HI ALL, Kerry here QFF life time member , scheduled for another flight in early December Per/Mel return, all booked and paid early, cattle class as it turns out and cannot be upgrade, Q have some really strange rules, they are NOT people person . Now how is the feeling out there, does one hang on and hope that there will be no strike action, even though they are not supposed to be allowed to so do. Does one go across to VIRGIN??
All domestic economy fares can be upgradeable
Kerry Rowan, however it depends on if there is upgrade inventory still available for that flight. Let me explain.
Fare buckets
The seats on an airline are known as inventory, and their inventory is allocated to fare buckets. Most classes of travel on an airline have multiple inventory buckets - in the case of Qantas:
- Economy: E, O, Q, N, S, V, L, M, K, H, B, Y
- Business: I, D, J
These fare buckets also correspond to different fares, such as Red-e, Flexi saver, Fully flexible et al. Information on what these correspond with can be found in the
Qantas Domestic Fare cluecard.
Seeing the available inventory
When inventory is available in this or any other fare bucket, they are shown with a number value greater than 1. If there are 9 or more seats available in a fare bucket, then this will simply display as 9.
Here's an example of the fare bucket availability from a tool known as KVS, which allows subscribers to access this information from the Airline GDS (Global Distribution System - the 'environment' from which the airline and travel agents see and sell inventory):
[KVS Availability Tool 6.7.0/Diamond - Sabre: Availability/FS/US]
Code:
PER Perth WA AU [YPPH]
SYD Sydney Kingsford Smith NS AU [YSSY]
THU 15 Dec 2011
Carrier Flight From Depart To Arrive A/C St Availability
--------- ------ ---- -------- ---- -------- --- -- --------------------------------------------------------
QF 574 PER 05:45 SYD 13:00 763 J9 C7 D0 I0 U1 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0 X0 E0
QF 572 PER 07:05 SYD 14:20 763 J9 C9 D7 I0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S0 N0 Q0 O0 X0 E0
QF 576 PER 08:05 SYD 15:20 763 J9 C0 D9 I6 U0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0 X0 E0
QF 642 PER 09:05 SYD 16:20 763 J9 C9 D6 I0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 X0 E0
QF 580 PER 11:05 SYD 18:20 332 J9 C9 D5 I0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 X0 E0
QF 582 PER 13:35 SYD 20:25 744 J9 C2 D9 I9 U0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V8 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0 X0 E0
QF 566 PER 15:15 SYD 22:30 763 J5 C0 D0 I0 U0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0 X0 E0
QF 568 PER 23:05 SYD 06:20 332 J9 C0 D8 I6 U0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0 X0 E0
Mum! Where do upgrades come from?
Yes, I thought that title was a little cute. Like babies however, Upgrades are not delivered by Stalks (despite notifications for International flights sometimes feeling like they are - but that's an entirely different thread for discussion).
All domestic upgrades to Business from Economy are allocated from the U fare bucket.
In this example, we can see that there is currently 1 upgrade fare available for the following flight (shown by the U fare bucket having a value of 1):
Code:
QF 574 PER 05:45 SYD 13:00 763 J9 C7 D0 I0 U1 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0 X0 E0
And in this example, we can see that there are no upgrades available for this flight:
Code:
QF 568 PER 23:05 SYD 06:20 332 J9 C0 D8 I6 U0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0 X0 E0
So why haven't I been able to get an upgrade?
As the above information has explained, it's because there is no upgrade inventory left on your flight.
But there are empty seats in business, and I still didn't get an upgrade!
Well thankfully, this won't be a problem for much longer.
As explained to the Rockpool 16 last month, Qantas are introducing a waitlist system for upgrades. This will mean that if you have applied online and there is no upgrade space available in the U bucket, your name will be kept in a waitlist (obv. prioritised by tier status and other factors discussed in the Altea thread).
Closer to the flight (around 1-3hrs) if there are still unsold seats in the Business revenue buckets (I, D, J), the system will then allocate these unsold seats as upgrades to people on the waitlist. If you have received an upgrade by this method, it will be informed to you at airport check-in, SMS, a page whilst in the terminal to see customer service, or on your boarding receipt for those checking in using their Q Card.
This will work a little differently for international services, as upgrades aren't instant and are allocated closer to the flight. You will be notified of your upgrade at airport check-in or beforehand if your tier status sees your worthy enough.
There's no timeline on when the domestic wait list will come into being, but keep an eye out for the usual QFF emails for announcements and information.
Hope that's answered your upgrade questions comprehensively.
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