Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Des1801]

Hey all,

Have a OW RTW award itinerary commencing later this month, having had it booked for near on 12 months. I’ve just seen that one sector (the LHR-JFK flight as part of a FCO-LHR—JFK sector) on BA has been cancelled. Spoke to QFF this morning and of course there are no reward seats left on other flights that day this close to departure. Therefore, they have had to send a request to BA to release seats (3 x J seats) on a later LHR-JFK flight, and they said they will call back in a couple days when they have a response.

Question is, what if BA don’t release the seats on another flight ? Does my whole booking that I have spent hours and hours piecing together just fall in a big useless heap ? If so, that would be infuriating to say the least

 

[Mr H]

Question is, what if BA don’t release the seats on another flight ?

They will.

Does my whole booking that I have spent hours and hours piecing together just fall in a big useless heap ? If so, that would be infuriating to say the least

Other options would include QF sourcing a seat on another airline (e.g. AA? AY via HEL? IB via MAD?). They are not restricted to award seats given this is a schedule change. Or if that draws a blank then they could try to source a seat in Y. Or if that draws a blank, you could just leave a gap in your itinerary and buy a revenue ticket yourself for the missing sector. Cancelling the whole ticket for a refund would be the option of very last resort.

If you are not already in touch with the reward ticket escalations people, then send them an email now and they will sort it out for you.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hey all,

Have a OW RTW award itinerary commencing later this month, having had it booked for near on 12 months. I’ve just seen that one sector (the LHR-JFK flight as part of a FCO-LHR—JFK sector) on BA has been cancelled. Spoke to QFF this morning and of course there are no reward seats left on other flights that day this close to departure. Therefore, they have had to send a request to BA to release seats (3 x J seats) on a later LHR-JFK flight, and they said they will call back in a couple days when they have a response.

Question is, what if BA don’t release the seats on another flight ? Does my whole booking that I have spent hours and hours piecing together just fall in a big useless heap ? If so, that would be infuriating to say the least

Under EU261 BA is required by law to accommodate you on another flight. So that’s not going to be an issue.

It’s surprising BA didn’t automatically assign you to another flight, which is what usually happens, and all QF has to do is accept the changes. Obviously something slipped through the cracks here, but it should get sorted out.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

They will.



Other options would include QF sourcing a seat on another airline (e.g. AA? AY via HEL? IB via MAD?). They are not restricted to award seats given this is a schedule change. Or if that draws a blank then they could try to source a seat in Y. Or if that draws a blank, you could just leave a gap in your itinerary and buy a revenue ticket yourself for the missing sector. Cancelling the whole ticket for a refund would be the option of very last resort.

If you are not already in touch with the reward ticket escalations people, then send them an email now and they will sort it out for you.

While QF may be able to offer alternatives on other carriers, that availability would need to be drawn from award inventory, which was already available for booking. It’s outside of QF’s control here… they have no obligation to rebook the passenger on another service.

In the OP’s case the responsibility lies with BA, followed by QF to complete the ticketing of the new flights.

 

[Mr H]

Under EU261 BA is required by law to accommodate you on another flight. So that’s not going to be an issue.

Does that apply to a BA flight from LHR-JFK?

 

[Mr H]

While QF may be able to offer alternatives on other carriers, that availability would need to be drawn from award inventory, which was already available for booking. It’s outside of QF’s control here… they have no obligation to rebook the passenger on another service.

QF has no obligation to source a flight with another carrier but I understood there was a Oneworld Helpdesk that could broker such things.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Does that apply to a BA flight from LHR-JFK?

Yes! EU (or in this case ‘UK’) 261 covers all flights leaving the EU and UK. Airlines are required to offer alternatives or rerouting.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

QF has no obligation to source a flight with another carrier but I understood there was a Oneworld Helpdesk that could broker such things.

Yes, but no The oneworld help desk can liaise with other airlines, but only within their remit.

For example if QR auto cancels an award that hasn’t been ticketed, the oneworld desk can liaise with QR and help try and get that back. Or in this case - which is a lot more straightforward, they can liaise with BA to make sure a seat gets released as required by local laws.

What they can’t do is request a non-related airline to release award inventory after another airline cancels.

On the day of travel, it’s completely different, But that’s because airlines have agreements in place for IRROPS where they accept each others tickets, regardless of money or points being used. In advance is a different story.

 

[Des1801]

On the day of travel, it’s completely different, But that’s because airlines have agreements in place for IRROPS where they accept each others tickets, regardless of money or points being used. In advance is a different story.

