Thanks to the members who post here.
I have found lots of good insights and I have refered my travelling friends to this site
From insights found here I contacted Zuji for 2 return tickets to LHR on my favoured Airline "Korean Air" who I regard as TOPS.
BACKGROUND
We travel mostly for business & for my wife being a homesick Brit.
We travel to the UK (annually & hopefully now twice a year) where I keep a just upgraded 6.1 m motorhome which is our home for 2 months each year as we do the "Grey Nomad" thing and buy china for my china replacement Business "Chinafinders P/L"
www.chinafinders.com.au .
Zuji needed a telephone call (as having had a DVT and major surgery in the recent past ) I wanted a paid stop on the way home as well as the FREE 5* inc meals Korean Air provided stop on the BNE LHR outbound leg.
The telephone assistant quoted several different tax numbers and seemed unsure of the correct figure and I was sure to confirm + take notes & sales assistant details. Zuji also confirmed NO Booking agent Surcharges( a very significant point).
A few days later I contacted Korean and using the same procedure with notes & names I confirmed a lower tax $ number
REFUND
I contacted Zuji and asked politely if they could check the correct tax number. After a few telephone calls and a most polite dialogue with Zuji Zuji advised I would recieve a credit.
6 weeks on from the start of tax enquiries I have just noticed my credit card has recieved a credit from Zuji of $134.
WELL DONE ZUJI.
BOOKING EXPERIENCE
When making the initial fare inquiries I checked as usual Best Flights & Travel.com .
Travel. com gave very little choice and nothing worthwhile on Korean Air.
Best Flights had an OK fare but when I called to check the sales person immediately quoted a fare abt $100 dearer than on the web and refused to budge despite the far announcement being new that day. The taxes also seemed to vary for Korean on the same dates & flights so I suspect there are other hidden charges not revealed.
I tried to book the Zuji fare with an additional stop Incheon but ended up needing to call an operator. It eventually took 2 calls to get it all resolved.
The end fare at Zuji was excellent and the tickets arrived promptly a few days later registered post.
MY KOREAN AIR EXPERIENCEs & SKYPASS FF
A few points about my experiences with Korean Air FF program.
Inklo program allows joining miles of family members-This I regard as a huge Bonus.
Morning calm FF status readilly achievable. 30,000 miles in 2 years-(BNE-LHR return is 20,000 miles).
Also if you travel enough the FF program upgrades baggage allowance to 30Kg and gives Business Lounge vouchers.
FF seats always seem readily available and are in a top priority standby classification as I found out on a prior trip where my wife on a Korean FF ticket readilly rescheduled a flight but I on a discount paid ticket had to wait until 20 minutes before doors close to get the last economy seat.
Also I have noticed Korean Air is fairly relaxed about a few extra KG of baggage for both hand carry and cargo hold.
(Having been stung by Lufthansa out of St Petersberg for abt A$1000 for excess for the same "over weight" that included weighing my hand carry as part of the 20Kg allowance. All of which was carried no charge elsewhere on a ROW Star Alliance ticket. )
Hence I'm now a HATE Lufthansa person and make it a priority to check Airline baggage policies.
"Diners" points can be used to top up miles at a 50% rate.
As a retired RAAF engineering officer I always look at the aircraft internal condition and on time performance as an indicator of the Maintenance mindset. Having travelled with Phillipines Air , Continental and a few others best not named I would rate Korean Air very highly.
Brisbane & LHR departure/arrival times are all convenient for connections which are matters I always consider as a high priority
Korean Air Plus's in summary:-
Free Top Quality O/Night stop at Incheon BNE-LHR My value A$350.I rate this a major +.
FF program Famly plan for miles & Diners partner make one FF ticket BNE-LHR return easilly attainable every third trip to UK.Also a Major +
Morning calm members get 4x KAL lounge pass ,extra 10Kg & priority checkin & boarding. A BIG +
Well maintained aircraft & good on time performance.
Depart & arrive times BNE & LHR convenient for my usual travel .
Relatively short BNE to LHR door to door times.
Korean Air Draw backs.
Diners points at 50%. Residents in the USA get a better rate.
Only 1 western meal choice . The alternate Korean rice dish is quite enjoyable but beware of the HOT-HOT chile paste provided.
Recent substantial increases in points to achieve a BNE-LHR return ticket in line with rest of SKYPASS system. now 110,000 points off peak
Discount economy only yields 70% miles to FF program