"oneworld" award (132.4K/249.6K/318K/455K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

[Jacques Vert]

Anyone finding any decent J seats from UK/Europe to the Far East (Singapore/Malaysia/Thailand) for Aug/Sept next year?

The only route I can find available I'm having to book LHR - BLR/BOM on BA (though these are Club Suites routes!) then Malaysian from either of those cities to KUL. Even that doesn't show up as an option - only found it by searching manually. 20hr connection between so will require some time in either Bangalore or Mumbai.

That's about as good as it gets at present.

 

[am0985]

That's about as good as it gets at present.

Suspected as much - even this is almost a "hack" given it doesn't show up when you search LHR - KUL (maybe because of the 20hr connection).

 

[Warragul]

It might be worth checking with some other search engines (eg AA, BA, CX) to see if they can also see two seats. If so, it might be operator error. I would keep calling back to see if you can find an operator who can see both seats.

Will do. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Warragul]

Yes to booking return flights as soon as they are available. I am not aware that RJ releases more seats nearer the date, but I am surprised if alternatives are not available (e.g. using QR, BA, AT, etc.or combinations of them).

I was a bit as well. Other than RJ, AT does not fly to AMM anymore nor does IB, which leaves BA which is a bit out the way and requires an overnight in LHR or QR - which is not really happening at the moment for QF rewards.

 

[djkelly69]

even this is almost a "hack" given it doesn't show up when you search LHR - KUL (maybe because of the 20hr connection).

I wouldn't get too excited then - often if a route doesn't show up when you search startpoint-endpoint then it is because of married/divorced sectors and the call centre won't be able to book it when you call.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I wouldn't get too excited then - often if a route doesn't show up when you search startpoint-endpoint then it is because of married/divorced sectors and the call centre won't be able to book it when you call.

I would agree this is true for some flights, like domestic connections within australia. But for international itineraries I suspect it is a qantas imposed restriction because they don’t want to have to pay partner airlines for flights! Just before covid I was looking to get to new york… nothing coming up. But a search for separate sectors gave me MEL-SIN QF F, then Emirates F to DXB, and again onwards to JFK. The connection in SIN was well and truly legal (just over two hours), and it could be booked either through the multi-city tool or ultimately via the call centre (which had to be done because more than five sectors in total by the time I had US connections).

Other examples out there are QF to DPS, connecting to CX ex DPS to Europe. Again that was pre covid when CX was flying double daily to DPS, but it wasn’t a connection QF wanted to offer on line proactively.

 

[am0985]

I wouldn't get too excited then - often if a route doesn't show up when you search startpoint-endpoint then it is because of married/divorced sectors and the call centre won't be able to book it when you call.

This is British Airways followed by a Malaysian flight so shouldn't be an issue - I've tried dummy booking it for another date and it goes through to the final payment page so can't see there being a problem! It's probably the long layover which is one reason it's not shown - almost 24 hours.

 

[ozflier]

Hi,

I'm trying to book 2 seats, preferably J class, from Casablanca - Amman via anywhere in the region as part of a partially booked OWA. The call centre advises that only 1 seat shows as available in each class on the relevant flights into AMM on RJ on the specified days (mid September). The operator seemed to be across what my aim is re OWA and spent a fair bit of time looking at alternatives so I accept what was said - although the QF website did say 2 seats were available when making a dummy booking.

From experience, is RJ likely to release more seats in the next few weeks (months)? Or should I look at alternative arrangements to get to Jordan (eg fly to Cairo and separate trip to Amman)?

Would it be a prudent move to sort out the desired flights back to Aus from Europe in early October 23 when they become available in a few weeks and fill in the blanks between CMN-AMM-Europe later?

Royal Air Maroc do not have a direct service but I've used them/ RJ to get from CMN to AMM via Tunis with at least 2 business class award availability. You may also want to look at connections via Cairo and Madrid .

 

[PaulyB]

Hello!
I am looking for a OneWorld Classic Flight Reward booking to Vancouver from Sydney. Bronze in Business class so I know the options are limited. After that, we go to LHR and then Europe and back.
Anyway, as I understand, I do need to fly one way but I am wondering if there is any leeway to go to somewhere like Tokyo (which would be OK) and then across to San Fran or maybe even Vancouver. Or am I just being naive?
Thanks!

