Any tips or tricks to get an award flight from MEL-BKK-MEL

[gidxg03]

Finally got our trip to Dublin (which was via NRT so we had flight cancelations) rebooked and we are now going via DOH (including first class BKK-DOH!). Cannot find any award availability though from MEL (or any other Australian airport) to BKK so looking like I'll need to buy a ticket to BKK. Currently booked on the return BKK-MEL with JQ in economy.

Any tips or hints to get to BKK (June 25th) and back (July 28th) in Business? Preferably to/from MEL but happy to take other routes if I can get business with any OW carrier.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Hvr]

Anything BKK to Australia is going to be hard, especially in winter.

Is there anything from SIN/MNL/HKG etc where you could fly to/from cheaply?

 

[clifford]

Any tips or hints to get to BKK (June 25th) and back (July 28th) in Business? Preferably to/from MEL but happy to take other routes if I can get business with any OW carrier.

Have a look at JQ. It's not bus, but it's a good PE. I've booked it recently and it's reasonably priced.

For the best value, you could look at Scoot via SIN. Not as convenient but cheaper, and much better than Y.

 

[gidxg03]

Anything BKK to Australia is going to be hard, especially in winter.

Is there anything from SIN/MNL/HKG etc where you could fly to/from cheaply?

Yep availability is very tricky. Have tried all the routing I can think of to get an award flight to/from BKK.

Have a look at JQ. It's not bus, but it's a good PE. I've booked it recently and it's reasonably priced.

For the best value, you could look at Scoot via SIN. Not as convenient but cheaper, and much better than Y.

Have managed to get back with JQ in economy but looking likely we will have to pay for a flight MEL-BKK so looking at scoots overnight flight MEL-BKK if I can't get an award flight. The only award I could find was via Darwin but it leaves at 5:45am on the Saturday morning and it costs as much to fly to Darwin as it does to Bangkok!

 

[drron]

If you had AA points it can be done.
AA for 25 June departure MEL - BKK available for 80000 points in J + $US136.10.

First you can fly to SYD,BNE or ADL to connect to an MH overnight flight to KUL and an onward MH flight to BKK.
If via Sydney flight numbers QF 490, MH 140 and MH 784. You arrive BKK at 1015 on the 26/6.

Coming back J only via SYD on 28/7. MH 783, MH 123, QF 441 ariving back in MEL afternoon of 29/7. They do give you an option of an earlier QF SYD-MEL but only 1.30 hours connection in Sydney.

So not ideal as a long travelling day an main flight both ways overnight.
But if it has to be QF then you will have to ring and ask for those flight numbers. unfortunately they still might not come to the party.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Yep availability is very tricky. Have tried all the routing I can think of to get an award flight to/from BKK.


Have managed to get back with JQ in economy but looking likely we will have to pay for a flight MEL-BKK so looking at scoots overnight flight MEL-BKK if I can't get an award flight. The only award I could find was via Darwin but it leaves at 5:45am on the Saturday morning and it costs as much to fly to Darwin as it does to Bangkok!

How tied are you to Qantas? Do you have points in other points like Virgin Australia? What about points on credit cards that can easily transfer to other frequent flyer programs like Singapore? The reason I ask, is that Thai airlines does indeed have classic award business class seats available from MEL to BKK:



This is for a departure on June 23rd but as you can see there are 3 seats available right now ready for the taking.

-RooFlyer88

 

[aikman]

If you had AA points it can be done.
AA for 25 June departure MEL - BKK available for 80000 points in J + $US136.10.

First you can fly to SYD,BNE or ADL to connect to an MH overnight flight to KUL and an onward MH flight to BKK.
If via Sydney flight numbers QF 490, MH 140 and MH 784. You arrive BKK at 1015 on the 26/6.

Coming back J only via SYD on 28/7. MH 783, MH 123, QF 441 ariving back in MEL afternoon of 29/7. They do give you an option of an earlier QF SYD-MEL but only 1.30 hours connection in Sydney.

So not ideal as a long travelling day an main flight both ways overnight.
But if it has to be QF then you will have to ring and ask for those flight numbers. unfortunately they still might not come to the party.

