Hi I booked a flight last year for my family to Europe. I booked with Flight Centre- airline provider Qatar, 2 business class tickets and two economy for my teenage children. The prices continued to go up but i paid more going via travel agent because i wanted the security of a travel agent and I have very complex medical issues with type 1 diabetes and diabetic neuropathy, hence the business class. 1 hour into the flight from Perth, disaster happened, I went into the toilet and stepped into faeces, I had an open ulcer on my foot, steward had been unwell and stuck in the toilet before me. I became very unwell and bacteria and infection resulted in my toe being amputated due to osteomyalitis. In Doha our pre-arranged hotel stop and transfers were not arranged as was indicated by Flight centre. All in all the trip was a nightmare. Flight Centre blames Qatar, Qatar just doesnât respond and last claim it was chocolate I stepped in, though the stewards reacted very quickly and tried to clean up my foot as best as possible and did not allow me to use that bathroom for the rest of the trip. I spent over $20 000 AUD to have the worst possible experience, what do I do and what is my course of action to be compensated accordingly and for the parties to acknowledge the atrocious way my family was treated?
#QatarWorstAirline #FlightCentreTerrible
@Sanja, are you a CHOICE member? If so, Iâd be happy to refer you to our CHOICE Help program as there a number of factors here that might effect how you go about exercising your rights. In terms of the health complications, have you raised this with your travel insurance and if so what was the response? For the Flight Centre errors, you may need to escalate the complaint and let them know you are ready to go to your local fair trading body to seek a fair resolution.
I recently booked a holiday to Mexico with a changeover in Dallas Texas. The travel agent did not make me a aware of Esta visa that I needed to enter the US. I almost missed my flight and it was a very stressful start to my holiday. They have apologised but I donât believe that is good enough. Any thoughts or should I leave it
Welcome to the forum @Lindajames,
Apologies are the response of the day. It costs businesses and government nothing but a brief loss of face, sometimes makes the âvictimâ feel better, and usually accomplished nothing because there is a ânext timeâ where nothing will have changed. You feel right to be aggrieved.
That being written, the following is common text when receiving tickets:
- Visas, including USA ESTA / Canadian eTA: please ensure you have completed the necessary documents online. ⊠should you wish to check on any visas, for legal reasons we do not provide specific visa advice ⊠Please find attached instructions for USA and/or Canada visa waiver applications if you havenât yet applied online. ESTAs are no longer issued instantaneously and must be processed at least 3 days prior to travel to ensure you are not denied boarding. You must have a USA ESTA or Canadian eTA even if only in transit in that country. If you apply for new passport after applying for ESTA/eTA you must reapply as linked to current passport numbers.
So best if you check whether that information was given to you before travel as a starter. Since you dealt with Flight Centre you would have had an agent who assisted you, and that agent should have called out that requirement. The US can be Very Special in making travel difficult, although not alone in that regard. Closer to home, try passing through an Australia airport enroute from another country to NZ and have a long layover (say 12-15 hours) between flights in SYD or MEL - you need a visa to get out of the airport and the best one needs to be preplanned. Donât have one and spend a very exciting day at Mascot or Tulla.
What beyond an apology would you want and would that make it better?
When travelling overseas, seeing what visas or special entry requirements is the responsibility of the traveller. Often one will see tour packages advertised which state that the obtaijing appropriate visas/authorisations is the responsibility of the traveller.
Assuming you are travelling on an Australian passport, there are websites like the Australian Governnent SmartTraveller which detail the entry requirements for each country. Here is the page for USAâŠ
Consulate and Embassy websites will also have information for any traveller (inc. non-Auatralian passort holders).
Some travel agents will assist in obtaining visas or special entry permits/authorisations for a fee. This service is becoming less common as many countries have moved towards electronic visas/authorisations which can sometime be done online like the USA ESTA. It is also becoming more common for visas/authorisations can only be obtained at the point of entry into the country. It is also likeky that electronic authorisations canât be obtained by anyone other than the traveller holding the passport.
Also, if one has a history which may impede a country authorising entry, one may not wish to broadcast such history to their agent as it could impact on ones ahility to travel.
It is important that if one travels overseas, one finds out the entry requirements for their particular stay.
I suggest that you take it on the chin as a lesson learnt and next time carry out some homework to see if a visa, authorisation or special entry conditions apply for entry to each and every country visitedâŠ
It seems @Lindajames got caught up in the ânew world orderâ. Not too many (or was it many, many) years ago one could transit through almost any country without needing any form of visa or âby your leave documentâ; you were just âquarantinedâ in a transit area that was open to your arrival corridor and then could only exit to the international departures gates, and that was technically extra-territorial to the country. So if one travelled say SYD->DFW->MEX you technically never entered the USA at DFW, so did not require a visa. Since the advent of hijacking and especially 911 that has all changed, especially in the USA.
Those who are new to international travel might not think about such issues unless they had a clear âwarningâ to do so.
