Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[DC3]

… After talking further she clarified that it was a business rule restriction for the call centre I was talking to …

Perhaps incompetence, or just plain laziness

 

[vetrade]

What a big brain decision by Qantas
Step 1: Route users who pick "International Award Booking" in the automated phone menu to the Fiji call center

I've never been given the option of selecting "International Award Booking" from the phone menu, however I am just a lowly Bronze so is that something QF only offers people with status?

I don't know how you guys do it but I have nothing but admiration for everyone who has the patience to keep their OWA alive despite the cancellations and border uncertainties. I know planning is half if not most of the fun but it must be hard work finding availability and calling Qantas over and over again.

My current (and hopefully now finalised) itinerary is almost unrecogrisable from what I started with. I'm not the most patient type but failure simply wasn't an option so I just "bit my lip" many times because there was no way I was going to disappoint Mrs V. by not getting it done.
But, along with patience it now seems you need a pocket full of extra $$$ - I re-routed our return legs last week from HEL - HND - SYD - MEL to BRU - DOH -KUL - MEL because of concerns about Russian airspace being closed and got hit with an extra $1136 in surcharges. I thought the agent must have forgotten to credit the surcharges already paid for the HND legs but she claimed BA & QR have increased the fuel surcharges a lot!

 

[GaryLG]

I've never been given the option of selecting "International Award Booking" from the phone menu, however I am just a lowly Bronze so is that something QF only offers people with status?


My current (and hopefully now finalised) itinerary is almost unrecogrisable from what I started with. I'm not the most patient type but failure simply wasn't an option so I just "bit my lip" many times because there was no way I was going to disappoint Mrs V. by not getting it done.
But, along with patience it now seems you need a pocket full of extra $$$ - I re-routed our return legs last week from HEL - HND - SYD - MEL to BRU - DOH -KUL - MEL because of concerns about Russian airspace being closed and got hit with an extra $1136 in surcharges. I thought the agent must have forgotten to credit the surcharges already paid for the HND legs but she claimed BA & QR have increased the fuel surcharges a lot!

I ended up getting a similar charge when rerouting without the explanation. It is crazy.

Plus I am still waiting for the e-ticket to be done even though they claimed as always I would have it by now.

 

[encryptededdy]

International Award Booking

There's a flow chart in this article (Major Qantas Call Centre Changes), but it should be option 3, 2, 1 or 4, 1, 1.

 

[vetrade]

There's a flow chart in this article (Major Qantas Call Centre Changes), but it should be option 3, 2, 1 or 4, 1, 1.

2 - 5 -1 is the obvious choice for me. Still can't see any options specific to changing an international award booking

 

[encryptededdy]

Still can't see any options specific to changing an international award booking

You're right, I must have misremembered about modifying an award booking.

 

[Mr H]

You're right, I must have misremembered about modifying an award booking.

You would just use the same options as for a new award booking. The process Is presumably the same.

 

[Jacques Vert]

But, along with patience it now seems you need a pocket full of extra $$$ - I re-routed our return legs last week from HEL - HND - SYD - MEL to BRU - DOH -KUL - MEL because of concerns about Russian airspace being closed and got hit with an extra $1136 in surcharges. I thought the agent must have forgotten to credit the surcharges already paid for the HND legs but she claimed BA & QR have increased the fuel surcharges a lot!

If you replaced AY with QR that's typical.

 

[vetrade]

If you replaced AY with QR that's typical.

Partially agree with you but, to fill in some more detail, when I actually made the changes nearly 2 weeks ago, I was told the charges were calculated to be around $400 extra (which I was comfortable enough with). $AUD had gone up by a few cents too so I was expecting the exchange rate to be in our favour when they re-calculated all sectors as well.

It then took me 3 further calls (and 8-9 days) to QF to get the new itinerary ticketed. This was when the agent dropped the bombshell that the charges had gone up another $700 between when I actually made the changes and when they got around to ticketing it and debiting my CC. Part of the problem is that QF re-prices the charges for all sectors in the itinerary even if you only change one, so, with oil prices rocketing up, we also got stung by increases on the already high BA taxes for JNB - LHR and LHR - KEF sectors which were locked in 6 months ago.

 

[ozflier]

Just to clarify .

I am trying to determine what change in a booking initiates a reprice of an itinerary.

I assume that a change on the date / time of a pre existing flight should not cause a wholesale reprice – eg intra USA flight changed to next day but same destinations and airline.

Maybe it’s a matter of a ticket re issue is what initiates the reprice and does anything other than the above example require a new ticket ?

Am I correct?

 

[GaryLG]

Just to clarify .

I am trying to determine what change in a booking initiates a reprice of an itinerary.

I assume that a change on the date / time of a pre existing flight should not cause a wholesale reprice – eg intra USA flight changed to next day but same destinations and airline.

Maybe it’s a matter of a ticket re issue is what initiates the reprice and does anything other than the above example require a new ticket ?

Am I correct?

No, unfortunately. I had a flight change that was just the same flight one day earlier and they repriced it!

