The Qantas Newbie Questions Thread

[Captain Halliday]

Should I risk an unprotected connection QF international to AC domestic at YVR? There are options for 2 hour transit, or 6 hour transit.

You can read the full context here but in short the alternative is to layover in YVR (or downtown) followed by about 8 hours of ground transport the following day.

In other words, do I take the risk, to save a day of travel?

 

[NM]

Should I risk an unprotected connection QF international to AC domestic at YVR? There are options for 2 hour transit, or 6 hour transit.

You can read the full context here but in short the alternative is to layover in YVR (or downtown) followed by about 8 hours of ground transport the following day.

In other words, do I take the risk, to save a day of travel?

Whatever you do, make sure its "protected" by your travel insurance under "Missed Connections" - just in case.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Whatever you do, make sure its "protected" by your travel insurance under "Missed Connections" - just in case.

‘IF’ it has missed connections protection, and ‘if’ the OP’s travel falls under the policy requirements. I know there are a couple of policies offering missed connection protection, but at least one of those requires you to be scheduled to arrive at your connecting point no later than when check-in opens for the connecting flight… which could be as early as three hours.

 

[NM]

‘IF’ it has missed connections protection, and ‘if’ the OP’s travel falls under the policy requirements. I know there are a couple of policies offering missed connection protection, but at least one of those requires you to be scheduled to arrive at your connecting point no later than when check-in opens for the connecting flight… which could be as early as three hours.

Which I why I specifically said to "make sure it's protected", because terms and conditions vary between policies and between cover providers.

 

[Ade]

A very friendly check in agent showed me the seating application the QF uses and what/how a FF shadow looks like. Now the agent didn’t say for certain (rather chose not to say for certain) if/not the concept of “shadow” exists. But they pointed out to my seat and the “shadow” next to it. Lowly Gold here.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

A very friendly check in agent showed me the seating application the QF uses and what/how a FF shadow looks like. Now the agent didn’t say for certain (rather chose not to say for certain) if/not the concept of “shadow” exists. But they pointed out to my seat and the “shadow” next to it. Lowly Gold here.

Did you end up with a shadow?? lol

 

[Ade]

Did you end up with a shadow?? lol

lol it did and the shadow moved with me as well … the agent was kind enough to show me the shadow move at bag drop and the shadow that moved with me, stayed with me …

 

[Captain Halliday]

Which I why I specifically said to "make sure it's protected", because terms and conditions vary between policies and between cover providers.

It a moot point in my case because QF85 is part of a oneworld classic flight award so adding AC isn’t an option.

 

[NM]

It a moot point in my case because QF85 is part of a oneworld classic flight award so adding AC isn’t an option.

Travel insurance is not concerned about airline memberships. Policies differ in their definition of a connection. But in general, so long as it is a "valid" connection in terms of minimum connection times, and as @MEL_Traveller pointed out it may need to be long enough to allow bag collection and re-checkin, then you may be covered if there is a delay on the inbound causing you to miss the "connecting" flight.

And since these will be on separate tickets, you will almost certainly need to complete arrivals processing, and then check-in for next flight. HLO might be a good idea if possible.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Travel insurance is not concerned about airline memberships. Policies differ in their definition of a connection. But in general, so long as it is a "valid" connection in terms of minimum connection times, and as @MEL_Traveller pointed out it may need to be long enough to allow bag collection and re-checkin, then you may be covered if there is a delay on the inbound causing you to miss the "connecting" flight.

And since these will be on separate tickets, you will almost certainly need to complete arrivals processing, and then check-in for next flight. HLO might be a good idea if possible.

Thanks.

I thought you were referring to airline “protected”. If I take the 6hr option that’s well within MCT. But worth checking the insurance wording.

As for HLO… hard to do for a ski trip unfortunately!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks.

I thought you were referring to airline “protected”. If I take the 6hr option that’s well within MCT. But worth checking the insurance wording.

As for HLO… hard to do for a ski trip unfortunately!

Some policies it’s not even as generous as MCT…they will only cover you if you are scheduled to arrive at the connecting airport when check-in opens… which could be as much as three or four hours… far higher than MCT.

But certainly 6 hours would be fine, provided your insurance covers it (and that’s for ‘all’ missed connections, not just the ones where it is your wedding, or you’re a keynote speaker at a conference etc)

 

[NM]

Thanks.

I thought you were referring to airline “protected”. If I take the 6hr option that’s well within MCT. But worth checking the insurance wording.

