Unjust Qantas Flight Cancelation for Booking with Miles

CochazoTuc on 01/02/2024 - 01:30

Hello fellow travelers,

I am seeking advice and possible solutions regarding an issue I'm currently facing with Qantas/LATAM. After several years of not being able to travel to South America, I managed to find a well-priced flight using my Qantas points and booked it through the Qantas website. It is for me, my wife and 2 kids.

The flight I booked was a direct one from Melbourne to Santiago (operated by LATAM), scheduled for early April. However, Qantas/LATAM recently changed the flight details - it's now departing 10 minutes earlier. Instead of adjusting my booking, they've marked my flight as canceled and are claiming there are no more Qantas flights available at this time. The strange thing is, the new flight with the earlier departure time is still available for purchase on both Qantas and LATAM websites.

To make matters worse, they are now offering a 40-hour flight with stopovers in the US and Peru, which is a drastic change from my initial 16-hour non-stop flight. Their proposal is not a realistic option that anyone traveling with kids could accept - so it seems they are pushing me towards a refund.

I understand that airlines have the right to change flight schedules, but changing a flight by 10 minutes should not be considered a cancellation, especially when the new flight has the same flight number. It seems as though Qantas is trying to bypass their commitment to their customers who are traveling with points.

I am particularly interested in understanding if there is anything within Australian consumer law that might assist in this situation. Any advice, recommendations, or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help.

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Comments

  • His_Holiness on 01/02/2024 - 01:40
    +5

    Unfortunately very common with Qantas reward bookings on partner airlines. Read this article and send an email to the dedicated email address https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/qantas-fix-ticket…

    • CochazoTuc on 01/02/2024 - 10:01
      +3

      Thanks very much for this information, it seems to be the right place to escalate. I'll let you know how it goes.

  • capslock on 01/02/2024 - 04:55

    Qantas can ask LATAM to release more reward seats for you but if LATAM refuses then there is nothing more that Qantas can do. I'm not sure whose fault it was that your tickets were cancelled in the first place but either way your seats are now gone.

    Qantas will not buy cash tickets for you on that same flight so don't expect that to happen.

    • gidxg03 on 01/02/2024 - 06:35
      +1

      I found the opposite experience. About 18 months ago Qatar cancelled my reward flight booked through Qantas. Because I perceived Qantas ended up agreeing with Emirates to open up a cash fare with Qantas covered the cost of to arrange an alternative flight.

  • djkelly69 on 01/02/2024 - 10:26

    It is not specifically for this situation, but you might try emailing [email protected] to try and have it rectified.

    I would be suggesting that it appears your award tickets were cancelled due to QF's failure to re-ticket after the schedule change, and asking them to contact the OneWorld ticketing desk to try and have it reinstated.

    • capslock on 01/02/2024 - 11:37

      LATAM is not in oneworld so they need to contact someone else.

      • djkelly69 on 01/02/2024 - 11:39

        Oh yeah forgot about that, LATAM rewards desk then perhaps.

  • jv on 01/02/2024 - 10:45

    changing a flight by 10 minutes should not be considered a cancellation

    Is it the same flight number?

  • coffeeinmyveins on 01/02/2024 - 20:58

    It seems as though Qantas is trying to bypass their commitment to their customers who are traveling with points

    Yeah no duh

    Anyway
    You're either not understanding what's going on or they are trying to pull a fast one.

    If it's got the same flight number it's not a cancellation.

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