Cancellation of partner airline booking with miles

A bit of advice from the experts here.

I made a booking with miles on a Flying Club partner, Malaysia Airlines, back in January to fly first class to Hanoi. Flight is due to take off next week and today I get a call saying Malaysia have cancelled the booking.

Apparently this happens all the time partner booking according to the Virgin agent, something I don't quite believe.

They have offered a rebooking via Singapore but, and here's the kicker, only in Economy.

I've said that is unacceptable but I just wanted to get:

a) the opinion of people on here
b) what actually should happen per the T&Cs

Advice much appreciated.

Huh, was not aware it happens all the time... They usually state in press releases/PR rubbish that when one of their spending partners leaves the fold/loses bookings they will honour any already booked flights

My advice would be give VS a call back and ask them to honour the original class of travel. Who is the rebooking with? If singapore airlines, it is doubtful they will give you suite class but they should stretch to business.. ):

Per the T&Cs I am fairly certain that VS would absolve themselves of any liability whatsoever if it is their partner airline that cancels the reward booking... they will then peddle this as them doing you a favour kind of thing... sneaky corporates that they are. No fact to back this up though, I would advise there that you give them a read, see what is stated/implied .

Just to be clear, have Malaysian cancelled the flight or just your booking? If they have cancelled the flight it is up to Malaysian to rebook you on the next available flight to Hanoi, as opposed to VS. 8D

[Darren Wheeler]

Spending miles with SQ is only available in Economy.

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/fr ... bmit1.x=23

Spending miles with SQ is only available in Economy.

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/fr ... bmit1.x=23

That would probs answer the question of who the OP was rebooked with and why only an eco ticket..

I think they should at least offer the upgrade to business though. ii)

They have cancelled the booking. For why, no-one in Virgin seems to be able to tell me.

As for the Singapore option, Virgin have said they are actually picking up the cost of this. Either way, I am not happy and now waiting for a manager to call me back.

As for the Singapore option, Virgin have said they are actually picking up the cost of this.

Ahh, you will be getting back any miles used to book, no? So you are getting an Economy flight to Hanoi for free ?|

You might be able to convince VS to let you upgrade to business using miles from your VS FF account.. as Darren pointed out they are not allowing Business or First fares to be booked with milleage but it doesn't say why.. anyone?

Can't hurt to ask though given the circumstance..

They didn't get as far to say what was happening with my original miles. I don't mind using miles to upgrade but I do not want to fly Economy, hence doing the booking in the first place.

As for the Singapore option, Virgin have said they are actually picking up the cost of this.

Ahh, you will be getting back any miles used to book, no? So you are getting an Economy flight to Hanoi for free ?|

You might be able to convince VS to let you upgrade to business using miles from your VS FF account.. as Darren pointed out they are not allowing Business or First fares to be booked with milleage but it doesn't say why.. anyone?

Can't hurt to ask though given the circumstance..

SQ are extremely restrictive about their 'new' premium cabins and only a recent website error allowed partner/*A bookings in J. It's not a Virgin thing, it applies to all of their partners and came into force with the release of their new products, esp the suites.

They didn't get as far to say what was happening with my original miles. I don't mind using miles to upgrade but I do not want to fly Economy, hence doing the booking in the first place.

Yep fair play it is a long flight. Hmm if VS said they were picking up the tab I would try to get the miles back

You might be able to work something out with them on the upgrade front in exchange for some milleage but I am fairly certain that would be at the discretion of the manager that you speak to.

SQ are extremely restrictive about their 'new' premium cabins and only a recent website error allowed partner/*A bookings in J. It's not a Virgin thing, it applies to all of their partners and came into force with the release of their new products, esp the suites.

Huh, did not know this thanks for clearing that up for me. In regards to the OP do you think a discretionary upgrade power could be extended in cases such as this or do you think it will be the case of SQ just saying no to all?

I say it is worth a pop, but expect a no answer unfortanetly :# :#

Hmmmm . There's a post on FT ( dated 29.8.12) from someone who's booked a business redemption ex KUL on Malaysian with their FC miles within the last day or so.
I would go back to FC and escalate the matter to a more senior level. My view is that any re - routing should be in the original class of travel you purchased ( and were ticketed for) as a miles award ie business.
DL

Update: they called back saying the only thing they can do is give me an Economy ticket and refund the miles difference and taxes. Separately they could offer compensation.

I have raised this to the Executive Office as I am incredibly disappointed but Virgin's reaction and response. I've said I do not want compensation, just the original flight I booked.

They keep on telling me that their airline to airline booking systems are only showing economy flights despite their being First (and Business) availability. My response has always been that is not my issue and I just want my flight! The offer for me to book the flight personally and them refund me didn't go down too well.

Very, very disappointing. I've been gold for over 5 years now so I dread to think how they treat someone with no status.

Update: they called back saying the only thing they can do is give me an Economy ticket and refund the miles difference and taxes. Separately they could offer compensation.

I have raised this to the Executive Office as I am incredibly disappointed but Virgin's reaction and response. I've said I do not want compensation, just the original flight I booked.

All in all very disappointing. They keep on telling me that their airline to airline booking systems are only showing economy flights despite their being First (and Business) availability. My response has always been that is not my issue and I just want my flight! The offer for me to book the personally and them refund me didn't go down too well.

Very, very disappointing. I've been gold for over 5 years now so I dread to think how they treat someone with no status.

This is dreadful. Have they explained how you 'lost' your booking on Malaysia Airlines in business in the first place?

Surely under EU rules, VS have a legal responsibility to get you from A to B in the class of travel you have paid for (regardless of whether it's with cash or miles).

