AirAsia Screwed Us - Reimbursement Possibility?

CrankyCarrot on 15/09/2018 - 19:16
Last edited 18/09/2018 - 17:03 by 2 other users

I went to great pains to book a connecting flight for my friend from Bangkok to Phuket that would arrive in time to get the new Smart Bus and avoid the notorious Taxi Mafia there.

Friend goes to the gate on time, waits patiently and then finds out later that Air Asia moved the gate all the way to the other end of the terminal. No one came to get them. They didn't hear any announcement and apparently the only clue was some tiny cardboard sign that was extremely easy to miss, as was the flight.

They go to the desk and are told that they can pay for the next flight at their own expense and, after objecting, are offered some p1ssy 10% discount.

This means they were made to wait hours longer, missed out on the last bus in Phuket and got gouged on the taxi there plus the extra fare. All because Air Asia switched gates at the last minute (again, to the furthest possible alternative) and did a p1ss poor job of notifying them. They make you give them a phone number during the booking process and yet there was no call and no text notifying them of the change.

This sucks.

Has anyone had any luck wringing fiscal justice out of scummy LCCs like Air Asia who seem to pull this BS all the time?

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closed Comments

        • hogwarts on 16/09/2018 - 08:31
          +11

          Caught in a string of their own lies.

        • Icecold5000 on 16/09/2018 - 11:25
          +18

          @hogwarts:

          ROTFL OP tries to make up imaginary friend to pin stupidity on, fails when they inadvertently admits multiple times it was them, makes claims about airport which have been disproven, is publicly humiliated because they couldn't take the loss of a $40 flight.

        • ripesashimi on 16/09/2018 - 14:55
          +1

          @Icecold5000:

          He's is my friend mom. His name is Toby. You cant see him but hes standing next to you.

          Just in this case, Tony is saying 'eff you retard im not real dont blame ur stupidity on me'.

  • dizzle on 15/09/2018 - 20:27
    +1

    That's a low cost carrier. You pay 1/4 the price you get 1/4 the service. I'm not complaining, I know when I've booked with them there are limited options: Pay for food, pay for baggage, miss/chagne your flight and pay extra.
    When they charge so little they spend as little time on the tarmac as possible, so they will spend less time (if any) following up on late passengers. Where a full cost service may have someone waiting at the old gate to send people on, Low cost has fewer staff so need everyone getting people on board. If you haven't boarded they must unload any luggage you put on so they have to start that as soon as possible.
    They also use the low cost airport in Bangkok. I haven't flown in there, but I would expect less notifications there too.
    You get what you pay for

      • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 21:42
        +31

        I paid for a flight and got nothing but the runaround.

        You?

        Or your friend?

      • dizzle on 16/09/2018 - 08:35
        +1

        Well, Technically you did get what you paid for…There was a seat on that flight. Just because your friend didn't make it doesn't mean they filled it with someone else.

        But anyway. I've seen very little support (or even sympathy) for your case on here, but you react badly as you are not getting the answer you want.
        By the way I have been in situations similar this and whenever it gets near to boarding time, if I see anything that makes me nervous (no staff at the desk, no flight details on the board, fewer passengers than I would expect), I either ask someone, or look for a flight board.

        The gate would not have changed in the last 30 minutes before the flight or you would see 100 passengers all get up and leave the gate you're sitting at.

  • chumlee on 15/09/2018 - 20:44
    +6

    How do you know exactly what happened if you were not there?

  • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 21:03
    +1

    Nothing about the taxi fare or arrival time is relevant, the only question is who is at fault regarding the gate change & missing the flight.

    Here it is hard to judge and a bit of a grey area, did your friend arrive at the gate by the appropriate time (arriving at the last minute would make it harder to work out and make it to the new gate), were the electronic flight boards changed? Exactly how big was the sign - is there photographic evidence? etc.

    Even still I believe most full service or Western airlines would probably have provided the subsequent flight for free, Air Asia is almost never as service orientated & I no longer fly them for these kind of reasons.

    The best approach would be to claim on travel insurance (handy if booked with a suitable credit card where you get it complementary).. from experience the time wasted dealing with Air Asia, usually ineffectually, is not worth it, including for instances when they are much more clearly in the wrong than this.

  • p1 ama on 15/09/2018 - 21:27
    +3

    So much entitlement mentality. You literally bought tickets with the most budget of all budget airlines and you seem to expect service? Sorry, but the reason why they're cheap is because you're meant to take responsibility for things which someone else would for you with a full service airline.

