QF/AY flight now CX/AY

[hazel]

Hi

I booked & paid for a QF/AY flight MEL-HEL via HKG. I specifically booked this flight because it was QF to HKG. I received an email from AY today that said due to operational reasons I would now fly CX MEL-HKG.
Because of that I now can't take advantage of my QP membership. No lounge access in MEL, no opportunity to upgrade, half the points, no priority check in, no increased baggage allowance. . While i'm sure that it says somewhere in the fine print they can do this, it is annoying when you are paying for a giraffe and they give you an elephant. If this was a CX/AY flight I would not have purchased the ticket
cheers

 

[serfty]

Have you contacted AY to tell them the change is unacceptable and you will not fly CX? At the very least they should refund the entire fare.

 

[hazel]

Thanks Serfty - I will contact them tomorrow - I don't think it's appropriate what they have done. I didn't have the energy to argue with them today - having a whinge to [and getting good advice from] like minded people on AFF was a much more attractive option. I might start a business where people pay for one product & I give them something else entirely - wonder how long the regulators would let that happen?
Airlines appear to be a protected species when it comes to this sort of thing. I will let you know what happens.

 

[garyjohn951]

You will probably find that QF is the one who dumped you, as they only have 1 flight compared to CX's 3 flights.

 

[Mal]

It is AY's issue to resolve, but also I am curious what happened.

Sounds like a schedule change happened which made the Qantas flight not appropriate for connecting to AY.

What sort of date is involved, and which QF flight were you on?

 

[Travel Guru]

Something doesn't sound right here, in all my years as a TA, i've never once seen an airline change a ticketed booking onto another airline.

Given that its generally booked on the QF code not on an AY codeshare flight number, it seems a bit much to just change you over.

I'd be fighting it all the way

TG

 

[davidj-bell]

Thanks Serfty - I will contact them tomorrow - I don't think it's appropriate what they have done. I didn't have the energy to argue with them today - having a whinge to [and getting good advice from] like minded people on AFF was a much more attractive option. I might start a business where people pay for one product & I give them something else entirely - wonder how long the regulators would let that happen?
Airlines appear to be a protected species when it comes to this sort of thing. I will let you know what happens.

Was this an AY flight that was code shared? They probably have the right to substitute the tin, as you're buying an AY + AY flight, not a QF + AY flight.

 

[andymoo]

I was just about to book Sydney to Helsinki through AY for January and saw this - I'm now putting myself through the misery of London instead - the thought of not getting the points, not being about to use the better lounge and the excess baggage was just so much more horrible...

Good luck with getting that money back - I've had trouble with AY cancelling a flight about 3 years ago, and me needing to be in Helsinki by Monday had to fly through London (next flight wasn't until Monday - this was on a Saturday) and they refused to refund it, a bit more complaining meant I could get 80% back, I'd almost forgiven them...

 

[hazel]

Good news - just got off the phone to Finnair. I expressed my displeasure & they offered me a QF MEL-SYD-HKG on a different day instead of CX. I told them the schedule change meant my HBA-MEL tickets were now useless & would like a full refund of all 4 tickets plus refund of the AMEX surcharge - and they agreed. [they were very restricted tickets as well - no refunds, no changes]
It would be useful if they provided some options at the time rather than just sending a schedule change & hoping you agree to it.
Thanks for all the assistance.

 

[serfty]

I have noticed that QF29/QF30 MEL/HKG are not scheduled to operate with a 744 7 days per week through to the end of daylight saving.

On some Days QF86 replaces QF30 and other they are simply being operated by a 332.

 

[hazel]

Something doesn't sound right here, in all my years as a TA, i've never once seen an airline change a ticketed booking onto another airline.

Given that its generally booked on the QF code not on an AY codeshare flight number, it seems a bit much to just change you over.


TG

You are right - it was a QF not a codeshare. The E-ticket I have says Issuing Airline - Finnair MEL-HKG QF 29 - HKG - HEL AY 68. & the return was HEL-HKG AY67 - HKG - SYD QF 128
They didn't really hesitate in offering the full refund even though the endorsements say NONEND/NONREF/NO CHNGS.
The travel was for 8 June 10.

 

[Mal]

The travel was for 8 June 10.

QF29 is still operating on that day (according to the timetable), and the timing looks normal. However, I suspect AY68 has been retimed to 00:25 which would cause a misconnect as the QF flight arrives about 5am.

 

[hazel]

QF29 is still operating on that day (according to the timetable), and the timing looks normal. However, I suspect AY68 has been retimed to 00:25 which would cause a misconnect as the QF flight arrives about 5am.

You are correct Mal - wonder if AY have changed things due to recent industrial action ay AY?

orginal QF/AY
MEL HKG depart 10.50pm arrive 5.50am
HKG HEL depart 9.20am arrive 3.00pm

new CX/AY

MEL HKG depart 2.35pm arrive 10.05pm
HKG HEL depart 00.25 arrive 6.05am

so the AY flight is departing 9 hours earlier than previously scheduled

 

[Mal]

wonder if AY have changed things due to recent industrial action ay AY?

Probably not. Airlines shift around their schedules for many reasons, including market demand, competitor timings, better utilisation of their aircraft, and crewing issues.

This change by AY has only been in the last few days I think as not all timetables (including their own PDF one and the oneworld timetables) have not yet been updated.

 

[qf unfort]

This is interesting news. As a big fan of the AY service its a shame I'll no longer be able to connect in HKG from the QF service (not that the CX service is too shabby!) - like the OP will miss extra FF miles and possibility to upgrade QF leg.

I've been interested to note I can rarely find Melbourne - LHR flights on the AY website, yet no problem if I punch in Sydney - LHR. Any ideas why this would be? Emailed Finnair about this - their reply was "please contact our reservations team by phone..."

 

[Keith009]

I was hoping to take advantage of this fare, but now it seems I can no longer use QF29 due to the schedule change and will have to fly via SYD or Cathay instead. A bit of a bummer as apart from the much nicer QF flight, the handy 2359 (or 2250) departure on QF29 allows a full day's work prior to travel.

 

[Keith009]

It would appear that the retiming of AY68 is seasonal. It goes back to being a 0940 departure from NOV 2010. Doesn't help the OP unfortunately, but just thought I'd put this bit of trivia out there for anyone contemplating this fare.

 

[qf unfort]

A bit of a bummer as apart from the much nicer QF flight, the handy 2359 (or 2250) departure on QF29 allows a full day's work prior to travel.

Agree with this - QF29 has long been favoured by me for o'seas departures from MEL for this reason alone. Seems a shame (and to me, surprising) that it mustn't be as popular as QF9 given the removal of First class and recent reduction from a daily service.

I seem to recall reading somewhere a quote by someone in Qantas that they were looking at trying to expand MEL/HKG services in future including A380 (no idea where I saw this) but think this seems very unlikely given it can't support daily a daily 747.