Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Kangol]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I'm no expert...but wouldn't you just cancel one, then add flights to your first? The drama of course, is whether there will be F availability?

Without knowing the logistics definitively (I'd suggest you check with QF before you start cancelling flights) I'd guess you would only need to cancel one itinerary and pay the fee for that, then add those flights to the remaining itinerary. I'd want to be sure that the award seats on the ticket you intend to cancel would definitely be available for you to re-book before I started to cancel though. To explain, my understanding is that when awards are cancelled they do not get immediately re-listed as available - in which case they won't be visible for the QF operator to hold or add to your other itinerary as soon as you cancel. I cancelled some J awards for LAX - SYD last year and it took several hours for them to appear as available on the QF website.

It's possible the operator might tell you you need to ring back later (how much later I don't know) when your cancelled flights re-appear, but if you were unlucky someone else could possible snatch them ahead of you. Hope that makes sense, Kangol

Thanks. Yes I am very aware of the risk of award seats not going back into inventory... at least one of them was a WP-requested one.

 

[Jacques Vert]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

The main problem that I see is the final leg into Istanbul because

a) Trying to get from DXB to IST direct business class involves Emirates (mucks up the 280J) or RJ which I gather is a bit of an iffy quality service (QR does not seem to have a business class leg from Doha to Istanbul)

I'll be flying RJ J from DOH - AMM - TLV in a few weeks time and will report back. Might be worth just accepting RJ as its not exactly long flights. DOH - AMM is a couple of hours and suspect similar from AMM to IST?

+1 & I had two flights with RJ at the end of May. BKK-AMM & AMM-VIE.

Some comments on RJ:

• We departed BKK at 0030, the crew turned off the lights and most pax settled in for a night's sleep; the crew fluffed about for the next hour. At 0130 the lights came back on and they served a three course meal. May have made sense on AMM time but not based on BKK!
• An hour and a half later the lights went out - for a few hours - before they came back on to serve breakfast at around 0400 local AMM time.
• I was welcomed on board by name and treated like a VIP; on the other hand, +1 (western female-type person) was totally ignored and treated like she didn't exist.
• At AMM, security was fine to me but downright rude to females. Despite the fact that we were only transiting, they took a dislike to +1 and seemed to be determined to confiscate something from her; just because they can. They decided to take her travel scales but +1 stood her ground until I became concerned that we may become guests of the state and told them they could have the scales (+1 was not amused). Later, she saw THAT security officer in the Crown Lounge and challenged him, requesting the return of her scales! He seemed to be more respectful (seeming she was in the Crown Lounge) but disappeared without explanation. So......., on the to our next flight, +1 headed back to the incoming security desk where she advised the officers that as she was now leaving Jordan, she would like her scales back. This put them into a tailspin and ended up with one of the officers diving into the discard bin to retrieve her scales! "Is this them?". "Yes". So a few phone calls, checking of boarding passes & nationality later, the scales were returned to her!! And turns out they were not her $2 ones but a significantly more expensive set.
• Next flight of 3hr 50min was originally scheduled as an A320; but a couple of weeks out was substituted to an E175. Quite a small plane for a flight of that length and it was in bad need of a refurb. OTOH, the food was good and the Tatt flowed (until it ran out) so not all bad and the hostie on this flight was truly lovely (to +1 as well as I).
• We now refer to RJ as the "Royal Ars*holes".

Would I fly them again?

Well if it came to a choice of J with RJ or Y with someone else, then yes I would go with RJ. But if I had a choice of airlines offering J then I would go with one of the others; especially if I were female.

YMMV

 

[fastferret]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

+1 & I had two flights with RJ at the end of May. BKK-AMM & AMM-VIE.

Some comments on RJ:YMMV

Thanks for the review. For a 280k I'm planning, I'm tossing up between DOH-ATH in QR economy or DOH-AMM-ATH in RJ business. I'll be with my wife and leaning towards the QR flight.

The RJ flights are E175 & E195 so I wouldn't expect great comfort. The QR flight is 4hr 50min with 0730 departure, so could probably make do with a smaller seat. Shame QR don't seem to release any J seats for this route.

 

[BillW]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I'm looking to book well ahead using points, according to the terms of this thread, essentially to get to Ireland next northern spring via a visit to my son who will be working in the Canadian ski fields out of Vancouver. My return to Sydney will be beyond the current available booking window. Using this facility I will take the opportunity for a few stopovers, HK and Tokyo at a minimum, with a side tour into China where I have never been before.
Also, my stay in Ireland/Europe can be open ended.
Should I book a 140/280K itinerary with a return date that I do not intend to keep? (Where available I'd like to upgrade to Premium Economy.) Does this mean that when I have reached Ireland/Europe that I cancel (or let lapse) my return phase. Or, do I, or can I, then (say April 2016) alter the dates and/or segments back?

And now got a #9207 error trying to get Syd-HKG-NRT-DUB-Syd.

