The Qantas Newbie Questions Thread

[encryptededdy]

OWA. Means what? Other way around??

Oneworld Award

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Just wondering what the process is for part refund of a downgraded portion of trip.

Will Qantas do this automatically or do I have to lodge a complaint?

How do they work out the $ refunadable?

We booked and paid $ for return J flights from Perth to Queenstown. The mid arvo return flight was delayed, so our connecting flight Sydney to Perth was changed to the last flight of the day.

I checked our seats and noticed that my wife and I were now seperated - one still in J and one kicked to Y. As this was now the last flight of the day, no options for a later flight to enable us to be together in J.

Tried calling Qantas, tried the check in counters and J lounge reception - no luck in getting us together.

Do we wait and hope Qantas will do the right thing?

One other thing - the Domestic J Lounge in Sydney is a disgrace. Filthy.

Put in a claim for ORC.
Your wife should have earned the QFF points and QFF SC on the J seat, as your connecting flight was changed, and your wife didn't get the seat you or she paid for.
Knowing QFF, its not auto.
Keep pestering them, all the better if you do have still got your BP.
Send the claim to QFF, I am not sure of the exact email address.
Do you want the $ back, or do you want the QFF points and QFF SC?
If airline status is important, do the points claim.
There might be a form somewhere, I have not done it, but others on here have.
Wait a few hours and see what other replies you get.
*Maybe post a new thread if no replies on this thread*.

 

[RichardMEL]

First, I would look into delay compensation as it sounds like an over 2 hour delay, and QF have a policy on this
(https://www.qantas.com/au/en/book-a-trip/flights/compensation-and-refunds-policy.html) Of course it depends on what the delay cause was and how they want to interpret that (see under "Delay under our control/not at home airport")

QF does have an involuntary downgrade policy of sorts, but all I could find is the agency page (https://www.qantas.com/agencyconnec...issues-and-refunds/involuntary-downgrade.html) - which only specifies that a customer is entitled to a "Fare Adjustment"

Elsewhere, there's been reference to QF calculating this against the full Y value of the sector in question, rather than the Y fare when the ticket was purchased, and further, fare breakdown on an international ticket like this means the pro rata value of the J seat for SYD-PER within the overall ticket may be different to hat is expected (in the good old days of paper tickets, one could see the "NUC" value of each ticketed sector, but I digress).

The point is, the affected person who was downgraded should be entitled to a refund of a pro rate amount for the SYD-PER leg that was downgraded. Howebver, if one accepts that, then asking for the ORC (Original Routing Credit, or in this case Original Class of Service Credit) probably won't be accepted since QF will suggest that since the "fare adjustment" was paid, then one has, in effect, paid for and only entitled to the Y credit for the flight taken.

I definitely think it's worth pursuing as this is a large part of the overall itin that's been affected for one pax and if the delay was caused by QF (yes, seems so) then they're on the hook for it imo.

good luck.

 

[RooFlyer]

Howebver, if one accepts that, then asking for the ORC (Original Routing Credit, or in this case Original Class of Service Credit) probably won't be accepted since QF will suggest that since the "fare adjustment" was paid, then one has, in effect, paid for and only entitled to the Y credit for the flight taken.

I agree with that interpretation, although was fortunate to receive both ORC and fare difference (values as you suggest) from Virgin when I chose to take a certain alternative flight in Y to my J one that was cancelled.

 

[Randel]

Thanks everyone for the input!!

Put in a claim for ORC.
Your wife should have earned the QFF points and QFF SC on the J seat, as your connecting flight was changed, and your wife didn't get the seat you or she paid for.
Knowing QFF, its not auto.
Keep pestering them, all the better if you do have still got your BP.
Send the claim to QFF, I am not sure of the exact email address.
Do you want the $ back, or do you want the QFF points and QFF SC?
If airline status is important, do the points claim.
There might be a form somewhere, I have not done it, but others on here have.
Wait a few hours and see what other replies you get.
*Maybe post a new thread if no replies on this thread*.

