QF Economy Flex books into Discount Economy

[defurax]

I used to see the fact that QF hides fare class on their website as something annoying, but today I realised just how stupid that decision is. So I tried to book a Flex Y ticket MEL-SYD-DFW-ATL, YYZ-ORD-LAX-SYD-MEL and I made sure to select only QF codeshare on the AA domestic segments. Using the QF calculator this itinerary should give 310 SC, but the website said 270 SC. So I called QF and they told me that the fare basis HLX0A books in H class for QF operated flights but in the lowest available fare class on codeshare flights. In my case the QF codeshares on AA booked in O and Q instead of Y, B or H.

I asked the agent why Qantas would advertise a Flex fare that books in discount economy and he told me that if the AA flights were almost full, it would then book in a higher fare class. So basically, when buying a QF Flex Y fare to the US it's better to look at the loading of the QF codeshare and only pick flights that are full.
What a coughpy system. The agent also told me that I would earn SC at the Flex Y rate even if booked in O...they really have no clue how QFF works!

 

[michaele]

Agreed. I’ve had this issue previously with WS flights from LAX to Canada. Inevitably it credits at the discount economy rate, I call up, and eventually find someone who agrees if I choose the “flex” column I should expect flex Sc earn.

 

[Mattg]

Yet another reason for Qantas to show the fare classes when you book a flight on their website! How is the average punter supposed to know that the AA flight is booking into discount Y?

 

[defurax]

Yet another reason for Qantas to show the fare classes when you book a flight on their website! How is the average punter supposed to know that the AA flight is booking into discount Y?

Exactly! I wonder if QF needs to give AA more money for seats booked in higher fare buckets even if the flight is marketed by QF. The agent told me this was a recent change. But I'm really not impressed. I had seen in the past J fare rules where domestic flights book in Flex Y instead of J (e.g. MEL-SYD-AKL-PPT), but this is for discount J. One would expect that no segment of a Flex Y itinerary would book in discount Y!