Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Familyman1]

Any idea why Finnair flights from HEL to HKG have Carrier Charges of 15 Euro while Finnair flights from HEL to NRT have Carrier Charges of 15 + 125 Euro?

 

[Familyman1]

Thanks Aikman. Yes your point about the country of origin influencing surcharges for all flights on an itinerary is highlighted by this example: For some reason, that additional 125 Euro charged for the HEL-NRT Finnair flight versus the HEL-HKG Finnair flight escalates to a A$632.40 difference in my itinerary that starts from Brisbane. I know "it's just the way it is" but it would be nice to have more transparency on these charges in advance so we can select flights with the lowest surcharges.

 

[sudoer]

I know "it's just the way it is" but it would be nice to have more transparency on these charges in advance so we can select flights with the lowest surcharges.

Fuel surcharges for Finnair flights from Japan

Information regarding fuel surcharges and aviation insurance charges for Finnair flights from Japan.

www.finnair.com

It is relatively transparent and pegged to the per barrel price of Singapore kerosene.

 

[Familyman1]

Thanks Sudoer. That link explains this. So the message is: Avoid Finnair flights to/from Japan for a while. I'll try to change my itinerary because other Asian destinations would be fine for me.

 

[sudoer]

So the message is: Avoid Finnair flights to/from Japan for a while.

If you want to avoid fuel surcharges, avoid Japan altogether until the oil price dips below 6000JPY. As I understand it, fuel surcharges to/from Japan are regulated at a government level and all airlines follow the exact same system.

https://www.jal.co.jp/jp/en/inter/fare/fuel/table.html

https://www.ana.co.jp/en/jp/guide/plan/charge/fuelsurcharge-info/

Legal Notices | Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines legal notices include Notice of Overbooking of Flights and Liability for Delay or Cancellation. Read these and other notices here.

www.delta.com

https://www.klm.co.jp/en/information/bulletin-board/fuel-surcharge

https://wwws.airfrance.co.jp/information/meilleures-offres/fuel-surcharge-current

https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-jp/fuel-surcharge/

 

[Familyman1]

I believe Japan is trying to reduce tourist numbers so this will help.

 

[sudoer]

I believe Japan is trying to reduce tourist numbers so this will help.

They are actually trying to increase tourism. They had 42m visitors in 2025 and want to see that increase to 60m by 2030.

What they are trying to do is reduce over-tourism in specific areas such as Kyoto, and encourage tourists to spread out and visit regional areas like Kyushu and Tohoku. But fuel surcharges has nothing to do with that.

 

[moa999]

As a question for those wanting to book Oneworld rewards.

Can you start by booking Qantas classic one-way fares (at say 353 days out) then later convert to Oneworld rewards (paying change fees and extra points) once additional flights become available?

Parents with plenty of points looking for a cruise out of Toronto in Oct 2027.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

As a question for those wanting to book Oneworld rewards.

Can you start by booking Qantas classic one-way fares (at say 353 days out) then later convert to Oneworld rewards (paying change fees and extra points) once additional flights become available?

Parents with plenty of points looking for a cruise out of Toronto in Oct 2027.

Yes.

It’s actually exactly the same seats, same classic award, just once you meet the criteria the points are capped.

The system does this automatically - there’s nothing the passenger needs to do. Or indeed nothing the call centre agent has to do, it’s all automatic.

In fact it’s often better to *not* mention anything about a Oneworld Award when dealing with the call centre - unless dealing with hobart.

If you run in to any problems, or the fare is not capping, come back here, Don’t expect the call centre to know why it’s not capping, or what the issue might be. They rarely have any idea (hobart excepted).

 

[elanshin]

As a question for those wanting to book Oneworld rewards.

Can you start by booking Qantas classic one-way fares (at say 353 days out) then later convert to Oneworld rewards (paying change fees and extra points) once additional flights become available?

Parents with plenty of points looking for a cruise out of Toronto in Oct 2027.

Yes.

If you run in to any problems, or the fare is not capping, come back here, Don’t expect the call centre to know why it’s not capping, or what the issue might be. They rarely have any idea (hobart excepted).

Hobart sometimes doesn't even have an idea on very edge niche cases. Also it is possible for it to be manually calculated and ticketed. I had one done that way because they couldn't use the computer anymore (old pricing vs new).