Another update, just checking now and the only non-Economy option to get to Hanoi is via Singapore Airlines and that comes with a cost of £12k.

I have this awful feeling that Virgin will call back on Monday and say there is nothing else they can do. If they do, it will mean that I and my company will never fly Virgin again, a cost far in excess of £12k.

The way they have behaved is dreadful and unless they suddenly work wonders, they have managed to turn a loyal customer of nearly 10 years in to someone who will be switching all my business elsewhere.

12K ?| That sounds like a suites price on the A380.... try business class. Will be much cheaper.

If this is a business arrangement with VS try giving Flying Co a call on Monday to see if they can push something through with their management. If I were VS I would be talking to SQ about allowing you to use VS mileage on the LHR to SIN route to upgrade into business class from economy. The next step would be the same thing from SIN to HAN .... As it is a fault their end, they should be making it right.

That being said, I am sure the T&Cs will exonerate them from any further effort whatsoever, as they have offered you a mileage refund(?!?) and to field the cost of an economy ticket using singapore airlines.. From their point of view that is quite a generous offer.

Hope it turns out well 8D

There are no Business Class flights available to get to Hanoi, unless I go two stops, hence First on Singapore being the only non Economy option.

So far all they have offered is me paying Economy miles and taxes for an Economy flight and sorting out compensation afterwards. I do not want any compensation, I just want my flight in the class I booked.

Most insulting in all of this is when I said an Economy flight was not good enough, they said the only other option would be a full refund and I find my own flight. With 7 days to go until I fly, I thought this was possibly the most ridiculous suggestion I'd heard in quite a while.

Let's see what Monday brings but I am not hopeful.

There are no Business Class flights available to get to Hanoi, unless I go two stops, hence First on Singapore being the only non Economy option.

? I'm not sure what you mean, there are various options with only one stop. Do you mean using FC partners?

There are no Business Class flights available to get to Hanoi, unless I go two stops, hence First on Singapore being the only non Economy option.

? I'm not sure what you mean, there are various options with only one stop. Do you mean using FC partners?

I mean if you try and book a ticket as a normal customer, the only Non Economy option is the Singapore one. All the seats on all other routes, flying club partner or not, are no longer available.

Yep I think that's what the OP is aiming for.

To be fair VS should be providing a replacement, but again at this short notice their hands may very well be tied... I am sure Malaysian will be getting a kick in the teeth for this one. B)

Something else I don't understand... why don't Malaysian just rebook you onto their flight? They are the ones who lost the booking in the first place, so I am not quite sure as to why this wasn't the first suggestion - they would be the ones that have to field the admin and any fare diffs, so no extra cost to yourself... Unless of course the flight is cancelled and they cannot provide you with a suitable alternative Strange.

Given that you have to book partner redemptions with FC my view is that VS need to get this sorted as your (now cancelled) MH ticket has been issued via VS using FC mileage.
I'd be pressing for an answer as to why your ticket has been cancelled .This quite frankly is ridiculous as presumably you had a ticket issued by MH and the fees /taxes etc had been paid?
The notion of you sorting out this mess with a refund of your miles and finding your own flights is simply not acceptable.
If I were you I'd be venting my wrath over on the VS Facebook page (which sadly seems the only way of VS taking note of your current dilemma given their response so far).
Good luck .
DL

The flight is 100% not cancelled; up until yesterday I could have booked the First class return on Malaysia that I originally had. FC said that Malaysia just cancelled my booking (as sometimes happens!). They haven't been able to give more detail.

I will wait and see what they can do on Monday until I post on the Facebook page (although I doubt I'll get much sympathy given the normal crowd over there!).

Thankfully it is just me travelling and I'm not going with friends or family. I can picture various scenarios over the past year where this would have been even more of a pain in the arse.

I mean if you try and book a ticket as a normal customer, the only Non Economy option is the Singapore one. All the seats on all other routes, flying club partner or not, are no longer available.

What are your travel dates? I just looked using the ita matrix software and can find options with only 1 stop to HAN ex-LHR on every day of next week -- J class for much much less than £12k.

I appreciate that this is not helping solve your problem with VS!

The flight is 100% not cancelled; up until yesterday I could have booked the First class return on Malaysia that I originally had. FC said that Malaysia just cancelled my booking (as sometimes happens!). They haven't been able to give more detail.

Damn inkiboo, this is beyond weird.. even for VS. They are blaming Malaysian for losing your booking, fair enough, why the hell haven't they rebooked you onto the flight????

Good Luck for Monday, let us know what the VS line is... would be interesting given the rather obvious solution.. Maybe Malaysian Airlines will be leaving the spending partners page in the near future n( n( Another one bites the dust... ii)

I mean if you try and book a ticket as a normal customer, the only Non Economy option is the Singapore one. All the seats on all other routes, flying club partner or not, are no longer available.

What are your travel dates? I just looked using the ita matrix software and can find options with only 1 stop to HAN ex-LHR on every day of next week -- J class for much much less than £12k.

I appreciate that this is not helping solve your problem with VS!

My flight is on the Friday and if you check then the only 1 stop option is the Singapore one. My dates are 7th out to Hanoi and then 15th back.

I think I am misunderstanding some aspect of this because I can find a lot of bookable seats for those dates in business class. I tried first too and there are options besides the SQ one.

I even did a dummy booking for the TG flights and got a cheaper business-class price -- so tickets are genuinely available.

Again I appreciate this is not helping resolve the issue with VS -- I was just seeing if I could find a non-economy ticket to Hanoi with just one stop that did not cost £12k.

Anyhow, good luck!

Would love to know how you are seeing those flights because I've done the same search (on Matrix as well) and can get bugger all!