Qantas CEO Blames passengers for delays

[gordonfvckingramsay]

Originally Posted by Uplinker

Why couldn't our glorious - and supposedly so clever - leaders be a bit more imaginative in competition instead of just going for the lowest ticket price……
.

And let us not forget who was the champion of the LCC cancer in the early days. The guy who, himself helped to drive ticket prices down so low that it didn’t even cover the cost of the landing fees. It’s the dumbest of the own goals I can think of.

[Matt48]

Haven't we all seen this situation before on 'Yes Minister', health minister was asked how the new hospital was going, answer was ' very well sir', ok, how many patients do they have now, er, none sir, that would just foul things up and reduce their efficient operation.

[Seabreeze]

Customer Service at Qantas. presumably SOP

Here is a recent example of a recent Qantas stuff up. A friend visits us in Sydney. She is due to fly out Friday 15th to LAX on QF11. She arrives at Terminal 1 three hours+ before the ETD and unfortunately tests positive to RAT, then has a PCR test (positive) but by now has missed her flight. She goes into self-quarantine- no symptoms. The following week she has a 3-hour wait on the phone to rebook and it costs an extra $3000. She sees a local medic and gets the required letter of clearance, and sends an email to [email protected] as required more than 24 hours prior to departure (now to be on QF17 at 2140 on Sunday 24th after a Arriving at the checkin she is told No, your email was not received. She points to her outbox, and notes her email did not bounce. Therefore she argues it was received. She is told No Ma’am, you don’t understand, COVID is responsible for this, it is not our fault. She is told there is no way they can accept her letter of clearance even though she has the original in her hand and offers it. The kind Qantas assistant simply says, you will have to rebook for a later day, and send your letter in via email as required, or…… you could take a RAT here and now. Not wanting to pay ANOTHER $3000 to rebook YET AGAIN she takes a chance, has the RAT and thankfully tests negative, so is finally on her way.

This Qantas Customer Service was inflexible, arrogant, uncaring……(but to be fair the problems are obviously all the fault of our friend, the pax!)… Is this SOP?.

I suggested she write and complain, she said it is easier just to fly with another airline in future.

Are you reading this Alan? I would be happy to receive a pm.

Seabreeze

[blubak]

Originally Posted by Seabreeze

Here is a recent example of a recent Qantas stuff up. A friend visits us in Sydney. She is due to fly out Friday 15th to LAX on QF11. She arrives at Terminal 1 three hours+ before the ETD and unfortunately tests positive to RAT, then has a PCR test (positive) but by now has missed her flight. She goes into self-quarantine- no symptoms. The following week she has a 3-hour wait on the phone to rebook and it costs an extra $3000. She sees a local medic and gets the required letter of clearance, and sends an email to [email protected] as required more than 24 hours prior to departure (now to be on QF17 at 2140 on Sunday 24th after a Arriving at the checkin she is told No, your email was not received. She points to her outbox, and notes her email did not bounce. Therefore she argues it was received. She is told No Ma’am, you don’t understand, COVID is responsible for this, it is not our fault. She is told there is no way they can accept her letter of clearance even though she has the original in her hand and offers it. The kind Qantas assistant simply says, you will have to rebook for a later day, and send your letter in via email as required, or…… you could take a RAT here and now. Not wanting to pay ANOTHER $3000 to rebook YET AGAIN she takes a chance, has the RAT and thankfully tests negative, so is finally on her way.

This Qantas Customer Service was inflexible, arrogant, uncaring……(but to be fair the problems are obviously all the fault of our friend, the pax!)… Is this SOP?.

I suggested she write and complain, she said it is easier just to fly with another airline in future.

Are you reading this Alan? I would be happy to receive a pm.

Seabreeze

I agree with her reasoning,what hope has anyone got when they are dealing with a company that is always right.
They have their list of excuses & they are never wrong.

[KRviator]

Not just Qaint-asre.

Bloke I know was due to fly to Ballina with his missus and booked with Pelican on account of him not having his CIR and needing to get there on time(ish). Being a sensible fellow he purchased 'refund protection' as part of the booking process, "just in case" and lo and behold, Pelican cancelled the flight after the airport was NOTAM'd closed due to flooding. A straightforward case of "Here's your refund, sir, hope the weather's better next time", you would think, but....

Nope! Refund was denied by the (third-party) provider on the grounds "the airline cancelled the flight, so they're responsible for the refund". So he goes to Pelican with a copy of that email. Says they "NO, you purchased refund protection from a third party, they're responsible, not our problem." So he goes back to them now armed with Pelican's email. After two days of back and forth he gets jack of it and promptly lodges a civil claim against FlyPelican in the NSW Civil & Administrative tribunal, now chasing not just the refund, but the consequential losses incurred including filing fees, travel to attend hearings, his time compiling emails etc.. Pelican then get contract lawyers involved and ultimately offer a refund of the airfares and filing fees.

One things for sure, said bloke (also a pilot and aircraft owner) will never fly Pelican again.

[Traffic_Is_Er_Was]

Just because you sent an email, does not guarantee the addressee received it. So when the below (my bolding and colour) did not happen, what did the friend do?

What happens next

Once you've submitted your documents, your request will be assessed in accordance with the relevant government COVID-19 vaccination exemption and past positive medical clearance guidelines and requirements.

We'll then contact you to advise:

• if your request for a COVID-19 vaccination exemption or COVID-19 past positive medical clearance is accepted (pending test results), or
• if your request isn't accepted and advise you of your options.

She is told there is no way they can accept her letter of clearance even though she has the original in her hand and offers it.