 

[vetrade]

Just to clarify .

I am trying to determine what change in a booking initiates a reprice of an itinerary.

I assume that a change on the date / time of a pre existing flight should not cause a wholesale reprice – eg intra USA flight changed to next day but same destinations and airline.

Maybe it’s a matter of a ticket re issue is what initiates the reprice and does anything other than the above example require a new ticket ?

Am I correct?

Judging from what I've been told by CSAs, I think there's some discretion allowed, depending on which agent you get. Shorter flights like BA LHR to CPH/ARN/BRU/NCE/KEF etc tend to all have the same charges so agents usually won't re-price if you change one of them. I've had them say to me "That's not much different so I won't take up time recalculating the charges". Changes to the date or time of Aussie dom flights are the same.

IME changes to the routing of med or long haul flights will definitely trigger a re-price, especially because that often involves a change of airline too. If you swap from BA to AY or vice versa on the same route you can bet it will be re-priced because AY's charges are so much lower than BA's.

 

[stirlo]

2 - 5 -1 is the obvious choice for me. Still can't see any options specific to changing an international award booking

I was using 2 - 5 - 1 earlier and getting people with no idea how to book them.

it should be option 3, 2, 1 or 4, 1, 1.

I'm trying 4 - 1 -1 this morning which also seems reasonable. (Frequent Flyer -> Book or change a flight -> International)

UPDATE: 2 hours 25min later and I've got someone in Fiji again. This time after putting me on hold to check she did confirm she could help me. However given her hesitancy I'm not sure how this will actually go...

Success!?!?: My booking with about half the segments missing (but most of the long haul ones included) has been sent for ticketing!

Question: for a lot of the segments (multiple Finnair + one JAL) they said they weren't available as they were on "waitlist" despite them being searchable and bookable on the Qantas website.

Does this just mean I need a more experienced ticketing agent? Or is there some weird restriction where tickets are available for booking reward seats on the website but not as part of a OneWorld Award?

 

[bnr032]

So an update for my saga,
A while ago AA cancelled a flight from HND-LAX... leaving me minimal chances of doing BNE - LAX in business.
After 2.5 hours on hold today (as i can find a business reward seat online with JAL).
I get the dreaded 'oh on our end its only economy' 'when did you check availability?
So im now on hold again whilst the lady checks with her support team.

And the call dropped out to the survey...

 

[DC3]

… Question: for a lot of the segments (multiple Finnair + one JAL) they said they weren't available as they were on "waitlist" despite them being searchable and bookable on the Qantas website.

Does this just mean I need a more experienced ticketing agent? Or is there some weird restriction where tickets are available for booking reward seats on the website but not as part of a OneWorld Award?

Incompetence/poor training. Or, perhaps phantom availability on the QF site.

No weird restrictions that I know about, other than perhaps some Call Centre staff making it up as they go, so as to get you off the phone.

 

[ozflier]

I don't know if this is related .

Incompetence/poor training. Or, perhaps phantom availability on the QF site.

No weird restrictions that I know about, other than perhaps some Call Centre staff making it up as they go, so as to get you off the phone.

I was doing award seat searches on the QFF site this am and came across more phantom availability than I have seen before today.
None were on Qantas flights but a lot on JAL and BA!

 

[vetrade]

AFAIK there is no such thing as a "waitlist" for award seats. I'd say the agent made that up.
Having said that, there are definitely restrictions on availability of award seats for people booking OWAs - award seats which are readily bookable for standard reward redemptions. This was discussed not long ago in this thread. The most obvious example is MEL - SYD or SYD - MEL J rewards. There are flights at 30 min intervals for most of the day on this route and (using Sept 22 as an example) there are both Y and J award seats on nearly every one of them, but if you call to book one as part of a OWA you will find the agent can only book seats on one or two flights around 8 - 8.30am if you are lucky. Agents have told me they have been explicity instructed not to book awards on other flights for OWA itineraries.

 

[Mr H]

The most obvious example is MEL - SYD or SYD - MEL J rewards. There are flights at 30 min intervals for most of the day on this route and (using Sept 22 as an example) there are both Y and J award seats on nearly every one of them, but if you call to book one as part of a OWA you will find the agent can only book seats on one or two flights around 8 - 8.30am if you are lucky. Agents have told me they have been explicity instructed not to book awards on other flights for OWA itineraries.

Thinking out loud - is that because this is the most likely route for regular people (as distinct from points addicts like us) to want to redeem and their whole points currency breaks down if regular people can't get seats on their preferred domestic routes?

 

[Guvner]

Theoretically you could try booking any available MEL-SYD online initially then call (!) and add the remaining OWA flights. Interested to see if the agent modified the first flight..

 

[ozflier]

Thinking out loud - is that because this is the most likely route for regular people (as distinct from points addicts like us) to want to redeem and their whole points currency breaks down if regular people can't get seats on their preferred domestic routes?

Is this an example of the QF version of "married segments" for which Cathay used to be famous for?