Qantas operated Code-Shares

[NM]

Why is it that Qantas makes it so hard for people booked under partner airline's code-share flight numbers to make seating assignments?

When booked on a QF flight number operated by AA, I am able to make seat selection via the QF Manage My Booking system. And in the case of AA operated codeshares, AA even allows seat selections based on OneWorld FF status (i.e. allowing seat selection in the forward economy cabin or exit rows etc).

But when flying on a QF operated flight using an AA or AY flight number, I am unable to assign seats for the QF flights. Here are my most recent examples:

AA flight number on QF operated flight. AA.com shows the QF operated flight as unavailable for seat selection. Using the AA Sabre booking reference in QF's Manage Your Booking allowed the seat plan to be seen, but no assignment was possible. My TA was able to manually place a "request" for a seat which was considered by QF and approved about 1 hour later. At the airport, even though other seats were available to a QFF Gold status member (as seen on ExpertFlyer map using my QFF Gold FF number and verified QC service desk) the seats were not available to me as I was booked on the AA flight number with my AAdvanatge Platinum number.

AY flight number on QF operated flight. Finnair.com My Booking seat selection process allows me to "Select Seats" on all my AY operated sectors, but not on the two QF-operated sectors. Entering the Sabre booking reference, or the AY booking reference into QF's Manage Your Booking allows me to select a seat, but at the end of the process it returns an error saying "The system is temporarily unable to process your request. Please try again. (9102)" and the seat selection does not stick.

So it looks like I am back to calling the TA to ask them to request a seat for my QF-operated AY flights. Of course, if the QF fare for the same route was not 2x the AY fare, and the QF flight numbers earned AAdvantage miles at the same rate as the deeply discounted AY fare, then I might have been in a position to book the QF flight numbers. A mixer QF/AY fare was well over double the cost for the same routing.

Rant over ... I feel better now.

 

[dairyfloss]

Why is it that Qantas makes it so hard for people booked under partner airline's code-share flight numbers to make seating assignments?

When booked on a QF flight number operated by AA, I am able to make seat selection via the QF Manage My Booking system. And in the case of AA operated codeshares, AA even allows seat selections based on OneWorld FF status (i.e. allowing seat selection in the forward economy cabin or exit rows etc).

But when flying on a QF operated flight using an AA or AY flight number, I am unable to assign seats for the QF flights. Here are my most recent examples:

AA flight number on QF operated flight. AA.com shows the QF operated flight as unavailable for seat selection. Using the AA Sabre booking reference in QF's Manage Your Booking allowed the seat plan to be seen, but no assignment was possible. My TA was able to manually place a "request" for a seat which was considered by QF and approved about 1 hour later. At the airport, even though other seats were available to a QFF Gold status member (as seen on ExpertFlyer map using my QFF Gold FF number and verified QC service desk) the seats were not available to me as I was booked on the AA flight number with my AAdvanatge Platinum number.

AY flight number on QF operated flight. Finnair.com My Booking seat selection process allows me to "Select Seats" on all my AY operated sectors, but not on the two QF-operated sectors. Entering the Sabre booking reference, or the AY booking reference into QF's Manage Your Booking allows me to select a seat, but at the end of the process it returns an error saying "The system is temporarily unable to process your request. Please try again. (9102)" and the seat selection does not stick.

So it looks like I am back to calling the TA to ask them to request a seat for my QF-operated AY flights. Of course, if the QF fare for the same route was not 2x the AY fare, and the QF flight numbers earned AAdvantage miles at the same rate as the deeply discounted AY fare, then I might have been in a position to book the QF flight numbers. A mixer QF/AY fare was well over double the cost for the same routing.

Rant over ... I feel better now.

I've got some AY flights which are operated by QF later this month, and had no trouble using the QF MMB screens to get the seats I wanted. I'll presume if you are entering the booking on QF that you are currently crediting to AAnother airline... so perhaps try changing the credited OW program in the Finnair booking to your QFF number ('Edit Details' after opening the booking on Finnair's site), then make your seat assignments on QF MMB after it shows up there in MMB, and then once you are happy with what you have, go back to Finnair and change credit back to AA. Not ideal, and what you say is still true... but maybe a reasonable workaround takes some of the pain away!

Hope it works / helps!

Cheers.

