The girl at the Qantas counter couldn’t have been more offhand. Qantas had lost the luggage of eight passengers when they arrived in Broome to join a Ponant cruise to the Kimberley.
“If you wait 48 hours we can give you $60 to spend in Kmart,” she said.
Where was our lost luggage now? “I don’t know – and until it is standing beside me I can’t tell you where it is. Or whether it was lost in Sydney, Perth or Broome.”
Our Ponant cruise was leaving the next day. Without luggage, much-needed medical supplies as well as smart attire for gala dinners, our cruise would have been much diminished. And in the case of medical suppliers highly risky. And, of course, we didn’t have 48 hours to qualify for that fashionable $60 outfit from Kmart.
But while it was nerve-racking, it was the way the staff handled the situation that did the most damage to the Qantas brand. They really couldn’t care less. Even more damaging – the handling company at Broome told us this happens “every couple of days – and sometimes the luggage never comes”.
We were told we’d be telephoned once the bags had arrived. Yet my details, left on a form at the airport, were wrongly logged online with a note that said I was uncontactable. No one was called. And we all congregated at the airport the next day to stand by the carousel hoping for the best.
Today The Financial Review publishes a report that shows a damning slump in the airline’s trust among Australians, with less than half saying they had faith in the brand. Rival Virgin stands at 60 per cent.
Why Qantas is failing
If anyone wants to know why Qantas shares are on a rollercoaster ride, why the ex-ECO Alan Joyce is an outcast and why it has plummeted in the most trusted brands surveys, it’s because of the way small incidents like this are treated.
Our flight from Sydney to Perth and Broome last month – QF649 – had been late but otherwise uneventful. Of course, we asked at the gate after a late connection what the chances were of our bags being left behind.
“None”, we were assured. “They are on the tarmac heading for your plane.”
Wrong! They were not even close to the plane. And they didn’t make the next flight either – we know, we went to the airport.
But that’s not the point. This is 2023 – lost luggage goes astray, right? However, the way the ground staff dismissed our concerns was what undermined the Qantas position.
We would have either missed our cruise or had a miserable time had our lost luggage not turned up the next day in the nick of time. But no one on the ground at Broome had a clue it was on its way. And their rank rude dismissal of our wishes to be kept informed told us everything about how much they gave a flying fox for our welfare.
What happened next?
When we turned up the next day, it was only the intervention of a Ponant staffer who sensible had Apple tags in her bags that allowed us to tell the Qantas staff that our bags were behind the doors of the baggage handling shed. And even then, we were made to wait 40 minutes.
This week, we were treated to an amazing hearing instigated by the ACCC, the government body charged with protecting consumer rights.
Qantas has been selling tickets for flights they had already cancelled. You’d think the airline would be apologetic. Not a bit of it.
The Qantas view: You don’t buy a ticket…
Apparently, when you buy a ticket on a Qantas flight you don’t buy a seat at all. You buy “a bundle of rights” which are transferable if things go wrong. You have no right to a seat on the flight you booked.
Find that strange? So did we. Here’s Qantas’ misguided argument. Apparently, the ACCC was operating under the misguided belief that the service Qantas supplied was for a particular flight.
“To the contrary, the service Qantas relevantly offers is a bundle of contractual rights which are consistent with Qantas’ promise to do its best to get consumers where they want to be on time,” the Qantas defence documents say. “That bundle of rights includes alternative options to which consumers become entitled in respect of cancelled flights but does not include any promise to provide a ‘particular flight’ or to operate to a particular schedule.”
Most people build their holiday plans around flight arrivals. And we arrived one day early in case of flight cancellations.
As it turned out, we were lucky. Our luggage arrived with an hour to spare.
But what about all those poor naive passengers who actually think that handing Qatnas money for a ticket actually means they will get them to their destination on time and with their luggage?
The Qantas view: Good luck with that!
