Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Typhoon...Cancelled...Now What?

Hi All

I was going to fly TPE-HKG-WUH on August 7(HK Time)
but first sector of my trip(TPE-HKG) is cancelled due to typhoon approaching.
The problem is, I did an upgrade.
Called dragonair, they told me to call AsiaMiles since I'm upgraded, "They can't touch anything on my reservation"
Called AsiaMiles(5 hrs of waiting), they told me to call Dragonair since it's the airlines fault for cancelling the flight, "They don't have the right to touch anything on my reservation"
Now the office of Dragonair/CX had closed
I am really pissed at "2009 best airline"

My flight is not just cancelled, it involved connection problem and upgrade
problem

I still can't believe they're that lazy and passive. 1 cell phone message is all I got from Cathay Pacific/Dragonair

BTW, other airlines like EVA and China Airlines has not cancelled ANY of their TPE-HKG flights.

Please give me suggestion for this situation

It's really urgent

Thanks in Advance to all that help

Problem is that Dragonair is still not fully intergrated into CX.. and they're just passing the buck. CX would never do that to you.

Doesn't matter you were on an award miles upgrade or not. KA cancelled the flight, THEY have to reaccomodate you and rebook you in whatever they have .. even if its in full revenue class. It is not Asiamile's responsibility.

You need to write into customer relations to get this sorted out.

Problem is that Dragonair is still not fully intergrated into CX.. and they're just passing the buck. CX would never do that to you.

Doesn't matter you were on an award miles upgrade or not. KA cancelled the flight, THEY have to reaccomodate you and rebook you in whatever they have .. even if its in full revenue class. It is not Asiamile's responsibility.

You need to write into customer relations to get this sorted out.

thanks Betsy

I'm wondering if Dragonair has the responsibility to rebook me onto another business class ticket if the flight is cancelled beucase of natural disaster?

It doesn't matter whether you paid $ for your business class ticket, used miles to upgrade or by another other means. You had a business class ticket and hence it is the airline's obligations to transport you in a business class seat or compensate you for not doing so.

No luck :(

They blame it all on the Typhoon.

My trip is forced to be postponed till next week

I tried to call both CX and KA, but they only offer full refund or date change

They don't want to offer me J class or Y class

They could only book me on my original class, which is H.

Therefore, I have to call back and forth (KA-Asia Miles-CX-KA-Asia Miles-KA-Asia Miles, my routing:p)

Finally snatch a seat on the next Friday in U class

Asia Miles line is ultra hard to call into, however, Asia Miles' agent is the most useful out of all.

Can't say I'm happy with the outcome

I was hoping for something like J class all the way and Penninsula hotel stay after seeing all the miracle like stories of CX treating their customers:p

Maybe I'm not as important as all the Marco Polos.:o

Hey, Blame it on the TYPHOON.

China Airlines and EVA Air already suspends service to Hong Kong due to typhoon

cant understand someone who thinks because he has a biz class ticket that the airline should go out of their way to fly him during a typhoon, seems to me he thinks that typhoons dont apply to him and the thousands of other stranded passengers affected in this situation, also seems he thinks they will put hi a 5 star hotel just because he did an upgrade, not asking for much really then

China Airlines and EVA Air already suspends service to Hong Kong due to typhoon

They actually suspended flights after 2pm

cant understand someone who thinks because he has a biz class ticket that the airline should go out of their way to fly him during a typhoon, seems to me he thinks that typhoons dont apply to him and the thousands of other stranded passengers affected in this situation, also seems he thinks they will put hi a 5 star hotel just because he did an upgrade, not asking for much really then

Man people sometimes just understand things wrong.

I didn't ask for nothing but just the same class ticket to my original destination
but, I called 7 times, being put on hold for 5 hrs, being kicked back and forth, all they can give me is a ticket in Economy a week later.

I have to rearrange my seat with Asia Miles while my original flight is departing in a few hours...

anyone that go through these will go insane and just start yelling at the agents. But I didn't, I understand It's not their fault for cancelling flights in a Typhoon situation.

However, I'm unhappy with how they treat a customer and not being helpful.

Also EVA and CI flights both depart on time before 2pm, they can just book me onto one of them and make my connection.

I just think I deserve a seat in Biz to my destination, that's it.

PS. I found out CX and KA agents doesn't know whether I'm upgraded or travelling on free ticket. All they see is U class which I think caused a little problem.

Right or wrong aside, I would like to share my story on KA...

