As Martin Dempsey waited to fly back to Perth from Hobart with Virgin Australia, the news came that the incoming flight had struck birds.

Reader Martin says: “The result was the flight back to Perth had to be rescheduled to the following morning.”

He adds: “Arrangements for our overnight were less than satisfactory, basically go and find your own accommodation and be back at the airport by 7.45 the following morning. Forms were given out telling passengers how to claim their overnight expenses.

“But my question is about the seating arrangements when we reboarded the plane the following morning. We had the same plane, same crew and same flight number, why on earth did we not get the same seats that we had on the previous day’s cancelled flight?

“A lot of people were allocated different seats. Some passengers who had paid for extra legroom seats found themselves squeezed in down at the back end of the plane. As you explained in a recent article, there is no refund of the money paid to get an extra legroom seat.

“To rub salt into the wound, some of those seats they no longer had access to, remained empty for the flight to Perth.”

PS Martin adds:

“Thanks for the very informative articles we get in Saturday’s West. Out trip to Tasmania was hot on the heels of the articles you have recently published. We followed your walking guide down Macquarie Street and along the front. We included the stop for fish and chips. Fantastic. Best we have had in a long time. We have heard a lot via friends on how beautiful Tasmania is, and we weren’t disappointed.”

PPS My story Strolling Hobart’s Waterfront is here:

thewest.com.au/travel/strolling-into-hobarts-big-waterfront-story-c-21677994

PPPS Suggestions for walking Mt Wellington, near the city, are here:

thewest.com.au/travel/australasia/shifts-on-the-summit-of-mt-wellington-c-21678759