 

[redcow]

NM I am having the same problem have flights booked with AY SIN-HEL-BUD-HEL-SIN-SYD have seats assigned for AY flights but can't get seats assigned for both QF SIN legs get the same error message as you I was putting it down to the fact that I am only QPNB
John

 

[CaviAck]

Well I had trouble choosing my seat on an AA flight with QF numbers for a flight in July. MMB on QF would show the entire plane as an option except the bulkhead. When I tried to chose the second row in Y it'd let me but after finishing everything it wouldn't stick. A quick call to QF and it was soon found out that MMB could only allocate up to row 9 and nothing further forward because it was a codeshare. The CSA said he could put in a request for a seat further up front but it wasn't guaranteed and meant risking my 3rd (or was it 4th) Y row seats.

Had the same issue with an AS flight with a QF number in June.

If you're on a codeshare on QF metal and can't chose seats maybe it's because the allocated fares that the codeshare partner can sell aren't allocated actual seats and hence you can't chose. Similar to how seats booked as a QF number on LAN metal across the Tasman can only choose from specific seats.

Oh and as to being able to choose from premium seats with QF status on a AA marketed and operated flight, it's because they recognise your status just as how if you book a QF flight with another *O airline status you get the nice seats. (Well at least I've seen it happen on domestic QF flights...)

 

[NM]

I've got some AY flights which are operated by QF later this month, and had no trouble using the QF MMB screens to get the seats I wanted. I'll presume if you are entering the booking on QF that you are currently crediting to AAnother airline... so perhaps try changing the credited OW program in the Finnair booking to your QFF number ('Edit Details' after opening the booking on Finnair's site), then make your seat assignments on QF MMB after it shows up there in MMB, and then once you are happy with what you have, go back to Finnair and change credit back to AA. Not ideal, and what you say is still true... but maybe a reasonable workaround takes some of the pain away!

Hope it works / helps!

Cheers.

Thanks for the suggestion, however I received the same error message from Qantas regardless of using AA or QF FF number in the reservation.

 

[dairyfloss]

Thanks for the suggestion, however I received the same error message from Qantas regardless of using AA or QF FF number in the reservation.

It looks like something may have changed... I can no longer select seats on the QF operated AY flights... the seat I selected some weeks back is still there, and also shows confirmed in Check My Trip... another of life's great mysteries (or QF enhancements!)

 

[NM]

ok. Problem resolved!

When ExpertFlyer notified me at T-80 that several row 43 seats had become available, I called Qantas to see what could be done about making a seat assignment. It turns out that there are actually two different Amadeus booking references for my QF operated AY flight - one for AY and one for QF. I was using the AY booking reference, but since it looked like an Amadeus reference number and QF MYB was able to retrieve the booking and offered me seating selection, I has assumed this was also the QF booking reference. It turns out that there is a separate QF booking reference for my journey and using the real QF one (not the AY Amadeus booking reference), I was able to assign seats on-line.

So in my case there are three separate booking references for my single AY ticket - the Sabre PNR as booked by the TA, an AY Amadeus booking reference as displayed by Virtually There as being the "Airline Reservation Code" for each of the flight sectors, and a QF Amadeus booking reference specifically for my QF-operated AY sectors. This QF booking reference was not shown in any of my available materials (email from TA, view of the itinerary on Virtuallythere, AY web site, QF web site etc). The QF reservations agent was able to provide it to me over the phone.

the moral of the saga is that an AY Amadeus booking reference and a QF booking reference are generated during the booking process, and you must use the QF booking reference on the QF web site to make seat allocations, even though the AY booking reference presents the option for seat allocations but returns an error at the end of the process (suggesting there is a "temporary" problem). The only way to get the QF booking reference is to ask QF or AY for it. The TA only ever saw the Sabre booking reference and the AY reference.

 

[NM]

Once again I am in the same situation. I asked the TA that made my booking (AY booking and ticket, AY flight numbers with 2 sectors operated by QF metal). The TA could only see the AY (Amadeus) booking reference in the system (as well as their Sabre reference). And the AY reference would pull up the reservation on QF web site and show the seat map and allow me to select, but gave the same error message at the end of the selection process. So again I called Qantas reservations and was given the QF booking reference for the operating QF flight and was able to select seats successfully with that reference.

So my previous experience is confirmed.