They have great in-flight services, great food in Y to places like PEK and SHA, also offering catering that is usually better than CX in Y to TPE,

BUT

They are far behind CX in terms of all other services, especially on the groud and worse still, in HK. Since the ground handling agent is not CX itself but HAS, I often always experience robotic and rule treatments. For all the problems I have experienced, the first answer from KA is often always automatically NO!

NO they are not going to offer me a check in box and have to ask me for travel class, and even go extra miles to provide me with a torn box! NO they do not explain to you some stations are not permitted for return check but tell you that sorry it can't be helped! NO they do not know how to tag a bag for itinerary like SIN-HKG-TPE-HKG-ICN in HKG, directly to ICN only but need to get CX agents to phone them how it could be done in their computer! NO they upgrade people who reported late for flight in a full flight from FOC to HKG but the members (only 7 of us in the lounge) were all sitting in Y! I am not asking for too much, but I think frequent travellers may be given extra pampering for being loyal to an airline or an alliance. The OPUP is tolerable because it may be troublesome to pull someone off from the seat, assign to the new seat in J and re-print the boarding pass, but nonetheless, it shows how much they CARE for their customers. But the fragile torn box that I have begged from them is far beyond my acceptance.

I certainly hope KA could integrate more with CX... in terms of service level...

Man people sometimes just understand things wrong.

I didn't ask for nothing but just the same class ticket to my original destination
but, I called 7 times, being put on hold for 5 hrs, being kicked back and forth, all they can give me is a ticket in Economy a week later.

I have to rearrange my seat with Asia Miles while my original flight is departing in a few hours...

anyone that go through these will go insane and just start yelling at the agents. But I didn't, I understand It's not their fault for cancelling flights in a Typhoon situation.

However, I'm unhappy with how they treat a customer and not being helpful.

Also EVA and CI flights both depart on time before 2pm, they can just book me onto one of them and make my connection.

I just think I deserve a seat in Biz to my destination, that's it.

PS. I found out CX and KA agents doesn't know whether I'm upgraded or travelling on free ticket. All they see is U class which I think caused a little problem.

I think they definitely went chaotic at that time .. imagine the already busy TPE HKG link has 1 day blockage, and they have 10-ish flights to clear up the queue (with additional check-in island at HKIA)

There probably more passenger purchased full Y (which is like HKD 3K ? ) which allow them to do interline that the ground agent to handle with. And I bet that CI / BR will simply block CX / KA off and say we have problem handling our passenger either. On TPE HKG link changeable ticket are not uncommon and honestly, when I see a typhoon coming I will run to airport and get on next departing flight.

For CI / BR still flying and not CX / KA, let's not forget CX / KA are the one with one of the best flight record in industry and they are not going to risk it. In addition it just keep passenger know what's going on unlike the other carrier that passenger end up waiting at airport for a day end up not flying (and put their life in danger while going to airport under such a strong typhoon)

I feel sorry for the OP's trouble in clearing his situation but things still get sort out after all. CX / KA may not best in Customer Service department, but after all we only want a safe flight and they score 10 out of 10 at that.

Thank you all for clarifing and sharing everything

Compared to CX, KA does have a lot to improve on. Let's hope for the best.

Just for future reference, in this kind of situation(rewarded and cancelled), tell them clearly whether you're travelling on free ticket or upgraded to avoid some confusion between you and the agent.

I almost always fly CX to/from TPE because there are many much flights compared with KA. It is easier for them to take care of such situations. The U ticket may be an issue for KA to put you on other flights. However, I think it is almost impossible anyway because other airlines have their own problems taking care of their own passengers - everyone is trying to get out before the typhoon.

I think the problem is probably that CX and KA doesn't want to deal with the problems, so they just cancel the entire flights as a whole on that day and tell you to go f yourself since it's weather related problems. Want re-booking? Wait till our office is opened afterwards.

Everyone knows that this typhoon does not warrant an entire day of cancellation at TPE (KHH is probably the place that warrants more than a day)... this typhoon barely did any damage at the northern Taiwan. While we can all tell each other that safety is the issue, it really has nothing to do with safety when the typhoon isn't even touching the ground till 2am the next day (Morakou has been reported to be an extremely slow typhoon) and they cancelled all the flights since 8am. In reality, CX/KA won't even have to worry about their plane being locked on the ground of TPE till past 12pm (and tell me how many flights they could've operated?).