    If you want to travel cheap, you need to take initiative and be vigilant. If you want to be lazy, want someone to carry your luggage for you and to escort you to the right gate when there's a change, then there are airlines that do that - you will need to pay for that. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a flight has changed gates when you're at the gate and nobody is there.

    Get a grip on the situation, nobody stuffed your mate around. For all we know, the flight took off, the flight landed and everybody else seems to happily be at their destination. Your mate goofed, how about they take some personal responsibility for it. This is quite literally like going to McDonalds and complaining about nobody bringing you a glass of wine to your table…

    • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 01:08
      +3

      I think the OP has a point in that if we combined Australian Consumer Law, and took following its precepts as a moral way of doing business, he would likely be entitled to a reimbursement of costs incurred for the onward flight.

      It may be seen that this is "the right thing to do", & what Australian companies might ordinarily do (or would be forced to should it become contested in an Australian court of law), but this cannot be expected to apply outside of Australia, as one quickly learns that globally much fewer protections exist for consumers than in Australia and corporate behaviour tends to be much worse, perhaps because of it.

      (Now I know also that not all Australian companies do what they should, e.g. at many outlets you will be told the warranty on your new fridge is strictly 12 months… but it isn't under Australian Law. You could be told by Tiger Airways you are up for the cost of the onward flight, but if push came to shove, and you were at the gate indicated on the ticket at the appropriate time and the business failed to take reasonable steps to notify you, like leaving appropriate signage at the gate or personnel, the case to get reimbursed builds).

      • p1 ama on 16/09/2018 - 11:41

        So every time a flight changes gates, anybody who misses it is entitled to a replacement flight? I don't really buy that.

        Did OP's friend check the screens, listen for announcements, ask staff? It sounds like none of that happened and, on top of that, most other passengers managed to get to the new gate fine. I accept there may well be an error on behalf of the airline, but not in this case. OP's friend was careless and he missed his flight because of it.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 14:30
          -1

          Did you read what I said? Did I say "anybody that misses a flight is entitled to a replacement"?

          or did I say "if push came to shove, and you were at the gate indicated on the ticket at the appropriate time and the business failed to take reasonable steps to notify you, like leaving appropriate signage at the gate or personnel, the case to get reimbursed builds"

          So rather than "anybody" I have specifically stated if the business "failed to take reasonable steps to notify you" and then even then left the door open to them not being required to reimburse with "the case to get reimbursed builds". I did not say "the case is a watertight slam dunk".

          There seems to be extra fluoride in the water today.

        • Krankite on 17/09/2018 - 09:48
          +1

          If half the plane misses the flight then yes they probably are because we can assume the airline/airport made a mistake resulting in them missing the flight. The fact that it was only one person makes me take the airlines side in this.

          In this case is it possible the announcement was in the local language? Also did they speak to the gate staff at the boarding time or only after they realised the mistake? If they spoke to the gate staff at the scheduled boarding time then I think they have a reasonable argument that the airline should have been able to hold the gate open while they ran to the other gate given it takes 10 minutes to get everyone on the plane anyway. If however they waited til departure time then they should have known better.

      • josho9 on 16/09/2018 - 21:33

        Which precepts, exactly? It's up to you to arrive at the relevant gate at the relevant time, and it's hard to imagine that Air Asia failed to notify the entire flight of the gate change.

    • CrankyCarrot on 16/09/2018 - 02:47
      -7

      @p1 ama

      This is dreck and you don't know what literally means, but at any rate it's more like going to McDonalds, ordering a cheeseburger, then having them take it to the wrong table and refusing to give you another one.

      You're damn right about entitlement. A flight was paid for and we felt entitled to get it. Not luggage carrying. Not the shoddy food they serve - we just wanted the flight as paid for.

      There were other people waiting at the original gate, 33, apparently including two Air Asia staff members sitting and playing on their phones.

      • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 05:12

        Shoddy food?

        Air Asia has better food than Qantas.

      • Icecold5000 on 16/09/2018 - 08:15
        +1

        You're damn right about entitlement. A flight was paid for and we felt entitled to get it.

        You said you weren’t there are now you are claim YOU were entitled to a flight?

      • p1 ama on 16/09/2018 - 11:45

        There were other people waiting at the original gate, 33, apparently including two Air Asia staff members sitting and playing on their phones.

