Qantas Economy Plus Launching Feb 2026

[J-P]

PE

Y+

W

I think I prefer W. Single letter like Y or J.

Does W represent the same thing as the W in WP?

 

[dairyfloss]

Does W represent the same thing as the W in WP?

It’s more like ‘Wannabe J’

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Does W represent the same thing as the W in WP?

Correct, Premium Economy can also be considered World class (well except on Qantas, I suppose).

 

[Doddler]

This is exactly what a Frequent Flyer program should be doing. It is rewarding those who Frequently Fly with the airline and thus have status.

Seems very sensible

If only.

I remember being a lowly Silver with Northwest Airlines back when I was living in the USA. I got *guaranteed* free business class upgrades if there was an empty seat up front on any domestic flight after the plats and golds had been upgraded. Maybe 1/4 flights I got an upgrade. *That’s* how you recognise your frequent flyers. Even as a poor postdoc I would pay extra to fly NWA over other airlines.

 

[WilsonM]

If only.

I remember being a lowly Silver with Northwest Airlines back when I was living in the USA. I got *guaranteed* free business class upgrades if there was an empty seat up front on any domestic flight after the plats and golds had been upgraded. Maybe 1/4 flights I got an upgrade. *That’s* how you recognise your frequent flyers. Even as a poor postdoc I would pay extra to fly NWA over other airlines.

This is still technically the case for many airlines, including the big 3, in the US at the moment. 'Unfortunately', most of the US airlines have gotten alot better at coaxing PAX to upgrade with cash/miles, and with the proliferation of status (due to CCs, as well as knowledge), upgrade chances for higher tier members in US programs has declined significantly - so much so that some bloggers claim upgrades are barely a benefit.

Free Economy Plus to status PAX is a definite benefit to them.

Correct, Premium Economy can also be considered World class (well except on Qantas, I suppose).

There are worse PE products than what QF has...

 

[PineappleSkip]

Does W represent the same thing as the W in WP?

I reckon it sits two letters in front of Y, which makes sense to me.

IME some of the biggest Ws of the type you refer to are in the smallest seats, with the lowliest status.

Cheers skip

 

[Kefci2000]

Is says from Feb 2026, although my forward bookings show nothing, does that mean they won’t be bookable till Feb 2026?

Oh yes and I can book Bulkhead and Exit rows immediately on AY and JAL but not QF

 

[openseat]

Before MCE on AA, there was MRTC (more room throughout coach) in the late 90s/early 2000s. It was much more democratic - everyone got more room. Of course such a thing couldn't be done now with product tiering strategies to trick customers that they are buying themselves into some sort of prestige with this sort of upselling.

 

[elanshin]

Is says from Feb 2026, although my forward bookings show nothing, does that mean they won’t be bookable till Feb 2026?

Oh yes and I can book Bulkhead and Exit rows immediately on AY and JAL but not QF

I read that as the system change comes online in Feb 2026, not for the flights.

OW is a mixed bag. There's a thread somewhere where madrooster goes over benefits on each OW airline for seat selection.

 

[bullerdude]

That's already somewhat changed. The 321XLR is split so only 2 rows are bigger up front (6/7) the others are immediately after the emergency exit rows behind the wing.

This being the case, gold may still have the benefit of selecting upfront standard rows, at least on the 321.

 

[Vic]

Agreed, but if the question is <direct quote>
Will there be any changes to how Status Credits or Qantas Points are earned when booking Qantas Economy Plus?

Then the word “No” should be the first word of the answer.

Exactly, so why does the answer begin with the word “yes”.

It’s like asking “Will tomorrow be Monday?”

And answering with: “Yes, tomorrow will be Saturday”.

HUH? The answer does not start with yes.
It starts with you
Lets quote it:
"You will continue to earn qantas points and status credits as per your fare type".

They are both three letter words that start with 'Y', but you is very different to yes.

Not only that but the opening phrase, "you will continue...", is usually read as 'what happens now will continue to be the same'.
As for your example, lets just say it's not equivalent due to incorrect reading of the FAQ answer.

Once Qantas releases what will no doubt be a high price premium for Y+ and social media starts publishing "How I booked Y+ for FREE!" I think a lot of SGs will put up with middle seats.

There is always some clown who thinks row 4 middle is better than an aisle or window in rows 5-7 with an empty middle seat. Love those people while i enjoy half a middle seat a row or two behind them..
Rarely do I take row 4 - just on inbound international connections when I smell and want to sleep at the window.

 

[exceladdict]

This is still technically the case for many airlines, including the big 3, in the US at the moment. 'Unfortunately', most of the US airlines have gotten alot better at coaxing PAX to upgrade with cash/miles, and with the proliferation of status (due to CCs, as well as knowledge), upgrade chances for higher tier members in US programs has declined significantly - so much so that some bloggers claim upgrades are barely a benefit.

I had two experiences of this on a US trip around 2011. First, on AS ORD-SEA, I'd status matched to their equivalent of PS, and got an upgrade on a flight that was very lightly loaded (and only after I checked in with the gate agent, who had forgotten to process any upgrades).

Two flights later, I was 52nd on the priority list for a very heavily loaded UA flight PDX-SFO. Needless to say, that didn't clear, and it was a bit of a joke watching the list scroll through on loop.

 

[Daver6]

There is always some clown who thinks row 4 middle is better than an aisle or window in rows 5-7 with an empty middle seat. Love those people while i enjoy half a middle seat a row or two behind them..
Rarely do I take row 4 - just on inbound international connections when I smell and want to sleep at the window.

If you need to get some work done on a laptop, row 4 middle seat is a much safer bet than any aisle seat with someone reclining into you. A laptop becomes pretty much unusable in that situation.

 

[Horatio]

What happens if one person in the booking is WP and the other bronze? Do both get free seats?

I'm pretty happy with this change. I hope @DejaBrew's prediction turns out to be wrong - and that lower status pax booked with a WP can access Y+ and select seats together . But there's certainly no mention of all pax being included in the FAQs to date, so I suspect they're right. That's one of the great features of the VA offering.

It could end up being a little harder for travelling compantions with different status to sit together. Or perhaps create an altruistic/selfish dilemma for the WP involved?

 

[SYD]

I'm pretty happy with this change. I hope @DejaBrew's prediction turns out to be wrong - and that lower status pax booked with a WP can access Y+ and select seats together . But there's certainly no mention of all pax being included in the FAQs to date, so I suspect they're right. That's one of the great features of the VA offering.

It could end up being a little harder for travelling compantions with different status to sit together. Or perhaps create an altruistic/selfish dilemma for the WP involved?

AFAIK, travelers on the same booking as a WP are bestowed better seating privileges.

Well, that was our experience when SYD+1 was only SG and we could both park our bums in Emerald City (on the A380) and the most forward whY seats (but that was a while ago).

Over in AA land, the PAX with MCE access can bring along 8x BFFs!

Main Cabin Extra − Travel information − American Airlines

www.aa.com