Dear Alex,
I booked a business class ticket from Sydney to Brussels via Hong Kong and Zurich, intending to fly with Virgin Atlantic and Swiss. When I arrived in Hong Kong I collected my onward boarding passes from Cathay Pacific and proceeded to its lounge [Cathay handles Swiss flights in Hong Kong].
At no point was I informed that boarding calls are not made. By the time I heard my name paged I rushed to the gate but found the flight had already departed. I ended up having to purchase a new one-way ticket to Brussels with Cathay Pacific and British Airways via London. Where do I stand?
Agus Brotodihardjo, Sydney
Alex replies:
I sympathise but it is always the passenger’s responsibility to present themselves for boarding at the time shown on the boarding pass. To avoid this scenario in the future, you should check the airport’s policy on making announcements when you enter the lounge.
Unusually, Swiss (a Star Alliance member) is using the facilities of a rival alliance carrier (Cathay is a Oneworld member). Swiss tells me that in cases where Star Alliance facilities may not be available, it will “use providers of the best possible lounge facilities available”. So in Hong Kong it uses Cathay’s Wing lounge. But I cannot help thinking that if a Star Alliance facility were available, then staff might have been more proactive in rounding up missing passengers.
