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

[billbro]

So I'm about to have had spent 4 hours with the phone with Qantas (after the first operator bailed 90mins in) - currently on hold while she prices it up.

The only issue now is all flights have been booked, but after having to manually book a sector myself, shuffling around with multiple booking refs that the first operator made... I think we might have 1 too many transits.

I don't want to risk the bookings that have been made, so is it possible to just book/ticket the flight. Then cancel a sector and have the points returned? This isn't cancelling the rest of the itinerary, only 1 sector of the trip.

I.e. there is a Sydney to Melbourne transit and we could easily fly ourselves.
Apparently they are having issues pricing the ticket. On the upside, the transfers don't look like an issue if I read the QR rules:
14.5.4 The following Stopover conditions apply to oneworld Classic Flight Rewards:

(a) up to five free Stopovers are permitted;
(b) additional Stopovers are not permitted;
(c) only one Stopover is permitted in any one city in the Itinerary; and
(d) only two Transfers may be taken at any one city in the Itinerary.

I have 3 transfers (once between Syd to Melb and twice between Japan to Hong Kong) - but looks like I'm fine!

 

[Port Power]

As @Guvner has noted, you’re talking about two very different products in the one thread.

This thread is about the Qantas Oneworld Classic flight reward. There is no requirement to go RTW.*

Oneworld’s round-the-world product is very different. It’s called the Oneworld Explorer. Details of can be found here:
Guide to the Oneworld Explorer Round-The-World Ticket

If it’s a Oneworld Classic Flight Reward you’re talking about, then yes, both AA and BA are valid.

Sorry, I should have kept my question to the OWA route. I was only comparing because I used RTW to work out the flights.

How far out can you book a OWA? With Qantas online forever coming up “computer says no”, is it a matter of telephoning to book?

 

[billbro]

How far out can you book a OWA? With Qantas online forever coming up “computer says no”, is it a matter of telephoning to book?

Be prepared to spend a lot of time, 4 hours, 3 operators hung up, onto a fourth... just want the itinerary priced and ticketed!

 

[Captain Halliday]

Sorry, I should have kept my question to the OWA route. I was only comparing because I used RTW to work out the flights.

How far out can you book a OWA? With Qantas online forever coming up “computer says no”, is it a matter of telephoning to book?

Generally as far out as possible.

For QF this means 353 days in advance if you know your routing and seats are available for redemption.

By “computer says no”, I assume you can’t see availability. If so, then phoning won’t get you a different outcome unless you’re WP or higher.

 

[levelnine]

The route is: PER - BCN / FLL (or MIA if necessary) - SCL / SCL - PER.

What airlines/routes are you planning to fly for PER-BCN and SCL-PER? There is very limited award availability from Australia to Europe and South America (and vice versa) at the moment.

 

[gfraser]

How many lies can you be told re ticketing?

 

[Mr H]

How many lies can you be told re ticketing?

seven

1. It has already been ticketed
2. It is in the queue
3. It will be ticketed within 24 to 48 hours
4. I can't call the ticketing team
5. I have flagged your booking as urgent
6. You will not lose your booking
7. I will call you back

 

[EestiTiger]

seven

1. It has already been ticketed
2. It is in the queue
3. It will be ticketed within 24 to 48 hours
4. I can't call the ticketing team
5. I have flagged your booking as urgent
6. You will not lose your booking
7. I will call you back

8. You can't add more flights once it is ticketed is a new one I have heard a couple times!

 

[Captain Halliday]

8. You can't add more flights once it is ticketed is a new one I have heard a couple times!

This could become a very long list. Worthy of its own thread perhaps.