 

[Sale]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

+1 & I had two flights with RJ at the end of May. BKK-AMM & AMM-VIE.

Some comments on RJ:

• We departed BKK at 0030, the crew turned off the lights and most pax settled in for a night's sleep; the crew fluffed about for the next hour. At 0130 the lights came back on and they served a three course meal. May have made sense on AMM time but not based on BKK!
• An hour and a half later the lights went out - for a few hours - before they came back on to serve breakfast at around 0400 local AMM time.
• I was welcomed on board by name and treated like a VIP; on the other hand, +1 (western female-type person) was totally ignored and treated like she didn't exist.
• At AMM, security was fine to me but downright rude to females. Despite the fact that we were only transiting, they took a dislike to +1 and seemed to be determined to confiscate something from her; just because they can. They decided to take her travel scales but +1 stood her ground until I became concerned that we may become guests of the state and told them they could have the scales (+1 was not amused). Later, she saw THAT security officer in the Crown Lounge and challenged him, requesting the return of her scales! He seemed to be more respectful (seeming she was in the Crown Lounge) but disappeared without explanation. So......., on the to our next flight, +1 headed back to the incoming security desk where she advised the officers that as she was now leaving Jordan, she would like her scales back. This put them into a tailspin and ended up with one of the officers diving into the discard bin to retrieve her scales! "Is this them?". "Yes". So a few phone calls, checking of boarding passes & nationality later, the scales were returned to her!! And turns out they were not her $2 ones but a significantly more expensive set.
• Next flight of 3hr 50min was originally scheduled as an A320; but a couple of weeks out was substituted to an E175. Quite a small plane for a flight of that length and it was in bad need of a refurb. OTOH, the food was good and the Tatt flowed (until it ran out) so not all bad and the hostie on this flight was truly lovely (to +1 as well as I).
• +1 now refers to RJ as the "Royal Ars*holes".

Would I fly them again?

Well if it came to a choice of J with RJ or Y with someone else, then yes I would go with RJ. But if I had a choice of airlines offering J then I would go with one of the others;especially if I were female.

YMMV

AaaH! Thank you - think I'll pass the RJ experience based on your +1's experiences.

 

[Jacques Vert]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

AaaH! Thank you - think I'll pass the RJ experience based on your +1's experiences.

I should have added that while the flight from BKK to AMM was a shiny new 787, the safety demonstration video was for an older plane:

"If you are in business, your life jacket is under your armrest." Um.... no it isn't; and after a bit of searching I managed to find a compartment with one lifejacket. +1 pointed this out to the hostie who became quite annoyed (like it was our fault) and after a few minutes of searching herself found another compartment that contains the other lifejacket. We later spoke to another passenger who also had to ask where her lifejacket was.

What does it say about training when the crew don't know where the lifejackets are?

Of course it is possible that we just got a bad crew on the 787 (as on the E175 they were fine).

My comments above are based on only two flights and 5 hours at the airport. By the way, I asked about a shower at the Crown lounge and was advised that there is a $US15 fee for a shower. I am glad I hadn't paid for the flight!

As I said previously, I would fly them again and so would +1, but only if there were no J seats available with any other airline.

JV

 

[Saintza]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Has anyone come across this error when searching on a multi-city itinerary on the Qantas site? If I put in over 10 trips it errors with the following:

A maximum of DATA(MAXIMUM_NUMBER_OF_DIFFERENT_CITY) different cities can be defined in your itinerary including your departure point. Please modify your last selection and resubmit your request.(#7120)

 

[hutch]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Has anyone come across this error when searching on a multi-city itinerary on the Qantas site? If I put in over 10 trips it errors with the following:

What journey are you trying? OW award is 6 trips max off my knowledge.

 

[Saintza]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Sorry, I should have said segments. Couldn't even get past the first screen where you enter in the flights so it wasn't like it was applying any rules yet. Just seems it was flat out not letting you put in more than 10 segments?

 

[sergeyvzn]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

You can have up to 16 segments

however, the search engine is extremely buggy. You won't be able to use it to book anything onlineother than the simplest itinerary like Sydney - Bangkok -London - LA -Sydney, just to give you an example

you will need to ring Qantas and book it over the phone, telling them you can't do it online due to error messages popping up and they should waive their phone assistance fee then

 

[robd]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Thanks for the review. For a 280k I'm planning, I'm tossing up between DOH-ATH in QR economy or DOH-AMM-ATH in RJ business. I'll be with my wife and leaning towards the QR flight.

The RJ flights are E175 & E195 so I wouldn't expect great comfort. The QR flight is 4hr 50min with 0730 departure, so could probably make do with a smaller seat. Shame QR don't seem to release any J seats for this route.

I recently did 2 flights with RJ, my experience here:-

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....n/some-royal-jordanian-experiences-60332.html

 

[prozac]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I recently did 2 flights with RJ, my experience here:-

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....n/some-royal-jordanian-experiences-60332.html

That link takes you to a JR report that appears to be by N860CR.

edit: Oh, I see yours is the last post. Nice pictures too.