3. At the airport

When you arrive at the airport on your day of departure:

• For flights departing Australia, we're not able to process any COVID-19 past positive medical clearances at the airport on your day of departure. Therefore, you'll need to ensure you submit all relevant documentation in advance, otherwise your request will not be considered, and you may not be able to board your flight.

That they will not process clearances at the airport on the day of departure is mentioned a couple of times else where, so should not have been a surprise. She has turned up at the airport without receiving prior advice from QF that she can travel or not.
There is no mention in the QF document of taking a RAT at the airport in a case such as this to prove COVID status. That the QF staff let her do it, and then let her on the flight, when their published SOP says they won't, to me, says they did her a massive favour.
Rather than slagging QF. she should be praising them for bending their own rules and ultimately saving her another $3000.

[Oriana]

Just because you sent an email, does not guarantee the addressee received it.

Seriously? They can't have a damn auto-reply/receipt confirming that an email is received?

[Traffic_Is_Er_Was]

You'd think so. Maybe they could. Maybe they should. I too think a reference number or something back would be expected, but they don't. They don't tell you that you'll get a receipt confirmation, but they do tell you they will contact you with the result. If I hadn't heard from them, I'd be chasing them, because they make it pretty clear what happens otherwise.

[Seabreeze]

The Basil Fawlty approach to customers

Post 126.. Traffic is... Are you serious? Supporting the airline approach when the customer (who has already shelled out hard cash up front) does not follow up the non-receipt of her email. How does she follow up, send it again and again every 5 mins, 10 mins, hour???, not knowing if and when a response should come? Sit on the phone for another 3 hours? To whom?

Airline and government approaches were/are changing daily. She pays her fares and hopes that Qantas will look after her, not find reasons to make her rebook again costing her further cash. This sort of approach was championed by no less than Basil Fawlty; perhaps Qantas should change its name to Fawlty Flyers in respect of Basil.

You (Traffic is) appear to know the exact details of how the system works right now, presumably because of your current role as a professional pilot (or a Qantas spin doctor). It is surely the company's responsibility to make the rebook and check in requirements of their PAYING passengers as simple as possible.

[Seabreeze]

oh, and I suggest that it is far more common for a received email to be ignored than for an automated system to selectively ignore and not bounce an individual email. If the latter happens, it has been poorly designed, on purpose or by accident.

Anyway, apologists for this appalling management can be happy sticking to their views. They may one day be unemployed or unemployable.
SB

[601]

You'd think so. Maybe they could. Maybe they should. I too think a reference number or something back would be expected, but they don't. They don't tell you that you'll get a receipt confirmation, but they do tell you they will contact you with the result. If I hadn't heard from them, I'd be chasing them, because they make it pretty clear what happens otherwise.

Good business practice and common sense would have a replay email acknowledging receipt of her email with information on what the next step is including words to the effect "if you do not receive conformation within ## hours, please call ## #### ####"

[Traffic_Is_Er_Was]

(or a Qantas spin doctor)

I don't work for Qantas, but I see hundreds of people get on their overseas (including QF) flights everyday. I rarely see passengers getting turned away. Clearly, what ever processes the airlines have in place works for 99.9% of the passengers. Yet one pax has an issue and the whole system is B/S? They let her on the damned flight FFS, despite not having gone through the process they would have preferred she follow. Your friend got COVID and couldn't fly. Not the airlines fault, and happened (and still happens) to many, many people. Once "negative" she sits on hold to a call centre for hours to rebook - that sh*tty service is pretty common across all the carriers (not just QF) with limited seats and a lot of demand. She shells out an extra $3000 to get on another flight - was that what she elected to pay to get a sooner flight? Did QF offer her something cheaper she rejected? You don't say, so we don't know. Again, she's not alone there. There's plenty of tales of woe around flying anywhere the last couple of years. Then when she does turn up, there's problems, but ultimately, they get sorted, and she goes. Happy days. How is this:

..... a recent example of a recent Qantas stuff up.

I'm certainly no QF apologist, but apart from the email he said/she said palaver, your friend got rebooked to fly on the 24th and flew on the 24th. If she's had to pay more to make that happen when she needs it to happen, welcome to the airline business. QF aren't alone there by any means either.

It is surely the company's responsibility to make the rebook and check in requirements of their PAYING passengers as simple as possible.

Maybe it was as simple as possible under the circumstances, given the restrictions and requirements many overseas destinations still impose on persons intending to fly there (which are put back on all the airlines to manage and ensure under penalty of fines). All airlines carrying passengers overseas are struggling with the box-ticking that the destinations still require. It is nothing like pre-COVID times. As far as airlines looking after their paying customers, that boat sailed a long time ago.

I suggest that it is far more common for a received email to be ignored than for an automated system to selectively ignore and not bounce an individual email.

So out of hundreds, if not thousands of people QF are flying around who have a past positive COVID history for which QF and the destinations require some additional documentation and for whom that system is working, QF went out of their way to selectively (either manually or automatically) ignore your friend? Really? Why would they do that? They want you to fly on the day you booked with the least hassle possible. They don't want to be having stand ups with every second passenger. It's a hell of a lot easier for everyone. As evidenced by the fact that your friend did indeed fly on the day she was booked.

If the latter happens, it has been poorly designed, on purpose......

Now you are being ridiculous.

Good business practice and common sense would have a replay email acknowledging receipt of her email with information on what the next step is including words to the effect "if you do not receive conformation within ## hours, please call ## #### ####"

I agree, you'd think they would. They obviously feel they don't have to. That's the only stuff up I can see QF has made in the above rant, and that's just a matter of opinion.

[Vag277]

Why not put a received and read requirement on original email? Sounds like a whinger to me.