        And your mate didn't bother to speak with them or ask why nobody was boarding despite it being time to board? It takes ages to board a plane. If they took initiative and asked about it, they would have found out what was going on and made it to the other gate in time.

        Don't see any issue here. If you have the pockets, then take them to court. If not, then don't fly LCCs, then you won't have to deal with bad service.

  • retiredfeline on 15/09/2018 - 21:33
    +1

    Maybe next time buy "insurance" by buying and using check in allowance? Then they have to hunt you down or take your luggage off the plane. Or be alert, watch the screens, etc. Murphy is always out to get you.

    • CrankyCarrot on 16/09/2018 - 02:52
      -6

      Paying for checked baggage when you don't have checked baggage seems very un-OzBargain-like. As for the insurance - would that insurance they often auto-add to your flight booking cover something like that? What exactly does that insurance do?

      • retiredfeline on 16/09/2018 - 09:15
        +2

        So do the true OzBargain thing: Assume the worst can happen and be vigilant.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 14:54
          +1

          People these days: assume it's someone else's responsibility/fault and be angry.

  • JimmyF on 15/09/2018 - 21:45
    +2

    There are boards EVERYWHERE showing the gate number for each flight number. They made announcements and put up a sign at the WRONG gate.

    Really not sure what more you wanted them to do? Your mate should have seen their flight number wasn't on the WRONG gate and looked at the boards.

    Reimbursement

    You'll get NOTHING out a BUDGET airline like Air Asia, travel insurance is your only option.

    • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2018 - 22:52

      Not even lemon pledge?

  • mbck on 15/09/2018 - 22:43
    +2

    Must've gotten those sony noise cancelling deals. Wow they must be amazing

    • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 10:43
      +1

      Fresh from Colombia.

  • try2bhelpful on 15/09/2018 - 23:06

    We had a somewhat similar experience with Jetstar - but they did, eventually, notify everyone at the gate that the flight had been moved. The flight ended up being 6 hours late and we noticed, at one point, that the board was now showing a different gate to the original one. We headed over to the new gate and managed to get seats before eveyone else turned up. We didn't receive any SMS updates on our flight either.

    The moral is to keep an eye on the departure boards as you can't guarantee you will be notified.

    I'm surprised that they weren't being paged, or maybe the airline is not so fussy about offloading luggage or flighing with luggage that has not owner.

    • Emli on 16/09/2018 - 02:40
      +1

      Jetstar delayed our flight and notified us via email. However there were further delays which were never up dated nad this was after we had checked in and gone to the departure area. Helpful staff suggested we go downstairs and ask check in staff. This would require doing immigration again.

      When we finally worked out the departure time, we were all at the wrong gate. 100people or so got up and ran. We were all vigilant.

      • try2bhelpful on 16/09/2018 - 12:19

        We heard NADA from jetstar on our delays at any time. When we got to the airport the flight was already 2 hours delayed and the delays just got longer. They had a broken plane and then a storm came through just as they rolled out the plane to the gate so it couldn't be "serviced" until the storm had gone past. They were trying to keep us at the gates, as much as possible, so they kept incrementing the delay times by a small amount each time. If we knew we were going to be delayed for so long we could've had a good trawl through the duty free. (Flight to Hawaii).

        The plus side we got $10 vouchers so we could ameliorate the expensive food at the airport, a little.

  • lookin4bargain on 16/09/2018 - 02:20
    +3

    Not sure why there is a need to text for a gate change. I travel domestic in Australia quite often, with Qantas and Virgin, never have I received any text messages regarding gate change when it happens.

    • CrankyCarrot on 16/09/2018 - 02:51
      -8

      You're right. Terrible idea. Why make anything easier for people who may be jetlagged and unable to decipher every garbled message blurted out over the loudspeakers?

      • QW3RTY on 17/09/2018 - 11:19
        +1

        If there was ever an attempt to move as much personal responsibility off "your friend" and onto just about anybody else.

    • MessyG on 17/09/2018 - 21:31

      I've never had a text message for a gate change - is this a new thing?

      • lookin4bargain on 17/09/2018 - 23:35

        apparently it is according to OP. LOL.

    • dylo on 16/09/2018 - 04:45
      +26

      That's always an excuse when someone doesn't get told what they want to hear. Suck it up OP. You messed up your flight (yes we know it's you not a "friend") by not paying attention. Did you want OZBargainers to cry "Poor you"?