China Airlines and EVA Airways flew their planes because they know it's safe to do so. They don't tell their passengers to go f themselves and find their own ways of means to get to Hong Kong, Korea, or Japan because the typhoon is approaching. They did cancel the flights (in the afternoon) 3 to 4 hours ahead of time if it's deemed necessary. They are willing to transport their passengers as much as they can and they parked their planes in Hong Kong, Japan, Mainland China, Thailand, and even some oversea destinations despite the fact they have to pay higher fees. BR and CI didn't have a mess the next day in TPE, but CX and KA did... so what did CX and KA do?

I almost always fly CX to/from TPE because there are many much flights compared with KA. It is easier for them to take care of such situations. The U ticket may be an issue for KA to put you on other flights. However, I think it is almost impossible anyway because other airlines have their own problems taking care of their own passengers - everyone is trying to get out before the typhoon.

You may want to check with your agent, I usually get a KA ticket that can use one sector in selected CX flight, that was particular useful when you need to be flexible. Just remember not to use online check in, or they will make you call around KA/CX/E-Checkin...

CX put safety first, I won't fly during or close to a typhoon.

[QUOTE=coolfish1103;12205428]I think the problem is probably that CX and KA doesn't want to deal with the problems, so they just cancel the entire flights as a whole on that day and tell you to go f yourself since it's weather related problems. Want re-booking? Wait till our office is opened afterwards.

Fact check: Many airlines (China Eastern as an example) who did not cancel their flights on Friday morning, cancelled fights to TPE just minutes before departure, due to safety reasons. I would rathern know before I head to the airport that flights are cancelled, rather than wait till the gate. There were three typhoon 8 in HK this year, and CX/KA maintained normal operations - which showed that they do want to maintain normal operations as much as possible. I would say UA is the most proactive, as they would frequetly cancel/delay flights significantly in anticipation of typhoon, while other flights are leaving on-time. also, CX did not tell customers to "f" themselves. There are traveling waivers, which allow for rebooking and cancellation. CX/KA also added a bunch of extra flights on Saturday to accmodate stranded customers.

China Airlines flew their planes because they know it's safe to do so.

Based on China Airline's safety and crash records sometimes I wish they should know when it's NOT safe to fly....

Sorry, but as a PAX I rather be late/delayed/cancelled then return home in a body bag...

Based on China Airline's safety and crash records sometimes I wish they should know when it's NOT safe to fly....

Sorry, but as a PAX I rather be late/delayed/cancelled then return home in a body bag...

CI's record has improved in the last few years, but I still prefer not to take a chance flying in bad weather.

The chance is that you would not return home in a body bag - either you survive the flight or most likely nobody can find you ;)

CI's record has improved in the last few years, but I still prefer not to take a chance flying in bad weather.

The chance is that you would not return home in a body bag - either you survive the flight or most likely nobody can find you ;)

lol

Anyways, CI managed to get every plane safe on the ground after all...
Let's give CI a burst of applause...!?!? :p
Also, let's not forget one of the few never-crashed airline, BR, flew their planes too.

There's no reason for us to fight over the safety records, and I do not blame the airline for the typhoon.

I just hope for a better customer service after all.

Cheers

I was going to fly TPE-HKG-WUH on August 7(HK Time)
but first sector of my trip(TPE-HKG) is cancelled due to typhoon approaching.
The problem is, I did an upgrade.
Called dragonair, they told me to call AsiaMiles since I'm upgraded, "They can't touch anything on my reservation"
Called AsiaMiles(5 hrs of waiting), they told me to call Dragonair since it's the airlines fault for cancelling the flight, "They don't have the right to touch anything on my reservation"
Now the office of Dragonair/CX had closed
I am really pissed at "2009 best airline"

Last year (or was it the year before?) in October, I flew on a chartered jet out of Songshan because my CX flight was cancelled.

Another reason why I refuse to deal with CX/OW :p

Way to go trying to copy and paste my posts by leaving EVA Airways out. Now we are bringing safety records on to the stand whenever there's a weather problem? Why don't we compare Cathay Pacific with EVA Airways then? As far as I remember, I don't recall EVA Airways have a major glitch yet Cathay has some back in 1970s.

You can be canceled/late/delayed if you desired. Both China Airlines and EVA Airways did that as well on their flights on August 7th, 2009 after 12pm, but not prior to 12pm. They also announced cancellations 3 hours ahead on their website (or you can call them), so you don't have go to the airport if your flight is canceled.

Airlines in China are known to cancel/delay flights prior to departure w/o telling you, I have personal experience with that. However, I understand why China Eastern canceled their flight because their plane arrives at 12:20pm and they would not be able to fly their plane out as it may get stuck (BR and CI canceled/delayed all flights after 12pm).

