Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[sqrt()]

Just starting my J OWA today.

Was supposed to be SYD-MEL-SIN on QF435 (737) and QF35 (330) with a 2:25 connection time.

First flight cancelled this morning and then auto rebooked to the 13:00 SYD-MEL QF445. Knew I could do better so asked about availability on QF1 this afternoon, as I saw some F availability on EF when I checked (but no J/I etc?). Mentioned I was worried about the new SYD-MEL being cancelled or delayed and missing connection - it probably would have been OK but figured I'd ask regardless.

Regular service desk in SYD absolutely swamped but no line whatsoever for priority. Lovely agent (not sure of her name) went off for five and came back to tell me I was now booked direct on QF1 - RESULT! Looking at the QF app it looks like they originally tried rebooking me on the direct QF81 at 11:10, but I don't think I would have had time to get to SYD T1.

I think this is how everything is supposed to work...

Got my Chai Latte in the SYD J lounge, gonna be a difficult five hours.

 

[acinod]

Part of the reason will be that whenever there’s a change to the ticket, the ENTIRE ticket charges get recalculated.
So, if there are significant changes in exchange rates, or fuel fees, etc., then the effects can be larger than otherwise expected.
Both exchange rates and fuel fees have moved adversely in the last few months…

OK I think I figured it out.

It looks like the taxes reduce if I put in the last leg and return to Melbourne.

Here are the taxes required for the following flight routes:

• MEL-HKG-TLV-JRO-DOH-ARN-JFK-HEL-HND - $2320.40 (what I currently have booked)
• MEL-HKG-TLV-JRO-DOH-ARN-JFK-HEL-HND-NRT-MEL - $1492.94
• HKG-TLV-JRO-DOH-ARN-JFK-HEL-HND-NRT-MEL - $1940.11

As you can see, starting and ending my trip in MEL appears to significantly reduce the total taxes. If I book my NRT-MEL flight, will Qantas refund me the difference in total taxes or will I just pay no taxes?

Potentially if they don't refund me and I pay no taxes, I might be better off switching to a higher tax route (e.g. QSuites) like below:

• MEL-HKG-TLV-JRO-DOH-ARN-JFK-AMS-DOH-MEL - $2023.86

 

[points]

Hello to all the amazing experts on this forum. I managed to book a OWA business for two -
MEL - KUL stopover MH
KUL - BCN QR
ATH - BNE QR
At the time BNE - MEL availability hadn't been released and wasn't sure how we would fill the month from arriving in Barcelona and departing Athens (obviously no hardship finding things to do in Spain and Greece!) I had intended just adding in flights however after some further research I'm now very concerned that if I try to add in additional flights the whole booking may have to be reticketed and I could lose the whole booking. Any advice from the gurus would be greatly appreciated.

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

If I book my NRT-MEL flight, will Qantas refund me the difference in total taxes or will I just pay no taxes?

Yes, if you make a change to your itinerary that results in lower taxes, then they will refund you the difference.
But make sure that you get a new ticket following the change……..

 

[adenda]

Got my suspicions confirmed today via a Facebook Messenger chat with Qantas - availability of award seats on non-Qantas flights is different (ie. better) for new bookings than existing. Explains why seats showing as available on the website aren’t visible to call centre agents.
Unfortunately this revelation makes my strategy - as frequently advised by QFF members - of progressively adding sectors to our OWA booking no longer valid. So I’m now considering what I’d usually consider a recipe for certain disappointment - cancelling everything and starting again but including all sectors. This could only be considered if I happened to fluke a Hobart or Auckland agent as they seem to have to ability - based on previous experience - to immediately use points from a cancelled itinerary on a new one.
I’m interested to hear what others think of this strategy given that the only way to plug the gaps in our current itinerary is to accept economy seats.

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

Got my suspicions confirmed today via a Facebook Messenger chat with Qantas - availability of award seats on non-Qantas flights is different (ie. better) for new bookings than existing. Explains why seats showing as available on the website aren’t visible to call centre agents.
Unfortunately this revelation makes my strategy - as frequently advised by QFF members - of progressively adding sectors to our OWA booking no longer valid. So I’m now considering what I’d usually consider a recipe for certain disappointment - cancelling everything and starting again but including all sectors. This could only be considered if I happened to fluke a Hobart or Auckland agent as they seem to have to ability - based on previous experience - to immediately use points from a cancelled itinerary on a new one.
I’m interested to hear what others think of this strategy given that the only way to plug the gaps in our current itinerary is to accept economy seats.

