Complaints & Resolutions is a popular topic at the Australian Frequent Flyer. While no-one likes a bad travel experience - these things do happen, and there may well be cause to complain.
Qantas has overhauled its beleaguered call centre in an effort to improve the quality of the service provided. But there have been some teething issues, with Platinum members reporting waiting hours on hold and others complaining that the new menu is not user-friendly. A few weeks ago, the Qantas call centre implemented a new Interactive … Continued
Qantas says it has now fixed what appears to have been a widespread problem that saw customers with cancelled Classic Flight Reward bookings for multiple passengers only receiving a refund for one passenger. Many Australian Frequent Flyer members have complained over the past few months that, after requesting a refund, they only received a refund … Continued
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has responded to allegations made by Rex that Qantas is engaging in anti-competitive behaviour against the regional airline. Over the past year, Qantas has launched flights on eight regional routes already served by Rex including Sydney-Orange, Sydney-Griffith, Melbourne-Merimbula and Adelaide-Mt Gambier. Rex alleges that this constitutes “predatory behaviour” on the … Continued
Visitors to Alice Springs, a town in Australia’s red centre, have been greeted by an unusual sight since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The town is also now the temporary home of Singapore Airlines A380s, Cathay Pacific 777s, and many other airliners grounded by the pandemic. In total, there are now around 150 planes … Continued
Air New Zealand has clarified its refund policy after passengers booked on cancelled flights to Norfolk Island were told they were not entitled to a refund. Two weeks ago, Air New Zealand temporarily cancelled all flights from Australia to Norfolk Island after the Australian government suspended quarantine-free flights from New Zealand to Australia (these have … Continued
Fraudsters have been targeting Australians with phishing emails claiming to be from Qantas, warning recipients not to let their “Coronavirus Relief Bonus go to waste”. There are various versions of the fake emails, which look somewhat genuine but have several telltale giveaways of a phishing scam. In 2020, these emails had subject lines including “Your … Continued
A Qantas call centre agent hung up on a Platinum frequent flyer calling to enquire why it was taking so long to receive a refund for their cancelled flight. The incident not only highlights the poor customer service many receive from the Qantas call centre, but also the lengthy delays many Qantas customers experience with … Continued
Regional Express Airlines (Rex), Australia’s largest independent regional airline, has been profitable almost every year since 2004. Given the volatility of the aviation industry and tight margins on regional aviation, that’s a remarkable achievement for the airline which will shortly launch jet services between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. But has Rex’s success been at the … Continued
Last month Qantas announced a plan to close its airport service desks and sales counters, including the service counters in Qantas airport lounges. The airline says that the removal of face-to-face contact points is designed to “enhance customer confidence in flying” during the pandemic. But if the recent experience of a Qantas Platinum member flying … Continued
Over the past few years, many frequent flyer programs have moved away from the customer-unfriendly policy of points expiring after fixed amounts of time. In late 2019, for example, both Etihad Guest and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles removed the expiration of miles after a fixed 2-3 year term in favour of activity-based expiration policies. Miles … Continued
Qantas will close its airport service desks and sales counters, and reduce staffing levels at baggage services desks, resulting in the loss of around 100 jobs. The move will help Qantas to further cut costs, but frequent flyers are concerned this will lead to service reductions and chaos when there are flight disruptions. As part … Continued
More than 300,000 Virgin Australia customers have now received Future Flight credits for cancelled flights. But many Virgin customers have complained they would have preferred a refund. This is especially the case for customers that had purchased expensive international business class tickets, and now have Future Flight credits worth thousands of dollars that can only … Continued