QFF Platinum requesting release of extra Classic award seats?

[medhead]

Update: Just took the 3 U seats and put in a separate request to release 2 seats. Told to call back tomorrow arvo to check success.

For those with success. Currently looking at a flight with I3U3, needing 5 seats. Recommendations to take the 3 U seats and then request another 2 separately, or try to grab all 5 in one go? This is on a domestic flight. So I'm not being greedy on QF1.

 

[pauly7]

Re: QFF Platinum and request release of extra Classic award seats

Has anyone had any luck getting seats released for non QF metal flights?

A mate claims he has but I'm dubious...

 

[MrJetset]

Re: QFF Platinum and request release of extra Classic award seats

Has anyone had any luck getting seats released for non QF metal flights?

A mate claims he has but I'm dubious...

Impossible.

 

[pauly7]

QFF Platinum no longer can request release of extra Classic award seats

Impossible.

Well technically it is possible but I def agree that they don't it on request which is what is being claimed... It has been discussed on AFF that QF *can* call up an airline and get a seat released but it's only been documented in a service recovery space where QF has stuffed up!

 

[madrooster]

Re: QFF Platinum and request release of extra Classic award seats

Any partnered airline can technically request seats from their partner - it's called a long sell or a manual sell. In practice contact centre staff are told not to do it... AS recently rehashed on this in their contact centres about requesting award space from EK.

 

[medhead]

Update: Just took the 3 U seats and put in a separate request to release 2 seats. Told to call back tomorrow arvo to check success.

And the 2 requested seats have come in. Noted that E/F availability changed from J9C9D6*I3 to J7C7D5*I3 earlier this morning.

* I'm guessing at the D number. might have been D5 both times, was in between 3 and 7/9

 

[kpc]

Booked 2xJ awards, and 2xY awards (as only 2xJ available) online on QF 25 Syd-Hnd in Jan 2016. Rang premium desk yesterday and asked about the release of 2x J awards (EF was showing I9). 1xJ seat was automatically released but the 2nd J seat had to be manually requested...so got a phone call back from John (Premium desk) today, saying that the 2nd J seat was manually released...waived assisted booking fee without asking, and just charged 3500 pts per ticket to change each Y award to J award and the points differential (36K per ticket)....and he also automatically allocated seats next to our 2 original J seats (which is in the old F section of the old 4 seat 747 configuration)....so we have 4 award seats in J from Syd to Hnd:mrgreen::mrgreen:...this has been the best Plat benefit so far apart from F lounge access at Syd and Mel. Thanks QF!!

(PS returning Kix-Icn-Syd in OZ J x4 using bought Avianca Lifemiles)

 

[Danger]

The thread title is well and truly overdue to be corrected.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Re: QFF Platinum and request release of extra Classic award seats

Any partnered airline can technically request seats from their partner - it's called a long sell or a manual sell. In practice contact centre staff are told not to do it... AS recently rehashed on this in their contact centres about requesting award space from EK.

So to clarify, QF will not release award seats on request on a codeshare flight on EK metal?

If this is the case it means this platinum benefit is effectively not available to anyone in Perth. Or Adelaide for that matter.

 

[madrooster]

Re: QFF Platinum and request release of extra Classic award seats

So to clarify, QF will not release award seats on request on a codeshare flight on EK metal?

If this is the case it means this platinum benefit is effectively not available to anyone in Perth. Or Adelaide for that matter.

QF can only release seats on their own code (or codeshare) as is the case on the LA codeshares to AKL/SCL. That is of their own choosing and entirely up to the arrangement that they have with the operator of the prime flight number.

If it was in their agreement with EK, they could release award seats on EK codeshares too. Assuming this isn't the case then QF could request an award seat from EK. It'd be up to EK to approve it (it'd be a waitlisted sector until EK confirms it). Generally, the policy everywhere is to NOT do long sells on award seats as I mentioned previously...

I wouldn't say the benefit isn't available at all - it is for domestic, it's just not available to PER/ADL residents for international.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Re: QFF Platinum and request release of extra Classic award seats

I wouldn't say the benefit isn't available at all - it is for domestic, it's just not available to PER/ADL residents for international.

