Doc Holiday: I got bumped from a flight, what are my rights?

What happens if you find out you’ve been bumped from your flight, causing you extra expenses? Are you entitled to compensation? 

Escape's Doc Holiday, Dilvin Yasa, answers your travel-related questions.

What are our rights if an airline doesn’t honour its commitment? We had a confirmed business class flight but two days before departure we were bumped to a later flight, disrupting our plans.

I can understand your frustration. The same thing happened to me recently, but we only found out we’d been bumped when we arrived at the airport. Between you and me (and just about every other reader of this column) they backed off when we stood our ground and told staff we were not getting on any flight other than the one we’d paid to be on, and our original seats were quickly reinstated. I should point out I did this as a private citizen rather than Doc Holiday, so I suggest anyone can have a go, as long as you’re polite and courteous during your discussions.

Australia doesn’t have a set compensation scheme for delayed or cancelled flights (the government is currently consulting on a proposed Aviation Customer Rights Charter), but I took your query to the folks at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and they doubled down on the fact airlines are required to meet the consumer guarantees under Australian Consumer Law when they supply their services.

“Whether an airline has failed to meet these consumer guarantees will depend on the circumstances in any particular case,” the ACCC spokesman said. When they fail to meet these guarantees (again, depending on your particular set of circumstances), consumers are entitled to a remedy, which may be a replacement service, credit or refund, he added.

“In addition to a refund or replacement service, consumers are also entitled to reimbursement for consequential losses that are reasonably foreseeable and caused by the failure by the airline to meet the consumer guarantee,” the spokesman said.

The airline will have a compensation policy that sets out further assistance they will provide if a customer’s flight is delayed or cancelled, so be sure to look carefully through this, but remember, their compensation policy cannot exclude consumers’ rights under Australian Consumer Law consumer guarantees.

The ACCC website outlines all the steps you’ll need to follow and the appropriate consumer protection agencies to contact if you’re unable to resolve the issue with the airline.

I’m a healthy 82-year-old with 264,000 Qantas frequent flyer points and a desire to explore Lord Howe Island. Will my points get me that far, and how do I go about organising such a trip?

You are in luck – not only are you headed to one of the most beautiful destinations our country has to offer, but you won’t have to pay any gap. Having checked in with the Qantas team, the best-value way Qantas frequent flyers can use their points to fly to Lord Howe Island is with Classic Flight Rewards or Classic Plus Flight Rewards. The former are essentially reward seats at a fixed price and usually the lowest points amount, but with less availability (five million seats per year across the airline’s domestic and international network). Classic Plus Flight Rewards are readily available (20 million seats per year), but usually at a higher points amount. Something to note here is that their points price varies like a normal airfare.

Although Qantas recently announced changes to its frequent flyer program that will increase the number of points required for Classic Upgrades and Classic Reward seats on domestic flights, as well as partner airlines for bookings from August 2025, you can currently access flights to Lord Howe for as few as 8000 points. I recommend booking your flight ASAP before the landscape changes.

Head online to qantas.com where you can log in to your account, search for flights to your destination and then filter by Rewards to see the rewards seats available. Then it’s a simple matter of following the steps to complete the booking.

I book accommodation through sites like booking.com and Expedia (and Airbnb). However, you may find travel agencies – particularly those who specialise in Lord Howe, such as Oxley and Spacifica – offer better peace of mind as they’ll organise everything from transfers, tours, activities and accommodation for you. Remember, too, that you could also look at using points to pay for some of your accommodation through Qantas Hotels.

Your travel insurance will be on the pricier end, but there are plenty of options for the 80-plus market. I recommend doing a comparison of policies through Compare the Market. Just don’t forget to add any pre-existing conditions, if you have any to report. Happy travels.

Originally published as Doc Holiday: I got bumped from a flight, what are my rights?