Cheers Poochie - will pester them for the $$$ - SC probably wont make a lot of difference to either of us this year - both will be SG but probably wont make WP

First, I would look into delay compensation as it sounds like an over 2 hour delay, and QF have a policy on this
(https://www.qantas.com/au/en/book-a-trip/flights/compensation-and-refunds-policy.html) Of course it depends on what the delay cause was and how they want to interpret that (see under "Delay under our control/not at home airport")

QF does have an involuntary downgrade policy of sorts, but all I could find is the agency page (https://www.qantas.com/agencyconnec...issues-and-refunds/involuntary-downgrade.html) - which only specifies that a customer is entitled to a "Fare Adjustment"

Elsewhere, there's been reference to QF calculating this against the full Y value of the sector in question, rather than the Y fare when the ticket was purchased, and further, fare breakdown on an international ticket like this means the pro rata value of the J seat for SYD-PER within the overall ticket may be different to hat is expected (in the good old days of paper tickets, one could see the "NUC" value of each ticketed sector, but I digress).

The point is, the affected person who was downgraded should be entitled to a refund of a pro rate amount for the SYD-PER leg that was downgraded. Howebver, if one accepts that, then asking for the ORC (Original Routing Credit, or in this case Original Class of Service Credit) probably won't be accepted since QF will suggest that since the "fare adjustment" was paid, then one has, in effect, paid for and only entitled to the Y credit for the flight taken.

I definitely think it's worth pursuing as this is a large part of the overall itin that's been affected for one pax and if the delay was caused by QF (yes, seems so) then they're on the hook for it imo.

good luck.

Thanks Richard - yes thats the frustrating part - it was the longest leg of 4 legs of the itinerary.

Our flight was only an hour late leaving ZQN, but was a snowball effect of refuellers strike first thing in MEL. Meant MEL to SYD was delayed, that then delayed SYD to ZQN, which then delayed our ZQN to SYD return.

I agree with that interpretation, although was fortunate to receive both ORC and fare difference (values as you suggest) from Virgin when I chose to take a certain alternative flight in Y to my J one that was cancelled.

Thanks Roo, fingers crossed I get a similar result . I hope you are enjoying your trip, very envious




As Poochie suggested - I might start a new thread rather than filling this one - I have a couple other questions/concerns with potential downgrades in the future

 

[Koalamanx]

Hi,

I have about 550k Qantas points and am looking to fly Business (or First if possible, ideally Emirates) with my Fiancé anytime between May 2024 - August 2024 to Europe from Sydney and return .
I have never used points before, so I am kind of scared that if I leave it till last minute I won’t get anything at all, despite still wanting to go on the trip.
What’s my best option? I was thinking of locking something Economy in and then closer to the date trying to upgrade with points, but I hear thats a lottery?
We’re flexible, but would at least love to fly one way business / first if return is not possible.
Any tips on how to do this best? Also, does anyone have recommendations for someone who does all this for us, searching etc. and good experiences?

 

[Kerrodt]

Hi,

I have about 550k Qantas points and am looking to fly Business (or First if possible, ideally Emirates) with my Fiancé anytime between May 2024 - August 2024 to Europe from Sydney and return .
I have never used points before, so I am kind of scared that if I leave it till last minute I won’t get anything at all, despite still wanting to go on the trip.
What’s my best option? I was thinking of locking something Economy in and then closer to the date trying to upgrade with points, but I hear thats a lottery?
We’re flexible, but would at least love to fly one way business / first if return is not possible.
Any tips on how to do this best? Also, does anyone have recommendations for someone who does all this for us, searching etc. and good experiences?

Best to act early and be positioned to act when the seats are released.

Take a look at this (Award Flight Assist): Award Flight Assist - Frequent Flyer Solutions as this is a paid service provided by AFF for the problems that you are trying to solve.

Also there are a few good Travel Agents on here who know some really good tricks of the trade and may be able to help you out. @madrooster comes to mind as someone who you could send a PM to seek assistance. Again, expect a fee because they are doing the (hard) work for you.

Either way, it would probably be worth it for you in the long run and worth spending some money to get a result that's a lot better than you would be able to achieve on your own.

