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Couple with Lost Baggage Hit With $380 Excess Fee — Vows Never to Fly Qantas Again
Few things ruin a good trip more than losing your baggage. But imagine being asked to pay for extra kilos upon returning home because you replaced your items after the mishap…
This happened to a Sydney couple who took a holiday to Bali early this month. When Corinne and Peter Olsen arrived at the Denpasar Airport on 2 July through a Qantas flight, they were told that the airline had mishandled one of their bags.
And then, on their way home 12 days later, they were asked to fork out over $380 in excess luggage fees — more than it would cost to stay a couple of extra days in the tropical paradise!
After sharing her experience online and even receiving a refund, Mrs Olsen vowed never to fly with Qantas ever again.
The luggage in question contained the couple’s toiletries and other travel essentials. The staff, failing to find the bag within three hours of arrival, compensated them with $60, a pair of pyjamas, and a toothbrush.
The Olsens did not lose hope while on the trip — they tried to monitor whether or not the airline would find the baggage. However, Qantas’ online tracking process proved to be unreliable.
Sydney Airport, the primary hub for Qantas, is the busiest airport in Australia. Image Credit: Shutterstock
The bag did eventually find its way to the duo after a week. But by then, they had already replaced the missing items needed for their Bali trip.
No harm, no foul, right? Unfortunately not.
On the day of their return to Sydney, the Olsens were told the contents of their luggage exceeded the luggage limit by 11 kg — and that they had to pay for it!
Corinne, disputing the extra cost after what happened to them when they arrived, was told by a Qantas employee that ‘either you pay or you stay.’
The stunned Corinne didn’t mince words in her disappointment. ‘Qantas is going down the gurgle,’ she said.
A Qantas spokesperson agreed that customers would not have to pay for the excess baggage in similar circumstances. However, he insisted they would have refunded the couple if they had complained once back in Australia.
Mrs Olsen had doubts that things would turn out that way if they did.
Recently, the biggest Australian airline has been in hot water for mishandling luggage. An outsourced baggage handler for Qantas has revealed that one in 10 bags of luggage either end up lost or unloaded at the Sydney Airport (that’s a whopping 10 per cent!) — a claim the national airline contests.
Another worker speaking anonymously with The Guardian warned flyers to not check in their bags with Qantas. Or, they can also avoid booking through the airline altogether.
Corinne and Peter Olsen vacationed in Bali but had to buy new toiletries after Qantas failed to locate their luggage. Image Credit: Shutterstock
On Reddit, Aussies were also sharing their negative opinions about the airline.
‘I hate Qantas. I'll never fly with them unless there are no other options. They suck at being an airline now and caring about their customers,’ one person wrote.
‘Look! Could people stop using Qantas, you are inconveniencing Qantas management. They have to provide these staff and they don't really want to, it's subtracting income from them. So please, stop using Qantas,’ another posted sarcastically.
Would you still be confident flying with Qantas in the future? Why or why not? Tell us in the comments below! We’d also love to know any stories about losing bags on your travels and how the airline handled it.
