NZ Via Mel advice

[Rusty776]

Hi All

Hoping for some advice from experienced AFF members on this one.
* So I've booked some Classic reward flights. Two separate bookings with 2 adults in J and 2 kids Y on the way over and 4 J tickets on the way back from Auckland.
* Flights are out of Perth via Mel to Auckland in early July.

With the current situation it is unlikely Mel will be an option. Before I start attempting to make any changes should I
a) Sit tight and hope the situation improves and original flights stay
b) Research other options for flights and cancel the original booking if needed
c) Try and call Qantas and get these flights re-routed via Sydney (I'm assuming it will be impossible to match, planes, class of travel etc)

Of course there are some unknown variables here, Syd could hit a snag, Mel could improve etc..

I had booked these tickets with the aim of flying of J on A330 and would like this to still a happen if possible.

Any advice/assistance greatly appreciated as I haven't had to deal with this before.

 

[serfty]

@Rusty776 , July is a long time away in the current environment.

If you have enough points and can wear the $+++ for a month or three maybe look/book alternative non MEL routings separately.

With Qantas "Fly Flexible" you can cancel the bookings you don't use for an (eventual) full refund.

 

[justinbrett]

I would just stay booked via MEL. If the bubble stays closed the flights won’t operate and they’ll reroute you via another city. Not really something you have to worry about.

 

[Rusty776]

I would just stay booked via MEL. If the bubble stays closed the flights won’t operate and they’ll reroute you via another city. Not really something you have to worry about.

Thanks very much. If a passenger is re-routed would the same class of travel normal be the same?

I've booked business seats on the A330 but worried if the flight was re-routed the plane may be downgrounded meaning less business seats available.

If this was more than likely I might try and look for a separate booking connecting from somewhere else.

 

[Anna]

I've got a similar dilemma. Booked in fully flexible J, ADL-MEL-AKL, cash fare for end of July. Last Tuesday night I had to spend 15 mins on the phone to QF because my afternoon flight to AKL was cancelled by them and I had to be put on the morning MEL-AKL flight with consequent reshuffle of connections. Spoke to a lovely man called Lee who could not have been nicer, offering me several different choices including a re-route via SYD for the afternoon flight or to rebook me into a J saver fare and give me a partial refund. I stuck with the flexible fare because I want to be able to get a refund if covid-necessary, not a credit. I also stayed with the morning flight via MEL that they'd automatically put me on.

So then Vic goes into lockdown and the bubble is suspended. On Thursday morning I rang QF again and spoke to the ironically named 'Victoria' who was, basically, snippy. Probably overworked. She flat out refused to re-route me via SYD unless I paid (even) more for the fare for 'taxes'. She said it was not definite the MEL-AKL flight would be cancelled even if the bubble was not restored by the end of July, and it would be up to me whether to cancel or to take the flight anyway and go into quarantine. She kept repeating that the 'terms and conditions' do not permit a free re-route and it was irrelevant that QF had offered me a free re-route about 36 hours earlier. End result - I am seriously considering cancelling for my full refund as permitted by her beloved 'terms and conditions' and rebooking myself on the direct ADL-AKL flight with NZ for about half the price (not J though as there is no J on that flight). All because QF want to nickel and dime me for an extra $37 when I'm already paying about $2,500.

 

[justinbrett]

I've got a similar dilemma. Booked in fully flexible J, ADL-MEL-AKL, cash fare for end of July. Last Tuesday night I had to spend 15 mins on the phone to QF because my afternoon flight to AKL was cancelled by them and I had to be put on the morning MEL-AKL flight with consequent reshuffle of connections. Spoke to a lovely man called Lee who could not have been nicer, offering me several different choices including a re-route via SYD for the afternoon flight or to rebook me into a J saver fare and give me a partial refund. I stuck with the flexible fare because I want to be able to get a refund if covid-necessary, not a credit. I also stayed with the morning flight via MEL that they'd automatically put me on.

So then Vic goes into lockdown and the bubble is suspended. On Thursday morning I rang QF again and spoke to the ironically named 'Victoria' who was, basically, snippy. Probably overworked. She flat out refused to re-route me via SYD unless I paid (even) more for the fare for 'taxes'. She said it was not definite the MEL-AKL flight would be cancelled even if the bubble was not restored by the end of July, and it would be up to me whether to cancel or to take the flight anyway and go into quarantine. She kept repeating that the 'terms and conditions' do not permit a free re-route and it was irrelevant that QF had offered me a free re-route about 36 hours earlier. End result - I am seriously considering cancelling for my full refund as permitted by her beloved 'terms and conditions' and rebooking myself on the direct ADL-AKL flight with NZ for about half the price (not J though as there is no J on that flight). All because QF want to nickel and dime me for an extra $37 when I'm already paying about $2,500.

It's a bit much to demand Qantas to rebook you and demand they cover the extra fare/tax when you are the party requesting the change. It's 2 months out, that's a decade in the era of covid. For all we know it will be Sydney in lockdown and Melbourne will be back to normal.

Same advice I gave above, why don't you just hang on to the booking, and in the unlikely event Victoria is still closed then they can reroute you at no charge. I don't buy her line that the flight would still operate - if it operated outside the bubble I'd argue to the ACCC that was a fundamental change to the product (they are sold as quarantine-free flights, if they operate outside of this, that's not what you paid for and you'd be entitled to a refund).

