advice re A380/747 - I can only upgrade to business in one direction - which one?

[Flinders]

I have squirrelled away my Qantas frequent flyer points and it's now time to bust them out. I've booked a return economy ticket to London in October and am taking the A380 over to London and then a 747 back to Sydney. I don't have enough points to upgrade to business in both directions but have eoght points to do business one way and premium economy in the other. My question is: am I better off going Premium Economy on the A380 to London and then Business on the 747 on the way back or vice versa (I haven't been on A380 before). Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

 

[taswegian77]

Well done for accumulating enough points to fly J and W. for a start the upgrade is never guaranteed on QF metal, the request could be denied and you will nto knwo until a few hours prior to the flight, but sometimes they come through earlier dependign on load I guess. Apart from that the only difference i see is that the A380 has the fully flat bed so I would personally go for the J upgrade on the A380 but having said that snagging an upper deck J seat on a 744 is nice as I like the fact it is a lot quieter. As for premium economy I guess the only difference (i have only flown PE on a 744) is that PE is on the upper deck of the A380 so a bit more secluded than a 744 but is at the back of the plane, not sure how bumpy it would be back there.

Saying all that if it was me I would request for both PE and J upgrades on both legs, and whichever one got allocated going over, just cancel the opposite request on the way back and hope you get it coming back as well. You are able to put a request for a Y to PE and Y to J upgrade on all segments.

Good luck and enjoy it if you get it

 

[taswegian77]

Oh, also remember that an aircraft change can also occur so in terms of plane choice, you have no real control there. If you are going over on a A380 and apply for the upgrade be prepared to fly a 744 with the upgrade. QF will not tell you of a plane change. you can keep an eye out though in your booking i think.

 

[samh004]

And of course,

Welcome to AFF!!

 

[taswegian77]

And of course,

Welcome to AFF!!

yes so true, my apologies.

 

[JetLagged]

Saying all that if it was me I would request for both PE and J upgrades on both legs, and whichever one got allocated going over, just cancel the opposite request on the way back and hope you get it coming back as well. You are able to put a request for a Y to PE and Y to J upgrade on all segments.

On the whole I think that this is good advice. Two issues, though:

1) the chance of upgrades depends on such things as the fare structure you paid for the original ticket, what status you currently have with QFF, and the loading on the days, and

2) I always thought that the usual case was that you could request an upgrade for ONE level - Y to Y+, Y+ to J, etc - Y to J is a jump of two levels, not one. Of course, depending on loadings for the day things can always change in that regards, but is the exception rather than the rule??? No???

With all of that - welcome to AFF!

 

[samh004]

I always thought that the usual case was that you could request an upgrade for ONE level - Y to Y+, Y+ to J, etc - Y to J is a jump of two levels, not one. Of course, depending on loadings for the day things can always change in that regards, but is the exception rather than the rule??? No???

Y+ is like half a level. So you can upgrade from Y to Y+ or J, but you can select both so if you don’t make it to J, you might at least get Y+. That make sense?

 

[MelUser]

Agree with previous post - use the automatic upgrade function via your Qantas Frequent Flyer Online profile and request Business both ways with fall backs to Premium.

If once you get over to Europe and your points for way over flight credit and you still don't have enough points for return upgrade to business (because you were upgraded on way over) you will need to cancel that upgrade and put one in for PremiumEconomy only.

 

[JetLagged]

Y+ is like half a level. So you can upgrade from Y to Y+ or J, but you can select both so if you don’t make it to J, you might at least get Y+. That make sense?

Yes, and no. It all comes down to the fare bucket that was purchased. This from the Qan website:

Flight upgrades are available on:

• Discount Economy^ (excluding E, N, O, Q and X class) to Premium Economy,+
• Full Economy# to Premium Economy,+
• Discount Economy^ (excluding E, N, O, Q and X class) to Business,
• Full Economy# to Business,
• Premium Economy+ to Business, and
• Business to First.

Now, there is the rider that depends on whether you have paid for full economy or discount economy: these rules being:

^ For International flights, Discount Economy includes classes B, G, H, K, L, M, S, V.Flight upgrades are not available on Red e-Deals and other heavily discounted domestic and international airfares booked in E, N, O, Q, X or P class.

# For International flights, Full Economy includes class Y

 

[taswegian77]

Yes, and no. It all comes down to the fare bucket that was purchased. This from the Qan website:

Flight upgrades are available on:

• Discount Economy^ (excluding E, N, O, Q and X class) to Premium Economy,+
• Full Economy# to Premium Economy,+
• Discount Economy^ (excluding E, N, O, Q and X class) to Business,
• Full Economy# to Business,
• Premium Economy+ to Business, and
• Business to First.

Now, there is the rider that depends on whether you have paid for full economy or discount economy: these rules being:

^ For International flights, Discount Economy includes classes B, G, H, K, L, M, S, V.Flight upgrades are not available on Red e-Deals and other heavily discounted domestic and international airfares booked in E, N, O, Q, X or P class.

# For International flights, Full Economy includes class Y

Yes, the fare class you booked will determine if you can apply for the upgrade. It is simple though, when you go online and click the upgrade link, it will either let you apply or not. If it lets you apply you are in the right class to do it, if it comes back with a long winded message you are booked in a non allowable class. As long as you qualify you can upgrade from discount Y or y to Y+ and J at the same time.

 

[Flinders]

Thanks so much to all for your wonderful advice. I made sure my fare would allow me to upgrade so all sorted on that front. i will apply for upgrades to both classes and hope for the best! I will let you know how i went ad thanks again.

 

[notzac]

Hi Flinders, welcome to AFF!

Assuming for a moment that it's a perfect world and you get any upgrade you want -- business in the A380 and premium economy in the 747 would be my recommendation. The A380 has significantly better hard product for business class.

 

[JohnK]

2) I always thought that the usual case was that you could request an upgrade for ONE level - Y to Y+, Y+ to J, etc - Y to J is a jump of two levels, not one. Of course, depending on loadings for the day things can always change in that regards, but is the exception rather than the rule??? No???

It is possible to request an upgrade from discount economy to business class using QFF points as long as it is an eligible booking class.

It is also possible to get an op-up from discount economy (a booking class not eligible for points upgrade request) to business class bypassing the premium economy cabin.

 

[taswegian77]

It is also possible to get an op-up from discount economy (a booking class not eligible for points upgrade request) to business class bypassing the premium economy cabin.

Yes it is.

 

[docjames]

Reading this thread, i would have thought, given the (lowish) likelihood of actually gettingupgrades without WP (or arguably, with), then it would be worth applying for the maximal upgrades in both directions, as then you'll have a request in for the return leg if the outbound leg doesnt come through. If it does come through, there was no guarantee you'd get the return upgrade anyway.

And besides J is better than Y or Y+ irrespective of aircraft.

So I say apply in both directions, then cancel the return request if the outbound one comes through.

 

[taswegian77]

Reading this thread, i would have thought, given the (lowish) likelihood of actually gettingupgrades without WP (or arguably, with), then it would be worth applying for the maximal upgrades in both directions, as then you'll have a request in for the return leg if the outbound leg doesnt come through. If it does come through, there was no guarantee you'd get the return upgrade anyway.

And besides J is better than Y or Y+ irrespective of aircraft.

So I say apply in both directions, then cancel the return request if the outbound one comes through.

Absolutely 100% agree with you docjames as per my original reply to the post.