The 6:30am BNE-SYD is gone and I am not on it [No ESTA]

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Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

All I have had from Virgin today is a lot of "Can't do's" and "didn't do's". That is probably again my fault but that is not relevant.

Ummm... yes it is relevant. Unless you are starting a topic about how Virgin didn't exercise discretion in your case.

Actually there are lots of threads on AFF like this. You have one side saying that an airline should exercise discretion, and always another one which says that the argument would be unnecessary if the affected were more prudent / prepared.

- They could have taken me to SYD domestic and then worried about the consequences

So in other words you wanted them to check you in, lying on the electronic process that you have an ESTA, and take all that responsibility (and you none)? You realise even if it "works out", that could mean the end of a job for an agent, or a severe reprimand. You may not care about that agent......

Again, I'm not sure what VA would need to do if they wanted to short check you, if that is even possible. (Overnight connections are not short checks; they are simply connections which cannot be through checked.)

- You have 2 international check-in counters and you have 2 people are reorganising luggage and as a check-in agent you don't call up one of the other 2 people waiting in the queue? Sorry but this has me baffled now I have had time to think about how a check-in agent sat around for ~10 minutes doing nothing while someone was reorganising luggage and 2 people in the queue. :confused:

Maybe putting your hand up to say, "Can I get help?" Not much you can do about that, so fair enough, maybe VA have a bit of an issue with queue management.

- Orbitz wanted to help but Virgin was imposing the change fees and fare difference. Yes they saw this was a cheap "mistake" fare and dug their heels in quite deep. Their loss not mine. The airfare only cost me ~AUD375. Virgin are going to lose quite a lot off me. Who pays for lounge access for a Velocity Gold who takes SQ flights?

I don't get this one. Orbitz are a travel agent - naturally they want to help but Orbitz are forced to pass on whatever fees or what not charged by Virgin onto you. Orbitz won't absorb that cost out of their own goodness, unless they showed a huge discretion or there was such an offer on the fare from Orbitz. It is no different to if you had booked with another travel agent - they pass on Virgin's fees and charges onto you. The only time when the travel agent will not pass on the airline's costs to you is if they (the travel agent) stuffed up. Orbitz couldn't realistically do any more; additionally they had no obligations (and neither does Virgin, to a large degree).

Mistake fare or not has (usually almost) no effect. Neither if you had booked through another TA or even VA directly. You could have been on a standard sale fare at AUD 800 or whatever. The fare difference would have likely been much lower, but you'd still be more or less in the same rut.

I am not asking for compensation. Why wouldn't Virgin give me SCs and points for a flight I paid for and turned up to the airport to take? This is not high expectation on my part. It is the least they can do under the circumstances.

Your wording here seems to imply that VA have done you a disservice and thus should give you something. SCs and points are only awarded for flights which you actually flew. This is why people who ordinarily no show for their flights don't get them. You may have shown up for the flight on time, but since you didn't get checked in on time (through reasons which are primarily your fault), you are considered a no show.

Your simply paying for a ticket does not automatically give you points and status credits. Wouldn't that be a boon for many members here!

Your expectation is that you are asking for VA to break the rules and give you credits. It may happen, but I'd start from the point of view that it won't happen, and you will have a hard time getting them if you must make a claim.


The irony is the existence of this thread may pique the interest of the VA rep, who may just get you fixed up all well and good. Of course, this doesn't fix up your lost hotel bookings or car hire (if you had any, assuming they are non-refundable), and you can't send VA the bill for that.
 
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Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

Why couldn't VA look at who is booked to travel tomorrow, next day etc and email those who don't have ESTAs already?
It's not difficult for VA - would avoid these last minute issues and heck - VA could provide a 'premium' service by charging a fee to do the application for passengers too.

Can VA (or any airline) access this kind of information? Let alone in advance?

I thought this is normally why you need to show ESTA evidence at check-in. It's not that the airlines know you have an ESTA or not, it is simply that they need to acknowledge you have one (usually by sighting it, but those airlines who want to run the risk and just ask and take your word for it can do so).

While VA is correct by the hard and fast rulebook - they really ****ed up. It's not like JohnK is the first person in history not to have an ESTA. Quoting you an obscene amount to get on the next flight is horrible customer service. It's not the way to handle this situation with a distressed customer.

So what should they have quoted him, or how should they have handled it?
 
Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

I have learned from this. I have been visiting the USA an average of three time per year over the last decade.

For some reason I thought my current ESTA expired November next year ... so I checked ... no - it's this year.

