Vanuatu QF375

[Isabelt28]

Hi all

Have just achieved gold (yay!) and next proper trip is to Vanuatu on QF375.
can I access the lounge as it is a qantas code share with air Vanuatu?

thanks for your help )

 

[Isabelt28]

Sorry, should have said, can I access the lounge in Sydney, not fussed about Vila. Thanks.

 

[ajw373]

Sorry, should have said, can I access the lounge in Sydney, not fussed about Vila. Thanks.

Yes, you can access the lounge on a Qantas flight number as a gold+.

 

[Isabelt28]

Thanks, is there anything I should do to make sure the boarding pass has a QF number - ie. check in online?

 

[cmon0005]

Thanks, is there anything I should do to make sure the boarding pass has a QF number - ie. check in online?

For Codeshare flights you must take your QFF card with you, as your Status doesn't show up on non-OW or non-EK flights.

 

[Grooba]

Your boarding pass should have NF11 (sold as QF375) or similar. There should be a reference to the QF flight number if that is how it was originally sold.
So that ticket plus your Gold card = lounge access.

 

[Red Roo]

Hi all

Have just achieved gold (yay!) and next proper trip is to Vanuatu on QF375.
can I access the lounge as it is a qantas code share with air Vanuatu?

thanks for your help )

Congrats on reaching Gold. Hope you enjoy your time in the lounge.

 

[Isabelt28]

Thanks RR - now hurry up and post my new card!!

 

[Boris spatsky]

I have been denied QF lounge access on NF11 sold as QF codeshare before because the boarding pass only showed NF11, even though booked on the QF flight number (this was 2010).

 

[Grooba]

I have been denied QF lounge access on NF11 sold as QF codeshare before because the boarding pass only showed NF11, even though booked on the QF flight number (this was 2010).

If that is the case then I'd also take a printout of the booking showing the ticket was actually sold as QF375.

 

[Red Roo]

Thanks RR - now hurry up and post my new card!!

You're welcome.

A pack is normally sent approx 10-14 business days of you reaching Gold. If your travel is sooner, please contact our Frequent Flyer team on 131131.

 

[pjm99au]

Hello. Hope you enjoy Vanuatu. I've travelled QF375 3 times in the past year and have always found the service on Air Van exceptional. If you are travelling on a QF ticket then don't forget as a QF Gold FF you can check in using the dedicated Qantas Business Class Check in counters at Sydney (i.e. you don't need to queue up with everyone else in the Air Vanuatu NF 11 line). I'm assuming that the QF business counters are the same as the QF first class counters and they should give you an express pass for immigration and should also give you an express pass for coming back into Sydney for customs (you might need to ask for this). You can definitely get into the Qantas Club if you are on a QF ticket. Checking in at the Business class check in will give you a QF boarding pass with the QF 375 flight number. Take care and have fun. Hopefully you are staying somewhere nice - my recommendation would be Eratap. Peter

 

[nonpop]

If you are travelling on a QF ticket then don't forget as a QF Gold FF you can check in using the dedicated Qantas Business Class Check in counters at Sydney (i.e. you don't need to queue up with everyone else in the Air Vanuatu NF 11 line).
... Hopefully you are staying somewhere nice - my recommendation would be Eratap. Peter

May be 18 months ago I tried this at Syd I was told to go to Air Vanuatu check in as QF couldn't check me in (different systems ?).
I then went to their J counter and I was told they didn't recognise my QF status and I had to line up with Y pax for check in. The agent even went an extra mile and said that all the QF pax try to check in J when flying Y "waiving their cards around".

Not wanting to make a scene, the Mrs and I strolled into the Y line. At that point we agreed not to fly with Air Vanuatu again for our short breaks. Problem solved for Air Vanuatu as they wouldn't need to deal with my WP (and the Mrs SG) cards. Oh and the interesting part was that nobody else was i the J line. Just us. She then proceeded to go sit back down and do nothing.

Re Eratap. I agree. It is the pick of the board.

