QF or AC for SYD-YVR flights in Premium Economy

[Ken1]

We are considering booking to fly SYD - YVR in Sep/Oct 2023 in Premium Economy with the current sale. When I looked a few weeks ago I was seeing return prices of around $5500 return in PE with both QF and AC. Looking today after receiving an email from QF about a North America Fly Away Sale that ends on Wed 14 December I see return prices around $3500 and looking again today at the AC website I see similar prices. We've flown J with various airlines booked with points but no award flights are available in J or PE for the dates we need for this route and we don't want to spend the amounts currently being charged for J. We haven't flown PE before but it looks like it will be better than Y.

The SYD-YVR flights with QF are currently listed as being on a 787-9 and with AC they are on a B777-200LR. I have never flown long haul with AC, only a YYC-YVR flight a few years ago. I am interested in thoughts on AC v QF for Premium Economy from anyone who has flown on one or both. I am currently Star Alliance Gold through SQ so that would give me lounge access with AC but I can get lounge access with my Amex card in SYD and with my Priority Pass card in YVR so that is probably not a major consideration to choose AC over QF.

 

[SYD]

Sorry, can’t help on PE comparison, but the QF “Sale” fare for J to YVR is actually very good (even by pre-Covid standards) if you wanted to splash out.

I haven’t looked but you might find you can book open jaw and/or stopovers on internal Canada sectors for not much more (again in J) if that has benefits for you. The same should apply in PE. In fact (and I might be wrong here), I hav3 a vague recollection some discussion on internal WestJet connections booking into Business when your buy a QF PE fare. I’m sure someone will correct or recalibrate that!

 

[UP4014]

Do it on either airline, get out there and live.

While on AFF whomever dies with the most points wins be the one who enjoyed them!

 

[FlyingKangaroo]

I find the actual PY products to be quite similar. (ETA: I do find Qantas crews better than AC crews. AC crews aren't terrible, but in my experience it's become consistent that QF crews are a bit more jovial and happy to make banter. I find AC crews oddly distant given the general consensus and my own experience that Canadians are typically very friendly and nice. Then again, when I last flew them in August, Canada was still in full Covid-mode on airplanes and the crew may well have just been exhausted by it.)

In August, I flew the same route on AC and was able to upgrade both my SYD-YVR and YVR-SYD sectors from Premium Y to J: I bid ~$1,500 one way and ~$1,000 on the return.

I'd paid $2,600 return in PY for the ticket (how airfares have risen this year -- I'd booked in April), so in the end it was about $5,100 return in J with the upgrade.

If all else is equal and that may interest you, I'd go with AC. Worst case you end up in PY with a solid product not much different than QF; best case you might score a good-value upgrade that isn't even an option on QF.

 

[SYD]

If all else is equal and that may interest you, I'd go with AC. Worst case you end up in PY with a solid product not much different than QF; best case you might score a good-value upgrade that isn't even an option on QF.

QF offer points and “Bid now” upgrades.

QF points upgrade Y+ to J is usually pretty good value.

The cash bids are processed *after* all the points requests - so can be much harder to score. Plus knowing how much to bid…

 

[FlyingKangaroo]

QF offer points and “Bid now” upgrades.

QF points upgrade Y+ to J is usually pretty good value.

The cash bids are processed *after* all the points requests - so can be much harder to score. Plus knowing how much to bid…

Can only speak from my experience (and if they're processing cash requests after points, that probably explains it), but I've had far less luck scoring Y+ to J cash upgrades on QF than AC, even when I've bid more on QF.

Obviously a lot of variables at play.

 

[Ken1]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Looking at the QF website this afternoon when logged in to my FF account most SYD-YVR flights are via LAX rather than direct and the price for PY has gone back up to $5300 - $5500 compared with $3400 to $3500 that was showing yesterday. They must have sold a lot of PY seats since the sale started yesterday. The AC website shows PY prices back to around $5500 return so AC must have matched the reduced QF prices yesterday and put them back up today after QF must have sold a lot of seats and put the prices back up as well.

I have just seen though that if I don't log in the my QFF account and search in a different browser I can still get the lower prices with QF, SYD-LAX-YVR and YVR-SYD. I don't know how I would go if I tried to book that way and then add my QFF number, if it would then change the price.

I thought we had a few days to decide exactly which dates we want since the sale finishes next Wednesday night but should have thought seats will sell quickly. I want to decide how many days we want in each area, with a lot of time in the Rockies and in the East for fall colours in early October.

 

[tdimdad]

You can book without the FF number and then add it into the booking later using the Manage My Booking function.

 

[SYD]

You can book without the FF number and then add it into the booking later using the Manage My Booking function.

But it really shouldn’t make a difference!

Try looking at Skyscanner and/or Google Flights to check the days with direct flight options/fares. I’d be surprised they sold out that quickly.

 

[FlyingKangaroo]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Looking at the QF website this afternoon when logged in to my FF account most SYD-YVR flights are via LAX rather than direct and the price for PY has gone back up to $5300 - $5500 compared with $3400 to $3500 that was showing yesterday. They must have sold a lot of PY seats since the sale started yesterday. The AC website shows PY prices back to around $5500 return so AC must have matched the reduced QF prices yesterday and put them back up today after QF must have sold a lot of seats and put the prices back up as well.

I have just seen though that if I don't log in the my QFF account and search in a different browser I can still get the lower prices with QF, SYD-LAX-YVR and YVR-SYD. I don't know how I would go if I tried to book that way and then add my QFF number, if it would then change the price.

I thought we had a few days to decide exactly which dates we want since the sale finishes next Wednesday night but should have thought seats will sell quickly. I want to decide how many days we want in each area, with a lot of time in the Rockies and in the East for fall colours in early October.

If you can get the link to take you to the actual booking page, it shouldn't increase the price simply adding the QFF number... you could also just book as a guest and add the QFF number immediately after if you're worried.

There is a possibility that you'd get an error when you click the final "purchase" link, but in my experience, it usually still works, even if starting a new search on the homepage starts showing something different.

As SYD notes, Google Flights can be a great tool to pull up the flight and then take you directly to the booking page on the QF website. Another trick sometimes is setting the trip as a multi-city on Google Flights and choosing the same connection cities and flights.... seems wild but just this morning I paid $150 USD on a ticket next year in the States setting up a one-way trip as a multi-city of A --> B --> C with B set up as its own "destination", rather than $250 if I'd simply done a one-way from A to C where the system "connected" me through B.

 

[lorkers]

If you can book Prem Economy and bidnow to full Business, it is generally a good deal. However, I find this rarely works, and you're stuck with PE. Therefore, you have to assume you will be in this class.
I quite like the QF PE offering, which is always economy plus a bit, and the seats feel more comfortable. the last few Air Canada Premium Economy flights I've been on, all the perks have been the same as economy; same wine, same food, same rubbish earbuds not headphones. It really is pretty poor.
Interesting video review of Air Canada Premium Economy from Vancouver to Sydney: