Mr H

This is a whinge. Sorry.

A few weeks ago, I travelled to Brisbane. I had MEL-BNE return tix with a flexi fare and I am VA Silver.

On the way home, there were storms over Brisbane. Flights were a bit chaotic and the runway spent sometime closed. These things happen; I don't hold VA responsible for the weather.

My flight was cancelled; I had to wait until half an hour after the scheduled departure to find out which flight I had been bumped onto. In the event, I was on the flight scheduled to leave one hour after mine, but I was told that my new flight would be delayed as the inbound flight had not arrived. I was not given an expected time but was told to wait in the gate area so I would be ready to board quickly. Eventually, my flight did come and we boarded over an hour after the scheduled departure time. And then we waited. In all, we spent a couple of hours on the tarmac with our seatbelts securely fastened and our seatbacks and tray tables in the upright position. Then, when the plane took off we encountered turbulence which meant another 40 minutes in seat lockdown.

Eventually, the trolley came round to do the in-flight refreshment. As a flexi-fare passenger I had hoped I might get the advertised meal service, but my refreshments were limited to one half full plastic cup of water, four one inch square crackers and a one inch square slice of cheese.

On arrival at MEL, well after midnight, all the refreshment shops had closed. Because we arrived late, there were not enough taxis, and I had to wait in the taxi queue until 1.20am; I got home after 2am. This was six hours later than anticipated, hungry. Having only had half a cup of water in the previous 9 hours, I was severely dehydrated.

I believed that what was always going to be a frustrating evening was turned into a living Hell by the lack of care and refreshment provided by VA. So, I wrote to offer feedback. In reply, I got a standard letter telling me that they had investigated the reason for the delay and found it was due to adverse weather. Where's Sherlock when you need him? So I wrote back to say that they had missed the point; I was not objecting to the delay but to the lack of customer care during the delay. The standard response says they expect to reply within 10 business days, but 11 business days later (yes, allowing days off for Christmas) there's no hint of a reply or holding response.

If this is how VA treats its customers then I can't see any reason why pax don't pay less with TT and get the same levels of service.

Dave Noble

Whilst at Brisbane you could have purchased food at the airport - esp at peroid when the incoming aeroplane had not arrived or whilst waiting to find out what flight rebooked on ; on arrival at destination, it isn't VA's fault that you were dependant upon a taxi and that there was a lack of taxis

If the flights were screwed up and ended up having to spend the night waiting for the flight , much more likely to get a hotel et al from VA than TT

Unlike Europe, there is no requirement (afaik) in Australia for airline to provide food and drink whilst waiting

Mr H

I could have done, but since I spent much of my time at BNE queuing for information and was then told to wait in the gate area so we could depart quickly, I chose not to. I had no idea the delay would be so great or that the flexi fare advertised "complimentary dining + snacks and beverages + tea/coffee/water/juice" would be so insubstantial. Nor had I expected to spend over two hours sitting on the plane going nowhere. My colleague, bumped onto a later flight (which ironically arrived earlier than mine) was looked after with vouchers for refreshments at the airport, told to wait in the main hall, and was looked after on board.

Dave Noble

Unless the AU govt decides to implement rules such as the EU has, then if the airline gave you nothing, there's not much to do

The complimentary refreshments offered onboard have never been much

DCF

I don't understand the catering for Flexi tickets on the routes which include a "snack" for all passengers.

In recent months I've twice had a Flexi ticket on such a route, and been given the same cheese and crackers or Wagon Wheel as everyone else.

I thought that Flexi tickets at least included a sandwich and drink?

Mr H

The flexi catering used to include a wrap or a punnet of salad and a proper drink in addition to water or tea or coffee. I have been away from VA for several months and things seem to have slid since I have been away.

Also, even if VA is going to stick to the letter of the law in providing minimal assistance to passengers, that's still no excuse for sending out inappropriate generic replies when people complain.

Supersonic Swinger

Did you ask for an extra glass of water on board, or consider purchasing a drink or meal item, to minimise the 'living hell' you were under?

AustralianPoochie

Probably the Flexi fare "meal" of possibly/possible sandwiches, would be lunch or dinner times.
I would be spewing too, if this happened to me.
That said, I have had many of my QF flights deferred (departure time wise, of a few mins but never as bad as what happened to the OP) because of the "electrical storms" that happen a lot in SYD.
One small consolation, at least you got more VR FF points and VR SCs.

Mr H

Yes - was told that I could choose one (and only one) of water, tea, coffee or juice - I thought the water would be most thirst quenching.
It's odd, but one of the side effects of dehydration is the loss of ability to think in perspective. By the time I had been rebuffed on an additional drink, the trolley had gone and I felt angry and humiliated. Plus very tired after getting a red eye that morning.

None of which excuses VA's refusal to even acknowledge my complaint (even if they think it was illfounded) and simply send me a standard reply saying that they value safety.

keiko

The staff on the flight can only do what they are permitted to do.

As you are so upset, I would suggest that you contact VA by e-mail, and outline your complaints. I have had a similar problem with VA on a DEN/SYD route where the flight was cancelled due to the plane being impounded for several hours while the Indonesian police investigated an incident on an earlier flight. I contacted VA, told them what had happened, told them why I was upset and then made suggestions about how they could have done better.

That said, you had options to mitigate your unpleasant experience which we did not have (there was nowhere to buy food or drinks in the departure lounge before passing immigration). Obviously the airline could do better, but if you couldn't even grab some water from the drinking fountains located near every boarding gate in Australian airports, then I think you are being a bit precious.

ozstamps

VERY poor customer service.

The staff really should be empowered to offer a gratis wine or beer etc in such cases.

Cost near zero, and goodwill huge.

kcupp95

Or why not take your own water on board? I always take my own water bottle with me.

Even if you were told to wait near the gate in Brisbane - there's shops everywhere, including near the gates. Even if you couldn't grab a proper meal, I would have grabbed some snacks to take with me.

adampenrith

Could happen on any airline.

The staff would have done all they could, but limited time, limited resources.

The best advice I could give is if this happens again, is to buy whatever you need in the terminal when you get the opportunity, and anything later during the flight would be a bonus.

I do agree that the airport concessions should stay open for longer when flights are delayed.