        • dylo on 16/09/2018 - 06:13
          +2

          No, you did that all on your own.

        • ebN on 16/09/2018 - 10:50
          +4

          We're not the ones that missed our flight, glad the airline ripped into you for being dumb enough to miss your flight

    • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 05:14
      +5

      Poor baby…

    • burningrage on 16/09/2018 - 13:26
      +2

      The ProductReview reviews are seemingly touchy feely kind of people who obviously has a grudge to grind with a website which I think has been very useful in making smarter purchases.

      I must admit though many of the forum questions are borderline avoiding responsibility type like "I missed a flight, where is ACCC?"

    • JimmyF on 16/09/2018 - 22:03

      So entire plane full of OTHER people made the flight, but not you. Yet its everyone elses fault? Hmmmmm

    • HighAndDry on 17/09/2018 - 10:12

      Lol. Who reviews a free website? Also, love that one of the complaints is titled: "Mean people on OzBargain". I think that says it all really.

    • MessyG on 17/09/2018 - 21:35

      Reviews are hilarious, I'm assuming you didn't find them before posting on here.

      If I were you I would write your complaint politely to head office, and politely again on their Facebook page. You might get more than a 10% offer if they don't want the negative publicity.

  • peterpeterpumpkin on 16/09/2018 - 08:54

    I've actually had similar issues before. I don't recall exactly but I think it's always been with domestic in Australia.

    I'm often the first at the gate since I check in online without baggage. Now when I come early I try not to get too comfortable (I normally feel like sleeping for those cheap 7 am flights) and set a phone alarm for scrambling time before the cut-off.

  • IceCreamBandit on 16/09/2018 - 08:57
    +1

    OP - don't you hold the airport accountable at all for this? Other than your friend seemingly being the only person who managed to missed the flight.

    I imagine gates are managed by the airport and planes would be directed where to go rather than find their own spot like in a shopping centre carpark. Airport and airline staff would/should have communicated any changes.

    Either way, for something as important as a flight with connecting transport and itineraries to follow, vigilance and attention are a must. Sometimes flights get full and people have to sit at the adjacent gate to wait so you can't expect staff to ask every person waiting at a gate if they are on a certain flight.

    Most flights I've been on have had people lining up at the gate lounge way before they announce that people should line up so they can be first to board. Did any of that happen? Massive warning sign if that did not…and it is mot unlikely your friend's flight only had them on it so other people would have been affected.

  • Hardlyworkin on 16/09/2018 - 09:35

    I hope this 'friendship' has its benefits for the hastle they caused playing on their phone and missing the flight ;)

  • Peck on 16/09/2018 - 10:50
    +1

    I am an Airasia fan based on value for money, and I frequently travel with them. I have not experienced this in Bangkok, but at KLIA2 where the airport is almost run entirely for/by AirAsia they are absolutely hopeless with keeping passengers at gates informed about what is going on. Delays etc. They rarely update expected ETD's on their main boards and you end up going to gates a lot earlier than is needed.
    As others have said "Insurance"? Maybe you need to make an effort to get compensation before insurance will kick in. Otherwise I would not waste my time in seeking compensation.
    I doubt that anyone will compensate you for the high taxi costs from Phuket airport. I think 700-800 thb (~A$30) is the current cost, but it IS a long way. If it was in a Bangkok Metered taxi I think that it might cost about the same.

  • abently on 16/09/2018 - 11:37

    In front of each Gate there is a screen which states what flight is next. Also on your ticket it states the boarding time for the flight.

    So generally you would arrive 15mins at the very latest before the boarding time to allow time to go through that gates normal security screening.

    Don Mueang Airport is not that big to walk from one side to the other. Accounting the 15 mins before boarding time and another 15mins after boarding starts, 30 mins is more than enough time to make the flight on time.

    Sorry but your friend is out of luck on this one.

  • hawkeye on 16/09/2018 - 12:10

    Every time I've been at DMK and flown AA everyone sits in the same waiting room on the ground floor regardless of where they are flying.

    When they are ready to board the flight they verbally announce and tv screens Phuket ECT line 1 and all people going there lineup they check the ticket then passengers walk outside and board the bus that takes you to the plane.

