NZZO

Several weeks ago I used CX miles to make an award booking for October in business class PER-SIN on QF77.

When QF announced 3 weeks ago that they were quitting the PER-SIN route I proactively rang both QF and CX (Marco Polo Club) trying to ensure re-accommodation on anything other than JQ. QF, unsurprisingly, stated that I needed to deal with CX – and CX said that they couldn’t do anything until QF actually cancelled the leg. I also emailed the MPC stating that I did not want to be re-accommodated on JQ. The MPC came back with a fairly innocuous reply that they would advise me of any changes.

Overnight my particular QF77 flight has finally been cancelled and as expected (feared) I’ve been rebooked on a JQ A320 flight in economy – really sub-economy given that its JQ. No points have been returned as yet given the downgrade.

I’d actually rather walk than ever step on a JQ aircraft again so I’ve called the MPC requesting that I am re-accommodated in business class, even if that means backtracking to the east coast to connect with a QF SIN flight from SYD or BNE. Ideally I’d rather CX re-accommodated me PER-HKG-SIN but that doesn’t seem to be an option. The MPC have said that they will contact QF but I’m not left feeling optimistic that they will push QF hard.

I’d be grateful if anyone who has experienced a similar situation with a redemption booking could advise if they were successful ‘insisting’ on being re-accommodated in the original booking class on a longer routing when another carrier is involved.

I appreciate that this is a redemption booking and the general turmoil at QF is affecting many hundreds of people far more fundamentally than my minor annoyance, but I made the reservation in good faith and I would like it honored in the same class of travel on a full service carrier. Thanks for any help.

LchChester

Push CX harder and you will get at least PER-HKG-SIN; or something like PER-SYD-SIN.
Give the Tsuen Wan office a call (in case you dont speak Cantonese, still call the Canto line and speak English with them) as the Beijing/Manilla office only stick by the rules.

sxc

I suspect that the best that will happen is they will offer to cancel the booking and refund the miles with no charge (as a goodwill gesture). I don't know that this is what will happen, but I think it's your best case scenario.

Then you can buy another award ticket out of whatever redemption inventory is available.

The complication is that CX has bought a ticket on QF, and they are less flexible with partner bookings than they are with bookings on their own flights.

percysmith

I've been through it at least twice with MPO
Once due to a QF canx http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/qanta...nges-5.html#66
And once due to an AA canx http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/catha...-24-hours.html

Given the intransigence I suffered on both instances, and the limited flexibility of the agents (they won't do anything unless the system allows them to)
I don't think you have a chance in high heaven for them to reroute you through HKG.

Refund is your only option. As far as MPO is concerned, if you want SIN-HKG-PER in CX or SIN-BNE/MEL/SYD-PER in QF, you can redeem a new redemption for it.

NZZO

Thank you for the replies.

During my proactive phase I did investigate cancelling without penalty (the MPC had agreed I could) and rebooking as the CX website showed (and still shows) flights via the East Coast available for the same amount of miles as my original direct booking (30k). Unfortunately when you click through on all the options the miles required jumps to 70k. The same thing happened when the MPC rep tried it so she suggested waiting to see what QF would rebook me on - which brings us back to today.

At this stage I don’t feel inclined to part with that many points so I will give CX some more time to respond along with trying the suggestion in the first reply. I don’t consider CX the ‘villain’ in this situation and the conspiracy theorist in me thinks QF have offered the JQ flight in the hope that people like me will cancel and they won’t have to re-accommodate us via the East Coast.

percysmith

CX gets to be an absolute bully when your original flights are cancelled. They know they can offer you sxit and you have little choice but to take it (or cancel and book on whatever redemption seats are left).

In my QF canx of QF87 on my MEL-SYD-HKG I couldn't get back on the direct (if I can't get on QF87 my next best option is to fly on the MEL-HKG morning direct, which had available redemption seats). I couldn't get MPO to reroute until they are gone.

In my AA canx they wanted to reroute a HND-JFK into a NRT-DFW-JFK. I sat on the booking, refusing to take any calls from 26815000 until HND-JFK opened up for the day after canx flight and used the limits of my Canto swearing to get the Tsuen Wan agent to talk to her team leader to approve the change (required changing HND from a transit into a stopover).

CanucksHKG

That's cause CX.com only recognize mileage require from calculating your starting + ending destination. In reality, all AM redemption is calculated base on the actual distance (zone) flown.

This same problem exist on CX.com for some transpacific route when it tries to route you via LHR or JFK.

NZZO

The CX rep I have been dealing with finally managed to speak with someone at QF and they have agreed to rebook me PER-KUL-SIN on MH (A333) in J at no extra mileage charge. I have accepted this as it gives me half a day extra in PER and the transit through KUL is only an hour so the overall journey isn’t too much longer than PER-SIN direct. I am happy with the outcome.

percysmith

Very good outcome. I think QF is to be thanked for this. CX wouldn't have offered this on their own.

Contrast MPO's lack of proactivity compared Aeroplan when its members took advantage of a temporary open door in SQ's partner redemption systems to book SQ F seats only to have SQ cancel them (Aeroplan honoured the redemptions by buying revenue seats from SQ)

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/singa...ards-5.html#69

With MPO you're left very much to your own devices whenever something goes wrong with your redemption. MPO will get you from A to B, but if you have to go from CX J to JQ Y then that's fine by their CoCs.