Should We just Accept it as Unlucky-Lifemiles on TG

[RB]

We have used Lifemiles previously and we understand that there are compromises as in most ff schemes

As per a few posts, there are quite a few people affected by TG changing their schedules. This is our current situation
1/ For our flights over SYD-OPO we just accepted that schedule changes meant we spent more time in BKK, a shorter time in FRA
2/ Returning home MXP-SYD we had a approx 2hr BKK stop, arrived in SYD, had around 16hrs in SYD & then a domestic flight- so we booked non-cancellable domestic tickets & thought all was sweet.
3/ TG schedule changes meant our early morning arrival into BKK now had no quick connections. At best a 13hr connection (waitlisted, then discussion/cat & mouse between Thai & Lifemiles- At one stage Lifemiles told me that Thai said the later confirmed flight would have to be removed from the booking so they could change the waitlisted flight to confirmed) or a 26 hr stay in BKK (confirmed seats but also to be negotiated between the parties with this disappearing from check my trip at one stage & a threat that they needed to be reconfirmed or lost).
4/ I have had contact with both TG (Aust & BKK) & Lifemiles & hoped at best we would end up with the 13 hr connection & save our domestic flights. I was also hoping that they may provide somewhere for us to spend some of the time
5/ In short we are now faced with the 26hr stay,neither Thai nor Lifemiles want to assist with a hotel & neither are interested in our need to rebuy domestic Aust flights

It will still be a good holiday but the trip home is now looking less attractive!

 

[ketsuzei]

I was in a similar situation recently, a schedule change meant that a 2.5 hour transit at BKK would have turned into a 14.5 hour one.

HND-BKK-SYD, second flight cancelled and then rescheduled.

First contact with TG: Ask at the airport and see what they can do for you.

Second contact with TG Sydney: Because it's an award booking with Avianca, we can't arrange accommodation.

Then I heard from TG Tokyo, and they were absolutely magnificent in booking me onto a new first flight to reduce the connection time to something more manageable. I still had to call Avianca to get the ticket reissued, but TG Tokyo were on top of it the whole way.

So I wouldn't necessarily give up yet if you have some free time.

 

[Alanslegal]

Sadly and somewhat expectedly that there will quite a few more of these "involuntary schedule changes" posts. It will be more complicated when no-one is willing to do anything or when no-one really knows how to rectify those changes. I know it's a different thread but will be harder yet under USDM when they not being able to do anything anymore due to the transfer to a new alliance.

I personally take every opportunity to go into the Bangkok city on long'ish transits anyway, catch the airport train into the city which takes 30minutes and explore the city for the day, do a river cruise, explore some street markets etc. I know you will be tired from an overnight flight from Europe but take some Berocca - it should give you some b.b.b.bounce - and sleep on the overnight flight back to AU. Otherwise take the longer stop and spend a night or two there.

Sorry to hear about your possible waste of spending extra money on the domestic tickets, I don't have any suggestions how to recover those costs.

 

[burmans]

Sadly and somewhat expectedly that there will quite a few more of these "involuntary schedule changes" posts. It will be more complicated when no-one is willing to do anything or when no-one really knows how to rectify those changes. I know it's a different thread but will be harder yet under USDM when they not being able to do anything anymore due to the transfer to a new alliance.

I personally take every opportunity to go into the Bangkok city on long'ish transits anyway, catch the airport train into the city which takes 30minutes and explore the city for the day, do a river cruise, explore some street markets etc. I know you will be tired from an overnight flight from Europe but take some Berocca - it should give you some b.b.b.bounce - and sleep on the overnight flight back to AU. Otherwise take the longer stop and spend a night or two there.

Sorry to hear about your possible waste of spending extra money on the domestic tickets, I don't have any suggestions how to recover those costs.

Agree, personally I like a break halfway also. And you can get (reasonable) accomodation extremely cheap in BKK.

Loss of internal fares is a bugger but I think most FF programs would not regard this as their issue.

 

[Rallo]

Are you sure that your 26 hour stop over is allowed by LM ?
I nearly had to cancel my trip because of the TG schedule change resulting in a 24 hour stop over in BKK.LM were clear when I called they would not ticket the second leg , luckily TG in Sydney moved my first flight to avoid the 24 hour wait .

 

[RB]

Are you sure that your 26 hour stop over is allowed by LM ?
I nearly had to cancel my trip because of the TG schedule change resulting in a 24 hour stop over in BKK.LM were clear when I called they would not ticket the second leg , luckily TG in Sydney moved my first flight to avoid the 24 hour wait .

.
The flight is ticketed, I have had a lot of discussions with the Protections Dept.

 

[JohnK]

Still won't forget what happened to mum last year where the FCO-BKK TG flight was cancelled and we did not receive any notification. It was a USDM award booking.

Yes it is partly my fault for not checking but how hard is it to send an email notifying the flight change?

 

[zainman]

Still won't forget what happened to mum last year where the FCO-BKK TG flight was cancelled and we did not receive any notification. It was a USDM award booking.

Yes it is partly my fault for not checking but how hard is it to send an email notifying the flight change?

No phone call or anything? That's pretty bad.

I have my flight itineraries emailed to kayak/awardwallet and then if something changes even if the airline doesn't send you an email, I get one from them (schedule change for e.g.)

 

[JohnK]

No phone call or anything? That's pretty bad.

Nothing.

As I said I blame myself for not checking but you would expect some sort of notification. At least with Qantas and Virgin we get email updates even if scheduled flight time changes by 5 minutes. Mum still blames me for the inconvenience and I feel bad she had to go through that stress at FCO.

 

[timster]

I'm relatively new to TG but their notifications seem to be rather hit-or-miss ...
Received email notification two months out that outbound international departure time had changed by 30 minutes (later).
Happened to log into my booking some weeks later to find that the return leg had been cancelled and I had been moved onto a flight 8 hours later. The flight is still a month away, but no email notification yet.
Domestically, I logged into the (diferent) booking two weeks out to find that both outbound and inbound had been rebooked to later times. Today I finally received an email notification to that effect, 3 days out.

 

[quokka77]

Nothing.

As I said I blame myself for not checking but you would expect some sort of notification. At least with Qantas and Virgin we get email updates even if scheduled flight time changes by 5 minutes. Mum still blames me for the inconvenience and I feel bad she had to go through that stress at FCO.

FCO is a coughpy place to be stuck. Hope my in laws flights are ok. ..