'Y' Fare Upgrade to Business?

[Joel_Ainslie]

Hi Folks,
My wife and I are travelling with our son from LHR to SYD next month with Qantas on the A380 and purchased 'Y' fares so we could have flexibility with changing travel dates etc. We have applied for upgrades for my wife and son to Business Class, and for me to Premium Economy (we didn't have enough points for all to be upgraded to Business). Can anyone comment on the likelihood of an upgrade in this fare type? Is there anything that can be done to increase the chances of an upgrade? Thanks.

 

[JohnK]

Trying to get upgrades for 3 people is not going to be easy.

The chances of the upgrade will depend on your status and how if the flight is full in economy or not.

Mostly though it will all depend on how successful you are in the lottery.

 

[JetLagged]

Joel - welcome to AFF!

More information in your profile/post is necessary - such as the status of the flyers etc - in order to advise any more.

 

[thewinchester]

I concur, getting 3x upgraded from Y to J on the same flight is difficult at the best of times. As JetLagged noted, some more information would be handy.

Flight number/date would be an advantage as well as some of us have access to tools like KVS and ExpertFlyer which give us an idea of current pax loads, seat allocations and the like.

 

[Joel_Ainslie]

I concur, getting 3x upgraded from Y to J on the same flight is difficult at the best of times. As JetLagged noted, some more information would be handy.

Flight number/date would be an advantage as well as some of us have access to tools like KVS and ExpertFlyer which give us an idea of current pax loads, seat allocations and the like.

Hi Folks - thanks for your comments.

I'm in the Qantas Club but only have Bronze status. My wife is a Qantas FF (also with Bronze status). We're flying on the 11th August on QF32.

It would be nice to know if an upgrade were possible, but it sounds like it might be a lucky dip?

Cheers.

 

[MAX_1]

QF32 1 LHR
08/11/10
12:05 PM SYD
08/12/10
7:15 PM 388
Business - Award javascript:void(0) U 0 Premium Economy - Award javascript:void(0) Z 0

from expert flyer. shows 0 award upgrades available ( U 0 and Z 0 )

As I am new to this program, I hope someone can show me if I am wrong.

Maybe one of drinkers at the next Brisbane drinks night can show me the ins and outs of EF if I bring my laptop. Before their minds go numb.....lol.

 

[markis10]

Hi Folks - thanks for your comments.

I'm in the Qantas Club but only have Bronze status. My wife is a Qantas FF (also with Bronze status). We're flying on the 11th August on QF32.

It would be nice to know if an upgrade were possible, but it sounds like it might be a lucky dip?

Cheers.

Its always a lucky dip and no one can tell you what will happen, sometimes what appears to be a full flight suddenly gets very empty and vice versa, and you need to remember that seat counter etc only show availability for fares sold in the US, it could well be the airline has more seats available for purchase in the market the flight operates from/to.

Having said that you seem to have picked a busy flight, with 4 seats left on the plane in J/F ( I suspect it 4 F seats) so at this stage it looks like you have no chance, I would look at changing flights to say a QF10/6 combination which is showing a lot more seats available in many classes, that means two separate legs for an upgrade possibility as well and it may be better to part of the trip in J for all travelling!

 

[Biggles54]

I'm in the Qantas Club but only have Bronze status. My wife is a Qantas FF (also with Bronze status). We're flying on the 11th August on QF32.

It would be nice to know if an upgrade were possible, but it sounds like it might be a lucky dip?

Cheers.[/QUOTE]

I also have applied for a business class upgrade from Premium Economy for my son and I on a Qantas flight (Melb to La) tomorrow morning. I am a Qantas Club member and just have FF Bronze status. As mentioned by someone earlier I was told it is best to pay for a higher class (PEconomy) to have any hope of an upgrade. I have plenty of points available at present and am just hoping to be successful.

 

[markis10]

I also have applied for a business class upgrade from Premium Economy for my son and I on a Qantas flight (Melb to La) tomorrow morning. I am a Qantas Club member and just have FF Bronze status. As mentioned by someone earlier I was told it is best to pay for a higher class (PEconomy) to have any hope of an upgrade. I have plenty of points available at present and am just hoping to be successful.

You should know fairly soon my checking your booking online, the upgrades will have been processed by the 24 hour mark. At this stage there are 8 seats left in J but that could be a smokescreen with some F seats being part of that.

 

[MelUser]

Could you please report back on how these upgrade requests go. It is always interesting to know how people get on.

thanks

 

[Biggles54]

thanks, I'll check shortly. They told me not before 5 hours

 

[NM]

QF32 1 LHR
08/11/10
12:05 PM SYD
08/12/10
7:15 PM 388
Business - Award javascript:void(0) U 0 Premium Economy - Award javascript:void(0) Z 0

from expert flyer. shows 0 award upgrades available ( U 0 and Z 0 )

As I am new to this program, I hope someone can show me if I am wrong.

Maybe one of drinkers at the next Brisbane drinks night can show me the ins and outs of EF if I bring my laptop. Before their minds go numb.....lol.

