J Benefits MEL to LAX

[The Mountain]

Hi All,

At the drop of dawn this morning my points upgrade for business class came through (MEL to LAX) . This is the first time I'll be flying J international which I'm very excited about. I was jut wondering if you could all recommend me the benefits that I might be exposed to as a result of this in order to make the most of business?

Also, does this enable me access to the F lounge?

Thank you so much!

 

[raleyoz]

Sorry to say but no F Lounge, more baggage, nicer seat better food, better wine and bigger screen, oh and less of a line at check in, enjoy

 

[The Mountain]

Thank you raleyoz. Is it frowned upon to ask the F lounge attendees whether you can enter as a once off? I'm wondering if I ask nicely whether they would let me in.

 

[raleyoz]

Hmmmm, unlikely at best, I would hope for an AFFer to get you in, when you going. What status are you, even then business is a massive upgrade , you will really enjoy

 

[RooFlyer]

A few quick tips:

* Select seat ASAP and check back; you are at constant risk of being bumped by QF for some-one with higher status

* If the foot of your bed droops, put your carry-on case or something under it to restore to near-horizontal.

* Plan your trips to the bathroom at pyjama change into and out of times. Wait times can be long-ish and clash with meal services. Personally I change out of them as soon as the cabin starts to stir for breakfast, then I can do the other things at my own pace.

* Depending on when the flight is, you may be able to select meal options on line

As raleyoz says, no F lounge, but J of course. Still pretty good!

EDIT: Very unlikely you would be admitted to F lounge; embarrassing for the desk people and yourself to be refused.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thank you raleyoz. Is it frowned upon to ask the F lounge attendees whether you can enter as a once off? I'm wondering if I ask nicely whether they would let me in.

You won't be allowed to enter as a one off.

There are 60+ business class passengers on every flight, and plenty of Qantas Platinums travelling in economy and business who already have access to the First class lounge. Space is at a premium.

As for the benefits of flying business class... you'll get PJs and an amenity kit. You'll also get some good wines and an extensive menu (no guarantees on the food though)

Your seat is supposed to be a full flat bed, but some of them, through wear and tear, can droop significantly, making sleep difficult. If this happens to you, apparently you can prop up the bed by using a shoe in the gap to help keep the seat in place.

Otherwise, relax and enjoy the experience. If you feel tired then sleep! In between meal services there's not a lot happening... it's the same as economy class... there's no 'constant' service element where they offer you goodies every 30 minutes. So if you go to sleep you won't be missing out on anything.

 

[raleyoz]

I agree Int J Lounge is pretty damn Good

 

[The Mountain]

A few quick tips:

* Select seat ASAP and check back; you are at constant risk of being bumped by QF for some-one with higher status

* If the foot of your bed droops, put your carry-on case or something under it to restore to near-horizontal.

* Plan your trips to the bathroom at pyjama change into and out of times. Wait times can be long-ish and clash with meal services. Personally I change out of them as soon as the cabin starts to stir for breakfast, then I can do the other things at my own pace.

* Depending on when the flight is, you may be able to select meal options on line

As raleyoz says, no F lounge, but J of course. Still pretty good!

EDIT: Very unlikely you would be admitted to F lounge; embarrassing for the desk people and yourself to be refused.

Thank you RooFlyer - excellent advice.

I immediately selected my seat. I could only see one available, which I grabbed. Is it common to be bumped once an upgrade has come through and my points have been deducted (flying out tomorrow morning)? That would break my heart.

Regarding the pyjama timing, do people generally change into them straight away?

Also - is the J lounge the normal Qantas international lounge with the self service bar to the back left?

Thank you

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Hi All,

At the drop of dawn this morning my points upgrade for business class came through (MEL to LAX) . This is the first time I'll be flying J international which I'm very excited about.

I was jut wondering if you could all recommend me the benefits that I might be exposed to as a result of this in order to make the most of business?

Also, does this enable me access to the F lounge?

Thank you so much!

How many hours away is the flight?

Go to the 'manage my booking' section on the QF website & allocate your seat in the J cabin.

At the same time you may be able to select your meal via the Qeat option but I think you need at least 24 hours notice to do this.

You will get access to the QF J Lounge at MEL which is after Customs.

Checkin at the dedicated Business Class checkin counters at MEL which open 3 hours prior to your flight departure.

You'll get a luggage allowance of 3 pieces however only 2 coming back if in Y unless your freq flyer status is silver or above.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thank you RooFlyer - excellent advice.

I immediately selected my seat. I could only see one available, which I grabbed. Is it common to be bumped once an upgrade has come through and my points have been deducted (flying out tomorrow morning)? That would break my heart.

Regarding the pyjama timing, do people generally change into them straight away?


Thank you

You can change as soon as they give them to you on board... lots of people will. However, from a safety and convenience point of view, doing so as soon as the seat belt sign is extinguished after take-off might be something you want to consider.

The food in the lounge is nowhere near as good as on the plane, so don't eat too much in the lounge. I'd reckon an hour or so in the lounge would be sufficient.

