Experiences on Qantas staff travel

[cbreeze]

I have a family member who is a tenured Qantas employee who’s offered to add me to their staff travel.

I’ve heard that the way it works is that you’ll be on standby when you get to the airport so the flight isn’t guaranteed. The tip being never book the last flight of the day.

Just wondering peoples general staff travel experiences as a non-Qantas employee? I won’t be able to book anything myself and will have to rely on that person to check flight capacity etc. It will be cheaper though.

Is this worth doing or is the risk of being stuck at the airport and flights being booked out due to being on standby an issue?

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Respectfully, I don't think we can provide an answer here since people's preferences for standby travel vary greatly. Are you the type of person who can deal with delayed gratification, not knowing when you'll travel? Are you a spontaneous traveller who can drop everything and hop on a flight last minute making reservations as you go? Another key consideration would also be the size of the discount compared to how much you would pay had you bought the ticket early or redeemed miles for said ticket along with whether you would earn status credits, frequent flyer points or have access to Qantas Premium Services (i.e. lounge access if you have Gold or above).

-RooFlyer88

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

I would second a no.
Even if its a leisure flight.
Too many what ifs.
1.If that other family member has to fly (staffing reason), they get priority, you might not get the flight if there is only one opening, and its not like as if they are going to issue you the jump fold out seat on the 737.
2.If you 2 get it, and the other flyer gets preferential treatment, you might get the evil eye/s, esp from those of us in the "know", why should you get PB for eg.
3.You might get booted off if another staff member has to fly that flight.
4.You might not get a meal.
5.You might be stuffed down the back before the loo on the 737.

 

[jb747]

I have a family member who is a tenured Qantas employee who’s offered to add me to their staff travel.

Unless your relative is Alan Joyce, you will be so far down the pecking order that you may as well start walking now.

 

[Anna]

One of my friends once got stuck in HKG for 10 days waiting to get on a 'QF family' standby flight back home. By the end she was living in a hostel because she couldn't afford a hotel any more. But hey the flights were cheap

 

[Rangalad]

Unless your relative is Alan Joyce, you will be so far down the pecking order that you may as well start walking now.

 

[bam71]

I have access to QF staff travel. We barely use it. Reason ……. Most flights these days are full. You do not pay to get a cheap ticket, you pay to get a ”chance” to get on. If you don't get on, you can keep trying, or request a refund and book a normal commercial ticket. A few years back we were on a staff travel ticket ex LHR. There were so many staff there hopeing to get on, some had been stuck for 4 or 5 days trying to get a seat. We had a higher priority, and got our seats when we checked in, but imagine being in London at the end of your holiday, funds drying up and not knowing when it will all end. It’s great if you have some vacation time arranged, then you can check where you may get a seat to go to…we’ve done that. Overall it’s not what it’s cracked up to be, but if you’re just doing domestic runs, and can afford to be “delayed” in your plans due not knowing if you’ll get on, then use it

 

[UP4014]

First question to ask your family member what number are they; will be 'ranked' from 1 to about 74 I think it is. 1 being the Board/CEO and 74 being the contract cleaner at a regional airport. Not every employee can access all class levels.

If they have a number bigger than about 30 then I wouldn't worry about it, thank your family member and just buy a ticket. So if you are rated position 10 you can bump another employee whom is ranked 60. Buy the best you can as that also improves your chances.

It has it's benefits for sure, but for most people the cons will outweigh them especially now with reduced flights, planes still out of service higher fares.

You need to pick where you use this benefit down to the day of travel. It can be great and I have used it, but don't have a set day you need to be somewhere and have extra funds in case you need to extend your stay somewhere.

I suggest you speak in detail with your family member as they will have all the info, this board is not really the place to discuss staff benefits.

 

[adenda]

One of my friends once got stuck in HKG for 10 days waiting to get on a 'QF family' standby flight back home. By the end she was living in a hostel because she couldn't afford a hotel any more. But hey the flights were cheap

A former neighbour who was an Ansett pilot had a similar experience. Stuck in Hong Kong for several days paying walk-up rates at a hotel. If I recall correctly they ended up paying almost as much as the airfare - not to mention several days lost from their holiday in Europe

 

[UP4014]

A former neighbour who was an Ansett pilot had a similar experience. Stuck in Hong Kong for several days paying walk-up rates at a hotel. If I recall correctly they ended up paying almost as much as the airfare - not to mention several days lost from their holiday in Europe

There is a staff travel issue right there, if he was flying to or from Europe and not on the employees airline you're down the list again on priority. You might jag a seat for one person but 4 or 5 for a family, forget it.