 

[flyingfan]

Hi,

I have about 550k Qantas points and am looking to fly Business (or First if possible, ideally Emirates) with my Fiancé anytime between May 2024 - August 2024 to Europe from Sydney and return .
I have never used points before, so I am kind of scared that if I leave it till last minute I won’t get anything at all, despite still wanting to go on the trip.
What’s my best option? I was thinking of locking something Economy in and then closer to the date trying to upgrade with points, but I hear thats a lottery?
We’re flexible, but would at least love to fly one way business / first if return is not possible.
Any tips on how to do this best? Also, does anyone have recommendations for someone who does all this for us, searching etc. and good experiences?

Some good points from Kerrodt. I’d also add/reinforce:

• Great you’re thinking and planning early
• Be super flexible and you might snag a memorable flight in business/first. Even those with high status often don’t get exactly the dates they want, the stops they want or the airline they want
• Miracles can happen with upgrades from economy but to manage expectations, expect to fly in the seat you booked

 

[Koalamanx]

Thanks so much guys! Will be looking into Award Flight Assist - Frequent Flyer Solutions and @madrooster has already been a big help! Everyone has here so far, truly appreciate it.

 

[Mwenenzi]

OWA. Means what? Other way around??

"oneworld" award (132.4K/249.6K/318K/455K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

That's not how I read the post. There's nothing about the structuring of commercial fares/tickets in smart ways that is easy or accessible. I was going off the phrases: "by being smart", "as a very simple example" and "that's an easy approx 10% saving".

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Don't have to tell us, but just so you know, the high grade QFF member you are, the better the chance to getting J seats, if on QF.
But seeing that you would like to use EK, on them, it depends on the number of seats that EK releases to QF to issue to its members.

 

[RichardMEL]

Hi,

I have about 550k Qantas points and am looking to fly Business (or First if possible, ideally Emirates) with my Fiancé anytime between May 2024 - August 2024 to Europe from Sydney and return .
I have never used points before, so I am kind of scared that if I leave it till last minute I won’t get anything at all, despite still wanting to go on the trip.
What’s my best option? I was thinking of locking something Economy in and then closer to the date trying to upgrade with points, but I hear thats a lottery?
We’re flexible, but would at least love to fly one way business / first if return is not possible.
Any tips on how to do this best? Also, does anyone have recommendations for someone who does all this for us, searching etc. and good experiences?

Also note you can't use QF points to upgrade on EK flights. And even if you had some EK points (Skywards) they may not allow upgrades from reward tickets.

Anyway I agree with the others be flexible. You want basically peak times - and I understand you want to take your Fiance (congrats, btw!) on a special trip and that's lovely so it's good you have a wide window.

The reward seats for May should start (maybe!) showing up in a month or so and hopefully you can snag something. You may definitely need to try things like MEL-SIN-DXB-xyz(europe) or BNE-DXB-xyz etc to be flexible.. even look at departues out of PER. EK is notorious with not giving much joy to QF flyers ex-oz (it's more revenue for them). Another option is potentially looking to fly separately to Asaia - say BKK/SIN/HKG and picking up an EK flight there if there's availability. You may need to get creative.

good luck!

 

[johnjones878]

Hello, wasn't sure were to ask this but are the old 159k points pp one way for business class to europe reward seat flights pretty much obsolete at this point?

I'm based in brisbane and was originally hoping to send my parents to europe through the middle east since that seemed like the most direct route. Except now that QA has left the alliance and EK fees are some ridiculous $1k+ pp one way (though funnily enough F seats cost 4.5k less points than J), seems like the only feasible options left are to fly through singaore and then Finnair etc (187.6k) or through taiwan with one fewer stop (179k) after they recently started allowing onwards reward seat bookings? Does not appear possible at the moment to book reward flights to europe though HKG on Cathay yet or KUL with Malaysian, or maybe I simply haven't been able to locate any in my results.

Nothing planned in the schedule yet though maybe late this year or within the next year or two possibly.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Hello, wasn't sure were to ask this but are the old 159k points pp one way for business class to Europe reward seat flights pretty much obsolete at this point?