 

[Saintza]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

You can have up to 16 segments

however, the search engine is extremely buggy. You won't be able to use it to book anything onlineother than the simplest itinerary like Sydney - Bangkok -London - LA -Sydney, just to give you an example

you will need to ring Qantas and book it over the phone, telling them you can't do it online due to error messages popping up and they should waive their phone assistance fee then

Ah thanks

 

[flychrisfly]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I am soon to start the fingers-crossed-hope-there's-availability-booking-process for an 480K F award trip next year.

The plan is:
SYD-DXB hopefully on QF (I'll probably shift the start date to guarantee a QF flight) - stop 1
DXB-BCN hopefully on QR (via DOH) with BA (via LHR) as an alternative - stop 2
Make my own way to MAD
MAD-HAM (there is a direct IB flight sometimes/days but I could well end up going via DUS, MUC, LHR, VIE, TXL) - stop 3
Make my own way to CPH
CPH-LHR (BA seems likely) - stop 4
Make my own way to Dublin (EI or BA but NOT FR!)
DUB-BOS (hopefully via LHR on BA straight to BOS/JFK so I can use the BA F facilities, there does not appear to be F on AA/US trans-Atlantic flights out of DUB) - stop 5
BOS-JFK AA probably - overnight but < 24 hour stop
JFK-LAX or DFW on AA then to SYD on QF ideally. But I have enough spare mileage to return to SYD via Europe if required, or head home via Asia.

Points of concern:
Getting flights in F in and out of Australia.
Depending on connections I might have to re-work the European connections due to the 2 transit limit per city - in my case LHR might be a problem.

I am assuming the booking lead time on IB is the same as BA - can someone confirm please?

Wish me luck!

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

.
--snip--
I am assuming the booking lead time on IB is the same as BA - can someone confirm please?

Hi Chris.
My notes indicate that IB open up 360 days out, with BA at 355. It might be worth trying a dummy booking to test for accuracy.
Best of luck on your quest.
TOOJ#3

 

[prozac]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Chris, making your own way HAM-CPH is a great idea. Around Hamburg you have Bremen nearby to the west and sort of on the way to CPH don't forget the Hansiatic city of Lubeck (North-East). Also an hour east by car is Schwerin with a beautiful castle situated in the lake. I don't know if you have time to hire a car and spend a few days looking around the region, but well worth it imo. Sorry but I don't know anything about booking RTW and open jaws, but you got me excited.

 

[flychrisfly]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Chris, making your own way HAM-CPH is a great idea. Around Hamburg you have Bremen nearby to the west and sort of on the way to CPH don't forget the Hansiatic city of Lubeck (North-East). Also an hour east by car is Schwerin with a beautiful castle situated in the lake. I don't know if you have time to hire a car and spend a few days looking around the region, but well worth it imo. Sorry but I don't know anything about booking RTW and open jaws, but you got me excited.

Wow, thanks Prozac. I know almost nothing of that region but CPH has always been on my bucket list. The handy tips are MUCH appreciated and I'm sure I'll make good use of most of them

 

[prozac]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Chris the major connecting roads in the region are mostly speed de-restricted (you can go as fast as you like) if there are no road works happening. Like here in Oz just remember to pull back in after you have passed a vehicle. Lubeck is a good visit. You can easily make it from Hamburg in the morning, look around, then move on to Schwerin for an afternoon arrival if you do not wish to stay in Lubeck. We stayed outside Schwerin in an the old home (now developed) of writer Hans Franck, the BEST WESTERN Seehotel Frankenhorst. Nothing flash but very comfortable with lots of walking etc. About 20-30 hectares on the lake. Food is good plus a couple of saunas. We used the sauna on a pontoon on the lake from which we dived in to the 5C waters when nicely cooked. Very liberating...if you catch my drift.
This is a 15 minute drive into Schwerin.
If you did Schwerin first, then Lubeck, it would be a more flowing route up to Denmark.

 

[fastferret]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

To follow up on earlier discussion of availability of QR J award seats, it seems there is a reasonable inventory of QR J seats, but they don't show up on the Qantas booking engine. The BA site appears to be showing them accurately.

I was resigned to doing a 5 hour QR leg in economy, but I've booked two J seats through a very helpful member of the Qantas phone team.

No praise for another team member I had previously spoken with who told me to ignore the BA site and that the QR J seats I could see there were not available if booking a one world award through Qantas.

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

No praise for another team member I had previously spoken with who told me to ignore the BA site and that the QR J seats I could see there were not available if booking a one world award through Qantas.

Hence the acronym "HUACA" (Hang up and call again) which seems to have been spawned on AFF in response to the very problem you describe i.e. some QF operators dispense wrong info regarding award bookings because they are apparently clueless about their own system and booking rules. Even more annoying is the fact that the more clueless they are the more dogmatic and insistent they seem to be that they are right.