Who would fly Qantas?

Is this a sign of things to come?

Gerrit

Passengers forced to fly Jetstar

February 18, 2007 12:00am

Sunday Telegraph

PASSENGERS on Qantas international flights are being bumped to the airline's
lower-cost partner Jetstar.

The Sunday Telegraph has uncovered evidence of "Australia's favourite
airline" transferring passengers on to its sister airline without consulting
them first.

Passengers who pay for flights with Skybeds are also missing out, with a
leaked memo revealing staff have been told not to warn customers they may
not be available on some overseas services.

One woman, flying from Hawaii to Sydney with two young children, was forced
to fly Jetstar after paying for a Qantas flight last month.

"We were told that the next Qantas flight wouldn't have been until the next
day and if we had wanted to do that we would have had to re-book," the
passenger, who did not want to be named, told The Sunday Telegraph.

"It would cost us the premium rates, so a lot of extra money, and we'd have
to also arrange an extra night's accommodation in Honolulu."

The passenger had initially booked her Qantas tickets in April last year for
a flight in January.

In December, Qantas contacted the passenger, notifying them that the flight
was going to be Jetstar and offering compensation of $60 and meals.

"It was an awful flight - really poor service," the passenger said.
"Honestly, I would never, ever book a flight with Qantas. If there was any
risk that they could bump me down to Jetstar, I will fly another airline
from now on.

"Where Jetstar is an option for them, that is what they're going to do and
bad luck if you don't want to fly with them."

A Qantas spokeswoman confirmed passengers had been moved from Qantas flights
to Jetstar on the Hawaii route.

"Qantas contacted customers who were already booked on Qantas flights that
were affected by the scheduled changes and offered them the option to either
obtain a refund, have their booking transferred to Jetstar with a fare
variation, or change their travel dates and fly on the Qantas service.

"Customers booking through travel agents should have been given the same
options by their agents."

An internal memo also reveals Qantas staff have been ordered not to warn
passengers that a business-class Skybed seat may not be available on
international flights.

Qantas advertises the near-flat Skybed seat as being available on all
services to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, London and other cities,
including Bangkok and Shanghai.

After a large number of complaints, the airline issued instructions on how
to handle angry passengers who found they did not have a Skybed.

Dated November last year, the circular obtained by The Sunday Telegraph said
customers should not be warned in advance the service was not available.

It said: "Unless special circumstances warrant, Telesales are not calling
customers in advance nor is advice provided at check-in. If a customer is
unhappy that they are not on a Skybed service, we do all possible to recover
them on the spot.

"If a customer wishes to provide further feedback, they can be directed to
customer care who will assess the feedback and action accordingly.

"In some cases this may result in a gesture of goodwill being extended to
customers."

Flight attendants have said they are disgusted by the company's tactics.

A cabin crew source said staff were bearing the brunt of anger from
customers.

"Nobody's happy," he said.

A Qantas spokesman said "most" of the long-haul flights had Skybeds.

"But on a very small number of routes there could be a mix of aircraft
operating.

"In the case of a scheduled aircraft change we do everything possible to
contact the customer and advise them."

"gerrit" wrote in message
...
Is this a sign of things to come?

Gerrit

Passengers forced to fly Jetstar

February 18, 2007 12:00am

Sunday Telegraph

PASSENGERS on Qantas international flights are being bumped to the
airline's
lower-cost partner Jetstar.

The Sunday Telegraph has uncovered evidence of "Australia's favourite
airline" transferring passengers on to its sister airline without
consulting
them first.

Passengers who pay for flights with Skybeds are also missing out, with a
leaked memo revealing staff have been told not to warn customers they may
not be available on some overseas services.

One woman, flying from Hawaii to Sydney with two young children, was
forced
to fly Jetstar after paying for a Qantas flight last month.

"We were told that the next Qantas flight wouldn't have been until the
next
day and if we had wanted to do that we would have had to re-book," the
passenger, who did not want to be named, told The Sunday Telegraph.

"It would cost us the premium rates, so a lot of extra money, and we'd
have
to also arrange an extra night's accommodation in Honolulu."

The passenger had initially booked her Qantas tickets in April last year
for
a flight in January.

In December, Qantas contacted the passenger, notifying them that the
flight
was going to be Jetstar and offering compensation of $60 and meals.

"It was an awful flight - really poor service," the passenger said.
"Honestly, I would never, ever book a flight with Qantas. If there was any
risk that they could bump me down to Jetstar, I will fly another airline
from now on.

"Where Jetstar is an option for them, that is what they're going to do and
bad luck if you don't want to fly with them."

A Qantas spokeswoman confirmed passengers had been moved from Qantas
flights
to Jetstar on the Hawaii route.

"Qantas contacted customers who were already booked on Qantas flights that
were affected by the scheduled changes and offered them the option to
either
obtain a refund, have their booking transferred to Jetstar with a fare
variation, or change their travel dates and fly on the Qantas service.

"Customers booking through travel agents should have been given the same
options by their agents."

An internal memo also reveals Qantas staff have been ordered not to warn
passengers that a business-class Skybed seat may not be available on
international flights.

Qantas advertises the near-flat Skybed seat as being available on all
services to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, London and other cities,
including Bangkok and Shanghai.

After a large number of complaints, the airline issued instructions on how
to handle angry passengers who found they did not have a Skybed.

Dated November last year, the circular obtained by The Sunday Telegraph
said
customers should not be warned in advance the service was not available.

It said: "Unless special circumstances warrant, Telesales are not calling
customers in advance nor is advice provided at check-in. If a customer is
unhappy that they are not on a Skybed service, we do all possible to
recover
them on the spot.

"If a customer wishes to provide further feedback, they can be directed to
customer care who will assess the feedback and action accordingly.

"In some cases this may result in a gesture of goodwill being extended to
customers."

Flight attendants have said they are disgusted by the company's tactics.

A cabin crew source said staff were bearing the brunt of anger from
customers.

"Nobody's happy," he said.

A Qantas spokesman said "most" of the long-haul flights had Skybeds.

"But on a very small number of routes there could be a mix of aircraft
operating.

"In the case of a scheduled aircraft change we do everything possible to
contact the customer and advise them."

Their toilets are 'miles' better than most though..........................