I'm based in brisbane and was originally hoping to send my parents to europe through the middle east since that seemed like the most direct route. Except now that QA has left the alliance and EK fees are some ridiculous $1k+ pp one way (though funnily enough F seats cost 4.5k less points than J), seems like the only feasible options left are to fly through singaore and then Finnair etc (187.6k) or through taiwan with one fewer stop (179k) after they recently started allowing onwards reward seat bookings? Does not appear possible at the moment to book reward flights to europe though HKG on Cathay yet or KUL with Malaysian, or maybe I simply haven't been able to locate any in my results.

Nothing planned in the schedule yet though maybe late this year or within the next year or two possibly.

Both Qantas QF and Qatar QR are still in the Oneworld alliance.
However is very limited (nil?) award flights on QR made available to QF frequent flyers.
When are they hoping to travel? Business class awards AU-EU/UK, using QF ff points, have always been hard and very hard now (since CV19 ended)

 

[johnjones878]

Both Qantas QF and Qatar QR are still in the Oneworld alliance.
However is very limited (nil?) award flights on QR made available to QF frequent flyers.
When are they hoping to travel? Business class awards AU-EU/UK, using QF ff points, have always been hard and very hard now (since CV19 ended)

Yeah I've also come across the comments in the QR thread about rare single seats popping up like a week or few days out on qantas's reward search, but that's hardly viable for any trip planning especially for a couple haha.

I seem to remember during my searches early last year there were surprisingly a lot of QR seats within half a year out, must've been when people were still apphrehensive about international travel. And then as the year went on the QR and EK stuff to Europe pretty much all but dried up, and now EK J are like 230k pp one way.

Parents are hoping to travel for about a month either around Oct/Nov this year or any time shoulder/off peak in 24 and 25.

I don't mind the SIN or TPE routes but just wanted to check in case there were more obvious options I was missing.

 

[RichardMEL]

Hello, wasn't sure were to ask this but are the old 159k points pp one way for business class to europe reward seat flights pretty much obsolete at this point?

I'm based in brisbane and was originally hoping to send my parents to europe through the middle east since that seemed like the most direct route. Except now that QA has left the alliance and EK fees are some ridiculous $1k+ pp one way (though funnily enough F seats cost 4.5k less points than J), seems like the only feasible options left are to fly through singaore and then Finnair etc (187.6k) or through taiwan with one fewer stop (179k) after they recently started allowing onwards reward seat bookings? Does not appear possible at the moment to book reward flights to europe though HKG on Cathay yet or KUL with Malaysian, or maybe I simply haven't been able to locate any in my results.

Nothing planned in the schedule yet though maybe late this year or within the next year or two possibly.

I'm not too sure who or what you mean by "QA has left the alliance" - QA is who? QANTAS? (which is QF) or do yoiu mean Qatar? (QR)? And which alliance? The QF/EK alliance? or the oneworld alliance. Anyway the answer to all of those is no, though QR have done all they can to show their displeasure with QF (ie: Virgin Alliance, etc) so they're not going out of their way to give QF flyers any love.

The other problem you have is the timeframe - you're well within the window in which reward seats have been initially allocated and snapped up (and you want two, which is going to make it harder).

Noting also that when you're discussing multiple airline awares ie: QF BNE-SIN-HEL-xx_) you're looking at a oneworld award (OWA) which is a higher rate than a QF only award - hence the higher points value. If you can get seats going via SIN and HEL then I say grab them.. and if you want J or F via the ME then you'll likely have to cop the EK evil surcharges(which they charge to everyone, not just QF awards) if you can find the seats.

You may find QR, but you may have to call QF to find those if the multi-city tool doesn't work for you (if any exist of course).

 

[johnjones878]

I'm not too sure who or what you mean by "QA has left the alliance" - QA is who? QANTAS? (which is QF) or do yoiu mean Qatar? (QR)? And which alliance? The QF/EK alliance? or the oneworld alliance. Anyway the answer to all of those is no, though QR have done all they can to show their displeasure with QF (ie: Virgin Alliance, etc) so they're not going out of their way to give QF flyers any love.