    If you look at this pick it shows I'm right for domestic as well as the gate numbers are all the same 9-10 as for international are all gate 1-2. https://www.google.com.au/search?q=dmk+airport&rlz=1C1CHBF_e…
    Are you sure you where in Thailand when this happened?

    https://thumb1.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/370228…

  • bazza1980 on 16/09/2018 - 13:39
    +6

    Love how these threads are always about a "friend" yet the OP has intricate details of exactly what happened LMAO !

    It's a public forum, no one knows you OP, just say you were the person who missed the flight, don't blame it on your "friend" !

  • retiredfeline on 16/09/2018 - 13:49
    +5

    Hmm, crankycarrot seems to landed in the penalty box. Nek minit a "friend" will post and argue OP shouldn't have. 😉

    • holdenmg on 16/09/2018 - 14:00
      +2

      You'd reckon they would have a Departures Screen inside the Penalty Box…

    • Pantagonist on 16/09/2018 - 17:31

      For sockpuppeting, I presume?

      A person posts a deal or competition mistake they've made pretending to be a customer their friend when they are actually associated with the company mistake.

    • burningrage on 16/09/2018 - 21:25

      Maybe for getting too many negs in a day.

      Although if that's true, JV would be in the Penalty Box too.

      Maybe Mods just trying to protect OP from further negs.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/09/2018 - 13:52

      I think it was for Personal Attacks within this thread.
      Couple of unpublished posts.

  • crazyboy on 16/09/2018 - 14:20

    They did the same thing with me Scoot. The boarding gate initially given was same as the ticket. But few minutes later it was changed, I was lucky I checked it and then went to the correct one. I know it is easy to miss but there are announcements going on, so you need to be careful as well. Moving it to the extreme other end is stupidity and lack of management by airport and airlines both.

  • raptormesh on 16/09/2018 - 15:13

    Always confirm with personnel at the gate if there are no screens. You screwed up by not being vigilant, learn from it instead of trying to get people with your outrage hiding behind a "friend" screen.

  • DarkOz on 16/09/2018 - 17:34
    +1

    OP and his imaginary friend's flight of fancy.

  • drfuzzy on 16/09/2018 - 20:33
    +1

    Summary
    OP is asking if anyone has had financial reimbursement for LCC missed flight after gate change mix up.
    After 2 pages of replies - the answer appears to be no.
    OP is also receiving a lot of hate.
    The general opinion is caveat emptor - traveller beware of gate changes and take responsibility for it yourself
    Get flight insurance if you so desire or wear the cost of occasionally missing a flight - with LCC you will still be ahead in the long run.

    • Pantagonist on 16/09/2018 - 22:48
      +3

      Get flight insurance if you so desire or wear the cost of occasionally missing a flight

      Most travel insurance policies won't cover missing a flight due to negligence. If you miss it due to an insurable reason - e.g. getting into an accident on the way to the airport or some other event that is beyond your control like a natural disaster - then you'll be covered.

      Premiums would be sky high if travel insurance covered all the dumb mistakes people make while on holiday.

    • HighAndDry on 17/09/2018 - 10:14

      missed flight after gate change mix up.

      There really wasn't a mix up: there was a gate change, OP missed the announcement, the sign, and the information screens. It'd almost be impressive if OP didn't come here to whine about it.

  • freakatronic on 16/09/2018 - 20:51
    -5

    Probably not even Air Asia's fault. I just passed through Bangkok airport and the place is a clown show. No wonder South East Asia stays poor.

  • Donaldhump on 16/09/2018 - 21:14

    Airports will track the history of what’s displayed on their fids screens, and it would be the airport that would need chasing not the airline. To be honest though, if a flight changed gate last minute you would see 200 odd people moving. My gut feeling is you got there late or have the observation skills of a drunk.

  • [Deactivated] on 16/09/2018 - 21:19

    This has happened to me several times with non budget airlines too.. Gates change all the time first time was a shocker for me changed about 5 times when I arrived few hours earlier. They announce it always.. They announce while boarding and closing gates multiple times..

    You may try legal alternatives by contacting a lawyer but you will end up spending more and will get Ur money back only if you win. If airlines shows they made announcements then Ur out of luck.

    If you booked from Australia try to contact the fair trading to get some guidance.

    Or just take it as an expensive lesson.

    Whenever you are airport you need to be vigilant and keep checking if gates are changing its your responsibility as it's hard to identify the various announcements. There is ample time before flight takes off if it's not delayed and boarding not started that's clear red Flag. No point assuming things..