Before you do any cancelling, be sure that you can see ALL the award seats that you want. You can’t expect that ANY of the seats you cancel will go back into ’award stock’ immediately or ever.

 

[levelnine]

Got my suspicions confirmed today via a Facebook Messenger chat with Qantas - availability of award seats on non-Qantas flights is different (ie. better) for new bookings than existing.

What makes you think Facebook Messenger chat is run by someone competent who knows what they're talking about?

Apart from married segment issues and some other small quirks (I've encountered one with mixed class awards that can be booked online, but not over the phone), the availability for existing bookings is almost the same as that for new bookings.

 

[jkcfc]

Hi all,

If one person doesn't show on 1 leg of a OneWorld award will the other person on the ticket be able to take all the remaining flights on the itinerary or will they also have future legs cancelled due to the no-show?

 

[adenda]

What makes you think Facebook Messenger chat is run by someone competent who knows what they're talking about?

Apart from married segment issues and some other small quirks (I've encountered one with mixed class awards that can be booked online, but not over the phone), the availability for existing bookings is almost the same as that for new bookings.

I've had several conversations over Messenger in the last year and it's quite apparent that the agents are knowledgeable about OWA, the need for immediate ticketing to avoid other airlines cancelling and so on. Only problem with it as a means of communication is than it can sometimes be a long time (ie. days) between asking a question and getting a response.

Regarding availability, two particular sectors that I'm trying to add to our OWA booking have been showing availability of at least 2 business seats on QF, BA and JL websites for some weeks yet my 8 or so calls to try and grab these seats always ends the same way - no available seats visible.

 

[levelnine]

Regarding availability, two particular sectors that I'm trying to add to our OWA booking have been showing availability of at least 2 business seats on QF, BA and JL websites for some weeks yet my 8 or so calls to try and grab these seats always ends the same way - no available seats visible.

Have you ever talked with an Australian/NZ-based agent? It is more likely to be customer service agent incompetence than outright inability to book the seats. If it is actual inability, I would place a bet it is a married segment issue, which is the exception I mentioned above.

 

[FishFood]

At first I disregarded this since it takes 3 hours and slightly more expensive. But it's going to take more than 3 hours for me to pick up my luggage, wait for the next flight and train into Osaka then Shinkansen seems to be more worth. Now to work out what time I should book my Shinkansen ticket. Or am I better off buying it when I get there?

I don't want to "derail" the conversation too much, how about we discuss in Train Travel

 

[adenda]

Have you ever talked with an Australian/NZ-based agent? It is more likely to be customer service agent incompetence than outright inability to book the seats. If it is actual inability, I would place a bet it is a married segment issue, which is the exception I mentioned above.

No I haven't - I'm a lowly Bronze - but that's why I've persisted to date. Hopefully I'll snag an AUS/NZ agent who can sort it out for me. I've got nothing to lose - now that they answer fairly quickly - so I'll keep trying.

 

[Mr H]

No I haven't - I'm a lowly Bronze - but that's why I've persisted to date. Hopefully I'll snag an AUS/NZ agent who can sort it out for me. I've got nothing to lose - now that they answer fairly quickly - so I'll keep trying.

You won't get an Australian or New Zealand operator, however much you try. You would be better off trying to work with the operators you do get to speak to.

 

[vlee_87]

Hi all, I'm looking to book my first one world award and the taxes are around $1500. Are you able to use your remaining Qantas points to offset the taxes? Thanks very much.

 

[Lynda2475]

Hi all, I'm looking to book my first one world award and the taxes are around $1500. Are you able to use your remaining Qantas points to offset the taxes? Thanks very much.

Nope.

You can use points to offse taxes on domestic award bookings but not a OWA.

 

[acinod]

How do all the different OW airlines compare in terms of Business class?

