To have one intercontinental flight cancelled 80 minutes before departure is unfortunate. To have two in a row grounded at such short notice looks like carelessness with my choice of carrier. But that is exactly what happened on my trip to Australia this week.
First British Airways failed to get me from London Heathrow to Singapore because of a technical issue, which was called just as I was starting to make my way through security. Then Jetstar, the budget brand of Qantas , did the same with my onward trip from Singapore to Melbourne. With Qatar Airways doing the same in November and Delta in December, that makes it four longhaul flights cancelled in three months.
Time for a Cancellation Challenge, in which I rate each airline’s performance when leaving people in the lurch. Cause: Slot restrictions at Kathmandu airport because of expansion work. Notice given: Five days, but because I was in the mountains and well off-grid, I found out only the day before – by which time the non-cancelled flights had all filled up.
Care: Qatar Airways offered a flight about a week later. No hotel or meals. Costs triggered: An unexpected night in a hotel, a painfully expensive $1,000 one-way flight from Kathmandu to Bangkok, a mad taxi rush across the Thai capital from one airport to the other, and a £500 ticket to London on British Airways.
Taking into account the refund from Qatar Airways, I am about £550 down. Aggravation index: 8. I felt the airline was of no help.
Notice given: Flig.