  • UFO on 16/09/2018 - 22:27
    +2

    OP, the airline isn't responsible for where the aircraft docks… that's completely up to the airport operator.

    Your argument that the AirAsia owes you something is therefore flawed on this basis alone.

    Secondly, jetlagged or not, tired or not, in foreign country or not, its completely up to the traveller to ensure 100% that they are in the right place at the right time to catch a flight. Changes happen all the time. Sometimes at the last minute where telephone notification isn't possible.
    Your friends are at fault here. Not what you want to hear I know, but its the truth.

    The argument about poor signage and simply assuming that they were at the right gate is also flawed. Every single airport on the planet has a flight board. A main board that shows arrivals and departures. That would show updated information, and if in any doubt there's ground crew everywhere that could be asked.

    The fact your friends got 10% off the next flight is already more than what the airline had to do.

    • Krankite on 17/09/2018 - 09:58
      -4

      OP bought the ticket for the Airline not the Airport. The Airline is 100% responsible to OP, if the Airport is at fault it is up to the Airline to seek compensation from them and pass this on to OP.

      It's the same as a warranty the customer is compensated by the retailer and the retailer is compensated by the manufacturer.

      *please not I'm not saying OP's friend deserves compensation just that the party responsible is the one he bought the ticket from.

      • HighAndDry on 17/09/2018 - 10:16
        +1

        No that's terrible logic. That's like if you bought a ticket to a show, public transport was running late, and you missed it. Just because your ticket is with the show organisers doesn't mean they're responsible for you being delayed by public transport.

        • Krankite on 17/09/2018 - 11:35

          Except the Airline has a commercial relationship with the Airport the customer doesn't.

          In your example the public transport is completely separate to the show. To butcher your example it would be like if the show organiser hired a private bus company, which was the only form of transport that you could take to the show, and then the bus was running late. You don't have any business with the bus company so can't complain to them but the shows organiser did tell you catching this bus was the only way to get to the show so you take it up with them.

        • UFO on 17/09/2018 - 15:40

          @Krankite:

          Yes but your example states that the "bus was running late".
          It's a different story if the AIRLINE did something wrong, but they didn't.
          If there was an issue with the aircraft, or the flight was cancelled etc…. then yes, the customer can seek restitution from the airline 100%.

          But in this example the airline did nothing wrong. Yes customer purchased the ticket from them, but what did they do wrong to warrant any compensation?

          I'm guessing the plane took off perfectly fine with the rest of the passengers.
          I seriously doubt it took off leaving all customers at the "wrong gate".

        • HighAndDry on 17/09/2018 - 15:42

          @Krankite: Still not really relevant. The airport is a third-party intermediary. Their relationship to the airline is to provide services to the airline. The airport doesn't owe the passenger really anything, and the airline only owes the passenger a seat on the plane. To put it very bluntly, the passenger is responsible for finding the plane and getting on it - the airport can help, but have no responsibility to.

  • redslert on 17/09/2018 - 01:14

    Seems like you made a mistake and there isn't anyone else to blame.

  • Velathial on 17/09/2018 - 09:33

    Hey OP.it's me, your friend!

  • h4zey on 17/09/2018 - 10:27

    Lol fly with them once, never again! having said that though, if no one else missed it but just your friend then I guess we know what's wrong here.

  • morebunnings on 17/09/2018 - 10:32
    +1

    Sounds like they should have had travel insurance. IDK why people don't travel with travel insurance.

    I once ended up in hospital the day I was going to fly out and begin a holiday, got the whole holiday (~$3k) refunded through insurance. Once the airport lost my luggage which had my JR Rail pass in it. Had all my train tickets refunded (~$1,200) from travelling through japan for 2 weeks. Had a friend flown back from the USA first class because he broke his ankle and couldn't fly home with it down. All free because of travel insurance.

    I could go on and on, but end of the day you should by travel insurance the day you buy your plane or hotel tickets. No excuses.

    • nandystam on 17/09/2018 - 13:24

      If you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel. Simples.

    • roundnumbersonly on 18/09/2018 - 10:35

      Travel insurance will mean diddly squat if OP's friend missed the boarding gate change due to their ineptness.

  • luffyex2010 on 17/09/2018 - 11:18

    Usually when you are within the boarding time and there is nobody queuing….common sense tells you something is wrong.