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I am a tour guide and will often work a Hospitality Desk for cruise ships. Last year, I had a couple arrive from Stockholm – they flew Emirates to Singapore, connecting with QF to Darwin. They arrived, but their luggage didn’t. Their transport provider from the airport to the hotel advised them to ring from the hotel, so they did. Unfortunately, this was bad advice. I assisted with making their phone call to Emirates – “As their last leg was with QF, you will need to contact that airline.” I rang QANTAS – “As they were booked by Emirates, you will need to contact Emirates.” I ring Emirates back – “We’re sorry, but the luggage arrived in Singapore and has gone missing on the QF leg, you’ll need to contact with QF so they can send a lost luggage request to us.” I ring QF back – “Our office in Darwin is now closed, please visit the website to lodge lost luggage.” The next day, the phone ping-pong starts again, my blood pressure skyrocketed and even the website kept declining the lost luggage application! I was at my wits-end. My guests thankfully arrived 3 days before their cruise departed and luggage arrived late on the evening prior to boarding day. QF was not going to deliver until the day of boarding, because “… all our drivers had gone home for the day.” The guest ended up taking a heart-stopping taxi ride to the airport to collect their much-needed luggage just as services were closing. It opened my eyes to how crap QF’s regional customer service actually is and the struggles foreign visitors with English as a second language must go through!
Oh dear . This post makes me now extremely happy that my experience was not like these poor travellers . I booked a flight with Jetstar , my sister booked the same flight with Qantas. When we got to airport , I was told I was allowed 16 kgs luggage and 7 kgs onboard and she was allowed 23k luggage and 10 kgs onboard. I usually fly with Jetstar but didn’t realise Jetstar passengers were the lower class citizens on a Jetstar flight carrying ‘Qantas’ passengers . Afterwards I was told about this, I realised this was why we couldn’t book a seat together. The staff at airport were great when I realised my mistake with weights allowed . Luckily had plenty of time to rearrange luggage . Oh dear … note to self…. Check ticket information. My sister and I live in different towns but we’re travelling separately to a wedding and after wedding she was coming to my place for a while , hence the reason for separate bookings on plane . Next time we will book together and reimburse the one booking flight.
I was not impressed with my flight from South Africa to Sydney then Ballina 11/10/2023
The flight left an hour late
Staff was rude .. food not great
Then had to move to another parking after it landed
Which made it even later
Thanks to the ground staff at Sydney Airport.. I made my flight to Ballina just in time… they were fantastic
Well done
Qantas lost the luggage of nine passengers on our direct flight from Sydney to Broome,including some of our own.
We were made to wait for 45 minutes at the unmanned assistance desk as the Qantas staff were assisting with the departure of a non Qantas plane. My husband found his own ” lost luggage” form after searching drawers and we filled them out.
We were also told about the $60 payment after 48 hrs , but as we were joining the Coral Geographer for our much anticipated Kimberley cruise the same day this was useless.
My husband had no clothes or medications but the cruise staff gave him essentials and were wonderful.
Not so Qantas! We were told the luggage would be at our Darwin hotel, but it was not so. We were then told that it was waiting for us after our holiday back in Sydney.
We spent $132 in Darwin buying toiletries and clothes.
We arrived back in Sydney at about 6.30pm and presented to the baggage handlers as instructed.They ignored us for about 4mins, before the woman behind the desk yelled “Stand in the queue!”, without even looking at us. We looked around- we were the queue.
Eventually our luggage was handed over unceremoniously. There was no apology for the inconvenience, nor any sympathetic facial expressions.
I asked who I should contact to claim back our $132. I was informed that it was not their responsibility to do the paperwork and that I should claim it on travel insurance.The unhelpful tone shocked us.
I then emailed Qantas customer service back and forth x6 and was told that even though the baggage handling was not a Qantas responsibility, (baggage handling having been subcontracted out!),they would refund me the huge amount of $132 as a measure of GOODWILL!!! The fact that we had handed the luggage to Qantas staff in the first place seemed to count for nothing.
I am beyond a response after this saga. It is beggars belief that an Australian Company would treat it’s customers with such disdain and deny responsibility to such a degree. I am simply standing aghast with my mouth open and no words will come.
I travelled from New Zealand back to Perth after an operation in NZ.Qantas could not do enough for me they were absolutely fantastic as an airline I would highly recommend. A wheel chair was provided and they went above and beyond for me not as just a passenger but as a person. Sadly we have had a few years of I’ll health and have not been able to book a holiday it’s been 7 years. Every company has hiccups at times and people can be demanding. Love you Qantas until we meet again fly high xx
Qantas is the worst. The day after my wedding they had over sold my flight and wanted me to remain in Bangkok while my wife and step daughter, both Thai, flew ahead to Sydney. Note, I had purchased our tickets 10 months in advance. I was able to get on the flight but despite booking the seats togeather we didn’t get to sit together
In addition to food served was next in inedible.
