How my travel agent got me home from South Africa to Australia when airlines stopped flights

Michelle booked me on Qatar, and then on Qantas (a most well-liked solution as it flew direct to Sydney), moreover organised me refunds from Singapore Airways. I built it house to Sydney in mid-January, thanks to her – the flights were being massively in need as Qantas renewed flights for the initial time in two years just a week right before.

Just 5 months later, I’m back again (with mum very well on the highway to recovery). This time my little ones are established to sign up for me. Michelle booked all our flights – and has presently proved properly really worth the $150 scheduling charge.

Our connecting flights from Johannesburg to Cape City were booked on British Airways (via a neighborhood franchise known as Comair). But just two days just after I arrived in Cape City, Comair suspended flights (pending additional funding).

This is in all probability a common situation across the entire world as airlines struggle with lost income, having back to speed, and escalating gasoline price ranges.

My chief worry was how my young children were going to get from Johannesburg to Cape City the moment their Qantas flight arrived in South Africa. If I’d booked on-line, I’d very likely have been on the cellular phone or online for hrs, making an attempt to e-book new flights.

Instead, Michelle was quickly capable to swap the inner flights to South African Airways.

Having tried using to change a flight I’d booked on line with Qantas to Cape Town (when the airline introduced in September it was restarting flights to South Africa), I know all way too nicely the difference among the services of a vacation agent and the appalling buyer company from Qantas.

I’d booked the flight in advance of mum turned sick, and then preferred to alter it to journey with my kids in June. It took two phone calls of four and 5 several hours each and every to realise that I was better off converting that flight to a credit than hoping to change it to line up with my kids’ flights. I as an alternative booked a new flight with Michelle.

Immediately after his Cape City journey, my son is traveling to London in advance of returning to Sydney. My niece has just flown back again to South Africa from London with Qatar soon after remaining bumped off a Lufthansa connecting flight from Frankfurt – a nightmare 40-hour journey dwelling culminating in (quickly) shed luggage.

I hope my son’s working experience is fewer dramatic, but really feel reassured that obtaining a journey agent presents us a lot more selections and certainly can make matters a lot less stressful.