Taylor Swift fans outraged at treatment by Aust airlines
Taylor Swift fans who paid a premium for airfares from Queenstown to Sydney to see her in concert are upset at the way Australian airlines handled their flights, with some being bumped off at the last minute and others having their bags offloaded.
Amy Everton and her two friends arrived at Queenstown Airport on Saturday afternoon to find they could not check in for their Virgin Australia flight. Seeking assistance at the help desk, they were told they had been moved to the next available flight, which would not get in until about 6:30pm on Sunday, 15 minutes after the Taylor Swift concert was set to begin.
Everton said they were told the flight had been overbooked and they’d been the first to be removed as they had paid the lowest fares.
The friends considered hiring a car to drive to Christchurch, hoping they could catch an earlier flight from there, but eventually forked out $1200 each for flights from Dunedin to Sydney via Wellington with Air NZ.
“My partner had to get up at 4am to drive us for four hours to Dunedin, which cost about $140 in fuel,” Everton said, adding that they were also out of pocket for their first night’s accommodation in Sydney.
Virgin Australia’s website states “if a flight is oversold ... no-one may be denied boarding against his or her will until airline personnel first ask for volunteers who will give up their reservation willingly, in exchange for compensation of the airline’s choosing.” Everton said the airline never called for volunteers.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson said: “We sincerely apologise to our guests for this experience, and we will reach out to them to discuss their options for compensation.”
Meanwhile, Suzanne Pentecost and her travel companion were among multiple passengers on a Qantas flight from Queenstown to have their bags offloaded shortly before takeoff on Friday.
She said they paid $1700 for two one-way tickets to Sydney. Theirs were among about 65 passenger bags left behind, adding the flight had several empty seats. Pentecost’s luggage contained things she had bought specifically for the concert.
A Qantas spokesperson said strong winds in Queenstown and storms in Sydney forced it to carry extra fuel, which meant some bags weren’t able to be carried.
Pentecost said she received no communication from the airline about the whereabouts of her bag for the entire weekend she was in Sydney, prompting her to buy another suitcase.
“It meant we got no time to see anything in Sydney because we had to go to the shops and get stuff. I only knew my bag was at (Sydney Airport) because I had a tracker in it.”
Pentecost said “you expect it on a budget airline, but not Qantas ... If you’re not going to get our bags there, tell us and we’ll get out what we need.”
Both Everton and Pentecost said they had not been offered compensation.
Last week, Air New Zealand cancelled a flight with Taylor Swift fans on board as a result of engineering issues. Passengers were rebooked on a recovery service.