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A 12-year-old boy booked to fly to Thailand to see his father for the first time in nine months was left "distraught" when Qantas refused to let him on board.
Charlie Read was booked through a Qantas ticketing agent to fly to Bangkok as an unaccompanied minor to see hisfather two weeks ago.
The adult-priced fare was confirmed with an extra fee paid for Charlie to be looked after on the long flight as an unaccompanied minor.
His mother, Clare Mooney, drove her son from their home in Kerikeri and booked overnight accommodation near Auckland Airport so they could be at the airport at 3am for the flight.
Clare Mooney and son Charlie Read expected a warm welcome when they booked Charlie as an unaccompanied minor on the Qantas flight. Photo / Supplied
But instead of welcoming the young boy travelling alone, Mooney said staff "lacked warmth" and "found issues rather than solutions from the get-go".
At first, Mooney was told her son could not board because of a problem with his vaccination certificate.
She was then told this was incorrect and her son couldn't board because the flight was a code-share flight with Emirates, which meant the carrier changed for the second part of the journey.
"My son was distraught and was upset he wasn't going to be able to see his dad," Mooney said.
"We were the first ones there in the queue and it was like they were not expecting us."
Mooney said a manager arrived at the Qantas desk just after 4.30 am and by that stage, her son and his father - on the phone in Bangkok - were both in tears.
"I was standing there feeling helpless after being treated like I had done something wrong.
"The manager said that because of the code-sharing, Qantas could not be responsible for my son being accompanied from the stopover in Sydney to Bangkok as this is the part Emirates was responsible for.
Charlie, 12, and Andrew Read have been reunited in Bangkok but only after new flights were purchased. Photo / Supplied.
"For that reason, they would not let him get on the plane."
Mooney said the ticket was booked by Charlie's father, Andrew Read, and the code-sharing issue was raised right at the start, but the agent had said it would be fine and sent through forms and an invoice for the unaccompanied minor fee.
"The ticket showed it was a Qantas flight all the way to Bangkok so we had no reason to think there would be a problem," Mooney said.
When it was clear Charlie was not going to be allowed on the flight under the unaccompanied minor status, and looked after by airline staff, his parents discussed him flying as an adult.
"His ticket was an adult fare so we discussed him going on the flight alone. He had his phone and devices so we could check on him throughout the journey," Mooney said.
"But they wouldn't allow this either. On their website, it says from ages 12-15 they can go on alone as long as they can be identified as a youth so they were very confused."
At one stage airline staff even refused to believe Charlie was 12, despite having his passport in their hands.
"I felt like they just wanted us to go away. I was trying to find solutions and they just wanted to find problems. I was doing all of the work and they were doing nothing."
Charlie returned to Kerikeri with his mother devastated he was unable to see his father.
Since then Andrew Read has spent around $5000 booking alternative flights with Malaysian Airlines.
He complained to Qantas but the airline kept referring him to Emirates and stopped responding to his queries.
"I have first followed up with Qantas on this and they redirected me to Emirates as I paid Emirates for the flights," Read said.
"Emirates then send me back to Qantas, saying Qantas were the carrier and I need to deal with them."
Charlie Read, 12, was unable to board a Qantas flight in Auckland to go visit his father in Thailand. Photo / 123RF
Read believes it was Qantas Bangkok who initially made the mistake, but said no one there would take responsibility.
"They could have flown Charlie with their ground staff providing support with very little issue but instead they approached it so poorly.
"There is no empathy or humanity around these airlines anymore."
Read said staff treated the matter like it was black and white.
"They should be better equipped to cater for the grey areas, especially where they have made the error and caused stress and drama for a father and son trying to stay connected post-Covid."
Mooney and Read said the experience had been upsetting for the whole family.
"Even at the start there was a lack of warmth and care given from the check-in attendant," Mooney said.
"My son was not acknowledged as a customer or a child who was hoping for a connection with a stranger who was to assist him to fly halfway across the world to see his dad.
"And it just went downhill from there."
After questions from the Herald, a Qantas spokesperson said the family would be refunded.
"We know this would have been a very frustrating experience and we have apologised to the Read family for providing incorrect advice.
"Passengers can only make use of the unaccompanied minor service if they are booked on a Qantas flight with a Qantas flight number. They should not have been advised that they would be able to use the unaccompanied minor service after they'd made their booking," the spokesperson said.
