Award tickets questions??

[tomlee1986]

I am new to awards redeem of flights.. Wondering if anyone can advise.. I do know how to redeem flights on either Qantas or Virgin Australia online (got an account on each of them), but got a query.. How long will it take to issue a confirmed awards ticket sent to my email address from the time of confirming the ticket?? For both domestic and international flights (not codeshare or with another carrier - only Qantas or Virgin Australia flights).. just wondering and is it likely the airlines will cancel the award booking without notice. If they do cancel without notice.. what will happen and will there be compensations for lost hotel bookings and what not because of their cancellation? please kindly advise..

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I am new to awards redeem of flights.. Wondering if anyone can advise.. I do know how to redeem flights on either Qantas or Virgin Australia online (got an account on each of them), but got a query.. How long will it take to issue a confirmed awards ticket sent to my email address from the time of confirming the ticket?? For both domestic and international flights (not codeshare or with another carrier - only Qantas or Virgin Australia flights).. just wondering and is it likely the airlines will cancel the award booking without notice. If they do cancel without notice.. what will happen and will there be compensations for lost hotel bookings and what not because of their cancellation? please kindly advise..

Initial tickets should be issued pretty quickly. Instantly or within a few hours. Sometimes it can take longer. If you book with an airline for travel on that airline (ie book through Qantas for a qantas flight) there should be zero issues. Even if the process somehow gets screwed up the airline simply creates another award seat out of revenue seats and off you go. But there can be problems with partner airlines... if a ticket isn't issued quickly enough they have the right to cancel the booking. And by that time the award seat may be gone. But I haven't experienced that with Qantas booked and operated flights. (I have no data points with Virgin.)

Complications have been reported with the reissuing of some tickets involving partner airlines... tardy ticketing can lead to the cancellation of the booking and the seats disappearing.

In general however, once a ticket is issued, no one is going to cancel it unless there are extraordinary circumstances, such as the whole route being cancelled. And even then, QF or VA will book you on an alternate service to get you there. Again, for travel on partner airlines it is more complicated.

Bottom line... if you book through QF or VA for flights on QF or VA your booking isn't going to get cancelled. And if the flight itself is cancelled or delayed, you'll be offered alternatives either later the same day, or on the same flight the next day.

 

[harvyk]

IME, there has been no practical difference between a booking paid for in cash and an award booking. Once ticketed it is confirmed and thus will be treated the same as any other confirmed ticket.

I've done many award booking flights in all classes on both QF and EK (codeshare) and have yet to feel the booking was somehow different.

 

[equus]

IME, there has been no practical difference between a booking paid for in cash and an award booking.

Agree. I have had award bookings where an equipment sub resulted in an overbooked situation. Cash booked pax were being bumped or downgraded, but we were fine.