Is Qantas Australia's worst airline?

22 replies

Rod H

Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards

Member since 06 Mar 2015

Total posts 271

Dunno about QF being Australia's worst Airline per se but judging by the many complaints about their call Ctr. they would be Australia's worst Airlines Call Ctr.

Gms5

Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer

Member since 20 Jun 2019

Total posts 6

Originally Posted by CBRQF

I have never had a problem with the Qantas website. I find it pretty easy to use. I also find their interaction through Twitter to be pretty decent if I need to escalate. In fact, I have had FAR more issues with Virgin.

Perhaps it is user error?

Thanks Mr Joyce. Obviously you haven't actually done anything above....

Gms5

Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer

Member since 20 Jun 2019

Total posts 6

Originally Posted by vhojm

Been a while since the last Qantas bashing post.

Schedule changes are always confirmed via the manage booking portal unless its extremely complex not like your 5 minute schedule change which is just a lie.

Refunds and call times are just a given in the airline industry at the moment for large airlines.


Absolute nonsense!! This is another Qantas spam post by Mr Joyce...

Gms5

Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer

Member since 20 Jun 2019

Total posts 6

Originally Posted by Rc

I find QANTAS excellent

But you're a Qantas spam bot so it doesn't count....

Rod H

Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards

Member since 06 Mar 2015

Total posts 271

Gms5 How right you are in your observations.

guesswho2000

Member since 27 Mar 2019

Total posts 8

Originally Posted by Ttravels

Qantas is a two-speed experience, depending whether you have FF status.

I’ve heard enough anecdotes to understand that the phone wait is at times painfully long. It would appear to be staffed for normal loads, without sufficient resilience built in for days where things go wrong.

Those of us lucky enough to have higher status get their calls answered first, resulting in a completely different experience.

Example from a couple of weeks ago:

My interstate flight, the last direct one of the day, was cancelled at short notice. (As it happens, it was Jetstar, but had been booked as part of a return trip via Qantas). When I drove into the airport car park and checked my phone, I discovered I’d been rebooked on a Qantas flight which would have meant there was an unwelcome overnight stop in Brisbane. This was what everybody else on the flight had also been put onto.

But I was able to call the P1 team from the car park, and get an alternative connection. From dialling the number to sorting the flight took five or six minutes, and I was boarding the alternative flight, the last one if the day, 15 minutes after that. It was one of those occasions where P1 status made a real difference.

The difference in phone waiting times, meant I was counting my good luck at making the tight connection, rather than spending a night in Brisbane cursing Qantas,

In almost every aspect, Qantas is a great airline. (Even is the website can get the odd, frustrating, caching bug if you use it a lot.) But the phone support for non-status travellers is perhaps their weakest spot.


100% agree with this, I've had to wait max 30-40 minutes on the many occasions I've had to call them over the last 18m as a WP. Their CS seems to depend (when you get through) on whether you get NZ or Manila, NZ being fantastic in my experience.

Their website is clunky at times and it is really annoying how it locks you out of making changes, etc., sometimes requiring you to call.

Not Australian carriers of course, but throughout this pandemic SQ have been worst with refunds and BA worst with actually being able to contact them, for me.

MN

Member since 04 Mar 2022

Total posts 1

Qantas should be given an award for worst airline. I've never had a positive experience with them.

The first time, Qantas failed to notify me that my flight had been cancelled. I had to fight for weeks to get them to pay for the return taxi trip and they never apologised once. I had only flown with Qantas as Virgin did not fly there.

The second time, the flight was cancelled after 5 hours and I was at an airport without a cafe. Qantas failed to do announcements and did not hand out any food or water. I had only flown with Qantas as Virgin did not fly there.

Afterwards, I waited in a line for one hour to be rebooked onto a new flight. Then, they told me there were no seats for me until FIVE days later and expected me to pay for my own accomodation. I asked for Qantas to cancel my flight and they instructed me to call their customer care hotline to have the refund processed. I drove to another airport and flew home with Virgin.

I've now been on the Qantas customer care hotline for THREE AND A HALF hours. At first, they couldn't find my booking. Then they said that there is no record of the conversation which occurred with Qantas and claimed that my ticket was never cancelled.

When I gave them a piece of my mind, they did more research and found that I had been given travel credits. They refused to give me a refund as I had received travel credits and somehow, it was my problem. They also added that travel credits can ONLY be used by myself when I call their customer care hotline which has a minimum wait time of TWO HOURS. So Qantas got $175 off me for free.

NEVER EVER fly with Qantas. If Virgin does not go to the airport, rent a car and go to the nearest airport they fly to.

The wait time to speak to Virgin customer care is less than 10 minutes and they contact you if your flight details change. You can book your own flights online using travel credit. The one time a flight was cancelled, they put me up in a lovely hotel, gave me $50 of credit to use on room service, and gave me return taxi vouchers.

Dartpro

Member since 28 Aug 2019

Total posts 22

Sorry, I would'nt say it is the worst. Whatever it is supposed to represent is not what you see or get. I have never flown Qantas before uptill now, in January 2022. The business class service below par. Some of the flight staff treated you as if they were doing you a favour. Mr Joyce should spend some time reading all the comments, then assessing what all the changes that need to be made so that peoples opinion would change for the better, after all it is the flagship of Australia. The service we recieved in Darwin on our way to London Heathrow was PATHETIC ! We arrived early, then promised to be taken to the lounge, and that did not happen till we were almost ready to board our flight. Did we even get a drink before boarding ? No it did not happen. Downright PATHETIC ! The return flight home cost us $24,000.00 and the SERVICE PATHETIC ! Will we ever decide to fly with Qantas in the future ????? Not on your nilly.

Last editedby Dartpro at Mar 05, 2022, 10:49 AM.

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