Webjet = fail

[anat0l]

So in other words if you make a booking with a travel agent, you must go to every airline you made a booking with, chase up their reference (because different airlines can appear on the same travel agent's itinerary but different references for each), add your contact details to each and so on.

Kind of defeats the purpose of having the travel agent in the first place, really.

Due to university procedures, I had to use Campus Travel to book some travel last year. I won't tell you how frustrating it was to change my contact details on my itinerary directly on my airline booking, but thankfully I did not have any flight changes I needed to be made aware of. I'm more lucky that I added a FF number to my booking so it appeared in my FF account summary. Infrequent flyers probably do not add their FF numbers to bookings and thus must rely on the correct reference (PNR) and the correct way to look it up.

We seem to have forgotten that the OP's parents did frequently look up their booking on whatever mechanism provided by Webjet and after the change it still showed the old, erroneous information. It's a bit difficult - although immorally possible, I suppose - to argue this isn't the fault of Webjet.

 

[futaris]

We seem to have forgotten that the OP's parents did frequently look up their booking on whatever mechanism provided by Webjet and after the change it still showed the old, erroneous information. It's a bit difficult - although immorally possible, I suppose - to argue this isn't the fault of Webjet.

But the OP never said which mechanism on webjet. They have several (Retrieve My Booking, Booking History, and planitonearth [similar to tripit]) and not all of them (if any) are guaranteed to be up to date.

See this post from Kiwi Flyer re changing schedules...

 

[Oneworldplus2]

We seem to have forgotten that the OP's parents did frequently look up their booking on whatever mechanism provided by Webjet and after the change it still showed the old, erroneous information. It's a bit difficult - although immorally possible, I suppose - to argue this isn't the fault of Webjet.

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't mean to stir up a hornets nest.

My parents did check the Webjet website frequently and the booking did not change from a)time of booking till b) departure. Even after the whole stuff up, ie, 1 day after they should have flown, the original booking was still on the Webjet website, still same departure time/date. Pretty big fail if you ask me.

When it all started to unravel, my father spoke to Webjet and BOTH CX and AY had changed their flight times/dates during the lead-up to departure, Webjet just didn't inform them. Since they missed the outbound flight, AY cancelled the whole ticket.

Columbus, straight off the bat, Webjet's fault. It was not an "unforeseen event".

 

[futaris]

NB, bestflights has this in their T&Cs:

Changes to your flight times.

It is your responsibility to contact the airline prior to departure to ensure there is no change to the schedule departure time. Best Flights will always endeavour to contact you if we are made aware of any such changes but will not be liable for any costs incurred if contact has not been made.

as does Flight Centre:

Schedule Changes:

It is your responsiblity to contact the airline prior to travel to ensure the scheduled departure time has not changed.

travel.com.au:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Flight reconfirmation[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]All onward and return flights must be reconfirmed with the relevant airline at least 72 hours prior to the commencement of that leg of the journey unless specifically informed otherwise by that airline. We also take no responsibility for any flight rescheduling en route.[/FONT]

and harveyworld.com.au:

Flight Timings, Departure Points, Flight Numbers The timings shown on your ticket are subject to reconfirmation on both OUTBOUND and INBOUND journeys. Please contact the applicable Airline at least 72 hours before departure. RTI does not accept responsibility for amended flight timings or numbers.

Whereas webjet say this:

AIRLINE SCHEDULE CHANGES
These are initiated by the airlines and are not under the control of Webjet. For domestic bookings on Jetstar and Virgin Blue,
those airlines will advise you directly of any changes to your booking. If you are not happy with those changes please contact
Jetstar or Virgin Blue directly. For Qantas domestic and all other international airlines Webjet will email any schedule change
details to you and in the event you are not happy with those changes please contact us and we will endeavor to amend your
itinerary subject to air fare rule restrictions and seat availability.

 

[JohnK]

So according to Webjet's own terms and conditions posted by futaris they are clearly in the wrong for not informing the client of airline schedule changes.

For Qantas domestic and all other international airlines Webjet will email any schedule change
details to you and in the event you are not happy with those changes please contact us and we will endeavor to amend your
itinerary subject to air fare rule restrictions and seat availability.

