A Virgin Australia passenger desperately seeking compensation after his suitcase was “crushed” during a domestic flight, prompting calls for greater integrity in the airline claiming process. Mark Trenwith is the latest Aussie pushing for a better framework to uphold passenger rights after he was forced to replace his suitcase which was left in an unusable state.
“I got it from baggage claim and my first impression was that it was just wonky, it couldn’t be wheeled,” he told Yahoo News. “I thought the wheel was busted… but on further investigation, it turns out the whole thing’s been crushed.”
Mark had flown from Adelaide to Melbourne on November 30 and claims he’s been made to “jump through hoops” in the airline claiming process. After weeks of a slow back and forth, he’s feeling defeated by it all.
“The process to fill out a claim is quite laborious… I had to take it to the police state to get a stat dec,” the Melburnian said. “Why have these processes and hoops to jump through when they’re not going to actually follow through on anything reasonable?”
Mark Trenwith is unable to use the suitcase now only three of the wheels are working. Source: Supplied
Have you struggled to get compensation for a travel incident? Contact sophie.coghill@yahooinc.com
Virgin Australia passenger asks for ‘bare minimum’ from airline
After persisting Mark has been offered $75 compensation for his inconvenience. He believes it is a throwaway attempt from Virgin Australia to get him to drop his claim. However, since his suitcase cost him $219, he’s been left to absorb the rest of the financial cost of a replacement.
“The bare minimum is you expect to just get your bag back working. When it comes back unusable you just think to yourself, well, this is what I paid for… if you crash someone’s car, you need to pay for it,” he said. “My ideal outcome is that they replace the case… but it seems they’ve just graded it as a minor dent.”
Yahoo News understands Virgin Australia intends to provide the customer further compensation, however, at the time of publication Mark hasn’t heard from the airline.
Australia ‘very far behind’ without independent airline regulator
Mark is not the only Aussie who has been put through the wringer when something has gone awry with their suitcase. Qantas passenger Michael Pascale endured an 18-month ordeal trying to track down his suitcase after it was lost and seemingly travelled around the world following his flight from Brisbane to Sydney in May 2022.
Sri Lankan Airlines, who was the carrier for Qantas, offered him $150 for the trouble, but he pursued the airline for full compensation in court. He was finally successful last year and was awarded $2,700, however, the incident was held up as a prime example of why there should be an independent airline regulator to advocate for passenger rights.
Michael Pascale was eventually awarded $2,700 in compensation after his luggage was lost by Sri Lankan Airlines. Source: ABC/AAP: ABC/AAP
Victoria Roy, a spokesperson for the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA), previously told Yahoo News that Australia is “very far behind” without a “single framework”.
“The creation of a specific regulator or ombudsman will entitle consumers to access justice to enforce their rights without the cost and complexity of litigation or the involvement of lawyers,” he said.
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