These don't actually exist. Go any further in the booking process and you get an error. AA is flooded with phantom MH availability for some reason. It is rather frustrating.

 

[drron]

Yes went back and going to book it does say one of the flights has changed so scratch that idea.

 

[gidxg03]

Thanks for the suggestions but only have Qantas points. Need to diversify in the future!

 

[RichardMEL]

Probably easiest to cough up some $$$ for JQ or look to TG (probably more comfoy) or perhaps Scoot to SIN and go from there.

You're looking at peak times with <2 months notice, so getting reward seats (aside of something maybe opened up a few days out, which is still unlikely) is going to be pure luck. Best to secure a ticket.

I know you've been stuffed around so much already trying to make this trip to Ireland work in comfort, but this may be a time to just suck it up and pay for a revenue seat.

and as you note, this is why it's good to have multiple programs to be a member of so that options on other carriers could potentially open up. Moot now, but I've oft built trips with combinations of Star Alliance and OW awards to make it work. For example, I once flew MEL-SYD-KUL QF/MH(F on the 350, when it was called F), then swapped to a Star award KUL-SIN(SQ)-BKK(TG J)-SYD(TG F) then back to MEL on QF. fun times and memories

 

[jase05]

Thanks for the suggestions but only have Qantas points. Need to diversify in the future!

May be a long way around and a long shot as I haven’t checked your dates and don’t know about border restrictions but I’ve been seeing quite a bit of CI award availability from MEL/BNE
I’ve always had good flights with them and you can pick up a cheap J revenue flight from TPE-BKK

 

[gidxg03]

Probably easiest to cough up some $$$ for JQ or look to TG (probably more comfoy) or perhaps Scoot to SIN and go from there.

You're looking at peak times with <2 months notice, so getting reward seats (aside of something maybe opened up a few days out, which is still unlikely) is going to be pure luck. Best to secure a ticket.

I know you've been stuffed around so much already trying to make this trip to Ireland work in comfort, but this may be a time to just suck it up and pay for a revenue seat.

and as you note, this is why it's good to have multiple programs to be a member of so that options on other carriers could potentially open up. Moot now, but I've oft built trips with combinations of Star Alliance and OW awards to make it work. For example, I once flew MEL-SYD-KUL QF/MH(F on the 350, when it was called F), then swapped to a Star award KUL-SIN(SQ)-BKK(TG J)-SYD(TG F) then back to MEL on QF. fun times and memories

Thanks for the reply and yes certainly looking like a paid fare to BKK which is ok given the rest of our trip will be in First/Business. Will definitely be looking at diversifying our point strategy!

May be a long way around and a long shot as I haven’t checked your dates and don’t know about border restrictions but I’ve been seeing quite a bit of CI award availability from MEL/BNE
I’ve always had good flights with them and you can pick up a cheap J revenue flight from TPE-BKK

Great idea as I had not looked at TPE but unfortunately there is no availability for the dates we need but I'll add this option to the daily award flight check list!

 

[encryptededdy]

May be a long way around and a long shot as I haven’t checked your dates and don’t know about border restrictions but I’ve been seeing quite a bit of CI award availability from MEL/BNE
I’ve always had good flights with them and you can pick up a cheap J revenue flight from TPE-BKK

Do you know if you can transit Taipei on separate tickets, given it's currently not possible to entry the country?

 

[jpp42]

Do you know if you can transit Taipei on separate tickets, given it's currently not possible to entry the country?

As per Taiwan

"Foreign nationals without a residency permit can't travel to Taiwan until further notice."

"International transits are not permitted at Taiwan's airports."

Looks like a no-go regardless of whether the same PNR or not.

 

[aikman]

Finally got our trip to Dublin (which was via NRT so we had flight cancelations) rebooked and we are now going via DOH (including first class BKK-DOH!). Cannot find any award availability though from MEL (or any other Australian airport) to BKK so looking like I'll need to buy a ticket to BKK. Currently booked on the return BKK-MEL with JQ in economy.