I may have realised beforehand (likely, as I always carry a fresh printout) but it's a good wakeup.

It's often hard to lean from other's experiences ... for me this is not one of those occasions.

To johnk, now you have an ESTA ... can't let it go to waste ... transpacific fare's recently have been the cheapest I can remember (in real terms ... say 20 discounted slabs of beer) ...:idea:
 
Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

...
So what should they have quoted him, or how should they have handled it?
Simple, issued a BP but not let him board in BNE until an ESTA was approved.

I am sure this would have been possible ...
 
Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

Not sure how relevant this is but earlier this year I was ticketed from CBR to EWR and bags were checked through with Qantas and AA. I was called to the gate an hour early in SYD because I did not have an ESTA on file due to a computer error. If they wouldn't let you go BNE to SYD, then why wasn't my ESTA checked in CBR?

Was this on an Aussie passport? The CSA in CBR should have received a response "no valid ESTA found is there a secondary document" or something to that effect. The only way to bypass that to get a boarding pass for the USA flight is to answer "yes" then add in the secondary document eg hard visa, US green card etc. They should never enter yes unless there is a valid secondary document held by the pax. I believe the supervisor of the USA flights are able to print out a list of pax where the CSA has said yes but not yet entered the secondary document. This means the issued can be rectified before the pax boards and avoids visa violation fines by the US Govt if the pax arrives without correct documentation.

I have Qantas flights in 3 weeks, booked via AA, BNE-SYD-HKG-BKK all on one ticket. The BNE-SYD flight is the night before. I have done this in the past. They don't check passport/eligibility requirements to enter HKG/BKK in BNE.

So what changes with a same day connection like I had today? Were VA were worried they would have to bring me back to BNE from SYD?

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to be allowed on domestic flight and then determine eligibility before USA flight. I had 105 minutes connection in SYD.

Either way quite happy to wear the blame and cost but something tells me Virgin could have done something more at very little cost and all would have been fine. Doesn't hurt to send in feedback.

If the BNE/SYD flight is the night prior then the CSA wouldn't even notice your onward flights the next day SYD/HKG/BKK as they wouldn't appear in your checkin record as oncarriage like it would if all the flights were on the same day so there is no requirement for the CSA to check your ESTA at that point as they're only checking you in to SYD. That scenario is a bit different to the VA situation you encountered today,
 
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Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

I have learned from this. I have been visiting the USA an average of three time per year over the last decade.

For some reason I thought my current ESTA expired November next year ... so I checked ... no - it's this year.

I may have realised beforehand (likely, as I always carry a fresh printout) but it's a good wakeup.

It's often hard to lean from other's experiences ... for me this is not one of those occasions.

To johnk, now you have an ESTA ... can't let it go to waste ... transpacific fare's recently have been the cheapest I can remember (in real terms ... say 20 discounted slabs of beer) ...:idea:

They send you an email approximately a month before expiry to let you know...
 
Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

Can VA (or any airline) access this kind of information? Let alone in advance?

I thought this is normally why you need to show ESTA evidence at check-in. It's not that the airlines know you have an ESTA or not, it is simply that they need to acknowledge you have one (usually by sighting it, but those airlines who want to run the risk and just ask and take your word for it can do so).

So what should they have quoted him, or how should they have handled it?

The airline accesses this information as part of check-in - you don't need to show (and I have never shown) my ESTA on departure; after all, if it wasn't electronically checked, it'd be super easy to photoshop up your very own ESTA.

The challenge for the airline with pre-checking is it relies on people entering their passport details into the booking in advance and then travelling on the same passport that they've entered.
 
Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

Complaining about VA acting like a LCC when you've paid $266 for a return flight to the US seems a little hypocritical ;)
What is the relevance of the price I paid for the airfare? Things happened quickly this morning. Yes I could have handled the situation better but so could the VA staff. They are paid to do a job and they did their job poorly. And to boot the VA call centre could not care less as it was not their booking.

Can VA (or any airline) access this kind of information? Let alone in advance?

I thought this is normally why you need to show ESTA evidence at check-in. It's not that the airlines know you have an ESTA or not, it is simply that they need to acknowledge you have one (usually by sighting it, but those airlines who want to run the risk and just ask and take your word for it can do so).
The have access to this information at the airport.

So what should they have quoted him, or how should they have handled it?
Served me quicker for a start? No? My fault again for sitting around waiting in a queue for international connections? The ESTA would have been completed in time had people not been taking out shoes from one bag to put in another bag and then taken more things out of another bag to put in carry on bag.

