QR withholding award seats from Qantas?

[Pom-DownUnder]

This is really infuriating, but informative.

Thanks AFF

 

[SydneySwan]

So QR conspiring to make VA points even more valuable than QF points. I already classify VA points as more valuable than QF because of the ability to book SQ rewards and the limited availability of J and F on Qantas. Now QR are pushing VA points up another level.

 

[jase05]

This is really infuriating, but informative.

Thanks AFF

i think it’s pretty obvious that it’s very deliberate and some “gamesmanship“ from QR.
Was fairly obvious when they chose to go into partnership with VA that the relationship with QF was sour and this just further cements this IMO.
Im not complaining though as I‘ve sill got a stack of Velocity points to burn through and I’m hoping the availability to VA is in abundance

 

[johnjones878]

So QR conspiring to make VA points even more valuable than QF points.

But even VA is 30 days behind the other partnered airlines though. And why not just end their alliance with Qantas then?

Makes QR J useless for most QFF members because all the good seats will now be snapped up by others, especially as Velocity provides an alternative.

What was the QR's J rewards allowance per flight again anyway? Like 1 or 2 seats? And also seem to remember reading somwhere about them being OK with flying near-empty J cabins ex Australia.

Wouldn't have been too concerned about all this (apart from missing out on Qsuites) if only Cathay/CI/JAL had more offerings to Europe available for us as well.

 

[twiningb]

But even VA is 30 days behind the other partnered airlines though. And why not just end their alliance with Qantas then?

Virgin opens the calendar at about the same time as American, which would be the other partner with substantial competition for EU<>AU premium award availability. And Virgin is probably hours earlier given the relative timing. Otherwise the major Qatar partner having earlier access to awards would be British Airways, which is arguably a subsidiary of Qatar at this point and has a shared award currency.

And there's never been a meaningful bilateral alliance between Qatar and Qantas. It's only been the same as any other Oneworld member since Qatar joined that alliance a few years back. And Qantas, with its preexisting relationship with Qatar's rival Emirates, was not one of the preferred alliance partners from Qatar's perspective.

 

[Mattg]

But even VA is 30 days behind the other partnered airlines though. And why not just end their alliance with Qantas then?

VA is only 30 days behind other partner airlines due to a historical limitation with Sabre whereby bookings were only possible up to 331 days in advance, not because of any intentional actions by either Velocity nor Qatar to reduce availability.

For QR and QF to cease being partners, one of them would have to leave oneworld. Qatar has threatened this a couple of times, but I can't really see them following through.

 

[Pom-DownUnder]

Wouldn't have been too concerned about all this (apart from missing out on Qsuites) if only Cathay/CI/JAL had more offerings to Europe available for us as well.

This is really Nail = Head.

SYD to LHR instead of being a buffet of choices as it should be is instead a "how many strange airports can i hop from and to to stay in Business"

 

[jase05]

Wouldn't have been too concerned about all this (apart from missing out on Qsuites) if only Cathay/CI/JAL had more offerings to Europe available for us as well.

With HK and Japan opening up further hopefully more options will come into the fold. I saw a few articles that mentioned CX as putting on 200 pairs in October with MEL and SYD getting increased frequencies

 

[Withnail & I]

It’s not just the QR flights that QA aren’t offering: there are very few Etihad flights to Europe either. For example, VA offers plenty of EY Australia to Athens economy rewards seats every day from 30 June 2023 through July 2023 but Qantas has none.

 

[bcworld]

It’s not just the QR flights that QA aren’t offering: there are very few Etihad flights to Europe either. For example, VA offers plenty of EY Australia to Athens economy rewards seats every day from 30 June 2023 through July 2023 but Qantas has none.

Qantas has never offered EY redemptions.

 

[Withnail & I]

Speaking of VA, if VA offers no QR economy rewards seats on certain days in June/July 2023 but some on the surrounding days is it likely they have been snapped up and won’t be available on the QA site when the 249 days come around?

 

[Withnail & I]

Qantas has never offered EY redemptions.

Sorry, I was thinking of Emirates which QA do offer. Newbie here!

 

[BriarFlyer]

Speaking of VA, if VA offers no QR economy rewards seats on certain days in June/July 2023 but some on the surrounding days is it likely they have been snapped up and won’t be available on the QA site when the 249 days come around?

I think that's a fair assumption. You could double-check availability on another Oneworld partner's website such as BA or JAL.

 

[Pom-DownUnder]

Sorry, I was thinking of Emirates which QA do offer. Newbie here!

yea lots of EK availability from/to anywhere other than AU. madness, punitive.

 

[seritonin]

I can see 2X QR J availability on BA website from every Australian cities, almost everyday, from the 4th of September 2023 but none on QF.
Truly end of an era of using QFF for J QR off peak summer Europe travels

 

[Pom-DownUnder]

I can see 2X QR J availability on BA website from every Australian cities, almost everyday, from the 4th of September 2023 but none on QF.
Truly end of an era of using QFF for J QR off peak summer Europe travels

think I just threw up in my mouth a bit.

 

[rigram]

If QR/BA/VA premium award booking is cancelled - does the premium award seat appear back as bookable award seat in airline inventory?

 

[Danger]

If QR/BA/VA premium award booking is cancelled - does the premium award seat appear back as bookable award seat in airline inventory?

That's never guaranteed.

 

[Pom-DownUnder]

I have been watching the CBR to DOH flights as they get added 119 days out for a few weeks now as i'm toying between trying to book for next oct or waiting for being 119 days out from oct and going direct from CBR where I live.

the CBR to DOH flight in Feb as of midnight just isnt showing up any more

 

[levelnine]

the CBR to DOH flight in Feb as of midnight just isnt showing up any more

Availability every day in February if you have Avios ....