The World Airline Awards has the following ranks:

• 1 Qatar Airways
• 6 Qantas Airways
• 9 Cathay Pacific
• 11 Japan Airlines
• 13 British Airways

What about Finnair, Iberia, Royal Jordanian, American Airlines and the other OW airlines?

Are there any other lists out there? TripAdvisor is mostly economy reviews I think.

 

[pangwen]

How do all the different OW airlines compare in terms of Business class?

The World Airline Awards has the following ranks:

• 1 Qatar Airways
• 6 Qantas Airways
• 9 Cathay Pacific
• 11 Japan Airlines
• 13 British Airways

What about Finnair, Iberia, Royal Jordanian, American Airlines and the other OW airlines?

Are there any other lists out there? TripAdvisor is mostly economy reviews I think.

To a large extent, these are subjective rankings, plus there would also be significant variation based on the specific equipment you were on.

For example, I would say Qatar is pretty good, but if you were flying on an A330-200 the decision is less compelling. Similarly, on a route like SYD-AKL where you might have the choice between a Qantas 737-800 or a LATAM 787-9, the LATAM product would win hands down despite the rankings.

EDIT: To answer your question, I often look at a variety of reviews for each product - from sites like Pointshacks, some Youtube channels, ET (although some may disagree with this), and bloggers such as OMAAT. You have to take the descriptions with a grain of salt (as I said, it's subjective), but the photos (and videos) can give you a feel for what to expect.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Similarly, on a route like SYD-AKL where you might have the choice between a Qantas 737-800 or a LATAM 787-9, the LATAM product would win hands down despite the rankings.

LATAM is not a One World member.

 

[pangwen]

LATAM is not a One World member.

True - I was just using it as a more extreme example of how (imo) business class product quality is heavily influenced by equipment, rather than specifically making a recommendation for that particular leg of an OWA.

 

[Mr H]

I am a pessimist and yesterday/last night I was distraught.

Then I had a flash of perspective.

Basically, a OWA is (up to) six point to point flights. Looking at my broken itinerary, there are now three missing sectors:

• MEL-SYD-KUL-DEL (two MH flights gone) - this could be salvaged if QF released a seat on their direct MEL-DEL flight giving me an extra day at home (save a day's annual leave) or in Delhi.
• LHR-DOH-IKA (two QR flights gone) - there are economy revenue flights to Tehran with LH for around $1000 or business class options for around $2500 that would save me an overnight in Doha, giving me an extra day with my mum in England.
• IKA-DOH-CMN-TUN (two QR flights and one AT flight gone) - there are economy options for around $700 and there is a business class option with TK for around $2000 that could avoid overnights in DOH and CMN, giving me two extra days in Tunis.

This makes me happier that I will, at least, be able to travel and I can see upsides to each of the alternatives, even if it is not what I had originally planned. So let's see what QF can do to retrieve the situation, but I feel much more at peace with myself now. Everything will be alright.

Update

After a week of trying, I finally got a Cape Town agent - hallelujah!

• MEL-SYD-KUL-DEL - still no solution about how to get me between MEL and DEL. MEL-SYD is booked and KUL-DEL is available... Wait and see whether (a) MH reinstate the cancelled flight (they won't) and (b) whether QF will then release a revenue seat MEL-DEL direct (I believe they won't look at this until MH decline the reinstatement). If necessary I will have to do a revenue flight.
  
  
• LHR-DOH-IKA - I suggested an alternative routing LCY-MXP-DOH-IKA. This is now booked. My alternative is not as good as LCY-MXP on BA is no different to a Y booking - no lounge and no difference in seating. The MXP connection is very tight (1hr 25m). The better QR flight LHR-DOH is still waitlisted.
  
  
• IKA-DOH-CMN-TUN - I suggested an alternative routing IKA-DOH-TUN. This is now booked. This was originally on my booking but I had to reroute through CMN when the direct DOH-TUN flight was labelled Oman Air.

The agent understood what I was trying to do - which makes such a difference. She said it would be put through for ticketing as an involuntary reroute and it would be marked as important. I will keep phoning until it is ticketed.

So after multiple useless calls to Fiji, one call to Cape Town has got me an almost fully booked route and a promise of ticketing. Please, QF, close the Fiji centre. They are embarrassing you.