An angry passenger has unleashed at Qantas after the airline kicked her off a flight and charged her $19,000 to secure a seat on another plane.
Elizabeth Clark, a small business owner from Sydney, booked a direct flight from Auckland to New York back in March.
Ms Clark, 38, spent $14,865 on her business class seat to New York.
But on Wednesday, she was shocked to find her flight – which isn’t until December – had been cancelled.
‘My head was spinning, I felt sick,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
A Qantas worker told Ms Clark she must pay $19,000 to secure her seat on another plane, rather than simply transfer her booking.
The 38-year-old said she couldn’t afford to pay the $19,000 as Qantas won’t refund the $15,000 she had initially paid in March for another two weeks.
Elizabeth Clark, 38, was told she would need to hand over an extra $19,000 on top of the original price of her ticket after Qantas cancelled her flight to New York
The small business owner couldn’t afford to fork out another $19,000 as Qantas couldn’t refund the $15,000 she had initially paid for another two weeks.
‘I was told that if I did want to stay on the same flight as my brother, who had booked separately to me, I needed to pay $19,000 today to secure my seat,’ she said.
‘I’m getting asked to pay an extra $4,000 because my flight is leaving five minutes earlier. Us passengers, we’re expected to pick up the pieces.’
Ms Clark said she understood how lucky she was to fly business class and admitted it could be perceived as a ‘first world problem’.
She recently lost both her parents, her mother only 18 months ago, and had jumped at the chance to fly directly from Auckland to New York.
‘They had always dreamed of having a white Christmas,’ she said of her parents.
‘It’s a massive treat to be able to do this. Travelling at the moment is a luxury’.
Ms Clark briefly thought about cancelling the trip altogether after several interest rate rises and a recession seemingly around the corner.
However, the thought of missing out on ice-skating with her nephews and nieces, who live in New York City stopped her from cancelling the trip.
Ms Clark recently lost both her parents, her mother only 18 months ago, and wants to New York to live out their dream of having a white Christmas (pictured, a Qantas Airbus A380)
‘I thought, maybe I’ll just sit this one out. But I can’t miss this. They’re only going to be this young for so long and I’ll never get this opportunity again,’ she said.
As a seasoned traveller, Ms Clark has experienced other issues while flying with Qantas and other airlines, like cancelled flights and lost baggage.
‘But this is where I lose patience,’ she said of the additional $4,000 charge.
‘What about the people who don’t know the flight has been cancelled?’
A Qantas spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday: ‘We are reaching out to Ms Clark today to confirm her travel and apologise for any confusion.’
It’s understood the booking was not cancelled and that Qantas will confirm the ticket with Ms Clark for the original price.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce fronted the cameras on Wednesday morning to promote the direct flight from Auckland to New York (pictured)
It comes as Qantas CEO Alan Joyce fronted cameras on Wednesday morning to promote the direct flight from Auckland to New York.
From this week, Qantas will operate three weekly flights from Sydney to New York, increasing to four per week from October.
The route will transit through Auckland for the first time, before a 16 hour flight direct to New York, having previously operated via Los Angeles.
It means passengers will no longer have to disembark at LAX with their luggage, go through customs and then board a second plane to New York.
The relaunch of the New York flights brings Qantas closer to returning to 100 percent of its international network pre-Covid capacity by March 2024.
