Bali holiday ‘ruined’ as Jetstar, Qantas downgrade Sydney couple from business to economy and request $320 fee

A couple’s “perfect” Bali getaway was turned on its head when an email from Qantas about their Jetstar flight home came out of the blue.

A Sydney man says his perfect romantic getaway to Bali with his wife has been “ruined” after their return flights were suddenly downgraded from business class to economy and Jetstar requested an extra $320 fee to confirm the new seats.

Ryan Bloch told news.com.au on Thursday he had spent “a good nine hours” trying to resolve the issue so the couple could get back to their three young children in Australia before their carer leaves on Saturday.

The original business class flights were booked directly through the Qantas website using Qantas Frequent Flyer points and had been ticketed in September.

But while enjoying day two of their holiday on Tuesday, Mr Bloch unexpectedly received a new e-ticket itinerary for economy seats instead, “with no information or reason provided” for the downgrade.

“I thought something is wrong here,” he said.

The couple booked business class (top) but unexpectedly received new e-tickets for economy (bottom) while on their holiday. Pictures: Supplied

When attempting to manage the booking on Jetstar’s website, a notification read: “Please complete your outstanding payment of $320, so we can confirm your booking.’’

He claims at one point while in contact with Jetstar about the debacle, he was told they could not assist because the booking was made through a third party.

Finally on Thursday afternoon, the day before their scheduled flight home, Mr Bloch was able to confirm with the airline they would have two economy seats without paying the $320 fee, but he did have to pay more than $60 for seat selection.

Speaking to news.com.au, he said he was just relieved to have confirmed seats on the flight, but was now worried they would get caught out at the airport with their luggage not being included in the new ‘starter fare’ that had been rebooked for them.

When Ryan Bloch attempted to manage the booking online, he was told he needed to pay $320 to confirm his flights home. Picture: Supplied

Mr Bloch said the trip was “supposed to be a beautiful holiday” for his wife – only about the second time they had been away without their children – but instead was riddled with “stress and anxiety”.

news.com.au can confirm the reason for Mr Bloch’s downgrade was that the flight was swapped from a Boeing 787 aircraft to an Airbus A321neo LR, which does not have business class seats.

Jetstar said this was due to maintenance requirements, and the $320 fee to confirm the downgraded seats was displayed in error.

“We appreciate this was a frustrating experience for Mr and Mrs Bloch and we sincerely apologise,” a Jetstar spokesman said after being contacted by news.com.au

“Unfortunately, we had to change their return flight to an aircraft without business seating and moved all customers into economy with complimentary meals, in-flight entertainment, and additional baggage allowance.

“Due to a processing error, an extra payment was visible on their booking and an agent incorrectly charged for economy seat selection. Our customer team has reached to Mr and Mrs Block to waive these additional charges.

“We know this is an important occasion for Mr and Mrs Bloch and we have arranged lounge access ahead of their return flight tonight and each customer will be issued with a $200 Jetstar travel voucher for a future trip.”

Adam Glezer advocates on behalf of customers. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Adam Glezer from Consumer Champion, who Mr Bloch contacted this week seeking advice, told news.com.au that while it was a “disgrace” Mr Bloch had spent hours trying to resolve the issue on his holiday, he was lucky that he opened the attachment on the unexpected email and noticed the small change on the e-ticket itinerary that showed he was downgraded.

He said other customers affected could have thought it was just another confirmation email for their business class flights and got a surprise at the airport.

“What makes the situation even worse is that Ryan was not even given an explanation. He was just sent a new itinerary,” Mr Glezer said. “It took news.com.au getting involved to get answers.

“The lack of care and communication from airlines in situations like this is an embarrassment. Putting customers in situations like this is a disgrace.”

Mr Glezer said it was important to note that not all people who book premium seats like business class are doing so purely for the added luxury, and may do so because they can’t fly economy for health reasons.

“Being given three days’ notice that they have been moved to economy is simply not good enough,” he said.

He added: “The laws in this country are pathetic when it comes to protecting Australian flyers and it appears Covid wasn’t a big enough wake up call to put the necessary protections in place.

“Until something is done about it, airlines are going to keep inconveniencing customers because they can without consequence.”