    • QW3RTY on 17/09/2018 - 13:22
      +1

      Yeah, but… no text message. So… compensation!

      • luffyex2010 on 17/09/2018 - 14:04

        Do you actually get a text message if the plane/gate has changed?….didnt know that but I do know their big points has issues….spent 3k on air tickets and they gave only 1.5k…..should have paid in ringgits and get 3x multiplier if that works.

        • lookin4bargain on 17/09/2018 - 23:40

          Perhaps you do, at CrankyCarrot Airline.

  • CocaKoala on 17/09/2018 - 11:28

    So, everyone flying on that plane couldn't board?

  • GourmetFoodie on 17/09/2018 - 13:06

    Common sense and paying attention goes a long way when traveling. Even flying domestically I triple check the flight and gate number/departure time every 15 or so minutes as things change all the time in airports. It's not the airlines responsibility to hold everyone's hand like they are children. Your friend learned a well deserved lesson. I bet they'll pay attention now!

  • nandystam on 17/09/2018 - 13:23

    This little carrot really is cranky.

  • Baghern on 17/09/2018 - 15:47

    The Airline doesnt change gates by choice, they're directed by the Airport.

    I have never heard of an SMS for gate change. This would have been announced around the airport and at the prior gate, the boards would have shown it as well.

  • Piranha2004 on 17/09/2018 - 16:26
    +1

    So let's get this right… the gate was changed and you did not bother to check one of the hundreds of screens throughout the airport? One of the first things you do is to check the terminal and gate of your flight on the displays. Not to mention the gate would be on the ticket/boarding pass they wouldve handed to you. If the gate was changed after you had received your ticket/pass then I could potentially understand the issue. You seriously have to take responsibility for your actions in this instance. You couldve asked around as well.

  • CharityCase on 17/09/2018 - 17:16

    I work in this industry, gate change is done by the airport, but the airline will notify passengers about the gate change via announcement. You can also check the FIDs (flight information display which will show the most updated information) to find out which gate you suppose to go, and the airline ground service staff is not obligated to make a phone call to find you if you fail to board, they will page the final passenger a few times before closed the gate.
    I call bs if you say the airline didn't make an announcement to notify you, if that's the case the majority of passengers will be missing the flight

  • bmerigan on 17/09/2018 - 20:18

    Isn't the gate number written on the boarding pass?
    I'd say if the boarding pass listed the gate the plane was at, then you don't have a leg to stand on.

    • bringbring on 17/09/2018 - 21:45

      I can't remember the last time I had a gate number printed on my boarding pass. Travel has changed - very short turnaround times for budget/small or medium haul means unlisted gates until just before departure

  • Cyberninja on 17/09/2018 - 22:52

    OP is exposed and gone. I ain't going to respond :D

    • MessyG on 18/09/2018 - 08:03
      +1

      Thread was worth it for the link to the reviews of OzB on Product Review. 😂

  • PleasureMe on 17/09/2018 - 22:54

    I have no sympathy for you. You chose to fly with the worst airline in the world and then you're surprised when they pull stuff like this? You get what you pay for.

  • orly on 18/09/2018 - 00:15
    +1

    OP came here to get some form of empathy for their "friend" (why is it always in inverted commas?) and left in an avalanche of criticism, and rightly so. Nobody here can do feck all for you or your "friend". Go escalate your complaint to someone at HQ if you truly believe you have a leg to stand on. As any traveler will tell you, it is your responsibility to listen to announcements regarding your flight or take the initiative to ask a ground crew if it's half an hour before boarding and no one is making any announcements. Use common sense. And FFS, it's under AUD100 for a connecting flight which was your friend's own fault anyway, lesson learnt innit?

    • Piranha2004 on 18/09/2018 - 08:29
      +1

      If you noticed the "friend" was actually the OP himself. He caved further down the thread.

      • orly on 18/09/2018 - 09:30

        Thought so, I didn't follow the entire trail of their drivel and BS.

        • Derrick Crane on 18/09/2018 - 16:26

          I doubt many people have followed this drivel.
          2 lessons to be learned by cranky.
          1 Pay close attention to the departures board and
          2 If you are an idiot do not expect much sympathy from ozbargainers

  • MessyG on 18/09/2018 - 16:48

    Best update ever 😂

  • kolorijo on 18/09/2018 - 16:51

    LMFAO!!! FU2 OP!!!

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