Multi-layered protection is normally a good thing. When the airlines won't protect you, it's time to protect yourself in other ways - one being to plan an overnight layover, the other being travel insurance. Of course neither get you to your final destination with minimal delay. It's more about being able to minimise financial outlay to get you to the final destination if the inbound flight is delayed.

As for HLO… hard to do for a ski trip unfortunately!

Yes, unfortunate, and it happens sometimes.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

A very friendly check in agent showed me the seating application the QF uses and what/how a FF shadow looks like. Now the agent didn’t say for certain (rather chose not to say for certain) if/not the concept of “shadow” exists. But they pointed out to my seat and the “shadow” next to it. Lowly Gold here.

Have had a few empty seats next to me when I was QFF SG, over a 3.5 or so period pre covid.
===
Would take the 6 hrs or long int -> dom at YVR too.
Seeing now that everyone needs a Canadian ETA, and you have a chance of getting a very strict CBSA officer, yes, watch too much of the youtube you know what shows.

 

[Mike250]

Hi all,

On advice from a mate who runs a travel agency, I’ve been looking to book my big family trip to the UK for July 2026 as two one-way Classic Rewards bookings rather than a return. His logic was that airlines release seats around 11–11.5 months in advance, so locking in the outbound leg immediately gives you the best shot at availability, instead of waiting 4–6 weeks for the inbound release and risking there being no seats.

The downside: if you can’t get the return leg, cancelling the outbound can cost a few thousand points (around 6k). A smallish price to pay and then you hunt for return rewards.

I checked Qantas’ site daily and initially only saw Classic Premium rewards. With 570k Qantas Points saved and a family of four to book, I was only interested in the ~66,200-point Classic Rewards seats.

One morning, looking just past the 11.5-month mark, I noticed those Classic Rewards prices showing up; but couldn’t click to book yet. I assumed they were past the 11.5 month mark, with the 14 day grid still showing what was to come. I was worried they’d turn into Premium seats once live. I was already beyond my original target departure date but was ready to shift our plans if Classic seats opened.

A week later, boom! A heap of 66,200 seats appeared, even for dates we preferred a week back. I figured out Cathay Pacific had loaded their reward inventory. I grabbed four seats for the exact date we wanted.

I’m approaching the date I want for the LHR–SYD leg to open. So far, late July/early August 2026 is only showing China Airlines availability. I’d much prefer Cathay Pacific, Qantas, or BA.

Question: Does anyone know Cathay Pacific’s timing for releasing reward seats from London to Sydney? Or Qantas or BA for that matter? Should I expect a drop soon, or is it unpredictable?

Finally, searching for rewards seats is painful. The 14-day window limitation is slow, especially when your date range has no seats. There’s no left/right scroll; you have to restart the search each time. It feels almost deliberately coughbersome.

Any tips for:

• Easier ways to search a wider date range for Classic Rewards?
• Good tools or strategies for tracking seat releases?
• General tips for return-leg success?

Thanks in advance.

P.S. Yes, I know Classic Rewards are now 76,100 points. Would love a word with whoever thought now (right after a major hack) was the perfect time to bump prices. Nothing like paying more while still waiting to hear how they’ll protect our stolen PII.

Michael

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

For its Jul, and warmer up there tho, airlines might release less seats in J, or to a lesser extent Y.
They would want to sell the seats for a rev fare.
Its school hols too, so the spots will be tightly watched.
Lots of points, but no status will mean you will get the dribs or leftovers.
===---===
CX has a lot of planes dep from the eastern states and PER, at many times of the day, and HK as of now, allows visa free entry, and the airport at CLK is easy to transit.
Personally, if I were doing it, I would go via HKG.
Or even JAL via NRT/HND.
Or, with a very long single trip, maybe from where you live, to PER then LHR on the 787.
Guess it depends on the age of the kids, and how they behave on planes, if they can stand to sit still, maybe via PER is the ideal.
But if restless, maybe home city, then SIN, transit overnight, then from there on QF1 to LHR.

 

[Mike250]

Thank you for your reply.

The flight that has already been booked is SYD -> LHR via HK; which we're happy with. It's just now the LHR back we're trying to understand.

As a newbie here, I apologise, what does seats in J or Y mean?

Thanks in advance.

 

[CaptJCool]

Thank you for your reply.

The flight that has already been booked is SYD -> LHR via HK; which we're happy with. It's just now the LHR back we're trying to understand.

As a newbie here, I apologise, what does seats in J or Y mean?

Thanks in advance.

J = business
Y = Economy