 

[SYD]

We’re finally getting around to booking one of these for the first time. Already know an itinerary that works (with some backup plans) but the big thing concerning me is BA fees on trans Atlantic.

If I just search JFK to LON or connecting to Europe, the system quotes me something crazy like US$1500 pp in fines. However, when I do a multi-city QF Oz-US and then BA US-Euro, the total fines drop to about A$1000 pp. Similarly, the full itinerary which I can book already in one go including BA (alas, not for the dates and stopover durations I need), prices at about A$1900 pp.

My question is - if I book Oz-US DIY (when the seats get released) and subsequently call up to add the trans Atlantic flights, will it price at the more favourable rate?

There are AY options that are pricing at about US$100 stand-alone but they’re released earlier than BA but are usually gone by the time BA gets released. There’s also heaps of BA availability with better timings. In fact, I could probably book BA and the rest of trip in one sitting. So pondering on jumping on AY when they come out with certainty of a lower cost or get better flight options and less call ups/re-ticketing?

 

[serfty]

We’re finally getting around to booking one of these for the first time. Already know an itinerary that works (with some backup plans) but the big thing concerning me is BA fees on trans Atlantic.

If I just search JFK to LON or connecting to Europe, the system quotes me something crazy like US$1500 pp in fines. However, when I do a multi-city QF Oz-US and then BA US-Euro, the total fines drop to about A$1000 pp. Similarly, the full itinerary which I can book already in one go including BA (alas, not for the dates and stopover durations I need), prices at about A$1900 pp.

My question is - if I book Oz-US DIY (when the seats get released) and subsequently call up to add the trans Atlantic flights, will it price at the more favourable rate?

There are AY options that are pricing at about US$100 stand-alone but they’re released earlier than BA but are usually gone by the time BA gets released. There’s also heaps of BA availability with better timings. In fact, I could probably book BA and the rest of trip in one sitting. So pondering on jumping on AY when they come out with certainty of a lower cost or get better flight options and less call ups/re-ticketing?

When searching individual routes, you should include an initial segment to indicate your point of commencement. This returns results generally more reflective of what to expect.

You can then open jaw to the routes you are looking at. This gets around somewhat the limitations of the booking engine.

I'd suggest booking what you can get now with expectation of calling up to add change routes/segments if better option become available.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

We’re finally getting around to booking one of these for the first time. Already know an itinerary that works (with some backup plans) but the big thing concerning me is BA fees on trans Atlantic.

If I just search JFK to LON or connecting to Europe, the system quotes me something crazy like US$1500 pp in fines. However, when I do a multi-city QF Oz-US and then BA US-Euro, the total fines drop to about A$1000 pp. Similarly, the full itinerary which I can book already in one go including BA (alas, not for the dates and stopover durations I need), prices at about A$1900 pp.

My question is - if I book Oz-US DIY (when the seats get released) and subsequently call up to add the trans Atlantic flights, will it price at the more favourable rate?

There are AY options that are pricing at about US$100 stand-alone but they’re released earlier than BA but are usually gone by the time BA gets released. There’s also heaps of BA availability with better timings. In fact, I could probably book BA and the rest of trip in one sitting. So pondering on jumping on AY when they come out with certainty of a lower cost or get better flight options and less call ups/re-ticketing?

BA’s files fines and charges TATAL are extraordinary! I have found in the past that once you include additional sectors beyond TATAL you get a much reduced rate, as you’ve found,

Once you add sectors the ticket is repriced, so it will take advantage of any combinations.

 

[SYD]

When searching individual routes, you should include an initial segment to indicate your point of commencement. This returns results generally more reflective of what to expect.

So, you’re basically saying the cost I see with an initial ex Oz flight and subsequent flights should price lower than the crazy standalone price.

You can then open jaw to the routes you are looking at. This gets around somewhat the limitations of the booking engine.

Yes, that’s what I did and noticed the wildly different pricing.

I'd suggest booking what you can get now with expectation of calling up to add change routes/segments if better option become available.

Yep. The first flight ex Oz will be DIY (they’re coming out to a regular drumbeat) but it’ll be four weeks later before the onward trans Atlantic and the remainder will straddle a couple of weeks.

Assuming a BA sector will reprice better and there’s wide open biz availability, we might be able to call up once to add the remainder.