 

[pjm99au]

Hmm. I'd like to think something had changed in the six months between your flight and my first but I expect you were caught out by a lack of care by the checkin staff. In any event I've flown 3 times to vanuatu in the past year on a Qantas discount economy ticket and have been able to check in at the Qantas first class counter without any problems each time

one final tip. You can't do an online seat allocation through Qantas but you can call Air Van and request a seat upfront or at the back. As they unload from the front and rear stairs at port villa a seat at either end will save you about half an hour in the customs queues

 

[Interlude]

Lots of good advice already.

Yep, for quite a while "the systems were different" so you couldn't checkin in at the QF premium counters, but as others have noted that got resolved. However, if you have extra luggage over the 20kg, the QF agents seem to have to call up the NF agent to get permission to override the automatic flag that comes up.

Enjoy the lounge but note that NF is a full service airline so you will get good food and drinks on board, including Vanuatu's own Tusker beer. And sometimes they forget to ask you if you want any, but when they do the meal tray pick up they usually have bottles of Irish cream and some kind of port that go down well at the end of the meal.

Another place where you don't want to wave your new Gold card around is at boarding. They usually set up the big Qantas signs with J and status PAX, incl. Gold of course, on one side, and Y on the other. But as one other poster noted about checkin, there is no such thing as priority boarding as we QF FF know it(or don't, some might say!). Despite the sign, only pax seated in J can use the priority lane, and all others take the low road.

It is the airline operating the metal that calls the shots on codeshares, but I still reckon that QF does not do enough to preserve our benefits when entering into codeshare agreements with other airlines.

And if you get to Vila and want to find a good 'nakamal' (kava bar) for a drop of our local herbal potion, nature's perfect anxyolitic, PM me and I'll be happy to oblige!

 

[crum]

Hello. Hope you enjoy Vanuatu. I've travelled QF375 3 times in the past year and have always found the service on Air Van exceptional. If you are travelling on a QF ticket then don't forget as a QF Gold FF you can check in using the dedicated Qantas Business Class Check in counters at Sydney (i.e. you don't need to queue up with everyone else in the Air Vanuatu NF 11 line). I'm assuming that the QF business counters are the same as the QF first class counters and they should give you an express pass for immigration and should also give you an express pass for coming back into Sydney for customs (you might need to ask for this). You can definitely get into the Qantas Club if you are on a QF ticket. Checking in at the Business class check in will give you a QF boarding pass with the QF 375 flight number. Take care and have fun. Hopefully you are staying somewhere nice - my recommendation would be Eratap. Peter

I have just returned from living and working in Vila and have been travelling between SYD and VLI regularly each year. Even as a WP on QF ticketing I have always been told that I have to go and check in at the NF checkin lines due to it being non QF metal (which is a pain as they only open 2.5 hours before departure = less time in the F lounge). My most recent trip was last Thursday (16th) and was told yet again by a very apologetic staff member at the QF First Class check in that I would have to go to the NF checkin line. My next trip is this Sunday (26th). Red Roo, I noticed your thumbs up on post #12 and the comments of others that they can checkin for QF375 at either the QF First or Business Class counters; can you clarify which is correct? I have several more trips to VLI coming up during the year and many more beyond and it would be nice to know once and for all.

In regards to checking in at the NF J counter there were times when I lined up there and was told to go to the back of the Y queue because I was not flying in J. This was when one particular NF manager used to be at the checkin counter however you no longer see her there and the QF checkin staff are most accommodating when they see the WP card and provide the express passes also. Keep in mind that you are limited to the NF baggage limits and anything over the 23kg limit will be referred to the NF manager (although I have mostly had this waived due to being a regular on the route). Also my experience at boarding in SYD has recently mostly been good with me being allowed to board with J pax.

In regards to lounge access, never any problems as a WP on QF ticketing accessing the QF F lounge in SYD or QF J lounge in BNE. In VLI on the other hand you will be enjoying the Y lounge with everyone else.