Sorry for the typos and my imprecise wording around oneworld alliance/partnerships/codeshares. It's still funny to me that people get hung up on the technicality that Qatar hasn't technically/officially left the Qantas partnership since for all intents and purposes to the average reward seat seeker like myself they're pretty much unattainable compared to pre-covid.

The other problem you have is the timeframe - you're well within the window in which reward seats have been initially allocated and snapped up (and you want two, which is going to make it harder).

Well I did say in my post that I'm not looking at any fixed schedules or time frames yet and that I'm OK to keep looking until 2024 or 2025 since my parents aren't exactly in any rush to go over anyway.

Noting also that when you're discussing multiple airline awares ie: QF BNE-SIN-HEL-xx_) you're looking at a oneworld award (OWA) which is a higher rate than a QF only award - hence the higher points value. If you can get seats going via SIN and HEL then I say grab them.. and if you want J or F via the ME then you'll likely have to cop the EK evil surcharges(which they charge to everyone, not just QF awards) if you can find the seats.

I'm also ok with the additional point cost for the "oneworld" example I mentioned since it's still better than Emirate's.

I guess my original intention with my question was to simply check with the more seasoned experts here in case I missed any other obvious routes and options available now and in the near future, apart from just waiting for Cathay/JAL/Malay etc to expand their Europe offerings for us Qantas members.

The Taiwan China Airlines one I mentioned doesn't look too bad now (apart from the long layover waiting for the near-midnight europe flights). Or wait and look for Qantas LHR seats though I guess I'd have to fight over scraps left behind by WP who have earlier access.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

What is your QFF status, that is another important consideration.
For QFF themselves, the highest status the person who books, the more chances of getting available seats, this is on QF themselves.
On other airlines, it really depends on how many seats they release to QFF, if not a lot, then you won't find a lot.
Covid put a large spanner in the works.
Also, airlines like LATAM have left OW, they are still a QFF partner, but with them not in OW, the pool of seats for the alliance in regards to reward/award seats, are less.
I do realise that for you, LATAM would probably be the last consideration, seeing its a very long way round to Europe for the parents, via South America!

 

[RichardMEL]

Sorry for the typos and my imprecise wording around oneworld alliance/partnerships/codeshares. It's still funny to me that people get hung up on the technicality that Qatar hasn't technically/officially left the Qantas partnership since for all intents and purposes to the average reward seat seeker like myself they're pretty much unattainable compared to pre-covid.

This is all Akbar Al Baker. I mean QR is perfectly (seemingly) happy in OW - the recent extra ties with MH/AY and AA are testiment to this, and QR also switching to Avios with the IAG group show QR is well in with oneworld. However Al Baker is well known for his grudges and how he deals with such things. Yeah, QF and QR are both still OW members, and QR will mostly respect that for QF elites, but yes, the individual relationship with QF went south quite some time ago unfortunately and customers suffer (unless you're a VA one ). It's a difficult one. Who knows if/when QF change leadership, the relationship may improve (also see QF/MH).

Well I did say in my post that I'm not looking at any fixed schedules or time frames yet and that I'm OK to keep looking until 2024 or 2025 since my parents aren't exactly in any rush to go over anyway.

ah, apologies. I misunderstood. I read it as later this year. Must have not had enough coffee

I'm also ok with the additional point cost for the "oneworld" example I mentioned since it's still better than Emirate's.

Understand. Again you mentioned the 159k awards so I wasn't sure if you were wondering why the OWA options were more expensive points wise or mot.

I guess my original intention with my question was to simply check with the more seasoned experts here in case I missed any other obvious routes and options available now and in the near future, apart from just waiting for Cathay/JAL/Malay etc to expand their Europe offerings for us Qantas members.

Given the wider timeframe, an option may also be to look forward to QF's PER-CDG rumoured and PER-FCO coming back as options too,

tbh to treat the parentals and looking for First as primary option, I'd still cop the extra cost - at least one way - for EK as the experience - specially 380 wise - is so much better - the bar, the shower etc. It's what I would do anyway - for a real treat

 

[LostRedditor]

With a Business Credit Card, do you have to credit the points to a Business account? Or can you grab the points for your private QFF account?