It's not common to have an upgrade taken away.. but it does happen. It happens to people who have paid full fare (who find themselves downgraded because flights have been overbooked). You'd have to be very unlucky though.

 

[The Mountain]

How many hours away is the flight?

Go to the 'manage my booking' section on the QF website & allocate your seat in the J cabin.

At the same time you may be able to select your meal via the Qeat option but I think you need at least 24 hours notice to do this.

You will get access to the QF J Lounge at MEL which is after Customs.

Checkin at the dedicated Business Class checkin counters at MEL which open 3 hours prior to your flight departure.

You'll get a luggage allowance of 3 pieces however only 2 coming back if in Y unless your freq flyer status is silver or above.

The flight is currently 22 hours away.

Thank you all - I won't bother with the F lounge as the J lounge will be more than suitable. My return flight will get me to platinum, so I'll enjoy the fruits of F another day .

 

[raleyoz]

Then welcome to the club!!!

 

[RooFlyer]

Thank you RooFlyer - excellent advice.

I immediately selected my seat. I could only see one available, which I grabbed. Is it common to be bumped once an upgrade has come through and my points have been deducted (flying out tomorrow morning)? That would break my heart.

<snip>

I was meaning bumped from your selected J seat rather than from J entirely. This can happen to revenue pax as well as points one; a family asks to be seated together, some-one with high status wants (or the airline allocates) THAT particular seat. Its not uncommon; its happened to me with revenue ticket.

As you are selecting late, there may not be many 'good' seats left (ie not wanted by high status pax), and you may not be able to do anything about a bump, but if it happens, the earlier you catch it, the earlier you might be able to get the next best seat.

Not worth being stressed over, just keep an eye on it if you have the opportunity.


ps Experience QF staff (eg pilots) suggest passengers keep their shoes and street clothes on during take-off and landing.

 

[The Mountain]

I was meaning bumped from your selected J seat rather than from J entirely. This can happen to revenue pax as well as points one; a family asks to be seated together, some-one with high status wants (or the airline allocates) THAT particular seat. Its not uncommon; its happened to me with revenue ticket.

As you are selecting late, there may not be many 'good' seats left (ie not wanted by high status pax), and you may not be able to do anything about a bump, but if it happens, the earlier you catch it, the earlier you might be able to get the next best seat.

Not worth being stressed over, just keep an eye on it if you have the opportunity.


ps Experience QF staff (eg pilots) suggest passengers keep their shoes and street clothes on during take-off and landing.

Excellent, that has eased my mind . I would happily swap seats with someone if they needed it. I'm just excited to have some leg room - it hurts flying 14+ hours at 196cm tall.

Can anyone also recommend how many hours prior to the flight I should arrive at the airport?

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

You can do initial checkin online, but still need to have your passport data page <<< line dipped into check in counter computer and get an Expresspath card, so will need to be at airport premium check in queue.
Shouldnt be too long though, maybe 3.5 hours before a flight, half an hour in checkin queue, and the rest to get through outgoing immigration, and then int security screening.
Take all things out of your pockets, even passport in overhead bin bag, as you have to do a mock surrender, if the "guards" pick you to have a full body scan done to you.
Expresspath card can shorten time in immi queue, and int security queue.
I have done SYDi departures many times, and have always been put aside to the full body scan. They even have the gall to ask me to take off my no metal in it shoes!
It will be a learning experience.
Because MELi is not a 24 hour prior check in, its no use being at the airport too early for your flight.
Your passport will need to be dipped into their computer, QFs one, even if you have done OLCI and have your API details in their system, o, and also you need to get an OPC, these are available to fill in before you get to immi line.
Fill it in, put it with your BP into passport data page, go through int security, then passport control, then lounge.
F is great to plan for, Jessica said that the MELi QF lounge not as good as F lounge, but you will get to see F next time anyway. I am doing QF F lounge probably in Dec this year, my first and probably last!
Edit: witin MMB, there is a spot called "enter APIS". You can do that now if you havent done so. Still need to go to counter though for other procedures.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Because MELi is not a 24 hour prior check in, its no use being at the airport too early for your flight.

The Qantas business class lounge at MEL is nothing to get there early for. There's no light. Crowded chairs and tables. Very average to poor food.

The only positive thing about it is the open bar.

First class lounge and it's a totally different story.

 

[Groundhog]

The other advantage you will get is an express card which will fast track you to the security que on the left (the slowest) and then the express immigration line on the right (also the slowest) Then you can have the advantage of watching everyone without an express card get processed before you. All frustrations cured by a free champers in the lounge Enjoy your J experience.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

All frustrations cured by a free champers in the lounge Enjoy your J experience.

there's champagne in the business class lounge now? (that would be a positive step!)

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

I will leave my one day visit to the SYDi QF F lounge to another day.
But will as I mention, test and compare the MELi QF F in Dec and paid in cash for flight MEL - WLG in J in Oct.
Not as good is a term I will use, rather than the term bad.

 

[Groundhog]

there's champagne in the business class lounge now? (that would be a positive step!)

Alas, no. I was thinking of the Flounge. However the stuff in the J lounge is bubbly and alchoholic so will provide a restorative after the security/immigration wait times