Qantas Says Check Terms and Condition

17th Sep 2015

Kate and Darren Pattison, from Brisbane, wanted to go to New York with Qantas, so they booked flights at $1896 per person. This was in February. Fast forward to September and the pair thought to pay a little extra for an upgrade to their flight. They wanted to move up the Premium Economy class

Little did they know that the "little extra" actually amounted to a total of $400 between the two.

Suffice it to say that the Pattison's weren't all too happy about this.

Ms. Pattison commented:

"I could understand it if we were changing flights or dates, but all we wanted to do was to fly in a bit of luxury on the same flights, and on the same day and the same route. It's not a great public relations exercise. It seems like a deterrent to paying for an upgrade."

That wasn't the end of the couple's woes, however, as they were also informed that their flight's time was moved.

Ms. Pattison said:

"It seems to suggest Qantas' underlying principle is money, not customer relations. They should be encouraging people to upgrade, not using the opportunity to price gouge."

A spokesman for The Flying Kangaroo had a ready reply:

"It's important that passengers always check the terms and conditions before they finalize their purchase. Some tickets allow changes to be made to a booking whereas others are restricted in what the fare offers."

The spokesman continued:

"We find that people who know the exact dates of when they want to travel choose the cheapest fares which don't allow for changes, while other customers who want more freedom with their travel, choose fares which are able to be changed without a fee."

The spokesman also explained that the carrier offers a "range of different fares to meet customers' '' needs".