What should I do about a change in flight schedule?

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1

Hi brains trust!
Sorry if this is an inappropriate post for this forum, but I’d love the feedback of more experienced travellers.
I’m scheduled to fly Melbourne to Phuket on Thai Airway on 18th June at 3pm with a transfer in Bangkok. The flights out of Melbourne has been rescheduled and as such, there isn’t enough time to make my connecting flight from Bangkok to Phuket, which is the last flight to Phuket that night.
Thai Air contacted me to tell me, and they’ve offered me the following alternative arrangements.

  1. Fly out at 12:03am on 18th (effectively a day early), then get an earlier flight to Phuket on 18th.
  2. Fly out on my original 3pm flight on 18th and have a night in Bangkok, (which Thai have agreed to pay for), and then fly to Phuket on 19th.

The issue is, I’ve contacted my hotel for the night of 18th, and the rate I got was a no refunds, no changes rates. I have travel insurance, but the excess is $300, and the accommodation was only $100, so its not worth the claim.

I have offered to Thai that they can either upgrade me to Business for the 12:03 flight (so I can sleep on the plane), or they pay for our accommodation in Bangkok AND the night we lost in Phuket. They have said they’re not going to upgrade my flight (which I didn’t think they would, but worth the try!), adn they’r not going to pay for my lost accommodation in Phuket, because my travel insurance should pay for it.

I purposely chose a flight in the day, as I can’t sleep in economy and it ends up a wasted day when I arrive, so I’m really not keen to have an overnight flight (plus it will be hard for me to get the extra day off work).
If I go on my original flight, and have a night in Bangkok, I see this as the equivalent to a delay in my flight of 14+ hours plus a day of lost holiday.

So, my questions are: has anyone else experienced something like this before? Am I being unreasonable asking for Thai to pay for my lost accommodation? Should I ask for anything else as part of my bargaining, such as my meals covered too?

Thank-you all in advance for your help!!

Marisa

2

I don’t think what they are offering is completely unfair because this is a general schedule change not a delay of your flight or anything and they’ve given you 4 months notice. Lost accomodation is not necessarily their responsibility as it is only their responsibility to get you to your final destination. Have you considered flying out a day earlier than planned so that you essentially have an addition night in Bangkok and then wake up refreshed to have a full day in Phuket?

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