Qantas broken promise leaves Aussie customer $227 out of pocket
The traveller was delayed overnight but Qantas tried to renege on its promise to cover the full cost of a hotel stay, until contacted by Yahoo.
An Aussie returning from his family holiday in Fiji was "frustrated" and out of pocket after he says a delayed flight with Qantas left him stranded interstate and forced to pay for his own overnight accommodation.
The Perth local was flying home with Qantas from Fiji, stopping over in Sydney on November 21, when a delay to the first flight meant he missed the second leg from Sydney to Perth. On arriving in Sydney late at night the domestic airport was closed, and those meant to continue flying to the west coast were left flightless and without "any sort of assistance".
"We had to wait for over an hour and run around before we could get [help]," the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Yahoo News Australia.
But, it wasn't the communication that ultimately "left a sour taste" for this Qantas passenger — instead it was the lack of a full refund for the overnight accommodation.
According to the customer, after struggling to find an available room in any hotel for him and other passengers to stay in overnight, Qantas staff asked if he could find and pay for a room himself — for which he would be refunded.
"After trying for over an hour to get accommodation finally he got accommodation at Meriton for $427.35," he shared.
Despite an initial promise of full reimbursement, he says Qantas then only offered $200 for the accommodation and $50 for a meal allowance.
Do you have a story about your recent travels? Contact reporter Laura Koefoed at laura.koefoed@yahooinc.com
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Qantas declined to comment on the incident but said it alerts customers via email and SMS when flights are to be delayed to allow time for new travel arrangements to be made.
After Yahoo contacted Qantas on Monday, the upset customer was later offered a full reimbursement to cover the hotel costs as originally promised by the airline.
What are you entitled to if your Qantas flight is delayed?
Qantas states online that if a delay or cancellation occurs within 72 hours of the scheduled departure time, it will re-book you on the next available Qantas flight which is acceptable, without charge.
As shown, if a flight is delayed overnight for reasons within Qantas's control (for example, this does not include random weather events) and you are away from home, it will provide meals, accommodation and transfers.
As well as this, if you have a connecting flight in the same booking, it will recommend an alternate flight to match your itinerary.
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