 

[futaris]

That is a sample itinerary from 2007. Whether the OPs parents' itinerary has a similar clause, is another thing. It also another thing to say that webjet are liable if contact was not made.

 

[futaris]

STA Travel say this:

Reconfirmation

Many airlines have chosen not to require formal reconfirmation of their flights however STA Travel strongly recommends that you contact the airline(s) on which you are travelling at least 72 hours before your scheduled departure from Australia to check that your flight is operating as indicated on your ticket.
If you have booked a flight and we are alerted to a significant schedule change by your airline before you leave Australia, we will contact you by email to advise you of this. Please ensure that you have given your contact email address to STA Travel and that you regularly check for messages before you leave. You must notify us should your email address change. STA Travel has no control over, and cannot accept responsibility for, the imposition of schedule changes or cancellation of your flights by the airline and accepts no liability for costs that may arise as a result of such changes.
After you have left Australia, it is your responsibility to check with the airline at least 72 hours that any onward flights you have confirmed are operating as booked. Please note that for some airlines it is mandatory to confirm with them your intention to fly.
You should check the current status of your flights at http://www.virtuallythere.com/ . We strongly recommend that this is done 24 hours before the scheduled departure time printed on your ticket or confirmation email. Your SABRE Reservation Code is a 6-letter code which can be found on your confirmation email.
STA Travel cannot accept responsibility for the content or accuracy of information provided in any external websites not within STA Travel's control.

Zuji say this:

The Operator is not liable for any claims against non-fulfillment or unsatisfactory fulfillment of products and services purchased on your behalf by the Operator from these third party providers and distributors, such as, but not limited to, airlines, hotels, tour operators, car hire companies, insurance companies, and other entities. At times, airlines and other travel services providers may overbook passengers on their flights or re-schedule flight times-the Operator is not responsible for any such incidents.

 

[serfty]

This will be easily sorted once the OP's parent take their issues to ACA/Today Tonight; I did mention "adverse publicity" in my previous post upthread.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Very unfortunate chain of evens for the OP's parents - and a good lesson (although we probably al do already ) to check flights and tmings directly via the airline(s).

As for the actions of the travel agency - this could potentially be a case of negligence.

Did the travel agent owe a duty of care (yes, probably), did they breach that duty (MAYBE - we dont' know exactly what happened for sure), was there a loss? (yes the cost of the new tickets).

I say the agency MAY have breached their duty because we just don't know what actions they took to get in contact with the passenger, or to advise the passenger of their recommendation to cofirm all flights with the airline prior to departure. Did the agent try and email? Did they phone (but the call was missed)? Did they have the wrong phone number or conact details? Lots of factors.

As for the terms and conditions - they would seem to be fairly clear. But again, as we have discussed before, not all terms and conditions will be binding. Certain vitally important clauses may need to be brought to the attention of the consumer in order fo thm to have effect. OR, possibly not... for example if the consumer is a frequent flyer then they should be deemed to know about certain clauses without having to have them pointed out each time.

A simple way for any agency to do this is to sit with a pen (if you are face to face like at Flight Centre) and they circle the key terms for you (I have had this happen once or twice). This covers them.

On line, it might be that best practice would be that an agency has separate check boxes for the more important terms (instead of just the single 'I/we have read and agree [to the 20 pages of fine print following]')

Then of course the actions of the consumers in this case need to be considered. Were they aware (or should have been aware) that they reasonnably ought to have called each airline to ensure flight times? (and therefore should shoulder some blame?)

however in this case, and especially in the day of the internet, if the OPs parents had checked their first flight via the CX website, or Melbounre Airport site it would have shown as 'on time'. Mere departure information does not show that you have actually been moved to a different flight.

And arlines these days tell you that you don't need to reconfirm.

So lots of issues and will be interesting to see how it pans out.

 

[Webjet1]

Hi

Need your name and a telephone number so we can respond to your issue

Webjet

 

[Webjet1]

We need to discuss this with haven't been able to get anyone on the phone contact in the booking, please provide a telpehone number and name so we can make contact and resolve this issue.
Webjet

Hi People,

My parents are in a very sticky situation at the moment.