U and Z are used for full award tickets and the presence or absence of U and Z at this time has very little reflection on the possible availability of upgrade awards on flight day. Upgrades are only processed within 24 hours of scheduled flight departure. Even though such upgrades generally book into U and Z classes, new inventory for U and Z will be made available at the time the upgrades are processed.

 

[Flashback]

Hi Folks,
My wife and I are travelling with our son from LHR to SYD next month with Qantas on the A380 and purchased 'Y' fares so we could have flexibility with changing travel dates etc. We have applied for upgrades for my wife and son to Business Class, and for me to Premium Economy (we didn't have enough points for all to be upgraded to Business). Can anyone comment on the likelihood of an upgrade in this fare type? Is there anything that can be done to increase the chances of an upgrade? Thanks.

Is the fare class actually "Y"? If so, wow! Pricey.... for that price you almost could have got PE or J on another airline :shock:

 

[NM]

Is the fare class actually "Y"? If so, wow! Pricey.... for that price you almost could have got PE or J on another airline :shock:

QF's cheapest Y fare return SYD-LHR is $4600+++ (YKEE1Y). Premium Economy fares on QF start at $5148+++ (RKSS1Y), so for $550 more they could been confirmed in Premium Economy (providing R class available at the time of booking). However, the cheapest "upgradeable" fare (SKBB1Y) is only $2320+++, but as we know, that is discount economy and not a full Y fare, hence requiring more QF FF points to upgrade.

 

[Dave Noble]

Is the fare class actually "Y"? If so, wow! Pricey.... for that price you almost could have got PE or J on another airline :shock:

Some routes ( including UK-OZ) have good value Y fares. FOR LHR-SYD r/t The QF T fare (exc taxes) is GBP2033 ($3662) whilst the QF Y2HEOW is GBP2126($3830). For flexibility purposes, the Y fare is a lot better than a T fare since the T is GBP90 to change and GBP300 to cancel whilst the Y fare is fully refundable and changeable at no charge and of course, best chance of availability. Taking the additional UK APD into account the fare is similar.

Sometimes it is better to take a Y fare than the cheaper T fare especially if possibly needing to change dates and want to avoid risk of having to pay extra for a higher PE booking class

Dave

 

[NM]

Some routes ( including UK-OZ) have good value Y fares. The QF T fare is GBP2033 whilst the QF Y2HEOW is GBP2126. For flexibility purposes, the Y fare is a lot better than a T fare since the T is GBP90 to change and GBP300 to cancel whilst the Y fare is fully refundable and changeable at no charge and of course, best chance of availability. Taking the additional UK APD into account the fare is similar.

Sometimes it is better to take a Y fare than the cheaper T fare

Dave

My prices above are for travel in the opposite direction (SYD-LHR-SYD). But note that R can be even cheaper than T and very attractive if the restrictions do not impact the necessary flexibility.

 

[Dave Noble]

My prices above are for travel in the opposite direction (SYD-LHR-SYD). But note that R can be even cheaper than T and very attractive if the restrictions do not impact the necessary flexibility.

I saw... my post was based on that it seems that the OP is travelling from London to Sydney. PE can be cheaper than economy, but sometimes the flexibility of the Y fare outweighs the cost

 

[Joel_Ainslie]

Its always a lucky dip and no one can tell you what will happen, sometimes what appears to be a full flight suddenly gets very empty and vice versa, and you need to remember that seat counter etc only show availability for fares sold in the US, it could well be the airline has more seats available for purchase in the market the flight operates from/to.

Having said that you seem to have picked a busy flight, with 4 seats left on the plane in J/F ( I suspect it 4 F seats) so at this stage it looks like you have no chance, I would look at changing flights to say a QF10/6 combination which is showing a lot more seats available in many classes, that means two separate legs for an upgrade possibility as well and it may be better to part of the trip in J for all travelling!

Thanks for the advice - I might have to contact Qantas and see what the options are. Thanks to all for your help. Cheers.

 

[AnonymousCoward]

Thanks for the advice - I might have to contact Qantas and see what the options are. Thanks to all for your help. Cheers.

Just be aware that QF10 flies to Melbourne (though you could try to use it for the LHR-SIN leg).

QF6 starts from Frankfurt, though you could use it for the SIN-SYD leg. Just be aware that it leaves ~12 hours after QF32 arrives from LHR. There is also no PE on this plane (it is sold as 2 class only), and J is usually quite full in my experience.

 

[markis10]

Just be aware that QF10 flies to Melbourne (though you could try to use it for the LHR-SIN leg).

QF6 starts from Frankfurt, though you could use it for the SIN-SYD leg. Just be aware that it leaves ~12 hours after QF32 arrives from LHR. There is also no PE on this plane (it is sold as 2 class only), and J is usually quite full in my experience.

The recommendation for QF10/6 combo was on the basis that it has a lot more seats available for the OP, QF32 I think is a case of no chance!