Australian airlines must do better, CHOICE demands

Australians are sick and tired of shoddy service from airlines, consumer group CHOICE has revealed.

A new survey of almost 9000 supporters has found 40% of respondents had a flight cancelled or delayed in the past 12 months.

My experience indicates a much higher level of delays - and a lack of concern from the carriers.

“As we head into the Christmas season, a huge number of people will be relying on flights to visit family and friends," says CHOICE Senior Campaigns and Policy Advisor Bea Sherwood.

"Unfortunately, our survey of almost 9000 people from across the country has found consumers still face a number of difficulties when dealing with the aviation industry.

“Our survey found two in five respondents had their flight cancelled or delayed in the past year - and this does not bode well for the upcoming busy Christmas and New Year period when airports will be flooded with travellers flying to visit loved ones.

The survey also found: 63% of respondents who had a flight cancelled said there was no reason provided for the cancellation, and 65% said they found the cancellation process somewhat or very hard.

Of those who pursued a refund for a flight cancellation, 47% received it within a month. Others faced significantly longer wait times, with 20% having to wait over six months for a refund.

Meanwhile, 85% of respondents who had a flight delayed were not offered accommodation or meal vouchers.

“The fact that people continue to experience such significant difficulties with air travel is simply not good enough," says Sherwood. "Our survey found people are feeling frustrated as flights continue to be delayed and cancelled, often without reason or sufficient warning.

“To make matters worse, many customers do not receive satisfactory refunds or compensation when their flight is delayed or cancelled. For those who do actually end up receiving a refund, they often have to fight tooth and nail with the airline for months.”

CHOICE has been advocating for reform to the aviation sector for many years, and together with the Consumers’ Federation of Australia have recently made a submission to the Federal Government’s Aviation Green Paper, calling for new airline specific consumer protections.

These protections include the establishment of a new independent travel and tourism industry ombudsman scheme, minimum compensation arrangements for delayed or cancelled flights, clearer rights for refunds, and minimum requirements for travel credits.

“CHOICE looks forward to the Federal Government’s final Aviation White Paper," says Sherwood.

"We hope it will set out a clear plan to strengthen consumer protection in the aviation industry. Sensible reforms such as an independent ombuds scheme will ensure people no longer have to deal with the emotional, financial and logistical hardships so many travellers have experienced over the past few years.”

Image: Antony Trivet, Scopio. 

Time to crack down on airline bullshit

 

There have been increasing calls for more Australian Government oversight of airlines.

With the ongoing plethora of absurdly high fares, poor service, cancelled flights and lost luggage, the airlines appear to have lost the right to self regulate.

In Europe, and many other destinations, passengers are compensated if their flights are delayed.

As Qantas has benefitted from millions of dollars of taxpayer money, why should it not cough up when it gets things wrong?

I flew from Hobart to Melbourne last week for a one-night visit. My ticket with Qantas for this simple flight cost a whopping $986 - which was an absurdity.

My flight was two hours late from Hobart to Melbourne - and the snack was a sliver of biscuit. I had chosen an aisle seat in advance but was switched to a window "because of a change of aircraft".

My return flight was just an hour late, while my business class meal (I upgraded for $65) was a dodgy chicken noodle dish that would not pass muster at Dad's Noodles.

There was no wifi on either flight but I travelled with hand baggage only, so was not subject to the usual baggage chaos at both airports.

A friend of mine is currently having an even worse experience. A Qantas platinum frequent flyer, he booked and paid for a flight to attend a wine event in Melbourne on Friday night.

 
Qantas this week cancelled his flights and said there were no other Qantas options. 

He was told he would have to book with their "unreliable subsidiary" - at an increased cost of $200.

This followed his experience the week before, when he flew from Hobart to Melbourne to see a specialist. Again, his flight home was cancelled but Qantas did get him on a replacement flight - that was only 50 minutes late.

Constant failures like this are simply not acceptable.

Customers are being treated like mugs.

Time to act Albo.

Why customers should speak up about bad service

Why are Australians so bad at complaining about poor service?

Most Australians are not known for being shy and retiring - but when it comes to speaking their mind about slackness from airlines and five-star hotels they are noticeably reticent.

Sure they might Tweet about their experience later, but the best time to call out under-delivering operators is at the time.

That means calling for the manager when you are in a 30-minute queue to check into the room for which you are paying several hundred dollars a night.

Or asking to see a supervisor when you have waited an hour for your luggage to arrive at the airport conveyor belt.

The public should not harass over-worked staff - but take their complaints to management, who are ultimately responsible.   

The way the travel industry tells it, they are keen to hear about issues that customers suffer "so we can offer a better service".

But are they really? And if customers let them get away with dismal service will it continue?

Luke Martin, head of the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania, tweeted at the weekend about his experience at the ritzy - and expensive - The Star on the Gold Coast, where he encountered a 30-strong queue to check in - at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon.

"Beyond shit" was his succinct analysis.

The general manager, or duty manager, was clearly at fault here. 

Someone should have been going along the line, explaining the reason for the delay and offering drinks vouchers or somesuch to placate the tired travellers not being shown any "hospitality".

Airlines are just as guilty of treating their passengers poorly, despite spending thousands on conducting surveys about "what our passengers want".