A once in a 3 year, 6 week trip to Europe has been severely jeopardised. With a pretty big domino effect taking place as l type this.

My father booked a CX/AY combo ticket about 6 months ago. 2 people. whY Class. He is a QF Gold. Columbus Direct Insurance purchased as well.

PER-HKG-HEL-TXL vv

Both CX and AY had changed the departure date and times leading up to the departure.

Webjet did NOT in any way notify my parents prior to departure of changes and the itinerary was NOT updated on their website. My dad checked the itinerary on the webjet website every week prior to departure. No changes, same booking, he thought, all going as planned. The itinerary at this minute, on the website, still the same as what they had purchased. So, no updates/changes, same as the original booking.

Last night, he checked in online and the CX flight, BIG PROBLEM. Because of the changes, they were meant to depart the day before and connect with AY through to Berlin. There go the flights.
So, they are in PER, making frantic calls to try to get to Europe as most of the hotels booked and other inter-Europe flights have no a refund policy.

Insurance = no go as it was an "not unforeseen event" aka, Webjet's problem for not updating the itinerary and notifying the clients. It is travel Agents responsibility to update flight details to clients. Fair enough, l agree with that.

Webjet, trying to weasel their way out of it.

AY= They notified Webjet, not our fault.
CX= They notified Webjet, not our fault.

My dad, loosing hair (fast) and will probably book a QF flight ASAP to get to Europe before it all goes to s**t.

Impression l have gotten so far, STAY AWAY FROM WEBJET!!!!!!

Opinions people????????????

 

[straitman]

Webjet1,

Welcome to AFF. It is always good to have someone from specific companies on the forum so that people are able to address specific questions to that company.

I see that the OP is currently online so he should contact you shortly. You could always send him a PM.

 

[markis10]

Whats happened is not a rare occurrence with agents in general, in fact this thread has something of a groundhog day feel to it: http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/com...ensation-missed-flights-due-travel-16441.html


Interestingly there is a good article in the latest Australian Aviation about rights in this LCC era, while this particular circumstance is not about LCC flights there is a definite need to have a fresh look at rights and responsibilities in the new era of LCC and LCTA (low cost travel agents).

 

[Webjet1]

He has made contact but details are the same as his fathers have sent another message as need his contact details and number tio be able to sort through this.

Webjet1,

Welcome to AFF. It is always good to have someone from specific companies on the forum so that people are able to address specific questions to that company.

I see that the OP is currently online so he should contact you shortly. You could always send him a PM.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

I have now PM'd you both my fathers details and mine.

Name
Mobile
E-mail
Postal Address

I don't know why you need my details, as l didn't book, pay or put my name on anything to do with this flight. My responsibilities; to take the oldies to the airport, then this happened.

 

[straitman]

We await the outcome with interest.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

C**** from Webjet just called me and this matter is in the process of being sorted out now.

Thanks to Webjet for getting on this forum and getting in touch with me, and my father (via e-mail).

 

[BAM1748]

C**** from Webjet just called me and this matter is in the process of being sorted out now.

Thanks to Webjet for getting on this forum and getting in touch with me, and my father (via e-mail).

Just a pitty Webjet only reacts in such circumstances as you having to come here for advice.

Then when Webjet post here they don't put a name or position of the poster but claim to be Webjet, another fail.

Matt

 

[ArseneV]

Just a pitty Webjet only reacts in such circumstances as you having to come here for advice.

Then when Webjet post here they don't put a name or position of the poster but claim to be Webjet, another fail.

Matt

Yeah what the hell? No identification just...Webjet1. I probably wouldn't have replied with my details if I had that message sent to me.
Careful OneWorld...confirm their details with the company.

 

[dajop]

I probably wouldn't have replied with my details if I had that message sent to me.
Careful OneWorld...confirm their details with the company.

I would have no issues in sharing one of my (secondary) email addresses to people to verify whether they are bonafide or not and then take it from there. One of the reasons I maintain several email addresses.

Good on Webjet for addressing the issue, at least they did not ignore discussion on AFF!