The only possible reason for loyalty to QF rather than VA is that QF is a truly international airline and part of OW.
This constant refrain of "Perth and Adelaide still have the benefits just on QFd not QFi" is a case of misleading pedantry.

 

[Quickstatus]

Re: QFF Platinum and request release of extra Classic award seats

So to clarify, QF will not release award seats on request on a codeshare flight on EK metal?

If this is the case it means this platinum benefit is effectively not available to anyone in Perth. Or Adelaide for that matter.

Fact of the matter id that this is not an official platinum benefit, so officially anyway there is no difference geographically. But we all know QF is east coast centric.

i wonder if the request to release seats actually to to another department or is it just a ploy?.

 

[pauly7]

The thread title is well and truly overdue to be corrected.

100% agreed!

 

[medhead]

Yet my one attempt to get an award on EK there were plenty of seats. I mentioned it above. QFd connecting to EK. 7 Seats award available from QF on the EK flight, max of 3 awards on corresponding QFi flights and 3 awards on the QFd flight. I needed 5 seats and had to ask for QFd awards to be released. To cut a long story short, my feeling is that this benefit is pointless for platinums in PER and ADL as the awards might be available anyway.

 

[QF029]

Re: QFF Platinum and request release of extra Classic award seats

So to clarify, QF will not release award seats on request on a codeshare flight on EK metal?

If this is the case it means this platinum benefit is effectively not available to anyone in Perth. Or Adelaide for that matter.

It is available, you just need a domestic tag leg.

 

[JohnPhelan]

Re: QFF Platinum and request release of extra Classic award seats

How likely are you to find I class when there are only 28 seats in business?

How successful have people been getting business class seats released on A330 services?

I have had a J seat released on A330 services (HNL) - it came out of the I inventory after a request to Yield.

 

[JohnPhelan]

Re: QFF Platinum and request release of extra Classic award seats

Fact of the matter id that this is not an official platinum benefit, so officially anyway there is no difference geographically. But we all know QF is east coast centric.

i wonder if the request to release seats actually to to another department or is it just a ploy?.

I'm told by someone I know at QF (who deals with these requests at times) that some can be approved instantly by the system when the operator puts in the request; others have to be physically referred to Yield Management for an "analyst" to make a decision.

 

[kpc]

Re: QFF Platinum and request release of extra Classic award seats

Booked 2xJ awards, and 2xY awards (as only 2xJ available) online on QF 25 Syd-Hnd in Jan 2016. Rang premium desk yesterday and asked about the release of 2x J awards (EF was showing I9). 1xJ seat was automatically released but the 2nd J seat had to be manually requested...so got a phone call back from John (Premium desk) today, saying that the 2nd J seat was manually released...waived assisted booking fee without asking, and just charged 3500 pts per ticket to change each Y award to J award and the points differential (36K per ticket)....and he also automatically allocated seats next to our 2 original J seats (which is in the old F section of the old 4 seat 747 configuration)....so we have 4 award seats in J from Syd to Hnd:mrgreen::mrgreen:...this has been the best Plat benefit so far apart from F lounge access at Syd and Mel. Thanks QF!!

(PS returning Kix-Icn-Syd in OZ J x4 using bought Avianca Lifemiles)

I'm told by someone I know at QF (who deals with these requests at times) that some can be approved instantly by the system; others have to be physically referred to Yield Management for an "analyst" to make a decision.

That's exactly what happened in my case...first J award seat was approved automatically, and 2nd J award seat request was sent to yield management and reviewed the following morning (I rang at 5pm)...apparently the agent can also put notes in to "help" your case eg he wrote to this effect "3 family members travelling in J....would really like 4th member in J as well"

 

[madrooster]

Re: QFF Platinum and request release of extra Classic award seats

I'm told by someone I know at QF (who deals with these requests at times) that some can be approved instantly by the system when the operator puts in the request; others have to be physically referred to Yield Management for an "analyst" to make a decision.

I can verify that this is correct. There is a pool of P/U/Z/X availability that is made available only to the premium desk operators, beyond that it's a manual request to yield.

 

[MrJetset]

Re: QFF Platinum and request release of extra Classic award seats

QF agents will tell you this on the phone. They tend to call the system the 'droid.'