Qantas crew took our daughter's seat
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Rebecca_Blane
Posts: 7 Forumite
Me, my husband and our 2 year old daughter, recently moved back to the UK from New Zealand after living out there for about 10 years. As this was going to be our last big flight for a while, we thought we'd make it as comfortable as possible and purchase a seat for our daughter (at the time she was under 2 and would normally travel for free on my knee). However, not only did we have a horrendous journey but to top it off Qantas used our daughter's seat for a cabin crew member and are now refusing to pay compensation.
Basically, the leg from Sydney to Dubai was diverted to a random airport in Al Ain due to fog. We had to sit on the plane for over 9 hours on the runway. Eventually we were allowed off into a small terminal building because the fog had lifted but there became a technical fault with the plane delaying us further. Because of the lengthy delay they had to bus in a new crew meaning that the old crew needed seats, they used our daughter's seat along with the space that goes with it (even though there were other empty ones on the plane). We paid for that seat and weren't able to use it, surely we should receive a refund? They wouldn't be able to take a seat from an adult!
We have complained to Qantas and also followed this up with the Airline Advocate in Australia (who just relayed questions between Qantas and myself so quite pointless). Qantas gave us 5000 points each but we don't intend to use the airline again as the whole experience was just terrible (including no food for over 24 hrs!) Is there another avenue to seek compensation/refund for our daughter's seat? Thanks
Basically, the leg from Sydney to Dubai was diverted to a random airport in Al Ain due to fog. We had to sit on the plane for over 9 hours on the runway. Eventually we were allowed off into a small terminal building because the fog had lifted but there became a technical fault with the plane delaying us further. Because of the lengthy delay they had to bus in a new crew meaning that the old crew needed seats, they used our daughter's seat along with the space that goes with it (even though there were other empty ones on the plane). We paid for that seat and weren't able to use it, surely we should receive a refund? They wouldn't be able to take a seat from an adult!
We have complained to Qantas and also followed this up with the Airline Advocate in Australia (who just relayed questions between Qantas and myself so quite pointless). Qantas gave us 5000 points each but we don't intend to use the airline again as the whole experience was just terrible (including no food for over 24 hrs!) Is there another avenue to seek compensation/refund for our daughter's seat? Thanks
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Comments
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I'm not sure if I'm reading it correctly - you flew from Sydney to Al Ain with your daughter in her seat. Then from Al Ain to Dubai the crew used the seat? Or from Al Ain to the UK? It would make a huge difference, as Al Ain to Dubai would be a very short part of your journey.
Also, are they not compensating for the delay?0 -
Unfortunate but perhaps necessary to get the spare Qantas crew back to DXB.
The Al Ain to Dubai flying time would be about 10 minutes. Perhaps double that to allow for taxiing and holding.
Are you seeking a refund on your whole journey? 5000 miles for each adult on what might have been a small inconvenience for 10-20 minutes sounds about right. If you are unhappy then politely ask for the cash equivalent (which will probably be around £15-£20).0 -
The bit in red sounds very odd.Rebecca_Blane wrote: »Me, my husband and our 2 year old daughter, recently moved back to the UK from New Zealand after living out there for about 10 years. As this was going to be our last big flight for a while, we thought we'd make it as comfortable as possible and purchase a seat for our daughter (at the time she was under 2 and would normally travel for free on my knee). However, not only did we have a horrendous journey but to top it off Qantas used our daughter's seat for a cabin crew member and are now refusing to pay compensation.
Basically, the leg from Sydney to Dubai was diverted to a random airport in Al Ain due to fog. We had to sit on the plane for over 9 hours on the runway. Eventually we were allowed off into a small terminal building because the fog had lifted but there became a technical fault with the plane delaying us further. Because of the lengthy delay they had to bus in a new crew meaning that the old crew needed seats, they used our daughter's seat along with the space that goes with it (even though there were other empty ones on the plane). We paid for that seat and weren't able to use it, surely we should receive a refund? They wouldn't be able to take a seat from an adult!
We have complained to Qantas and also followed this up with the Airline Advocate in Australia (who just relayed questions between Qantas and myself so quite pointless). Qantas gave us 5000 points each but we don't intend to use the airline again as the whole experience was just terrible (including no food for over 24 hrs!) Is there another avenue to seek compensation/refund for our daughter's seat? Thanks
If there were sufficient seats for the extra cabin crew, why did they specifically take the one paid for for your daughter?0 -
Did they use your daughter's seat from Al Ain to Dubai or Al Ain to UK?Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear0
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We may never know.
OP has not returned.0 -
Op please return0
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vegasvisitor wrote: »I'm not sure if I'm reading it correctly - you flew from Sydney to Al Ain with your daughter in her seat. Then from Al Ain to Dubai the crew used the seat? Or from Al Ain to the UK? It would make a huge difference, as Al Ain to Dubai would be a very short part of your journey.
Also, are they not compensating for the delay?
Apologies, I have been away!
It was from Al Ain to Dubai, however, it included the time that we were sitting on the runway which was about 9 totals in total. As we weren't allowed to get off the plane, the three of us had to sit in the 2 seats for this whole time.
Also, they have said that they will not compensate for the delay as it was caused by fog, even though once the fog had lifted we were still delayed due to a technical fault on the plane.0 -
Unfortunate but perhaps necessary to get the spare Qantas crew back to DXB.
The Al Ain to Dubai flying time would be about 10 minutes. Perhaps double that to allow for taxiing and holding.
Are you seeking a refund on your whole journey? 5000 miles for each adult on what might have been a small inconvenience for 10-20 minutes sounds about right. If you are unhappy then politely ask for the cash equivalent (which will probably be around £15-£20).
If it was just for the 20 minute flight to Dubai we wouldn't have minded but we also had to sit on the runway for about 9 hours as well. There were also other empty seats on the plane, so confused why they had to take our daughters seat!0 -
The bit in red sounds very odd.
If there were sufficient seats for the extra cabin crew, why did they specifically take the one paid for for your daughter?
We didn't realise that there were other empty seats until we were in the air to Dubai, by then it was too late to suggest that maybe the crew member could have sat there! I really wish now that we had asked at the time why they needed our daughter's seat.0
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