last leg Scheduled flight cancelled... options ?

[7gcbc]

Hi All,

Taking family and screamers x2 to Europe in a few weeks on a fairly tight schedule, return leg from HK with Qantas has been cancelled, (even though we booked and paid over 2 months ago).

Travel Agency wants to know what we want to do?

Options are a 12 hour layover in HK - Not really fun with 2 screamers under 3 after an 11 hour flight from Rome.

Leave 14 hours later from Rome, same as above, puts us back in OZ a day later, I lose a further day of work (self employed not good)

Leave 1 day early, and lose the day in Rome we have already paid for ?

Leave same time, but fly back to LHR to pick up QF from LHR and arrve back in OZ 7 (3 to UK, 4 layover in LHR) hours later than we would have ?

Questions ?

Can we get (anyone) to pay for flight back to UK to cover expenses ? What is our arguing position like ?

I'm really not up for a fight with the Travel Insurance people at this stage, just a little stressed as this pretty much screws the plan we had, I'm best man at a wedding in Rome and this is hassel I could have done without...


what are our options ? and more importantly is it possible for us to avoid any costs incurred in what ever solution we choose ?


cheers

7gcbc

[Globaliser]

That is so aggravating - I sympathise with you, knowing what it's like having a tight schedule because of self-employment.

If you're on a QF ticket, is it endorsed "Valid BA/QF" or similar? If so, what I would do is this: Try to get your TA to negotiate a re-route FCO-LHR-SYD. You should be able to get on the 0815 BA from FCO to LHR which will connect to the lunchtime flight ex-LHR. This will get you to SYD at about the time that you would have got there anyway. It's just a slightly earlier start that morning, but you wouldn't have done much other than go to the airport to get your lunchtime FCO-HKG flight anyway (if I've guessed your schedule correctly).

Even if your ticket isn't so endorsed, I'd try this as the first alternative.

Your negotiating position is, I would say, good considering that it's a QF schedule change that has caused this. I believe that CDG-LHR-SYD is a valid route despite the existence of a QF-coded CDG-SIN codeshare flight. So the same may well apply to FCO-LHR-SYD.

If it actually turns out that it wasn't a QF schedule change, then the next most likely scenario is that your TA either stuffed up or, worse, lied to you. But then your TA should pay any extra costs.

[rsoman]

I dont think the TA has lied . Normally the airline schedules change end of March/end September and in this case it looks like the travel will be April or after while the booking is made in the beginning of the year.

In the end all it depends on the fare you are paying. Lower the fare, the higher the restrictions.

[Globaliser]

Just to make clear: I also think it's unlikely, but it is a long-stop possibility.

But anyway, I had a dig around. It looks like QF is reducing its HKG-SYD frequency from the current 14 down to about 11 or 12 for a few months between April and July, but coming back up to 14 in the middle of the northern summer. This may be a decision it's just made, which would seem to fit. So some of the FCO-HKG flights will no longer connect directly with a day flight from HKG-SYD, eg Tue ex-FCO. If that's what's caused the problem, there's a decent case for QF re-routing the pax via LHR to meet the day flight ex-LHR (which is ops QF, FWIW).