The Australian Frequent Flyer website reported this week that Virgin Australia discovered there were fewer seats available on a recent Boeing 737 flight from Cairns to Brisbane than the number of booked passengers.

There were passengers with onward connections that they were unable to find seats for, so they asked for volunteers to catch the next flight - three hours later.

Their offer was laughably bad: 140 Velocity Frequent Flyer points, which are worth between 70 cents and around $3, depending on how they’re spent.

Insulting really. I hope someone spoke up.

Image: Luke Martin, Twitter. 

A bumpy ride with Qantas travel insurance

FURTHER UPDATE: On October 20, four months after my incidents, the insurers offered me  $460.17 to cover my taxi, train and hotel costs in Montreal. Fair enough. But they completely ignored my claim for replacement clothing and toiletries when Air Canada lost my bags for a week. The saga continues. 

  

UPDATE: Two months after I lodged my original claim, the insurers got back to me. Insisting that I provide: "Written confirmation from airline providing the reason why the flight was originally delayed". Only now have they decided they need this. Looks like they are trying to make it as hard as possible for me to get my claim paid. They must know how difficult it is to get airlines to answer the phone right now, let alone get them to respond in writing.  And as it is a proven fact the first flight was delayed, why does it matter?   

Qantas, Australia's national airline, has been having a rough time of it recently with a barrage of criticism over late and cancelled flights, lost and delayed luggage and poor customer service.

I have even seen angry customers nastily suggest it change its slogan from "Spirit of Australia" to "Spirit of a Failure."

I'm currently being given the run around by (or more honestly, completely ignored by) Qantas's travel insurance arm, which is operated in collaboration with nib.

While Qantas insists its passengers behave with "courtesy and respect" it adopts the business model of refusing to engage with its customers.

Regular readers will recall that I had a bad travel experience in Canada a few months back involving Air Canada, late and cancelled flights and missing/lost baggage.

While it was stressful, I found peace of mind knowing I had Qantas travel insurance and would be reimbursed for the associated costs of a taxi and a hotel room when left stranded in Montreal, a train replacement for a cancelled flight and some new clothes and replacement medicines.

My expenses were probably just over a grand, but as I had paid $596+ for my travel insurance surely not a big claim.

I advised Qantas Travel Insurance of my issues when they occurred; and a few weeks after I got back from my month-long trip I spent a couple of hours filling in an ultra-complicated claim form clearly designed to dissuade policy holders from making minor claims.

A couple of weeks after sending a batch of receipts and the form by mail, I received an email on August 24 giving me a claim number and saying: "The information you have supplied has been sent to a claims officer who will do their best to respond to you by 31/08/22."

Great. Everything is underway.

Since then I have heard nothing. Zip. Nada.

Perhaps they have a query about my claim? Perhaps something needs to be checked? Perhaps there are ongoing delays? Perhaps my claim has slipped through the cracks?

I emailed Qantas Travel Insurance/nib on September 15 and September 27, politely asking for an update. Still nothing.

I have always been a huge advocate of having travel insurance.

Prior to Covid I had annual policies - on which I never claimed.

Since resuming flying I have had two policies with Qantas/nib and this is my first claim.

I am a Qantas Frequent Flyer and booked my insurance via their website. 

Not happy Alan.

Time to crack down on Australian airlines taking their customers for a ride

It is time for action.

If you buy food that is rotten you are entitled to your money back. If you purchase of bottle of wine that is corked then you are entitled to be reimbursed.

If an airline leaves you stranded, or downgrades you with no explanation, then you apparently have no consumer rights in Australia.

If Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin Australia dud you then you are supposed to cop it and shut up.

As our airlines hoist their prices sky high, and deliver increasingly poor service, what action is the Government taking?

None at all that I can see.

Which just isn't good enough. Time to pressure MPs to get something done.

Four recent examples of egregious behaviour, not to mention those poor souls left stranded in Bali.

1. Two gold Qantas frequent flyer members, both about to hit platinum, are vowing to never again fly with the Spirit of Failure. The two were booked to fly together from the US back to Australia. One was told she has the option of accepting a downgrade, or flying on another day.

No ifs or buts, take it or leave it. And they reported that Qantas service agents were ungracious and unhelpful .

Qantas told them that because their travel had already commenced they would only refund Australian $1500 for the change of class - the real value is $3000.

2. Another regular Qantas frequent flyer in the wine industry reported that Qantas has lost his checked luggage three times in the last month. Compensation: zero.

3. Food writer John Lethlean was among those left in the lurch this week by Jetstar, which cancelled a flight from Singapore to Australia with zero notice. 

Passengers already at the airport were told at midnight to find their own hotels after the flight was rescheduled for 24 hours later. But it is Grand Prix weekend so you there are precious few hotel rooms - and those that are available cost $800 a night. Tough. 

4. Legal eagle Greg Barns is another disgruntled customer, despite being a platinum flyer with Virgin Australia. 

He says he was told there were no upgrades available on a flight, but was then sent email asking if he'd like to bid for one. 

 Barns points out that Virgin charges $160 to change a flight but doesn't mind cancelling flights itself - with no compensation.

Enough is enough. Our elected representatives need to act, no matter how much influence the little Irish fella and the American lady have over them.