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

8. You can't add more flights once it is ticketed is a new one I have heard a couple times!

9. You can’t have 2 Transfers and 1 Stop in the same city/airport
10. That airline isn’t included in the OneWorld group (eg Air Nostrum)

 

[Guvner]

11. It doesn't matter if you don't have a ticket number. As long as you have a booking reference you'll be fine.

 

[adenda]

Been trying for several days to move a single flight in our OWA itinerary one hour later to meet Minimum Connection TIme requirements (don't know how it was accepted to start with) and the agents (Fiji) are telling me it they're getting an error and it can't be done. The error is apparently "Too many segments".
This makes no sense because I'm just trying to replace an existing flight with a later one - same route, same day, same airline, seats available - just 1 hour later. And for what it's worth our itinerary comprises 10 sectors out of an allowable 16.

Anyone know what is going on here?

(I've also been asking the agents at the start of each the call if they can call Ticketing and get any change re-ticketed straight away and all are refusing quoting anything from 24 to 72(!) hours as ticketing turnaround time. As we have a QR flight in our booking there's no way I'm going to risk waiting. I've previously had a Fiji agent make the call while I've waited so I know it can happen)

 

[Guvner]

I'd rather risk a MCT breach than having an OWA fiddled with by inexperienced agents, especially where a QR flight is involved.

 

[gfraser]

(I've also been asking the agents at the start of each the call if they can call Ticketing and get any change re-ticketed straight away and all are refusing quoting anything from 24 to 72(!) hours as ticketing turnaround time. As we have a QR flight in our booking there's no way I'm going to risk waiting. I've previously had a Fiji agent make the call while I've waited so I know it can happen)

I have had a SA agent issue my OWA ticket in 1 hour this morning.
After many phone calls I have determined that When you get Fiji you are wasting your time.

 

[adenda]

I have had a SA agent issue my OWA ticket in 1 hour this morning.
After many phone calls I have determined that When you get Fiji you are wasting your time.

Have to agree - although as mentioned I did once get an Fiji agent who knew what they were doing, understood the ticketing issue and contacted Ticketing whilst I was on hold and had it done within about 20 minutes.

Was yours an initial ticketing or reticketing? Were you on the call while it was done?

I'd rather risk a MCT breach than having an OWA fiddled with by inexperienced agents, especially where a QR flight is involved.

Starting to think that way. But I'll persist - maybe I'll get a HBA agent.

We've currently got 1h5m where MCT is 1h30m. Others on this forum have suggested it will be a problem given we're transferring from international to domestic (in Madrid)

 

[Guvner]

Starting to think that way. But I'll persist - maybe I'll get a HBA agent.

We've currently got 1h5m where MCT is 1h30m. Others on this forum have suggested it will be a problem given we're transferring from international to domestic (in Madrid)

Same carrier?

 

[adenda]

Same carrier?

Yes - Iberia

 

[Mr H]

But I'll persist - maybe I'll get a HBA agent.

We've currently got 1h5m where MCT is 1h30m. Others on this forum have suggested it will be a problem given we're transferring from international to domestic (in Madrid)

You will not get a Hobart agent if you are QF Bronze. The bit where you have to enter your FF number will route you elsewhere.

The worst that can happen if you miss your connection is you miss your next flight and/or your luggage misses the flight. Given that you are moving onto a domestic flight, that looks like it might not cause too much pain. You'd just move onto the next flight or your luggage would get forwarded on to your hotel. If you get an incompetent agent trying to edit the booking, you risk losing whole sectors that will not come back.

 

[gfraser]

Was yours an initial ticketing or reticketing? Were you on the call while it was done?

it was a reticketing ( 4 Fiji CSA messed up ) and it was done while I was on hold - 1 h 30 m

 

[Guvner]

You will not get a Hobart agent if you are QF Bronze. The bit where you have to enter your FF number will route you elsewhere.

The worst that can happen if you miss your connection is you miss your next flight and/or your luggage misses the flight. Given that you are moving onto a domestic flight, that looks like it might not cause too much pain. You'd just move onto the next flight or your luggage would get forwarded on to your hotel. If you get an incompetent agent trying to edit the booking, you risk losing whole sectors that will not come back.

100% agree. (especially on Friday 13th).

I've been through the QR award re-ticketing fiasco. Never again.