So what is likely to happen if a sector gets cancelled on the day, or whilst I am already overseas having commenced the itinerary ? Will I have to call QF again to ask them to get a new seat released, or will the operating airline deal with it at the time ? I’m just nervous that a sector will get cancelled and they will say sorry we don’t have anymore J reward seats left to give you, here’s a refund of points (which won’t help in the slightest as I’ll still be without a flight booked)

Tbh this whole booking has been a bit of a stress test. As I booked the first leg originating in Hong Kong, all changes/re-ticketing has needed to be sent via Hong Kong which has caused a few issues. There has been at least 10 minor schedule changes across all the legs over the last 12 months, each time requiring me to call up and accept these, and ask for re-ticketing to be done (wouldn’t let me accept online I guess due to the Hong Kong issue). At least as WP I have been able to reach Hobart most times to assist, which has probably saved my sanity just an inch. Now I have the first cancelled leg, with the website again telling me I need to call to rectify (which I have done as per previous post).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

So what is likely to happen if a sector gets cancelled on the day, or whilst I am already overseas having commenced the itinerary ? Will I have to call QF again to ask them to get a new seat released, or will the operating airline deal with it at the time ? I’m just nervous that a sector will get cancelled and they will say sorry we don’t have anymore J reward seats left to give you, here’s a refund of points (which won’t help in the slightest as I’ll still be without a flight booked)

Tbh this whole booking has been a bit of a stress test. As I booked the first leg originating in Hong Kong, all changes/re-ticketing has needed to be sent via Hong Kong which has caused a few issues. There has been at least 10 minor schedule changes across all the legs over the last 12 months, each time requiring me to call up and accept these, and ask for re-ticketing to be done (wouldn’t let me accept online I guess due to the Hong Kong issue). At least as WP I have been able to reach Hobart most times to assist, which has probably saved my sanity just an inch. Now I have the first cancelled leg, with the website again telling me I need to call to rectify (which I have done as per previous post).

There’s two sets of procedures in place.

On the day of travel, airline staff have virtually unlimited ability to reaccommodate you to get you to where you should be. Regardless of an award seat or paid fare, they can move you to another flight or even another airline. Airlines have agreements in place to handle this.

If the schedule change or cancellation occurs before the day of travel, what *should* happen is that the operating airline who cancels rebooks you onto another one of their services. They create a new booking within your existing reservation, and send an electronic message to Qantas to go ahead and ticket it.

Now it doesn’t always happen that the airline automatically rebooks you. In the cases where it doesn’t, you’d need to contact qantas and get them to chase it up. But as this will generally be a day or more before you’re due to fly, there should be time to get it fixed.

If something goes wrong, and if you end up flying at a different time or on another airline… once you arrive at your next stop, it’s wise to call qantas to confirm the rest of the ticket is still in tact and valid. Sometimes when you get out onto ant other flight the agents don’t necessarily have time to fix the rest of the ticket. They usually do, but sometimes it falls through the cracks.

You really have nothing to worry about. On the day of departure everything will get sorted. In 90% of cases if a cancellation happens before the day of travel the operating airline will look after you, and you just need to make sure qantas has accepted the new flights and tickets. If not, call qantas and get it sorted.

In any event the new seats and flights aren’t subject to award inventory. As long as there’s any seat on another flight in the same class, you get it.

 

[Warragul]

If the schedule change or cancellation occurs before the day of travel, what *should* happen is that the operating airline who cancels rebooks you onto another one of their services. They create a new booking within your existing reservation, and send an electronic message to Qantas to go ahead and ticket it.

Slightly different scenario but this what happened to me in October when my Royal Air Maroc flight from JFK-CMN was delayed until the next day (4 hours), so the orginal flight was cancelled and a new flight number created to cover the IIROPS. This occured the day prior to the original STD.
Umpteen messages/emails from AT, confimed the changes on the AT website and within a few minutes a new ticket was attached to the remaining OWA itinerary. One can see the ticket number on the AT website.
No dramas really with the booking/ticketing side of things for us, although given the complications with this type of booking its natural to get a bit triggered in this situation.

 

[muppet]

There’s two sets of procedures in place.

On the day of travel, airline staff have virtually unlimited ability to reaccommodate you to get you to where you should be. Regardless of an award seat or paid fare, they can move you to another flight or even another airline. Airlines have agreements in place to handle this.

If the schedule change or cancellation occurs before the day of travel, what *should* happen is that the operating airline who cancels rebooks you onto another one of their services. They create a new booking within your existing reservation, and send an electronic message to Qantas to go ahead and ticket it.

Now it doesn’t always happen that the airline automatically rebooks you. In the cases where it doesn’t, you’d need to contact qantas and get them to chase it up. But as this will generally be a day or more before you’re due to fly, there should be time to get it fixed.

If something goes wrong, and if you end up flying at a different time or on another airline… once you arrive at your next stop, it’s wise to call qantas to confirm the rest of the ticket is still in tact and valid. Sometimes when you get out onto ant other flight the agents don’t necessarily have time to fix the rest of the ticket. They usually do, but sometimes it falls through the cracks.