Usually when you have a cancellation like you had, you get one free change (which was your opportunity to go via SYD) - but you don't get a second bite at the cherry unless there's a further change/cancellation by the airline.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I've got a similar dilemma. Booked in fully flexible J, ADL-MEL-AKL, cash fare for end of July. Last Tuesday night I had to spend 15 mins on the phone to QF because my afternoon flight to AKL was cancelled by them and I had to be put on the morning MEL-AKL flight with consequent reshuffle of connections. Spoke to a lovely man called Lee who could not have been nicer, offering me several different choices including a re-route via SYD for the afternoon flight or to rebook me into a J saver fare and give me a partial refund. I stuck with the flexible fare because I want to be able to get a refund if covid-necessary, not a credit. I also stayed with the morning flight via MEL that they'd automatically put me on.

So then Vic goes into lockdown and the bubble is suspended. On Thursday morning I rang QF again and spoke to the ironically named 'Victoria' who was, basically, snippy. Probably overworked. She flat out refused to re-route me via SYD unless I paid (even) more for the fare for 'taxes'. She said it was not definite the MEL-AKL flight would be cancelled even if the bubble was not restored by the end of July, and it would be up to me whether to cancel or to take the flight anyway and go into quarantine. She kept repeating that the 'terms and conditions' do not permit a free re-route and it was irrelevant that QF had offered me a free re-route about 36 hours earlier. End result - I am seriously considering cancelling for my full refund as permitted by her beloved 'terms and conditions' and rebooking myself on the direct ADL-AKL flight with NZ for about half the price (not J though as there is no J on that flight). All because QF want to nickel and dime me for an extra $37 when I'm already paying about $2,500.

I think the difference is that the fare might not allow a voluntary re-route free of charge. In the case of the cancelled flight it was involuntary, QF still had an obligation to get you to your destination.

 

[justinbrett]

Thanks very much. If a passenger is re-routed would the same class of travel normal be the same?

I've booked business seats on the A330 but worried if the flight was re-routed the plane may be downgrounded meaning less business seats available.

If this was more than likely I might try and look for a separate booking connecting from somewhere else.

They would try to re-route you in the same class, even if it was a higher fare - via SYD would be A330 but BNE or elsewhere probably 737. From what I can see the TT flights are not selling overly well so they should be able to find you a seat via SYD. At very least you'd be entitled to a refund.

This far out you're just chasing your tail if you try to change it now

 

[Berlin]

I'd also definitely stay put. As long as YOU are the one initiating the change, Qantas has the right to ask you to pay for fare differences. However, if it is QANTAS that has to make the changes, then it will be on them to get you to your destination via a different city if necessary.

I had several changed flights since the bubble opened, both due to the Melbourne situation and also because of equipment changes. As all of those were initiated by Qantas, I found them very accommodating and trying their best to get me to my destination. Hey, from experience, they'll even try AirNZ if necessary at no cost to you (had this happen twice before- lovely meals there).

Business class would be honoured in most cases if possible (key exception being if there's really no other way/ you are completely inflexible with timings and the only remaining option gets you on Jetstar- this has been offered to me in the past but in both cases, I managed to get this changed to a different flight at a slightly different time +-12 hours). The one thing I think that cannot be guaranteed is aircraft type so might well end up in a 737 instead which might be an issue if you have a party of 4 people. Not sure about the latter as I never travel with more than my partner in one party.

 

[Rusty776]

This is a great forum....Thanks so much for all the the replies, tips and advice.

I'm definitely going to wait it out and see what Qantas offers if Mel still isn't an option. I'll do some research and get some preferred flight numbers closer to the date in hope they my be able to accommodate.

 

[justinbrett]

This is a great forum....Thanks so much for all the the replies, tips and advice.

I'm definitely going to wait it out and see what Qantas offers if Mel still isn't an option. I'll do some research and get some preferred flight numbers closer to the date in hope they my be able to accommodate.

Does anyone know if my seats were booked as CR and there are no CR business seats available will they still book me in business class if there are seats available?

I believe they will, but you may be at a lower priority to get re-accomodated (not exactly sure). They'll just convert some seats from J/D/I=>U as required.

If there's more pax than seats then it's going to be a question of priority, and I'm not exactly sure how it works - status will definitely help but I would imagine cash fares would get some kind of priority.

 

[Anna]

It's a bit much to demand

It's a bit much to say I 'demanded' anything.

 

[Rusty776]

Been keeping an eye on the flights I've booked to NZ, which are affected by the Melbourne situation. Besides Melbourne-Perth there have been limited cancellations.

They are:
QF784
QF151
QF156
QF 783

As people have suggested I was planning on waiting until Qantas cancelled these flights and aim for a re-route through Sydney. Based on the current data it looks like some of the flights may still go ahead. If this is the case I've got little to no chance of reaching Auckland via Perth/Melbourne. Still a way out but some flights to Mel I'm booked on are running.

Of course Sydney could go into lockdown and so could Perth. If Qantas only cancels Mel to Auckland/ Mel to Perth but lets me fly Perth-Mel I'm stuck anyway.

I'm thinking my only way of going on this holiday is to try and re-route now through Sydney (and prey they don't go into lockdown)

Anyone else think this is worth a shot?

I'm assuming I ring the Qantas hotline..... wait.. wait... wait and ask if this can be done now.