‘Actually illegal’: What happened after this couple’s $12,000 holiday was downgraded
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Booking a luxury holiday at a bargain price sounds like a dream come true—until unexpected complications threaten to turn it into a costly mistake.
What started as an exciting travel win for one Australian couple soon unravelled into a frustrating dispute.
The fallout from their experience is now prompting questions about transparency, travel deals, and consumer rights.
An Aussie couple who believed they had snapped up the deal of a lifetime were left blindsided after discovering a hefty surprise charge could be added to their trip.
Rod and Donna Gaynor secured what seemed like a dream getaway through TripADeal, a travel site owned by Qantas.
The $12,000 package included three nights in Fiji, an 18-day island cruise that ended in Sydney, and a flight home to Perth in business class.
The retirees were especially thrilled to have secured the business class upgrade for just $1000 each—bringing the total flight cost to $2000.
‘I said to them: “That’s ridiculous, that’s dead cheap,”’ Mr Gaynor recalled.
But the excitement quickly wore off when the couple received their final flight details two weeks later.
Instead of the promised business class seats, they were assigned economy seats on the Qantas leg back to Perth.
‘Naturally I contacted TripADeal and they were unsympathetic and quoted from the T&C’s that they were able to do this,’ Mr Gaynor shared..
He said TripADeal informed him that upgrades were subject to availability and aircraft configuration.
But after looking into the aircraft’s layout himself, Mr Gaynor found that there were 12 unbooked business class seats still available.
Even with that information, he claimed TripADeal refused to honour the upgrade or even offer a refund for the difference in fare.
He later received a message from the company stating: ‘As the business class upgrade for the Sydney to Perth flight was over the net pricing built into the deal, unfortunately this was a part of the reason we were not able to provide the upgrade for this flight’.
Mr Gaynor, a retired schoolteacher, pushed back and sought guidance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
When he pointed out that refusing a refund under these circumstances was ‘actually illegal’, the company changed its stance.
He said the business backflip only came after legal pressure.
The ordeal left Mr Gaynor urging others to read the fine print and be cautious when booking heavily discounted holidays.
In a previous story, we reported on a growing trend among international airlines banning a particular item during flights.
The move has sparked debate among travellers and raised questions about safety and consistency across carriers.
Read more to see whether Aussie airlines might be next to follow.
With travel deals becoming more complex, do you think companies should be held more accountable for last-minute changes like this? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
What started as an exciting travel win for one Australian couple soon unravelled into a frustrating dispute.
The fallout from their experience is now prompting questions about transparency, travel deals, and consumer rights.
An Aussie couple who believed they had snapped up the deal of a lifetime were left blindsided after discovering a hefty surprise charge could be added to their trip.
Rod and Donna Gaynor secured what seemed like a dream getaway through TripADeal, a travel site owned by Qantas.
The $12,000 package included three nights in Fiji, an 18-day island cruise that ended in Sydney, and a flight home to Perth in business class.
Aussie couple blindsided by travel deal twist. Image source: Rod and Donna Gaynor
The retirees were especially thrilled to have secured the business class upgrade for just $1000 each—bringing the total flight cost to $2000.
‘I said to them: “That’s ridiculous, that’s dead cheap,”’ Mr Gaynor recalled.
But the excitement quickly wore off when the couple received their final flight details two weeks later.
Instead of the promised business class seats, they were assigned economy seats on the Qantas leg back to Perth.
‘Naturally I contacted TripADeal and they were unsympathetic and quoted from the T&C’s that they were able to do this,’ Mr Gaynor shared..
He said TripADeal informed him that upgrades were subject to availability and aircraft configuration.
But after looking into the aircraft’s layout himself, Mr Gaynor found that there were 12 unbooked business class seats still available.
Even with that information, he claimed TripADeal refused to honour the upgrade or even offer a refund for the difference in fare.
He later received a message from the company stating: ‘As the business class upgrade for the Sydney to Perth flight was over the net pricing built into the deal, unfortunately this was a part of the reason we were not able to provide the upgrade for this flight’.
Mr Gaynor, a retired schoolteacher, pushed back and sought guidance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
When he pointed out that refusing a refund under these circumstances was ‘actually illegal’, the company changed its stance.
He said the business backflip only came after legal pressure.
The ordeal left Mr Gaynor urging others to read the fine print and be cautious when booking heavily discounted holidays.
In a previous story, we reported on a growing trend among international airlines banning a particular item during flights.
The move has sparked debate among travellers and raised questions about safety and consistency across carriers.
Read more to see whether Aussie airlines might be next to follow.
With travel deals becoming more complex, do you think companies should be held more accountable for last-minute changes like this? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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