am puzzled as to how this couldn't get fixed at the airport. Really sad

 

[serfty]

Out of curiosity, anyone knows why they couldn't re ticket on the spot? I assume the infant was to travel on lap / bassinet (not using a seat), I am puzzled as to how this couldn't get fixed at the airport. Really sad

Guessing here...

1) No Qantas ticketing desk open at the airport

2) 131313 was useless

 

[RichardMEL]

Out of curiosity, anyone knows why they couldn't re ticket on the spot? I assume the infant was to travel on lap / bassinet (not using a seat), I am puzzled as to how this couldn't get fixed at the airport. Really sad

MH couldn't/wouldn't touch it, and sounds like - while we don't know which origin airport this is - no QG ticket desks(long gone) and no QF staff m able to do it.. and we know call centre probably could not in a timely manner - specially for non higher tier. Sigh.

 

[Austman]

This is the third time in 2 years this happens and we surely this cannot be legal. It has been a complete nightmare.

Not wanting to diminish the issue. But if it's happened two times already, shouldn't some checking that all tickets have been issued would have been in order?

 

[clifford]

Guessing here...

1) No Qantas ticketing desk open at the airport

2) 131313 was useless

Yes, their marking prowess seems to far outweigh any of their other abilities (apart from maybe keeping the planes in the sky).

 

[TheInsider]

Guessing here...

1) No Qantas ticketing desk open at the airport

2) 131313 was useless

There still is a ticketing desk at international SYD, MEL, BNE.

And yes call centre is useless.

But if local ticketing can't do it, they can call a dedicated airport ticketing line and they can assist staff with issues.

Also there is absolutely zero reason why MH couldn't just issue an INF ticket with taxes being paid for.

 

[serfty]

There still is a ticketing desk at international SYD, MEL, BNE

Where is this desk located?

But if local ticketing can't do it, they can call a dedicated airport ticketing line and they can assist staff with issues.

How does one find out what is the number to be called?

 

[TheInsider]

Where is this desk located?
How does one find out what is the number to be called?

Melbourne is where they check-in, usually around A I think.
Sydney international is near the entry side of the check-in counters

The number is internal, only for QF staff use.

 

[Sprucegoose]

At the check in, the agent said to my brother he can see an infant on the booking, but he isn't ticketed and they won't be able to check them in and could not board.

Could you please confirm if your brother received any documentation, such as an e-ticket and itinerary, that clearly listed the three travellers? This information is crucial as a 'confirmed' note against the booking status indicates that the ticket has been issued and is valid for travel.

How is this still allowed to happen??

I couldn't comment on your brother's situation, but from my experience, when things go astray, it is usually because I have failed to check all the documentation.

This is the third time in 2 years this happens and we surely this cannot be legal. It has been a complete nightmare.

When this happened the first time, what advice was received from the airline or agent to prevent a repeat?

I can only imagine how inconvenient it is to be denied boarding with an infant - (noting infants can only fly from 7 to 731 days of their life - without medical clearances).

 

[jb747]

Where was this?

 

[eastwest101]

And how did the infant get through customs and immigration without a valid ticket? Was this in Malaysia or in Australia?

 

[RooFlyer]

And how did the infant get through customs and immigration without a valid ticket? Was this in Malaysia or in Australia?

According to the first post, they didn't get past check-in.

 

[bullerdude]

The only real option is to submit a complain to customer care via the website - https://www.qantas.com/au/en/support/contact-us/customer-care-feedback-form.html.

Explain the situation, keep it factual, provide the evidence you had a ticket (i.e., the booking confirmation, as long as you have a qantas booking confirmation it is there issue to ticket it correctly), include time/dates/names (where you have them) and the compensation you wish to receive.

Expect that it will take a while to receive a response and expect that you may need to push 2, 3 or 4 time before they come back with a reasonable offer (usually the first response is a were sorry but nothing can be done).

 

[Quickstatus]

The problem with a lot of these complaints is that they are often light on detail

What is the flight number?. Is it a QF codeshare flight?
A booking is not a ticket
What names were on the issued e-tickets.
And who issued the e-tickets