QF Changes to Domestic Fare Buckets

[Princess Fiona]

Looks like QF are doing a bit of a shake-up on fare buckets.
Worst bit appears to be that you can't no-show on a Flexi
Qantas relaxes refund rules, merges domestic flexible fares - Australian Business Traveller

 

[equus]

That's going to make it rather interesting booking fares to credit against partners like MarcoPolo which start at V fares, meaning that some (expensive) RedE deals will now earn.

 

[cmon0005]

The biggest issue I have from this, is since simpler/fairer tm last year I've tended to buy the more expensive Flexi saver to get more SC's and points which is what QF want. Now with L & V being reclassified as Discount economy this may change my habit and I may go back to buying the cheaper Red-edeals... sigh... (that's presuming they maintain the same pricing mapping when it gets moved down to red-edeal from super saver).

For example if L base cost on MEL-SYD is $350 oneway now under super saver, will after the changes L base cost under Red edeal banner still be $350 or less to reflect the less flexible nature of it?

 

[RooFlyer]

Deleted and moved to separate thread to avoid cross posting

 

[JessicaTam]

Best thing I see in that article is this:



Thank goodness!! Thumbs up Qantas ... maybe things really have turned for the better .

At least that is an enhancement in the true sense of the word.

 

[danny09]

Not happy with the L & V fare bucket change at all. Will be interesting when the changes happen & will make a lot of different to SC earn for a lot of people.

So they offer heaps & heaps of people double SC's, realise they have too many high status pax & now try find ways to reduce SC earn!

 

[michaele]

Being able to book Y(or Y+) and J fares on the same ticket is an interesting change.. will this also be introduced on international flights?

 

[kevrosmith]

Okay.. so comparing to the screen shots of the "new" booking engine that Ausbt show:


Here's the current one



So in the Old, Flexi Saver was $325 for V fare class.

The new search engine still shows $325 for the minimum "new" Flexi family, but does this mean that $325 will equate to M fare class?



The news story reports that the costs won't change:


Would other concur with this? If this is the case, then I don't think it will affect me. Same price for the same SC earn, just a different fare class. I usually buy Flexi Savers now already.

 

[Pleb Status]

The biggest issue with these changes is losing all your money for a no show on a full Y ticket. This is one of the main reason my company buys full Y.

 

[kevrosmith]

The biggest issue with these changes is losing all your money for a no show on a full Y ticket. This is one of the main reason my company buys full Y.

I can appreciate that, for some people who are sometimes so busy to make last minute changes, or may not have the privilege of an assistant to take care of last minute changes, this may cause some pain, though isn't it just a matter of quickly jumping online and cancelling the flight to retain the full value prior to departure? Is this possible even within 5 minutes prior to departure? Is it possible to cancel a flight via the mobile apps?

 

[exceladdict]

The biggest issue with these changes is losing all your money for a no show on a full Y ticket. This is one of the main reason my company buys full Y.

A client I worked with previously also booked into this bucket (significantly cheaper than my parent company could buy a restricted ticket, nonetheless). I assume this is due to specially negotiated rates on specific routes, which you would imagine would continue for companies that spend enough.

 

[eminere]

I can appreciate that, for some people who are sometimes so busy to make last minute changes, or may not have the privilege of an assistant to take care of last minute changes, this may cause some pain, though isn't it just a matter of quickly jumping online and cancelling the flight to retain the full value prior to departure? Is this possible even within 5 minutes prior to departure? Is it possible to cancel a flight via the mobile apps?

Check-in closes 15 minutes before the posted departure time so I imagine if you cancel or reschedule your flight before this time you won't forfeit the fare paid.

 

[RichardMEL]

Seems to me if you know you'll miss your flight in the last 15 minutes (ie: not at the airport, have a meeting overrun) a quick call to QF will solve the issue just move the flight to another later one. I don't know this will have a massive impact on a lot of people, but then again I don't purchase these sorts of fares

I don't know it's a real issue re L,V buckets. I did notice LFLEX fare show up in a fare list the other day which i found interesting, as I'd never seen the L bucket used before for FlexiSaver, but maybe that's just me not noticing Either way, if you purchase a Flex(i Saver) fare on qf.com before/after the changeover you'll still earn at the appropriate rate.

the kicker is for non-QF channels (eg: OTA's and shop front TA's) who may think oh V is still flex, but then again i do suspect this will really affrect a small number of people and even less who would care for things like SC's etc. At any rate when making a booking the conditions for that fare type, at the time of booking, will display and show and that's the guide. I'm a nerd so I usually read at least in short form the fare conditions to know what I'm in for if it's a new fare for me or I am concerned re changes or the like. I know a lot of people don't of course

my 2 cents.