I will never fly with Qantas again. Now it’s Royal Thai or Singapore Air only.
#boycott Qantas
Qantas is a serial offender in the off-hand manner they treat their customers when things go wrong. This truly demonstrates their attitude to customer “service”. No amount of apologies or promises to do better in the future will make any difference until there is a wholesale change of management & culture. The “new” regime has no credibility.
Hello your story was my story down to a tee. I had booked my husband and I on flights last near to travel business class from Brisbane to Broome via Sydney. We were arriving a day before our cruise on a Coral Expedition cruise to Fremantle
About five days prior to our departure, Qantas advised by text that our initial flight to Sydney was cancelled and they had instead booked us on a flight arriving in Sydney an hour after our flight to Broome had left. Imagine my dismay! So I telephoned Qantas and stayed on line 2 hours to book us onto a flight that actually got us to Sydney before our connecting flight left. This happened but we had to travel economy to Sydney. Well ok as long as we got there.
We arrived in Sydney and spent a few hours waiting for our flight. All was uneventful until we landed in Broome. My husbands luggage appeared but not mine.
When my husband and I finally got to speak to a Qantas representative, she was very underwhelmed, unhelpful and downright rude but accused me of raising my voice i made sure I made a formal complaint of delayed/lost luggage and she reluctantly went off and came back with a registered number.
I found out later we had left Brisbane but my luggage had not. Luckily it arrived the next day after travelling from Brisbane to Perth and then on the morning plane to Broome. We were at Qantas the next day and I was happily surprised to find my bag had arrived a couple of hours before we were to board the ship.
At no time did that woman acknowledge that it was a Qantas problem or apologise for the lost luggage and even have any compassion. It was as if she couldn’t care less and yes I was told by others that this is a frequent occurrence. Not good enough Qantas!
This is really horrible to hear. I fly Qantas Direct flight to UK at least once, sometimes twice a year. Have not been home long from recent trip. Have to say 95% of time I’m very happy with the service. BUT this year decided to fly home via LAX and onto Hawaii and Sydney with Virgin Atlantic. Then to Perth with Virgin Australia. What a great trip with Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Australia was very pleasant too.
So, after those flights, I gotta say Qantas needs to up their game. AND…
I really don’t wanna hear the late CEO’s name again, EVER
I stopped flying Qantas years ago because of their attitude towards customers.
Only use them now if they are the only option. AND then I hate it.
Great company that has completely gone to shit under that Irish prices leadership.
Unbelievable, almost exactly the same happened to me on 2 occasions in 2022 with Qantas
1) Direct flight Perth to Darwin to join a Kimberly cruise. No baggage received at Darwin, spent 2 days chasing baggage at Darwin airport only to have to take cruise without baggage.
No apologies from Qantas with bags only received when back in Perth.
2) Ditto for Xmas cruise leaving Auckland with Qantas flight via Sydney to Auckland. Baggage not received prior to departure of ship.
Qantas never gave a hoot, and have normalised losing baggage as acceptable and passenger risk
Please, every airline has the same carriage rules it’s not just Qantas.
What a crock of sh.t argument.
U buy a ticket to be on the flight that Qantas is advertising…
I have been saying this about qantas so called ‘customer service’ for years now. And it’s not just the ground crew. The flight crew are equally rude. And some would say surprisingly – I’m actually talking about business class.
Agree totally just did a bucket list with Qantas never again. Its funny the term contractual rights you have NO RIGHTS after prepaying my trip I asked to change one day on flight home they slugged me extra $ 1200.00 almost as much my whole holiday cost to change one flight.
I have flown Qantas for the best part of 30 years as my preferred airline even buying lifetime Qantas Club membership when it was offered. Sadly, the service provided today falls far short of that provided 30 years ago. Customer service is appalling & fault lies squarely at the feet of Qantas management.
Sell the bloodycompany ,put another airline in who know the business !
