Kate6363

My partner and I are travelling to Paris and back via London. We’re flying with Qantas because that has been my Œ'preferred airline' for many years. I’ve been flying Qantas even if it’s not really the best route or if it is (and it always is) more expensive than other options.

Anyway, we’ve now decided we'd like to stop in the UK and take a ferry across to France, so we'll no longer need the flight from London to Paris. Qantas will not refund that leg; this didn’t surprise me. But in fact they will charge me $200 to reissue our tickets, so we can NOT occupy seats that we will still pay for.

I called Qantas to ask them to waive the fee. I think I expected someone to say: "oh Kate, we know you, you're part of our gang, let's sort that out for you."

They didn't.

On the phone Sandra was polite, as was I, but she showed a lack of empathy that bordered on autism. She spoke as you would to a child you don’t like very much. She made it clear that the problem was my failure to understand the intricacies or respect the sanctity of their internal systems. But when I pointed out that Qantas will now not pass on one part of my fare to BA, and will pocket the cost of that leg, along with the change fee, she abruptly declined to discuss pricing policy with me. We’re traveling Premium Economy for part of the journey, but she disdainfully pointed out that I had ‘discounted' flights in one direction (actually I was still smarting from not being able to take the lowest available fare and having paid extra to qualify for a chance of using my accumulating frequent flyer miles to upgrade). Then Sandra explained in the most patronising tone possible that if I tried to avoid the Œ’penalty' fee for changing the ticket, by simply not boarding the unwanted flight, they would cancel my return leg and leave me stranded in Europe. She cited anti-terrorism laws, then for good measure she blamed Qantas’s partners, Flight Centre and BA.

At the end of the day, she claimed no ability and showed no inclination to help in any way. So I will pay the penalty fee. I felt disappointed and let down, but mostly I felt embarrassed - that I had been so naive as to expect ‘Œmy brand' to take care of me. This relationship was entirely in my head.

As in the movie, the first feeling of being unplugged from The Matrix is the very unpleasant sensation of being flushed. But today, I realise I should thank Sandra. If she had waived that fee (or even shown the slightest concern for my situation) I would have been confirmed in my delusion that the Qantas system cares about me and my business. For a paltry $200 I would have continued to prefer that airline, and would have likely paid over my lifetime tens of thousands of dollars in extra costs in order to keep flying with them. For the price of a pair of shoes, or perhaps even just a kind word, I would have stayed in my fantasy world.

My loyalty to that brand was in part motivated by the frequent flyer points, but I had probably realised some time ago that they are too hard to actually use. I just wasn't ready to see it yet. And I think it’s just comforting to feel a connection to something. But this week, Qantas made it absolutely clear to me that the loyalty was not two-way. So, thanks to Sandra, I'm unplugged. I’m a free agent again.

edy4eva

Not sure why there would be any expectation to have the airline or any airline waive a penalty fee that was stipulated in the conditions of the fare. That's irrespective of the class or said loyalty. The most restrictive rules always apply. This is the standard.

Another issue that I always see here is how most book a return trip to Europe/UK, almost always with UK being the return point unaware that actually bumps their fare up by couple hundreds because of the UK APD tax.

YuropFlyer

I can't see how this wouldn't have happened with any other airline in the world.

Actually, 200$ is rather cheap for cutting a segment out - other airlines don't allow such things at all, or just against a very hefty surcharge.

Cheapest option, if you want to do the road trip London - Paris, would be to actually fly London-Paris as booked, then book a one-way Paris-London on one of the many options. Can be had for MUCH below 100€. Luggage can stay in London, ie even the lowcost, no frills carriers might be an option.

expatboy

But if they had waived the fee based on the relationship with you) despite the T&Cs of the ticket etc), it wouldn't be a delusion that they cared...?

bensyd

Well they were prepared to sort it out for you. You just had an expectation of it being done on your terms rather than the terms of the ticket.

Everything you describe in your post is pretty standard for every airline. I would have thought a gang member would know!

Dave Noble

You want to reroute the journey and the airline wants to charge you the applicable fee. Airlines almost never waive these , even for their top tier members, unless there is disruption or the airline causes a change

All you have to decide is whether it is worth $200 to be able to take the train to Paris vs taking the flight

You will get a refund of taxes and fuel fines which I would expect to be about $120 for that sector in economy making the actual additional cost more like $80 ( assuming that you had a stopover in Paris as part of the original itinerary )

Tyrolean

QF was flexible to change the ticket. These were the rules of the ticket, that are known in advance.

m0hamed

Feel better?

The system will automatically cancel all later segments if you no show. This occurs on all airlines around the world to avoid hidden city ticketing.

Now, you may wish to reconsider a few points:

You decided to change your journey. That's your decision not QF's.

If you spent tens of thousands of dollars with QF, then you would have elite status.

QFF points aren't hard to use, especially if an elite of the FF program. I have always managed to have additional inventory in F for my partner and I opened up +/- 3 days for travel within weeks.

This isn't about loyalty. This is about you wanting to pay a small fee to change your flights.

Oh, and welcome to FT.

Globaliser

First of all, welcome to FT, Kate6363!

However, every comparable airline in the entire world would almost certainly have said and done the same thing, however good your relationship with them. There are plenty of airlines that would insist on exactly the same even to their top-tier frequent flyers. So if you want to unplug from the matrix, you'll have to stop flying long-haul.

stifle

The Conditions you chose to sign up to when you booked the ticket presumably said there would be a fee for changes. You accepted them. There were other fares available with fewer restrictions which you could have chosen instead. You didn't. You're lucky they didn't refare the whole trip.

As mentioned above, if you do go ahead with the change you should be entitled to a refund of taxes such as the ridiculous UK sin tax on premium long haul flights. This is almost £200 in certain cases so it could be a net refund.

nux

What you've described in your post is standard across almost all airlines.

Part of the reason why discounted fares remain low is because a small number of people will need to change them (or cancel completely) thus incurring the change/cancellation penalties that are clearly listed when purchasing the ticket in the first place.

What would be the point of having lower prices for inflexible tickets and higher prices for flexible tickets, if the airline would just waive the change fees and ignore the ticketing rules for inflexible tickets?

I hope you're long winded post helped you vent. Enjoy your Qantas Premium Economy flights.

theassassin

Not much sympathy for the OP...

Shanye2233

We'll i do feel for Kate and I would like to say you have come to the right place to air your concerns. If you hang around long enough you will find a way to make you feel better again

DH188

I think the OP is dead; we can stop kicking her now.

Kate6363