 

[jase05]

I have access to QF staff travel. We barely use it. Reason ……. Most flights these days are full. You do not pay to get a cheap ticket, you pay to get a ”chance” to get on. If you don't get on, you can keep trying, or request a refund and book a normal commercial ticket. A few years back we were on a staff travel ticket ex LHR. There were so many staff there hopeing to get on, some had been stuck for 4 or 5 days trying to get a seat. We had a higher priority, and got our seats when we checked in, but imagine being in London at the end of your holiday, funds drying up and not knowing when it will all end. It’s great if you have some vacation time arranged, then you can check where you may get a seat to go to…we’ve done that. Overall it’s not what it’s cracked up to be, but if you’re just doing domestic runs, and can afford to be “delayed” in your plans due not knowing if you’ll get on, then use it

Pretty similar situation like you I barely use it. Only time I’ve really found it useful is for intra SA trips where it costs pretty much nothing to ADL-PLO and ADL-WYA. I generally don’t bother otherwise and in fact nearly all our leisure flying is with VA domestically

 

[rocket256]

I have a family member who is a tenured Qantas employee who’s offered to add me to their staff travel.

I’ve heard that the way it works is that you’ll be on standby when you get to the airport so the flight isn’t guaranteed. The tip being never book the last flight of the day.

Just wondering peoples general staff travel experiences as a non-Qantas employee? I won’t be able to book anything myself and will have to rely on that person to check flight capacity etc. It will be cheaper though.

Is this worth doing or is the risk of being stuck at the airport and flights being booked out due to being on standby an issue?

OP, it's a fantastic benefit you should definitely use. The most significant benefit is that flights are fully refundable and can be booked up to the last minute. The only caveat is that your QF friend will have to book on your behalf.

You will have a lower onboarding priority than most other people however don't let this become a barrier, domestic flights are plentiful between QF and JQ. International is still possible however make sure you check loadings and have a backup plan if you really need to be back for a certain date. The main thing you need to look out for is cancellations (even with other airlines), a cancellation will probably mean you will be bumped for displaced pax.

 

[TomVexille]

I grew up travelling mostly on staff travel (not QF). It's a fantastic benefit if you're flexible and willing to change plans on the fly. I wouldn't rely on it if you must be somewhere at a specific day/time. Always be willing to connect via whatever cities to get to your destination.

If you're going ahead with it, I'd definitely invest in an EF subscription as this will let you get an informed idea about loads before you bother your family member.

 

[jpp42]

Sotrytime. I was travelling CPT-JNB on a BA (Comair) flight and something had gone wrong with ticketing (thanks Qantas!), thus I didn't actually have a confirmed seat; the flight was full so I was offered an option to stand-by at the service desk. Lined up near me were dozens and dozens of staff travellers tying to get to JNB for onward international connections on various carriers. Most of them had seats on the long-haul flights but there had apparently been cancellations on some of the CPT-JNB hops earlier that day, everything was overbooked and all these people were stuck. I wasn't stressed as I had a few days stopover in JNB before my next flight, an hour or two delay wasn't going to bother me. As a revenue passenger, I eventually got a seat in front of all those people and I felt so bad, but hopefully they knew the risks. I understand these scenes happen regularly, at nearly every airport, with regards to staff travel, particularly when there are disruptions. So it's not just having to extend your stay, but spending all that time waiting at the airport hoping you get a spot...

 

[OATEK]

My son-in-law has access to his late Father's travel benefits and has used them successfully many times. However, these have been largely out of season (eg not near school holidays), while travelling alone, and based on careful analysis of availability through the employee portal.

 

[UP4014]

Continental was one of the best for staff travel, once you booked you were treated equal like every other passenger.

 

[Happy Dude]

So what do the QF staffers say when they can't/don't show up for work because they're stranded waiting for a seat at the end of their holiday?

 

[Daver6]

Also keep in mind that I believe you won't have lounge access.

 

[mviy]

So what do the QF staffers say when they can't/don't show up for work because they're stranded waiting for a seat at the end of their holiday?

If they are unable to work remotely, depending on what their employer agrees to they would probably have to take annual leave, negative leave or unpaid leave.

 

[Happy Dude]

If they are unable to work remotely, depending on what their employer agrees to they would probably have to take annual leave, negative leave or unpaid leave.

Their employer is QF if they're a QF staffer. I'm musing at the irony that one part of QF might be inconvenienced and miffed at another part for failing to get the staffer home in time, and then I'm hoping that both parts might then develop a little empathy towards anyone stranded.