QF downgrade voucher

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aus_flyer

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Does anyone know how QF downgrade vouchers work?

What are you entitled to?
 
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NM said:
I assume its a voucher that entitles the hold to a one-class downgrade :shock: .

Can you confirm at time of booking or do you have to waitlist?

Dave
 
odoherty said:
Does anyone know how QF downgrade vouchers work?

What are you entitled to?

I thought that these were more in the realm of Jetstar :!: :rolleyes:

Then again they probably don't need vouchers as they seem to do as they please anyway. :mrgreen:
 
I had a tentative booking (but not ticketed) on a QF flight that was cancelled. I asked what would have happened if the ticket had actually been issued and they said I would have been accommodated on an alternative carrier, although there's no first class with the alternative.

They said I would have received "downgrade voucher", so I was curious as to how these work.
 
NM said:
I assume its a voucher that entitles the hold to a one-class downgrade :shock: .
So if you are flying Y, does that mean you go into the hold in a cardboard box with holes poked in? :shock:
 
Interesting thought - could one get the company to pay for a J seat and get a downgrade and commensurate voucher redmeeable for personal flying. Admittedly slightly unethical and likely to be picked up when I am auditing people's expense claims. Also as people are probably aware the likelihood of me volunteering to go from F->J is pretty low (given F is so rare) and J->whY is a non-starter.

I wonder why they call it a downgrade voucher - why not just refund the difference in fare paid...
 
odoherty said:
Is anybody actually interested in answering this question seriously?

I am sensing that no-one has heard of these are using humour to cover their ignorance :p
 
simongr said:
Interesting thought - could one get the company to pay for a J seat and get a downgrade and commensurate voucher redmeeable for personal flying. Admittedly slightly unethical and likely to be picked up when I am auditing people's expense claims. Also as people are probably aware the likelihood of me volunteering to go from F->J is pretty low (given F is so rare) and J->whY is a non-starter.

I wonder why they call it a downgrade voucher - why not just refund the difference in fare paid...
Such rorting of the system would be a sackable offence in my company. If the company pays for J then they expect there is good and valid reason for it and expect to have those reasons fulfilled.
 
simongr said:
I am sensing that no-one has heard of these are using humour to cover their ignorance :p
Sorry, guilty as charged :oops: . Should have said I had never heard of said voucher in my flippant post.
 
odoherty said:
Is anybody actually interested in answering this question seriously?
I don't believe there is such a beast as a "downgrade voucher" from QF. They may provide financial compensation in the form of a refund/compensation voucher, but it would be a generic process and not one specific for downgrades.

I most cases, an involuntary downgrade will result in a refund of the difference between lowest fare available on the day of travel for the booked class and flown class. Such compensation is generally required to be paid in cash whenever the work "involuntary" is involved, which is why airlines always prefer to find volunteers to bump or downgrade and offer some form of lesser incentive for them to volunteer. Voluntary bump or downgrade compensation may be in the form of a voucher that can only be redeemed for travel services from that airline. Involuntary bump or downgrade compensation should be provided in cash. So perhaps such a voucher is able to be exchanges for cash at the airline's ticket office at the airport.

So it all depends on whether the bump or downgrade is considered by the airline to be voluntary or involuntary.
 
Qantas deal with involuntary downgrade in several different ways.

Methinks the Qantas agent the OP spoke to was using a generic term.

I had an experience last year where Qantas vouchers were being offered for voluntary downgrades SYD-SIN: Voluntary Downgrade, SYD-SIN! Would You? - FlyerTalk Forums

In this case it was a choice of:
  • USD250 credited to CC of choice or
  • USD525 QF voucher.
 
NM said:
Such rorting of the system would be a sackable offence in my company. If the company pays for J then they expect there is good and valid reason for it and expect to have those reasons fulfilled.

I wholeheartedly agree (and sadly I would be one of the people potentially marching them off the premises :()

I am just wondering though about my company travel policy (which is a blend of global US policy and local policies) would deal with the voluntary/involuntary bumping that goes on in the US.

As I understand it there is quite a "scheme" around people positioning themselves for voluntary bump "certificates". I just wonder how "we" would/should structure policies for people aiming for this - such as booking last flight out of SYD to HKG in J (perfectly permissible within our policy) checking in late with an expectation of being bumped to whY and taking the credit/refund. Quite different to the rort (did you know that is a peculiarly Australian word - I hadnt heard it until I moved here) I mentioned above.
 
NM said:
Such rorting of the system would be a sackable offence in my company. If the company pays for J then they expect there is good and valid reason for it and expect to have those reasons fulfilled.
Interesting you mention sackable offence. How would the company know if they did not see boarding passes and only saw the invoice from travel agent or airline.

A few years back one of my golfing buddies went to China in business class for work and the return flight HKG-SYD was full in business class. He was offered a seat on the next days flight or a downgrade to economy, I think first row with the other 2 seats blocked, and $1000 in cash. Guess which option he chose?
 
JohnK said:
Interesting you mention sackable offence. How would the company know if they did not see boarding passes and only saw the invoice from travel agent or airline.

With expense claims, the company I work for currently , requires boarding passes to be submitted along with receipts, if only to prove that the flight was actually taken and that the ticket wasn't just refunded. A travel class discrepency does get spotted and the claim goes for audit. The claim is not progressed until the discrepancy is explained ( e.g. that personal FF miles were used to upgrade from J-F )

Dave
 
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