Unfortunately it’s not Qantas fault. Why you ask? Well this is Australia where nearly all Australians are lazy none caring and becoming more ruder by the day. Kids have no respect for elders or others. People now just expect high wages fir doing no work at all. How do I know this? I was boelrn in Australia moved to Europe and held high regards for my country except on return ten years later I was shocked and embarrassed to be an Australian so I left again fir twelve years only to return to find Australia even worse. So don’t expect any one to give help or care like twenty odd years ago.
Having just arrived back in Perth on Friday, 4th Nov, from UK on Quantas Dreamliner direct flight, i would have to say that the food, beef stew, was fat & grizzle. No fruit like other airlines, only a tasteless yogurt. One of the Stewards (George) was so overweight that his shirt was hanging out of his troucers showing his big pot belly at front – what an image! No-one checked that seats were upright and seat belts worn prior to landed. Very lax, but have to say that staff were helpful and smiling. Now, having read the comments above re: lost luggage, i will definately give them a miss in future. Yvonne
Sick of people whining about Qantas. Don’t use them send them broke then probably a better airline will start up. Haven’t use Qantas for 2 years and won’t. Do something about it and stop complaining
Try telling Qantas your ticket isn’t for a flight at a specific time when arrive 5 minutes late at the gate.
I’m sure they will immediately accommodate you with no penalty.
Wait, was that a pig taking off at the runway ?
Sadly having been a loyal Qantas flyer for over 40 yrs we started experiencing similar situations over 10 yrs ago and dropped off Qantas 10 yrs ago. We have had baggage lost on multiple occasions. Taken 12 hours to get from Albury NSW to the Gold Coast for my fathers funeral which we just made but the clincher was this one
On a last minute flight from Melbourne to the Perth we were seated in the last row of economy and when the meal trolley arrived we were advised that there were no more meals available and that they could offer 2 of us one apple between us which we declined but to our astonishment 5 minutes later 3 of the flight attendants sat beside us with their hot meals and pulled the curtain for privacy
When contacting customer service l was told very assertively that the crew were absolutely in the right and there was nothing they could do for me
We havent and will not ever fly with those spuds again
Different CEO but nothing else has changed or will change. But as the little people are discovering, they are no match for the top end of town.
At the moment you have different ground handling companies at Sydney airport Qantas link Qantas domestic Qantas international plus code share flight so if you have connections the chances are your back will be handled by different companies they are not coordinated so transfers are a hit and miss affair Qantas domestic had not employed a baggage handler for 10 years it’s one of the subsidiary companies QGS the Qantas domestic guys were given their marching orders whereas Qantas link kept KGS and if you link with Jet Star good luck you’re on your ownIt’s a debacle pde ex Qantas 40 years!
It happened to us as far back as 1978 we arrived in Singapore at 11pm with 4 kids in tow with nothing although they were on the next flight it doesn’t help the inconvenience especially at almost midnight with 4 grumpy kids
Qantas have never given a flying f about their passengers. My last flight with Qantas was First class to London back in 2016. At that stage I was a platinum frequent flyer and used Qantas a lot. The service, the interactions with staff and just the general experience was terrible. Maybe I was expecting too much. That was my very last flight with Qantas. I’m now a proud Singapore Airlines PPS member and have been for years. If Qantas had any idea the amount of money they’ve missed out on for flights from me.
My advice, don’t fly Qantas. If you do, don’t complain it’s rubbish, you’ve been told time and again.
Why hasn’t the former boss of Qantas not been charged with fraud for devalue of Qantas frequent flyer point without notification to all the members the monies formally allowed for the frequent flyer program has been allocated to the so called Qantas profit.
The same thing happened to us, we were flying from Auckland to Sydney with Qantas then onto Singapore and Puhket with Singapore Air. We had to pick up our bags in Sydney as we’re flying on with a different airline. Arrive in Sydney no bags. Waited waited still no bags, after filling out call sorts of forms it was decided that we would carry on as we were late for our flight. Must say Singapore Air were amazing. So we flew on to Singapore/Phuket with no bags.. Ling story short we finally arrived in Phuket and spent the next 5 days calling Quantas and trying to make some headway. Try buying clothes in Thailand when you are a size 16 NZ. After 5 days I got an e.ail from Qantas asking me to go to reception and leave $80 for a taxi that would drop my bag off and to please email a number when I had done so. My bag finally arrived and I had some cloths, never another word from Qantas, hence never another flight will I be going on.