However, the typhoon did not even land on Taiwan's ground until August 8th, 2009 at around 2am in Yilan/Hualien... so tell me why they need to cancel the flights that are departing 12-18 hours before? Purely safety standard? I can understand some airlines like NW and UA have to cancel their flights (night time arrival), but not CX, especially they resumed flights on August 8th (and the typhoon didn't even leave Taiwan until August 8th, 2009 at 2pm in Taoyuan). Why didn't CX cancel the August 8th flight then?

CX 463 to Hong Kong at 06:25
CX 407 to Hong Kong at 08:05
CX 403 to Hong Kong at 09:20
CX 469 to Hong Kong at 10:15
CX 530 to Nagoya Chubu at 11:55
CX 421 to Hong Kong at 12:05

At least the first 4 flights should/would have arrive and left safely without any problems.

Everyone knows that this typhoon does not warrant an entire day of cancellation at TPE (KHH is probably the place that warrants more than a day)... this typhoon barely did any damage at the northern Taiwan.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8200833.stm

You are having a joke are you not !!!:td: I take it you were not in Taiwan during this storm before and after

First, CX canceled flights based on Thursday (8/6) forecast, which indicated that typhoon would hit Taiwan on Friday (8/7) daytime. Therefore, CX decided to ferry four planes back to Hong Kong on Thursday night. That's why CX463/407/403/469 had to be canceled on Friday morning. Also, CX rerouted CX530/531/564/565/510/511/420/421 to non-stop fligts. This decision was actually reasonable because CX has to make sure its operation at Hong Kong wouldn't be affected by planes stuck at Taipei. This situation actually happened many times when CX's planes were stuck at Taipei and caused HKG a big mess.

However, this typhoon actually slowed down on Thursday night/Friday morning. The fact was CX did mention cancelation for whole Friday flights on Thursday night through its website and urged passengers not go to airport.

CI and BR can made normal operation because first, TPE is their homebase, and second, they had to fly their planes out of Taiwan to brace for typhoon. CI602/904/605 and other regional flights actually had to wait until Friday midnight or Saturday morning to fly back to TPE. CI/BR also delayed their long-haul flights to Friday/Saturday midnight because the weather forcast on Thursday indicated that typhoon would be gone by then. BUT, the real situation was those long-haul flights and returning flights were seriously affected by typhoon on Friday/Saturday midnight.

Moreover, CX/CI/BR and other carriers all resumed normal operation from Saturday (8/8) morning although typhoon was still in Taiwan. In fact, the weather wasn't bad on Saturday morning according to my pilot friend.

CI for sure crashed two airplanes at HKG during typhoon weather. The first one (1993) no doubt was pilots error. The second one (1999) was also contributed by pilot error, concluded by Hong Kong CAD final report, although both NTSB and ASC had different opinions about that. Both accidents indicated that the bad weather caused pilots lots of pressures and affected pilots' flying skills. Last September, CI had a really messy operation during typhoon Jangmi hitting Taiwan. CI didn't cancel flights and caused itself a big trouble. Although some returning flights made it back to Taipei, wind was so strong that jet bridge and cargo door couldn't operate. Most returning flights diverted to HKG causing big passengers dramas on the planes. Some pilots were even over their duty time and flights had to be canceled. I remember CI resumed normal operation after two or three days. CI's pilots actually complained a lot about company not cancel flights.

Nowaday typhoon is more unpredictable than before (Take a look for the disaster this time). For CX's perspective, they don't really want to risk planes stuck at Taipei affecting their whole operation at Hong Kong. This is the most important issue CX concerns.

You are having a joke are you not !!! I take it you were not in Taiwan during this storm before and afterThe previous poster specifically differentiated between northern Taiwan (Taipei) and southern Taiwan (Kaohsiung). It is the southern area which suffered serious damage. Taipei is 200km away.

I think you find that kaohsiung is more like 350 km away from Taipei not 200 km and as we know very well Southern Taiwan has been hit hard, I think most of you are posting based on what news you have seen off the BBC or CNN who did not even start reporting the sitautaion in depth until after the event. If you had been anywhere between Taichung and Taipei you will have known how bad it was and further more no one in their right mind would leave millions of dollars worth of equipments in the path of that typhoon or even consider flying anywhere near it. The Taiwan government website was giving detailed information on the power of those winds 2 days before it was close to making land and if I had any choice on where to leave my companies equipment overnight it most certainly would not have been anywhere near the whole of Taiwan