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Each week Traveller publishes a selection of rants, raves and travel tips from our readers. See below on how you can contribute.
Bad business
Why is it akin to getting blood from a stone when you try to secure a refund from an airline, even in the most obvious of circumstances? My wife and I had booked and paid for business-class seats with Air India for Melbourne-London return. As we scanned our boarding passes at the gate on the return leg from Delhi to Melbourne we were advised that one of the two seats we had booked was broken and couldn’t be used. As there were no other business-class seats vacant, one of us would need to be seated in economy (although it was my wife’s seat that was broken, I did the gentlemanly thing and took the economy seat).
We were also told at the gate that a refund for the difference in cost would be credited to us. There was no further apology or communication from Air India in the following days until I lodged an official complaint and request for a refund with the so-called Air India Care. Despite being informed that a refund would be forthcoming, it’s now been seven weeks and still no refund and no further communication.
Anthony Harvey, Prahan, Vic
Letter of the week: Off the rails
German train travel has lost its lustre for me. My previous trips there have featured the punctuality, reliability and comfort that became hallmarks of the brand. Not so this time. Trains not arriving on time were common, even services being cancelled hours later after a series of delays. Most travellers now carry airline-style cabin luggage only because of the paucity of storage facilities. Our suitcases often rested against our knees. However, the greatest weakness is that you can purchase a ticket for second-class travel, but you can no longer reserve a specific seat. This creates mayhem in the major hubs, such as Munich, but the mad rush for places in smaller regional centres can be equally intense; on two occasions, we missed a seat and stood near toilets at the end of carriages.
Alan Hill, Mudjimba, Qld
Ferocity over Velocity
After recently flying business class to Milan on Virgin Australia flights operated by Qatar Airways, it took countless calls to Velocity to make sense of why my points and status credits were being withheld. That was even though my Velocity Frequent Flyer number was attached to the booking. I received excuses such as my name not matching the name on my Velocity account because it didn’t include a middle name (yet they don’t make space for middle names). Among other reasons, I was then told it was too late to make the claim on a Brisbane-to-Doha flight because it was a “new month” since I’d flown the sector. Qatar Airways informed me the points had been wrongly applied to their Privilege Rewards program and claimed them back, so Velocity could apply them to my flights.
Great, but was that the end of the matter? No, Velocity insisted I prove it was a Qatar Airways mistake via written confirmation. Seriously, aren’t they partners? As I was about to give up, my case was miraculously escalated and I got the points. Qatar Airways were terrific. I wish I could say the same about Velocity Gold’s offshore-claims department.
David Rymer, New Farm, Qld
Villa thriller
For “seekers of the real Bali” (Traveller, December 5), I would also add Clove Tree Hill in Tabanan province, two hours from the airport. The five immaculate and stylish villas, restaurant and infinity pool are set in stunning tropical gardens looking out over a sea of rice terraces. Over our last two visits we have enjoyed walks around the rice terraces, the forests – where cloves, cacao and durian are grown – massages, swimming in the pool and the nearby waterfall, and making coconut oil with a local nenek (grandma). The more adventurous can climb Mount Batukaru. The cost of our recent stay was about $280 a night including our food, drinks and transport to and from the airport. Dian and Bram are perfect hosts of this slice of authentic Bali.
Susan Francis, Peregian Beach, Qld
Instant convert
The tip from your columnist, Michael Gebicki, about using the XE app for exchange rates (Traveller, December 1) is OK, however, it will give you the wholesale rate, which is better than what you’ll get. There are two other options – the first is easier and the second more accurate. The quickest and easiest is to use the already included currency function on the calculator of your iPhone (I assume Androids have similar). The other extremely accurate option is to use the currency exchange websites for Visa and MasterCard. You can add your credit-card fee if it has one. I have found it is within cents of what I paid in Australian dollars.
Nancy Johnson, Newport, NSW
Take note
To add to Michael Gebicki’s advice on how to avoid mistakes on holidays (Traveller, December 1), for exchange rates, when travelling I keep a simple piece of paper in my purse with the local equivalents of $1, $5, $10 and so on up to $100, written down. Easy to add and multiply up to work out the cost in local currency and no tech needed.
Jill Disint, Williamstown, Vic
Battle of water loos
I cannot agree more with Lee Tulloch in respect to her column regarding public toilets in Europe (Traveller, November 18). Having to pay to use a public toilet is incredible, especially since coins are less commonly used in Europe and will soon be disappearing. Finding some toilets that are working and in a clean condition is a miracle. In Aix-en-Provence, France, a public pay toilet took my money, but I was unable to use it as the door was jammed. We asked the locals where to find toilets (either paying or free) and they all told us to go to a cafe, but we would have to buy something. In my logic, the more you consume liquid the more you need toilets. Can’t European cities and towns use some of the expensive taxes they add to accommodation charges to cover the maintenance and cleaning of public toilets for use by locals and tourists?
Jacky Ternisien, Cremorne, NSW
The Letter of the Week writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. See hardiegrant.com
The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. See shop.lonelyplanet.com
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