You really have nothing to worry about. On the day of departure everything will get sorted. In 90% of cases if a cancellation happens before the day of travel the operating airline will look after you, and you just need to make sure qantas has accepted the new flights and tickets. If not, call qantas and get it sorted.

In any event the new seats and flights aren’t subject to award inventory. As long as there’s any seat on another flight in the same class, you get it.

The caveat @MEL_Traveller is of course that this is how it is supposed to work … so the OP should know their rights and the process you describe.

There are plenty of examples on here where people have been give the runaround while abroad.

 

[Des1801]

Hey all,

Have a OW RTW award itinerary commencing later this month, having had it booked for near on 12 months. I’ve just seen that one sector (the LHR-JFK flight as part of a FCO-LHR—JFK sector) on BA has been cancelled. Spoke to QFF this morning and of course there are no reward seats left on other flights that day this close to departure. Therefore, they have had to send a request to BA to release seats (3 x J seats) on a later LHR-JFK flight, and they said they will call back in a couple days when they have a response.

Question is, what if BA don’t release the seats on another flight ? Does my whole booking that I have spent hours and hours piecing together just fall in a big useless heap ? If so, that would be infuriating to say the least

So update today is I can now see another flight in my QF app (the flight 1.5 hours after the cancelled flight that I asked them to request). The cancelled flight is also still there however as well. BUT the new flight is not showing as confirmed as yet, so maybe they are still in the process of sorting it out

 

[MEL_Traveller]

So update today is I can now see another flight in my QF app (the flight 1.5 hours after the cancelled flight that I asked them to request). The cancelled flight is also still there however as well. BUT the new flight is not showing as confirmed as yet, so maybe they are still in the process of sorting it out

Qantas needs to ticket the new flight. You might need to give them a call to prompt this to happen.

 

[DC3]

So update today is I can now see another flight in my QF app (the flight 1.5 hours after the cancelled flight that I asked them to request). The cancelled flight is also still there however as well. BUT the new flight is not showing as confirmed as yet, so maybe they are still in the process of sorting it out

As long as you are happy with your new e-ticket.

 

[vast524]

We currently have x2 Business class Oneworld tickets departing Mel and returning Syd in Oct 24. We are based on the Sunshine Coast and wondering if it is worth adding flights to the start and end to fly from MCY. Is it worth the risk to add and reissue the tickets or just book new rewards flights for these sectors? Would prefer to not have to pay/use points and incorporate into the existing booking. Had completely forgotten at the time of initial booking, was just relieved to get the trip booked. Thanks again for your help

 

[ozflier]

We currently have x2 Business class Oneworld tickets departing Mel and returning Syd in Oct 24. We are based on the Sunshine Coast and wondering if it is worth adding flights to the start and end to fly from MCY. Is it worth the risk to add and reissue the tickets or just book new rewards flights for these sectors? Would prefer to not have to pay/use points and incorporate into the existing booking. Had completely at the time of initial booking. Thanks again for your help

I would have a go myself incorporating it into current booking - if done at same time , should cost 5 k each.Careful not to book JQ as that would void OWA reward.

 

[vast524]

I would have a go myself incorporating it into current booking - if done at same time , should cost 5 k each.Careful not to book JQ as that would void OWA reward.

Thank you. I had thought that making changes to the start and/or finish requires an agent to do, whereas changes within the booking can be done using the manage booking feature.

 

[Mr H]

Thank you. I had thought that making changes to the start and/or finish requires an agent to do, whereas changes within the booking can be done using the manage booking feature.

You can't do anything online apart from the initial booking.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

We currently have x2 Business class Oneworld tickets departing Mel and returning Syd in Oct 24. We are based on the Sunshine Coast and wondering if it is worth adding flights to the start and end to fly from MCY. Is it worth the risk to add and reissue the tickets or just book new rewards flights for these sectors? Would prefer to not have to pay/use points and incorporate into the existing booking. Had completely forgotten at the time of initial booking, was just relieved to get the trip booked. Thanks again for your help

It will be almost im0ssible to add domestic connections to international tickets. There’s a ‘hard block’ on this both in line and via the call centre. If you can reach hobart you might have some luck, but the system is hard-wired at the moment to only offer select domestic connections if available as a single search.

This means is you search MEL-LAX and it offers MEL-SYD-LAX you’re ok. But if you have to use the multi-city tool to sear MEL-SYD and SYD-LAX separately, you’re almost certain to not be able to ticket it.

Anecdotally there seems to be the occasional exception for regional connections. So you could try calling and see if you can get those sectors added, but you might find the answer is ‘no’. If it is, not much that can be done.

If you have carriers on your OWA that require instant ticketing (within 24 hours), I wouldn’t risk it!