Australian family paid $10,000 for Qantas flight to Scotland before airline downgraded them to Jetstar
Australian family paid $10,000 for Qantas flight to Scotland before airline downgraded them to Jetstar
An Australian family was left furious when part of their Qantas trip to Europe was ‘downgraded’ to Jetstar, but they were denied a refund for the price difference.
Albert Chen, his wife and two young children paid $10,304 for full-service tickets on Qantas flights from their home port of Melbourne to Scotland with a stopover in Singapore departing on August 10.
But on the day of their trip, Qantas told them their flight to Singapore had been canceled and offered them an alternative Qantas flight with a three-hour stopover in Sydney.
“We didn’t want an extra three hours in Sydney because we had to entertain our kids in an airport terminal,” Chen said. Yahoo News Australia.
They were then offered a Jetstar flight without the detour to Sydney, which they accepted – reluctantly, after paying for the premium Qantas experience.
Albert Chen and his family are fighting for a full refund of the fare difference after their Qantas flight to Singapore was canceled and they were downgraded to Jetstar instead
Jetstar is the budget arm of Qantas, with the flagship airline billing itself as a premium experience
Mr Chen then asked for a refund of the price difference between Qantas and Jetstar tickets to Singapore and said he was baffled when he was not immediately offered a ticket.
“Qantas refused to acknowledge that our move from Qantas to Jetstar was a downgrade,” Mr Chen said.
It is understood that when a passenger is transferred from Qantas to Jetstar, he or she will be offered additional services such as baggage and meals at no extra cost.
Mr Chen was later offered a partial refund of $700, along with frequent flyer points, as a goodwill gesture from the airline.
He claims it’s not enough and is still in contact with Qantas demanding a full refund of the ticket difference.
Mr Chen said that according to his research, the trip from Melbourne to Singapore with Qantas cost about $4,100, while a similar package with Jetstar cost about $1,780.
According to consumer rights watchdog ACCC, when an airline cancels a flight, ticket holders are legally entitled to an alternative within a reasonable time frame.
“If that replacement service is not provided within a reasonable time, the travel service provider must give the consumer the choice of another replacement service or a refund,” the ACCC said.
Qantas has offered the Chen family a partial refund of $700 along with frequent flyer points as a gesture of goodwill from the airline
‘If the consumer needs to book a new flight on a different airline because the airline he originally booked with did not have reasonable replacement flights, he may be entitled to a refund from the original airline for the cost of that flight.’
The ACCC also added that matters of dispute will be decided by a tribunal or court as to what is ‘reasonable’ and that when booking a flight, customers agree to the airline’s terms of service, which could outline what an acceptable alternative.
Qantas has been contacted for comment.