 

[Captain Halliday]

Hello!
I am looking for a OneWorld Classic Flight Reward booking to Vancouver from Sydney. Bronze in Business class so I know the options are limited. After that, we go to LHR and then Europe and back.
Anyway, as I understand, I do need to fly one way but I am wondering if there is any leeway to go to somewhere like Tokyo (which would be OK) and then across to San Fran or maybe even Vancouver. Or am I just being naive?
Thanks!

There is no requirement to keep going in the one direction.

This guide covers the basics, despite having “round the world” in the title, there is no requirement to go all the way round.

How to Fly Around the World with a Qantas Oneworld Classic Flight Reward [Mega Guide]

Fly around the world with Qantas and other Oneworld airlines by redeeming points for a Oneworld Classic Flight Reward. Photo: Qantas. Did you know that

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[PaulyB]

Thankyou

There is no requirement to keep going in the one direction.

Thank you. My misunderstanding. Excellent news...

 

[PaulyB]

I am having difficulty booking Vancouver to London Business Class (Bronze) with a Classic Oneworld Reward. There are BA flights but they are all economy and even looking at other options such as San Fran, LA or even Phoenix draw a blank with airlines such as West Jet. Does anyone have any experience on successfully making that journey? I also thought it may be possible that economy is only showing because of my status. The ideal travel date is June 24 so is that a possibility?
Thanks!

 

[BriarFlyer]

Your Bronze status has no impact on finding award availability with partner airlines such as BA. June awards have been released for a while so it's not unlikely that business class is all gone. Westjet won't help you as it's not a Oneworld member.

 

[DC3]

I am having difficulty booking Vancouver to London Business Class (Bronze) with a Classic Oneworld Reward. There are BA flights but they are all economy and even looking at other options such as San Fran, LA or even Phoenix draw a blank with airlines such as West Jet. Does anyone have any experience on successfully making that journey? I also thought it may be possible that economy is only showing because of my status.

<Deleted> Already covered, above.

 

[redwoodw]

I am having trouble getting (Mindpearl) Qantas call centre staff to change one of my JL sectors from Business to First, despite qantas.com having clear availability (and other websites like ba.com also shows that).

Most are claiming it’s only for new booking (they can see it if starting a fresh booking) and some are claiming it’s a married segment issue. Can anyone shed any light as to how to get around this? Any help will be massively appreciated!

Current Itinerary
JFK-JL8005-NRT-JL773-MEL (all booked in U currently)
Goal:
JFK-JL8005(A)-NRT-JL773(U)-MEL

 

[DC3]

I am having trouble getting (Mindpearl) Qantas call centre staff to change one of my JL sectors from Business to First, despite qantas.com having clear availability (and other websites like ba.com also shows that).

Most are claiming it’s only for new booking (they can see it if starting a fresh booking) and some are claiming it’s a married segment issue ...

And if you manage to get it, the points cost for a OWA itinerary goes from 318,000 to 455,000.

 

[redwoodw]

And if you manage to get it, the points cost for a OWA itinerary goes from 318,000 to 455,000.

There’s already other segments on the booking in F so won’t change the cost

 

[DC3]

There’s already other segments on the booking in F so won’t change the cost

Ah. I thought that you were just starting out, with JFK-NRT-MEL. F will be great.

Edit: Problematic, with Call Centre staff making up excuses as they go.

 

[jase05]

With Hong Kong opening up pretty much fully next week I’ve seen a few articles suggesting that CX are going to be adding 200 pairs of flights in October with SYD and MEL expected to get increased frequencies. Might give people another option for OWA’s

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I am having trouble getting (Mindpearl) Qantas call centre staff to change one of my JL sectors from Business to First, despite qantas.com having clear availability (and other websites like ba.com also shows that).

Most are claiming it’s only for new booking (they can see it if starting a fresh booking) and some are claiming it’s a married segment issue. Can anyone shed any light as to how to get around this? Any help will be massively appreciated!

Current Itinerary
JFK-JL8005-NRT-JL773-MEL (all booked in U currently)
Goal:
JFK-JL8005(A)-NRT-JL773(U)-MEL

IME when the agent says ‘it’s only for new bookings’ they mean that it is a case of married segments or some other revenue control imposed by Qantas, just they don’t know the technical term, or aren’t allowed to say why.

‘only new bookings’ is the line used when they can’t add a domestic connector to an international inbound into australia. In fact it’s a revenue/commercial imposition put in place by qantas.

That doesn’t mean this is the case with JL… it might be that they can’t see it… IIRC that can be an issue with some JL flights.