Qantas Booking Engine

[Chucksta]

I have finally figured it out....!

Whenever I book international tickets for my wife and I, on a 767 or A330, we always get DE and never ever AB or JK (which is what we want). I usually have to call up Qantas and get them to manually change the seating allocation.

We both have WP status and she has forward window in her profile. I have forward aisle.

Anyway, last night I booked two tickets. For the first time I put her name in row 1 on the passenger name list....I usually put mine in row 1. Well it finally automatically allocated us 24 JK! Usually gives us DE whenever I put my name first.

So I think the QF booking engine code is something like:
1. Choose the highest status member in the travelling party and give him/her their preference. Then accomodate everyone else around that member (ignoring their preferences).
2. If all people in the travelling party have the same status, then give the first person on the passenger list their preference. Not alphabetical, rather who is on the top of the list when you are typing in the names! Then ignore what the other member's preferences.

I have only tried this for a international flight. Next time I will try it on a domestic flight... maybe we can then finally get window and aisle seats!

 

[oz_mark]

I have finally figured it out....!

Whenever I book international tickets for my wife and I, on a 767 or A330, we always get DE and never ever AB or JK (which is what we want). I usually have to call up Qantas and get them to manually change the seating allocation.

We both have WP status and she has forward window in her profile. I have forward aisle.

Anyway, last night I booked two tickets. For the first time I put her name in row 1 on the passenger name list....I usually put mine in row 1. Well it finally automatically allocated us 24 JK! Usually gives us DE whenever I put my name first.

So I think the QF booking engine code is something like:
1. Choose the highest status member in the travelling party and give him/her their preference. Then accomodate everyone else around that member (ignoring their preferences).
2. If all people in the travelling party have the same status, then give the first person on the passenger list their preference. Not alphabetical, rather who is on the top of the list when you are typing in the names! Then ignore what the other member's preferences.

I have only tried this for a international flight. Next time I will try it on a domestic flight... maybe we can then finally get window and aisle seats!

When I travel alone, it gives me 26E for 767's and A330's. While this is forward, it is not an aisle seat on either of those aircraft. What the fascination QF have with assigning me that seat is unknown to me.

 

[NM]

When I travel alone, it gives me 26E for 767's and A330's. While this is forward, it is not an aisle seat on either of those aircraft. What the fascination QF have with assigning me that seat is unknown to me.

Just be thankful its not a 734 aircraft :shock:

 

[Shano]

When I travel alone, it gives me 26E for 767's and A330's. While this is forward, it is not an aisle seat on either of those aircraft. What the fascination QF have with assigning me that seat is unknown to me.

Before I flew to the US recently I rang QF and requested (and was granted) an exit row seat. This was visible under checkmytrip.com

The next day it had changed to 35B :evil: .

Somehow a preference for seat 35B had found its way into my profile with the TA that made the booking - interesting that this over-rode the seat request that was made directly with QF. I rang the TA and had them check and then remove this seating preference.

Fortunately I was still able to ring QF and reclaim my exit row seat.

 

[oz_mark]

Before I flew to the US recently I rang QF and requested (and was granted) an exit row seat. This was visible under checkmytrip.com

The next day it had changed to 35B :evil: .

Somehow a preference for seat 35B had found its way into my profile with the TA that made the booking - interesting that this over-rode the seat request that was made directly with QF. I rang the TA and had them check and then remove this seating preference.

Fortunately I was still able to ring QF and reclaim my exit row seat.

I have always been able to change my seat to something better, but I suspect that somewhere, in a profile somewhere, is a request for that seat. Just I can't seem to track it down!

 

[Mal]

Yep, it has been rumoured previously that the first person on an itinerary affects where others on the same itinerary are sitting - so if ever booking flights with different status members, always get the highest status member as the first in the booking.

Also, as discussed, Travel Agent preferences will override status preferences - something to watch out for (esp if booking with one of the online agents who allow seat allocations online. If you skip the seat allocation option when booking, the default they use may be something different to your preference)

 

[simongr]

Interesting experience on QF82 a A330 DRW-ADL-SYD this weekend. I was one a DONE4 and mrssimongr was on an AAdvantage AAward flight. I had phoned previously and requested seats 3AB for us. At check in they said that they would move us around so we could sit together - I was in 3B and mrssimongr was in 2F - they put us in 4EF and I was fuming. I hadnt realised that the A330 was a 2-2-2 config.

I did however try to change the seats to be further forward and with a window but was told at the DRW QP that the flight was full. This was true DRW-ADL but J was empty ADL-SYD - the only people forward of us were Qantas staff + family members and as they hadnty packed enough omlettes we couldn't both have omlettes