Any tips or hints to get to BKK (June 25th) and back (July 28th) in Business? Preferably to/from MEL but happy to take other routes if I can get business with any OW carrier.

Thanks in advance!

It's a shame you already have a ticket for BKK-MEL. If you had bought your outbound MEL-BKK flight with Jetstar today, your return ticket on July 28th would have been free!

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Thanks for the suggestions but only have Qantas points. Need to diversify in the future!

Out of curiosity do you have any Flybuys points laying around? If so, those can be converted to Virgin Australia points at a rate of 2000 Flybuys points = 1000 Virgin Australia points. Virgin Australia points can in turn be converted to Singapore Airlines points at a rate of 1.55 Virgin points = 1 Singapore airlines points. From there you can book said Thai seats for 74,000 Singapore points per person one-way, which works out to about 230,000 Flybuys points:


Unsure if that helps but something to consider.

The other possibility to consider is booking you trip to/from BKK on QF metal in economy then requesting a points upgrade there after. Yes you are absolutely rolling the dice here, but with some careful planning you can certainly increase your odds of the upgrade clearing. For instance, booking flights that presently show a decent amount of J space per ExpertFlyer (but no U space). Even if it doesn't clear, I reckon those hours spent on the QF bird will certainly be better than stuck middle seat on JQ!

-RooFlyer88

 

[Must...Fly!]

Virgin Australia points can in turn be converted to Singapore Airlines points at a rate of 1.55 Virgin points = 1 Singapore airlines points.

That has not returned (yet)

 

[gidxg03]

Out of curiosity do you have any Flybuys points laying around? If so, those can be converted to Virgin Australia points at a rate of 2000 Flybuys points = 1000 Virgin Australia points. Virgin Australia points can in turn be converted to Singapore Airlines points at a rate of 1.55 Virgin points = 1 Singapore airlines points. From there you can book said Thai seats for 74,000 Singapore points per person one-way, which works out to about 230,000 Flybuys points:
View attachment 275731

Unsure if that helps but something to consider.

The other possibility to consider is booking you trip to/from BKK on QF metal in economy then requesting a points upgrade there after. Yes you are absolutely rolling the dice here, but with some careful planning you can certainly increase your odds of the upgrade clearing. For instance, booking flights that presently show a decent amount of J space per ExpertFlyer (but no U space). Even if it doesn't clear, I reckon those hours spent on the QF bird will certainly be better than stuck middle seat on JQ!

-RooFlyer88

Looking like QF in Y then requesting a points upgrade is looking like the best option. Get the last flight MEL-SYD on the 24/6 Friday evening (we are working on the Friday) on QF award flight in J, stay in Rydges and get the first flight (QF23) in the morning to BKK on 25/6. 4 X paid QF seats in Y is not much more expensive than the next best option which is getting Scoot from MEL-BKK red eye overnight on the Friday and as you say we might have a chance to bid for business.

Would anyone with Expertflyer be able to check J space availability on QK23?

Also given this trip is to connect to F seat awards on Qatar (leaves BKK 2:30am on the 26/6) do you see a risk with cancelations or lost luggage given recent Qantas issues?

 

[kangarooflyer88]

ExpertFlyer is showing a J9 (but C0, D0, I0 and obviously U0) for the 25th of June for QF 23. On Friday the 24th it's J9 C8 D0 I0 U0, and lastly for good measure on Sunday the 26th it is again J9 (but C0, D0, I0 and obviously U0). My interpretation of this is there is still plenty of J availability but QF hasn't yet redistributed that availability to the other fare buckets. One thing we don't know from QF is how long the upgrade lists are on those flights, but you may be able to massage such details out of a sympathetic agent. In any event, with QF INTL upgrades it's not a guarantee, but it may very well be worth rolling the dice. One other point is to make sure the fare you are booking is eligible for upgrades. It's my understanding that some international QF cash fares aren't eligible so just keep a close eye if booking that way.

As for MEL > SYD on QF, my personal recommendation would be QF490 that takes off at 19:30 since it has lie flat beds in J on an A330 and should be an easy enough upgrade to nab. However, I noticed that QF has recently retired that flight.

