QF Domestic Change Fees going up

[oz_mark]

Saw this stuck in the pop up box for fare conditions

Bookings - Fare Types

Flight Change:
Any fare difference plus:
On or before 22 Feb 11
A$50.00*
On or after 23 Feb 11
A$55.00*

 

[JohnK]

Very sneaky!

So an el-cheapo $75 airfare is now going to cost an extra $5 to change. Almost getting to the stage where it is probably best to throw the ticket away than change it unless it is an expensive ticket.

 

[Danger]

Very sneaky!

Seems to be becoming the Qantas way.

 

[Mal]

It doesn't cost Qantas $55 to process an online change to a ticket. Not even close to possible.

Hopefully someone like the ACCC will take an interest, as has occurred with similar outrageous fee-for-noservice type issues with banks etc.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Do QF allow free changes on CityFlyer services on all fares eg Red-e-Deals when doing self checkin at airports down South or is it only the higher yield flexible fares that allow you to flow forward etc. :?:

I spoke to a CSM recently who said 3 out of the last 4 flights he'd been (working) on were under catered by 50 meals as the catering figure is not revised inside 2 hours prior to departure which seems a lot of people changing. This was on mainline trunk route sectors such as BNE/SYD, SYD/MEL. :shock:

He lamented that QF Management wanted to give pax the flexibility when travelling on CityFlyer flights & it's all well and good however they should also look at catering figure within 2 hours otherwise defeats the purpose of the exercise.

 

[Verde]

Very sneaky!

So an el-cheapo $75 airfare is now going to cost an extra $5 to change. Almost getting to the stage where it is probably best to throw the ticket away than change it unless it is an expensive ticket.

About the only good thing about the change fee, is that when you use a voucher you aren't charged the CC fees for the new booking (even, I think, if it was a BPAY ticket originally).

I could be wrong, but I think it applies internationally too - so when I used a voucher to part pay for my July trip to the USA, I might have lost $50 on the change fee, but then it saved me $30 on CC fees.

Obviously the change fees are still massively over the top, but there can be something of a silver lining at times. Really, I could see up to about $20 being reasonable, the rest is just ripping us off IMO.

 

[medhead]

Very sneaky!

So an el-cheapo $75 airfare is now going to cost an extra $5 to change. Almost getting to the stage where it is probably best to throw the ticket away than change it unless it is an expensive ticket.

For me the throw away point is when the fare is the same as the change fee. Otherwise I'm not going to just gift qantas $20.

 

[JohnK]

Seems to be becoming the Qantas way.

Not good. It does not hurt to send out an email with fee changes.

Do QF allow free changes on CityFlyer services on all fares eg Red-e-Deals when doing self checkin at airports down South or is it only the higher yield flexible fares that allow you to flow forward etc. :?:

It all depends. Sometimes they are allow and other times it is strictly not. I was offered an earlier flight on Friday on a red e-deal and ended up with a much better seat allocation.

For me the throw away point is when the fare is the same as the change fee. Otherwise I'm not going to just gift qantas $20.

I agree. It is just that $55 is getting very close to $75 but then you have to find an equivalent $75 fare to change.

 

[oz_mark]

Do QF allow free changes on CityFlyer services on all fares eg Red-e-Deals when doing self checkin at airports down South or is it only the higher yield flexible fares that allow you to flow forward etc. :?:

The answer to the question is a definite maybe. Sometimes they allow (and even offer) changes on Red-e-Deals. Having said that, IME it is the exception rather than the norm, and seems to happen if there is a bit of weather expected, etc.