 

[PeteJ]

Does this mean QF are "enhancing" J and C fares to give less points and status credits?

The Flexible Business (J or C booking class) minimum QF points guarantee is currently 1,600 points (and 45 SCs) compared to the Business (D or I booking class) minimum QF points guarantee of 1,400 points (40 SCs).

Looking at the QF Fare Structure Domestic Retail card effective 18 February 2015, J, C, D and I are all listed as QFF category "Business" earning the minimum QF points guarantee of 1,400 points.

Looks like QF are doing a bit of a shake-up on fare buckets. <snip>

 

[love_the_life]

I can appreciate that, for some people who are sometimes so busy to make last minute changes, or may not have the privilege of an assistant to take care of last minute changes, this may cause some pain, though isn't it just a matter of quickly jumping online and cancelling the flight to retain the full value prior to departure? Is this possible even within 5 minutes prior to departure? Is it possible to cancel a flight via the mobile apps?

It is not us who do not make the flight, but clients we book who turn out to be no-shows, for a variety of reasons. Though we usually have semi-flex (V) so will lose the outbound but will have enough time to cancel the inbound.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

On a couple of occasions when I have just failed to check in prior to the checked baggage cut off, QF has been decent enough to book me on the next flight at no charge. Even when that has meant travelling the next day. Maybe I have just been extremely lucky!

 

[Pleb Status]

I can appreciate that, for some people who are sometimes so busy to make last minute changes, or may not have the privilege of an assistant to take care of last minute changes, this may cause some pain, though isn't it just a matter of quickly jumping online and cancelling the flight to retain the full value prior to departure? Is this possible even within 5 minutes prior to departure? Is it possible to cancel a flight via the mobile apps?

All of our bookings must be managed by our corporate travel agent. In addition to that, technically, only authorised staff can talk to our corporate travel agent (unless it is an emergency). So to make a change, I have to make a request to our travel department and they then have to action that request via the corporate travel agent. All of that generally does not occur instantly or easily.

 

[Pushka]

All of our bookings must be managed by our corporate travel agent. In addition to that, technically, only authorised staff can talk to our corporate travel agent (unless it is an emergency). So to make a change, I have to make a request to our travel department and they then have to action that request via the corporate travel agent. All of that generally does not occur instantly or easily.

I understand that's necessary in a corporate environment but it really adds to the process of amendment and assumes everyone in the chain is available when needed.

 

[medhead]

Ignore this post, change is only for domestic not international.

[-]How does that impact upgrade requests.

Clause 16.1.4 (b) is the relevant clause. https://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/dyn/program/terms#jump15

b) Discounted Qantas International airfares, including Any Seat Awards booked in E,N,O,Q and X class;

Note the strategically placed comma. Does E,N,O,Q and X define discounted Qantas international airfares, or only apply to Anyseat Awards? Does V and L now become discounted Qantas international airfares and lose upgradability, or do they retain the ability to request an upgrade? Note that previously E,N,O,Q were not upgradable, suggesting those fares class defined discount international airfares that are not eligible for upgrade. Without a change to the T&Cs to add L and V to the list then they should remain upgrade eligible.

Depending on the answers to these questions knowing the fare class before booking becomes even more important. What's the bet Qantas still fail to publish that information before people pay?[/-]

 

[woodborer]

All of our bookings must be managed by our corporate travel agent. In addition to that, technically, only authorised staff can talk to our corporate travel agent (unless it is an emergency). So to make a change, I have to make a request to our travel department and they then have to action that request via the corporate travel agent. All of that generally does not occur instantly or easily.

In addition to negotiated fares, corporates do also have some negotiated fare rules - it is possible that your company fare rules have different provisions to what is here - and if not, would suggest your travel people discuss this with Q.