I am booked to fly on qantas in 2 days time (21 Feb). My return flight is on the 28th feb 2009. I booked from Gladstone to Canberra. Last night (3 days before we leave) I recieve an email from qantas saying that my flight has been cancelled and I need to call them immediately to get the new details. I ring them immediately. I am told no problem the Gladstone to Brisbane part of the flight has been cancelled and will be running 20 minutes later, but that it will be fine, we will be booked onto that flight. I said thanks. Just before I hang up it occurs to me that we were travelling Gladstone to Canberra, so I ask to see what time the rest of the flight will be. The phone consultant looks something up and says that we will not make the second part of the flight. I asked what we are suppose to do. They say that we have to get an earlier flight at around 1pm. I tell them that there is no way that we can physically make that flight as we are travelling from Heron Island and there is only 1 boat off the island per day. The boat doesn't get in until 4pm hence why we booked on the particular flight at 5:30pm. They say that they can book us on a flight the following day. I say that we really need to get back on the day we booked. But if there is no other alternative, we will have to come back the following day. I then ask whether we will recieve any compensation ie hotel costs, taxi costs, extra day in airport parking. I am told that it is qantas policy that if they can get us on an alternative flight on the same day then they are not responsible for us choosing to take a flight the later day. I say that I am not choosing, there is only one boat I can get, and the only reason we will have to stay is because qantas cancelled the flight. They said that it wasn't there responsiblity and I would just have to bear the cost.
I am furious about the way this has been handled. I will be out several hundred dollars and will not get back when I need to due to qantas cancelling a flight. I am leaving in 2 days and have no accomodation for the extra night. Qantas has been completely unprofessional and I will never be flying with them again after this ordeal.
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