How is it that Joyce hasn’t been charged with fraud the frequent flyer points program has devalued the points without notification to its members
It’s a while back now just after Covid but my golf clubs on Qantas flight to Gold Coast did not arrive!!! My mate on same booking and plane got his but mine did not come out of oversized luggage at South end of airport.
I registered the clubs and was told I would be contacted. Tried to follow up by phone over next 24 hours and told to go on line by machine voice!!! On line had no update as found!!!
Next day on way to golf course to rent a set of clubs, for my 3 days of golf trip, we swung by the airport.
Here are my clubs sitting on floor outside the doors of oversized luggage. No-one in sight. I just picked them up and walked out and played my golf. Did check app and stilled listed as missing!!! 3 days later, the lady at Gold Coast airport rang me to just check on clubs as she also noted no change to the missing file!!!!
No further communication!! Had thought of claiming lost luggage but am voting with my feet. They lost my Trust!!!
This seems to be a common theme with the aviation industry in Australia. Governments need to look at the European approach to compensation for airline customers. Until Governments force change on the aviation industry, nothing will change.
I got shafted with Qantas 20 yrs ago. I have never flown with them on principal. .y suggestion, vote with your feet
Qantas, you have let the Australian flying public down. The AGM, how your management turned off the microphone when a share holder was asking a question, it just goes to show you don’t like criticism!! I will never fly with you again! Time after time, your in the media for the wrong reasons. Shape up or ship out!
Typical of anything ALLAN JOYCE is Head off..Qantas was ounce an exceptional carrier until Alan Joyce came on scene. Alan Joyce has left Qantas realing with a rotten smell…I feel sorry for anyone who is missing luggage thru mishandling,not carring Qantas staff that do not care..
Why is and the conceited individuals treated as very important persons and. Above the laws common to all citizens. It is very simple. It is because We You. The Police And UOR Court Judges appear to accord these these self opinionated have allowed them to adopt and wear and at this in your face and up your Attitude copied from their Leader who was such a success Hail Ex CEO re Joyce,
ex commander in chief swindler.
Hi Peter,
I felt that I had to reply to you. I understand how frustrating it is to have one’s bag left behind.
However, there are some Qantas staff who do care and who spend many frustrating hours trying to help travellers locate and catch up with their bags, as well as suffering verbal abuse because of a problem that is quite often not their doing.
My son is one of the caring ones and I have seen him after hours trying to solve these problems.
So please don’t tar them all with the same brush. They are not all uncaring.
Typical of Qantas standards these days. I will do everything in my power to ensure I don’t get booked in with Qantas. They were the best but sadly no more. The almighty flying kangaroo has now become the flopping kangaroo. Watch out for the big rigs Qantas as you might get hit by them.
Going on past experience with Qantas they are about the last airline I would ever use , disgusting ethics .
I get a little tired of people bagging QANTAS for unforeseen problems. Most of the time it is the fault of contractors or others or mechanical problems that can occur in complex machines. Just take a pill and be pleasant to the ground staff who are usually just as flustered as you.
We have had nothing but a good experience with Qantas recently when travelling overseas last month.
Due to unforeseen circumstances we were unable to connect with our flight to the UK from Sydney, we were rerouted to Melbourne to connect with a slightly later flight via a Qantas partner airline. The customer service personnel at Adelaide were extremely helpful in changing flights and ensuring that our baggage would arrive in the UK with us. When we arrived in Melbourne the ground staff there were equally as helpful even though we had a longer layover providing us with a meal voucher to tide us over.
To end this we arrived in the UK ready for our long (3 years) delayed holiday, I might add that Qantas honoured all our flight credits as well.
We have always be very happy with the service received from Qantas.
Another Qantas hater story? It’s fashionable to bash Qantas. There is more than one side to most stories.
Quantas is a joke, I hope all the existing board members get the chop at today’s Shareholders meeting. They all seem to be self serving nincompoops, more concerned about their own personal finances than the reputation of Qantas. If I were on the board I would be ashamed to be associated with this mess.