My stance on what happened this morning has changed considerably since it happened. And at the end of the day some of the personal attacks have been unbelievable.
 
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Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

What is the relevance of the price I paid for the airfare?

It's relevant to the figure quoted to you as a change fee + fare difference to get you to your destination once you had missed the checkin cutoff.
 
Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

It's relevant to the figure quoted to you as a change fee + fare difference to get you to your destination once you had missed the checkin cutoff.
Why is it relevant to calling me a hypocrite?
 
Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

I thought this is normally why you need to show ESTA evidence at check-in. It's not that the airlines know you have an ESTA or not, it is simply that they need to acknowledge you have one (usually by sighting it, but those airlines who want to run the risk and just ask and take your word for it can do so).


So what should they have quoted him, or how should they have handled it?

I have never been asked to show one, and US regulations don't require you to carry a copy.

rest of post edited out as how the airlines know (electronically) has been answered already!
 
Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

I have never been asked to show one, and US regulations don't require you to carry a copy.

rest of post edited out as how the airlines know (electronically) has been answered already!

There was a spate of reports last year of people being asked to show a hard copy on check-in, despite the US not requiring a copy.
 
Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

They send you an email approximately a month before expiry to let you know...

Which is a valuable service. Whenever I receive the email, I get a new ESTA. $14 is cheap insurance for an issue like this. I can pack up and go to America on a whim without even thinking about an ESTA
 
Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

Can VA (or any airline) access this kind of information? Let alone in advance?


I thought this is normally why you need to show ESTA evidence at check-in. It's not that the airlines know you have an ESTA or not, it is simply that they need to acknowledge you have one (usually by sighting it, but those airlines who want to run the risk and just ask and take your word for it can do so).

Don't know about VA but QF could only verify if a pax had a valid ESTA ahead of time eg the day prior if the pax had added their passport info and address they'll be staying at in the USA into the booking. If these mandatory fields were completed it would be possible to check once the names appear in the Altea checkin system at approx T-80.

A lot of the time pax do not provide all the info so the ESTA check couldn't be completed until pax arrived at the airport and handed over their passports to be swiped at which time an electronic message is generated to DHS to verify if a valid ESTA exists against that passport number. If there is, then a response appears in the pax's checkin record that states "valid ESTA application on file - OK to board" and only then will boarding passes print out.

I'm not aware of any instances where pax have been charged by QF to moved to a later BNE/SYD flight while their ESTA is obtained. If pax is travelling with baggage and other travel companions then the bags can be checked in against the other people in the meantime to the US. If the ESTA is done in time in BNE then the pax can be checked in for the subsequent SYD/LAX flight before they leave BNE.

As a last resort they could be checked in at SYD but that would only be if there wasn't sufficient time to complete the ESTA application prior to the departure of the BNE/SYD flight.
 
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Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

Did I say it was?

As far as I can tell, nobody has called you a hypocrite.
Sorry not you. A post further up. The one I quoted and you responded. Probably tongue in cheek but considering all the personal attacks today I am a little jumpy.

Lose all respect for people who lay into someone when they are down. This isn't the first time either. Happens on other threads to other people as well. AFF is supposed to be community where we help each other.
 
Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

An upsetting episode JohnK - but I appreciate the fact you have posted about it. At minimum it's a timely reminder of the need to allow enough time for even the simplest things and has flushed out a few of the rules.

Before my very first trip to the US (a big holiday) my personal computer crashed 3 days before I departed. I had not printed a single ticket (dozens of flights, hotel reservations, train trips, tours, sports tickets, maps, itineraries etc). Was able to retrieve most and eventually print on a friend's computer or in the office the night before departure. While I don't travel with anywhere near as much paper these days, I still remember that mild panic - and endeavour to have multiple access options and things sorted and printed several days before travel when I can.
 
Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

Simple, issued a BP but not let him board in BNE until an ESTA was approved.

I am sure this would have been possible ...
What an excellent idea and greatly appreciated. That's all the check-in agent had to do this morning and I could have boarded flight to SYD and arrived at SYD domestic ~90 minutes before international departure.

Instead they chose the cowards way and not assisted in any way shape or form other than to tell me I needed ESTA. Yes thanks Virgin. Well played by the book. You'll get a few supporters this way.
 
Re: BNE-SYD-LAX-BNE VA Y US$266 on Orbitz [gone]

Sorry to hear about your predicament JohnK. It's particularly frustrating when you present them with what would seem to be a reasonable solution (being checked in only BNE/SYD) only to have that request denied.

Have you tried sending a pm to the VA Social Media team on Facebook or Twitter?
 
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