To your last point: is there a risk of cancellations or lost luggage with any airline? Absolutely! That's why it is important to build in a sufficient buffer between your scheduled arrival and departure when holding two separate tickets. If I was you, I would even try taking off a day prior so you can land in BKK a day early thereby giving you plenty of buffer for IRROPs. That being said, I'm not you and 10 hours is a decent buffer to give oneself on an connecting INTL itinerary.

In terms of booking QF over Scoot and some other airlines offering service, the big benefit I see of flying QF is that they have interlining agreements with the airlines you are connecting with in your itinerary meaning you should in theory be able to get the bag tagged through to the final destination, should you be concerned of QF forgetting to load bags on a flight or something like that. You'd also earn QF points and status credits on those flights along with availing yourself of the Qantas Club in MEL and Qantas Business Lounge in SYD provided you have Gold status or better. Certainly far better than the dungeon I hear that is the QF Business lounge at MEL.

In terms of hotel, I reckon the Rydges is your best bet if you want the closest and most convenient option for SYD INTL departure. But if you have Accor status, and particularly if you have Accor+ the Novotel Sydney Airport ain't a bad choice either. I can consistently get a night there for ~$125/night and it's maybe a 10 minute walk to the INTL terminal.

-RooFlyer88

 

[gidxg03]

ExpertFlyer is showing a J9 (but C0, D0, I0 and obviously U0) for the 25th of June for QF 23. On Friday the 24th it's J9 C8 D0 I0 U0, and lastly for good measure on Sunday the 26th it is again J9 (but C0, D0, I0 and obviously U0). My interpretation of this is there is still plenty of J availability but QF hasn't yet redistributed that availability to the other fare buckets. One thing we don't know from QF is how long the upgrade lists are on those flights, but you may be able to massage such details out of a sympathetic agent. In any event, with QF INTL upgrades it's not a guarantee, but it may very well be worth rolling the dice. One other point is to make sure the fare you are booking is eligible for upgrades. It's my understanding that some international QF cash fares aren't eligible so just keep a close eye if booking that way.

As for MEL > SYD on QF, my personal recommendation would be QF490 that takes off at 19:30 since it has lie flat beds in J on an A330 and should be an easy enough upgrade to nab. However, I noticed that QF has recently retired that flight.

To your last point: is there a risk of cancellations or lost luggage with any airline? Absolutely! That's why it is important to build in a sufficient buffer between your scheduled arrival and departure when holding two separate tickets. If I was you, I would even try taking off a day prior so you can land in BKK a day early thereby giving you plenty of buffer for IRROPs. That being said, I'm not you and 10 hours is a decent buffer to give oneself on an connecting INTL itinerary.

In terms of booking QF over Scoot and some other airlines offering service, the big benefit I see of flying QF is that they have interlining agreements with the airlines you are connecting with in your itinerary meaning you should in theory be able to get the bag tagged through to the final destination, should you be concerned of QF forgetting to load bags on a flight or something like that. You'd also earn QF points and status credits on those flights along with availing yourself of the Qantas Club in MEL and Qantas Business Lounge in SYD provided you have Gold status or better. Certainly far better than the dungeon I hear that is the QF Business lounge at MEL.

In terms of hotel, I reckon the Rydges is your best bet if you want the closest and most convenient option for SYD INTL departure. But if you have Accor status, and particularly if you have Accor+ the Novotel Sydney Airport ain't a bad choice either. I can consistently get a night there for ~$125/night and it's maybe a 10 minute walk to the INTL terminal.

-RooFlyer88

Thanks for all the advice RooFlyer88. I've booked the flights and QF23 is available to upgrade for 54,500PTS per passenger. I am just 25K points short for all 4 of us so going (seem the only option offered is to upgrade all passengers) to see if I kind find a quick way to up my balance rather than purchasing the points from Qantas which worse care would not be bad ($803 and then all 4 of us have seats in J). Definitely booking Rydges as it's right in the airport so not much of a trip to the check in desk.