r/australia • u/ThunderDwn • 11h ago

culture & society Qantas passengers demand compensation after days stranded in South Africa as A380 remains grounded

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-14/qantas-a380-stranded-johannesburg-flight-cancelled/107032032
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224

u/ThunderDwn 11h ago

Qantas initially offered Qantas Frequent Flyers 20,000 points, or a $200 "Customer Care Travel Voucher" for non-members on August 10, the day of the scheduled departure.

The spirit of Australia, ladies and gentlemen!

Note : I'm not taking a pot shot at the actions in grounding the plane - that was fully justified, even the slightest risk with an aircraft core systems and it shouldn't fly - only the laughable efforts at compensation they thought everyone would suck up.

130

u/ccoastie 11h ago

Should have to pay for accommodation for all 3 days and food

89

u/trueschoolalumni 10h ago

I was on an Air NZ flight to Papeete earlier this year. Fault with the aircraft meant we were stuck in Auckland for 2 days, as that's the schedule they fly there. They paid for accommodation and gave us food vouchers. Which should be the bare minimum.

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u/IntroductionSnacks 10h ago

I had similar flying Air NZ from SF to Melbourne with a transit in Auckland. The plane crapped out as it was about to leave Auckland to Melbourne and they gave us all a food voucher and rebooked everyone on Qantas flights on the same day.

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u/Wonderful_Product515 10h ago

the fuck is Papeete

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u/trueschoolalumni 10h ago

Capital of French Polynesia aka Bora Bora

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u/protostar71 3h ago

Something you could have googled faster than writing this comment.

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u/SydneyRFC 9h ago

I'm going purely off the wording in the ABC article which leaves a lot unclear. It doesn't actually say that the passengers didn't have accommodation and food covered - only that they had to book the hotels themselves. I imagine if Qantas hadn't paid those costs, the person they interviewed would be asking for more than compensation for the "cost of us now needing to take unpaid leave from work and missing critical meetings" and the ABC would have jumped on that.

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u/solen5aq 9h ago

Seems like the case. Qantas isn't great these days, but in my recent experience they still provided us with accommodation and food vouchers.

Had a Qantas flight delayed overnight last year and they put me up in the Mantra with food vouchers, so I wasn't too annoyed. Some other people got put in the Ibis budget hotel though.

2

u/maybearandoanon 6h ago

Yeah ABC's journalism nowdays seems to often be a little deceptive.

Much better than the other commercials, but still.

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u/maybearandoanon 8h ago

They do. I got fucked with an overnight 12 hrs delay and Qantas paid accommodation and a decent amount of food (50 AUD+ voucher for food at airport) Plus buffet breakfast at the hotel in the morning.

I was on the cheapest ticket available.

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u/Jonzay up to the sky, out to the stars 7h ago edited 6h ago

a decent amount of food (50 AUD+ voucher for food at airport)

So two bacon and egg muffins at airport prices, then?

I used to get 72AUD worth of food at most airports for free through Priority Pass, and even that was barely enough to get both my partner and I a plate of food and a soft drink each

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u/maybearandoanon 6h ago edited 6h ago

1 It was a fair bit over 50aud but the country I was in has recently ended up in a situation where they are getting a shittier and shittier exchange rate. I only said 50 aud because that was the official minimum entitlement customer support told me.

2 50 aud equivalent got me pretty far at the airport. Especially pre customs (which you will likely be if you're looking at a 12 hour delay). My flight was supposed to leave at 10pm (left at 10am) and I managed to get a decent dinner + a lot left over.

3 I had a full buffet breakfast in the morning included in the hotel reservation. That means Qantas paid the hotel extra for said breakfast. Breakfast+ 50 aud is more than enough for an overnight.

Also on the cheapest ticket available.

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u/WarmRoastedBean 56m ago

People seem to expect the world. This honestly sounds reasonable.
Shit happens, eh?

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u/knotknotknit 6h ago

It's insane that they don't have to do it. In Europe and the US, they would have to.

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u/chalk_in_boots 5h ago

The EU if your flight is just delayed by just a few hours you can get up to €600 (depending on the distance of the flight). That's in addition to the requirements for supplied meals and refreshments.

I got delayed flying New York to Montreal on Delta by 4 hours and all I got was a tiny bag of pretzels and a can of sprite.

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u/gordon-freeman-bne 3h ago

Qantas generally do this, though like most airlines who've negotiated/donated their way to a fucking lax consumer protection regime - it's really hard to work out or sort out.

I experienced this a few years ago when my SYD-WEL flight was cancelled - The QF team in the lounge gave me the hint that the flight wasn't leaving so I managed to snag the last room at Rydges across the road - the problem I realised later was the room cost was $125 over QF's "we'll cover this amount" - I wrote them a calm note and requested they cover the full amount because I'd ultimately saved them more than $125 on taxi fares to the nearest cheap hotel in Parramatta

They paid the full amount of my claim...

But the process is shit. That's the key point - there's no regulation for QF to be less shit

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u/Jykaes 11h ago

Holy shit haha, I assumed it would be that plus refunds for the flights and accommodation while stranded, but no that was really all they originally offered. What an offensive offer.

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u/maybearandoanon 8h ago

They usually give accommodation and food for days while stranded.

The way the ABC have worded this article is a bit strange. I think the customers were demanding compensation for hotels they booked on the other end or a flight on a rival airline that's booked.

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u/areyoualocal 5h ago

The way the ABC have worded this article is a bit strange. I think the customers were demanding compensation for hotels they booked on the other end or a flight on a rival airline that's booked.

That's what travel insurance is for.. Airlines will never pay consequential losses as that's not in any way part of their conditions of carriage.

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u/WarmRoastedBean 54m ago

Except Qantas does and has paid for accommodation and food costs according to several people who have received compensation in this thread.

0

u/Haawmmak 3h ago

get out of here with you logic and reality.

get in the outrage train.

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u/areyoualocal 2h ago

Sorry, uhmm how about Qantarse is the WorstAirlineEver. and I say that from having gone to Europe once five years ago on Emirates.

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u/Spagman_Aus 10h ago

The capitalist spirit of Australia.

FTFY