Flying Quantas for the first time for son's wedding. Just got downgraded because of A380 issues. Travelling with friends they were put on a different flight and maintained premium economy status. Am going to be like a pretzel - Quantas couldn't give a damn and will get a minimal refund. Has anyone got anything positive to say about Quantas - have flown other airlines n the past - this is my worst customer service experience- very charming on the phone - - but couldn't give a damn. They did offer alternative days and routes but couldn't guarantee that those flights would not be changed and downgraded too, and we would be cutting it too close to the wedding. Would love to hear what Quantas has to say

One Qantas problem is that despite a hefty advertising budget they still can't get customers to spell their name correctly.

While it is unfortunate that you've had to deal with flight changes it seems that Qantas have offered the best alternatives possible given the situation, however due to your constraints you're unable to take them. Assume you could get compensation if downgraded?

I was due to take my first flight on the A380 this week (to LAX). This is my third attempt to get on that thing yet something always changes the Qantas schedule! I'm frustrated but know it's not something I can complain about.

Firstly welcome to FT.

Not sure if you are aware, but there is no airline called Quantas. The airline is called 'Qantas' without the 'u'. The name comes from Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service.

Needless to say, the recent RR incident on QF32, and the consequent grounding of the carrier's A380 fleet has put an extreme amount of pressure on the QF fleet. Many flights that the carrier have been disrupted as aircraft have been moved around the network in order to move the greatest volume of passengers. It was inevitable that downgrades were going to occur.

If you read some of the threads, some passengers have received worse downgrades than yourself, which is something that could not be helped. This situation looks likely to remain for the next couple of days at least, and remember that QF will now be short one A380 aircraft for quite a number of months. This will of course mean continuing disruption to some extent.

As you had been offered alternative dates which would have provided you with the cabin you were originally booked in, I'm not sure that they could do terribly much more for you, especially since you chose to stick to the original dates in your booking. Personally I think you have managed to get off fairly lightly considering the tens of thousands of passengers affected. Remember that QF don't just have spare aircraft sitting around.

Suggest you write a polite letter to Customer Relations / Customer Care upon completing your journey, outlining the situation, although keeping in mind all of the above. Details of how to contact them are found on the following web page:

http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airl...ther/global/en

With one QF 388 down for a while, I expect this situation will only get worse as all the timetables will have to be updated to take into account the out of action aircraft.

I thought another A380 was due before Christmas so the fleet may be the same but the the expected expansion.

Yes, but that expansion will have already been built into the timetable.

Sounds like you were on a very cheap industry fare such as an ID90, as otherwise the "minimal refund" would be over $1000. One of the drawbacks of flying on such very cheap fares are the terms and conditions (which include no guarantee of class of service). If you care about this, there are lots of other, more expensive, fares which would have given you stellar QF treatment. Thousands of other pax got hotel paid for, upgrades and even rerouted on other airlines, at QF's expense; there is lots of evidence that QF in general does give a damn about their pax. In fact threads right here on FT indicating how much better QF is at this (irrops and pax amenities) than other airlines.

ID90s are staff travel concessions only issued to staff & some TAs as well as their friends/family. Looking at the posts the OP has interacted with, it seems he/she booked with a TA called Vayama so it was definitely not an ID90.

http://www.vayama.com/

With the above in mind, my advice still sticks, although I suspect QF will only refund the different between a Y and T fare, which we all know will be very little if anything. [I'm making the assumption the OP was on a R or T class fare as W is full fare PE]

The problem is that they cannot guarantee that if I switch flights they won't change this plane as well. So I could change plans - miss some of the pre wedding festivities for our son's wedding and still find I am downgraded.

What do you see as the solution? That they will give you a guarantee that they will fly a plane that they are not convinced meets their safety requirements?

Purchase a ticket on SQ or LH and you are less likely to encounter this problem

How could they guarantee it? You're asking the impossible then getting upset when they give you the only honest answer.

I think perhaps your comments such as "has anyone got anything positive to say about Qantas?" is a little over-dramatic.

You also need to realise that laying down a challenge like that to an audience such as this, where many support Australia's national flag carrier and have for years, is going to instigate some enthusiastic responses.

I'm sure QF would much rather that they not be in this position and would have preferred that their flagship aircraft not have an engine burst into flames but as many before me have said, I think they have tried to accommodate you as best they can.

I'm also grappling with how this could be "your worst customer experience". Really? On a forum such as FT, making a bold claim like that is a relative statement. If you spend some time exploring the other threads and listening to what people have to say about other airlines, you may just put this experience into perspective.

At the end of the day, I'm sure getting to your son's wedding, safely and on-time is by far your most important consideration, rather than "being like a pretzel". After all, that's what they have alcohol on planes for - to help you calm your nerves

I'd much rather be on Qantas across the Pacific than United if you have to be in coach. Are you starting your journey in the U.S.? The in-flight entertainment options are much better on Qantas than the front-of-cabin screen on the UA 747.

Qantas have a set policy for downgrade refunds.

It's here:

That appears to be for AUS only issued tickets and also does not mention R class. I would not be surprised to hear the OP was booker in R.