Man’s shock $10,000 Qantas saga at airport counter

A Melbourne man turned up to the airport ahead of his flight only to be told there was one big problem – despite his booking being confirmed.

A Melbourne man revealed how he had to fork out almost $10,000 after he turned up to Qantas’ check-in counter only to be told there was an error with his booking.

Evan Jones, 63, and his wife Wendy were due to fly from Melbourne to the US on August 14 last year.

However, when they turned up to the airport ready to start their three-week trip, they were advised they had no tickets, leaving them with no choice but to purchase another two again.

Mr Jones said he made the booking over the phone with a customer service agent due to Qantas having system problems with purchasing top-up points back in December 17, 2021.

He made the booking using existing points, purchasing top-up points, also saying Qantas obtained a purchase authorisation on his credit card for the airport taxes.

But the only problem was the booking was never ticketed.

“When we arrived at the airport to check in at 9am on that Sunday, the people at the counter advised [us] the booking had not been ticketed correctly and that we had to ring Qantas Reservations,” Mr Jones told news.com.au.

The couple arrived at Melbourne Airport only to be told there was a problem with the booking. Picture: iStock

“After over an hour on the phone, Qantas Reservations advised us, I had no alternative but to rebook flights, I did the Melbourne to Dallas leg with this representative and the rest of flights online (Dallas to Rapid City and then to Honolulu and back to Melbourne.) while waiting for flight departure.

“So the total extra cost I had to payout was $9888.90, which is well over double the cost of original booking – the same flights I booked two years previously cost $2337.”

Mr Jones said he was shocked to learn there was an issue with the booking as he received confirmation with allocated seats and also a text the day before about checking in.

He also claimed to have never received correspondence from the airline about issues with his booking.

“At no point did Qantas advise there was anything wrong with the booking until I arrived at the check-in counter on August 14,” he said.

He was told at the counter his booking was never ticketed. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Crosling

“The new flight I had to book was delayed three hours so we missed our connecting flight from LA to Dallas, my original booking was meant to arrive in Dallas at 4pm [but] we arrived after midnight.

“It caused us to miss picking up a prepaid car hire as the venue was closed, then having to pay for taxi fares for the three days while in Dallas.”

Mr Jones said he also had to sell $10,000 in shares from his retirement funds to clear the credit debt from the cost of the new tickets.

News.com.au understands Mr Jones’ booking wasn’t ticketed immediately as flights to the US require additional passenger information before the airline can ticket a booking.

He received a confirmation regarding his booking and said he was never told about any problems prior to arriving at the check-in counter.

According to the airline, Mr Jones was sent three emails in the 48 hours following the booking, reminding him to complete the booking and noting risk of cancellation.

The required information was allegedly completed a month before his travel and the airline states the booking was not ticketed as there were insufficient Qantas Points in his account.

However, when Mr Jones called Qantas’ contact centre prior to travel, the agent incorrectly confirmed to him the airline would ticket his booking.

Qantas admitted it should have informed Mr Jones of the ticketing issue before he turned up to the airport ahead of his trip.

He also received a text the night before about checking in online.

“We sincerely apologise to Mr Jones for this experience,” a Qantas spokesperson told news.com.au.

“We should have contacted Mr Jones about the factors preventing the ticketing of his booking and made sure the issue was resolved before his travel.”

Mr Jones said he was baffled he still received information about checking in, leading him to “believe the booking was OK”.

“The booking appeared on my and my wife’s Qantas Frequent Flyers account with confirmed allocated seats. We also received emails [in] early August providing tips regarding Covid rules in USA & ESTA requirements,” he said.

It later emerged that he didn’t have enough points to complete his booking but a Qantas agent incorrectly confirmed to him the airline would ticket his booking.

The traveller paid an extra $10,000 for two new tickets. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Geraghty

“Seventy-two hours prior to our flight we received an email from Qantas to complete USA passenger attestation, which we did. I [then] received a text message the day before the flight that I could do online check-in.”

Consumer Champion consumer advocate Adam Glezer, who deals with similar cases, said the entire situation could have been avoided.

“The Qantas agent should have let him know that he didn’t have enough points so that the problem could be rectified,” Mr Glezer said.

“It shouldn’t have taken him going to the airport to see that his flight hadn’t been ticketed. “Where was the communication from Qantas? This whole mess could have and should have been avoided.”

The airline has since introduced new processes at its contact centres which sees more complex bookings escalated to more senior customer service agents.

“Since mid-2022, we have rolled out new technology, training and processes in our contact centres which have seen a significant improvement in customer service,” a Qantas spokesperson said.

The technology will also identify customers who have had to call multiple times and match these callers with more experienced agents.

Qantas said it will reach out to Mr Jones to apologise for his experience and refund the money that he spent on purchasing flights as a result of the agent error.