This Qantas Platinum flyer is choosing Virgin after 39 years

“The last-minute tickets were almost double the price. It was predatory conduct,” he said.

Mr Pharaoh said he was eventually given a fix to take him from Los Angeles to Brisbane, then a Brisbane to Melbourne flight, but only after “spending hours and hours and hours having discussions”.

“I literally had to get aggro with them before they gave me a way to get home.”

Qantas also refused to liase with the American carrier performing the New York to Los Angeles flight, which forced Mr Pharaoh to organise the connection instead.

Mr Pharaoh doesn’t only blame Qantas, but also what he called a lack of regulatory protections for cancellations from the federal government. He cited the example of countries such as New Zealand, which have enforced penalties when cancellations occur.

“My big aspiration is for the government to step up. Australia may be one of the few remaining developed countries where there are no penalties if a flight is cancelled or delayed. In Europe, in the US and New Zealand, all of them have penalties, which changes how airlines act,” he said.

Getting local flights was also painful. He has flown six Qantas flights from Merimbula to Melbourne, half of which were rerouted into lower quality journeys.

Mr Pharoah was provided flights that rerouted his journey from Merimbula to Sydney first, before flying to Melbourne. The changes meant a journey that would take an additional three to four hours each time, he said.

The last-minute rerouting meant trying to book with Qantas’ regional competitor Rex was not viable because prices for those flights had risen by that time.

For flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Mr Pharaoh now plans for extra time at the airport due to the frequency of cancellations and delays.

On Thursday, Mr Pharaoh booked a 6.30am flight from Canberra to Sydney, but that flight was cancelled at 4am and he had to catch a later flight.

“Often you sit around for hours and hours so you can no longer rely on flying in during the morning and coming back at night.”

If you were on a cancelled Qantas flight, let us know your story by emailing edletters@afr.com.au.