Article: Branded Fares Create Frequent Flyer Earn Confusion

[Greystoke75]

I did and received this response:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We currently do not have any plans to have flights operated by Qantas that over Qantas status credits on that route. However, in future if this does change we will make our customers aware. Thank you again for providing your comments and we hope that you will give us the opportunity to welcome you aboard Qantas again soon.

Pretty poor - maybe they monitor these threads but I'm thinking about taking it further as from what I can see, it does breach their own policy. I know it is a first world problem but this is a first world airline and the response was so dismissive.

Update - I've just gone onto the website now to get a screenshot and they have not added status points. Funny. I guess I can calm down now and start booking through them. Weird how they had none for months and now they finally have added them.

 

[Mattg]

I did and received this response:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We currently do not have any plans to have flights operated by Qantas that over Qantas status credits on that route. However, in future if this does change we will make our customers aware. Thank you again for providing your comments and we hope that you will give us the opportunity to welcome you aboard Qantas again soon.

Pretty poor - maybe they monitor these threads but I'm thinking about taking it further as from what I can see, it does breach their own policy. I know it is a first world problem but this is a first world airline and the response was so dismissive.

They probably hadn't loaded the points/SC earn in the calculator yet because it's a new route. But don't worry, you'll definitely earn Qantas points & status credits as you would for any other Qantas trans-Tasman flight.

I agree it's very poor that the contact centre has no idea what they're talking about.

 

[doctau]

NDC - New Distribution Capability
PSS - Passenger Service System
RBD - Reservation Booking Designator

Sorry, while I originally joined AFF as a traveller, I ended up working in travel a few years ago. I’ve been dealing with airfare distribution recently and did think where I was posting before I used the terms.


In the old system of getting airfares from airlines to distributors to agencies/OTAs it was limited to 26 price points, the booking classes (RBDs). When fare families became a thing, airlines largely said these classes were the sale fares, these ones with flexible, these were business etc, and so they got used to define things like partner earning rates.

As a consumer you won’t see the new system (NDC) taking hold, but it will affect things. Airlines are no longer bound by the 26 price points, M could vary price based on time of day, number of searches, of your status.

As the article mentioned, the booking clases don’t need to align with the fare families but it may diverge further. In a future NDC world, the airlines don’t even have to use the 26 letters at all. I have no idea what they will do for some of the things like partner earn when that happens.

 

[Mattg]

In a future NDC world, the airlines don’t even have to use the 26 letters at all. I have no idea what they will do for some of the things like partner earn when that happens.

I doubt most airlines have even thought about this yet!

Most will probably just think "well, our own frequent flyers will know how many points/status credits they can earn when they fly with us - who cares about everyone else".

This mindset is evident from the fact Qantas doesn't show the fare class you're booking on its website. It would be very useful for someone crediting to a another Oneworld frequent flyer program to know if they're booking an E class fare, since this doesn't earn anything on partner airlines. But Qantas somehow doesn't think it's important to make this information available.

 

[Gold Member]

But Qantas somehow doesn't think it's important to make this information available.

The fact is, Qantas have a proven track record of deceit, dishonesty and price gouging. Is it little wonder that they have deliberately obfuscated their own earn tables for their ostensibly “Loyal” customers?

 

[elanshin]

My pet peeve is when certain airlines don't even bother to tell you the fare code when you do the purchase. For example, I have problems with CX, I recently bought a ticket with them and I just can't see the fare code throughout the booking process - it is only after the e-ticket was sent to my email that I can see the fare code. If anyone knows how to find where the fare code is displayed (before purchasing the ticket) when booking CX, please share

During thr confirmation area, you can click more detail and it shows the booking class. Its fairly buried but is there. I recently just asked my SO to credit it to CX instead of QFF because of this and she wasn't interested in paying higher fare.
I did have the booking page, confirmation pages, qff partner airline pages open all at the same time.

 

[tdimdad]

Cathay Pacific has fallen into the trap, as well. Using a sample of two (one attached), their Y Light, Essential and Flex tickets all book into same booking classes. What's annoying is that even Y Flex goes into classes which don't earn anything on QFF.

 

[aaa99]

Just flew MH from KUL-MEL on flexible economy (Y fare). I noticed I was credited 15SC with the description "discounted economy". Is this right?
The calculator said I should be getting 30SC for this.

 

[RealtimeY]

Just flew MH from KUL-MEL on flexible economy (Y fare). I noticed I was credited 15SC with the description "discounted economy". Is this right?
The calculator said I should be getting 30SC for this.

That's correct unfortunately.

MH Y earns at discount Y rate.
MH F/J earns at flex Y rate.

 

[oz_mark]

Just flew MH from KUL-MEL on flexible economy (Y fare). I noticed I was credited 15SC with the description "discounted economy". Is this right?
The calculator said I should be getting 30SC for this.

For a flight between Australia and Kuala Lumpur, it is correct

 

[Gold Member]

That's correct unfortunately.

MH Y earns at discount Y rate.
MH F/J earns at flex Y rate.

Qatar isn’t the only airline that Qantas actively seeks to disincentivise.

 

[Himeno]

Just flew MH from KUL-MEL on flexible economy (Y fare). I noticed I was credited 15SC with the description "discounted economy". Is this right?
The calculator said I should be getting 30SC for this.

QF and MH don't likely each other much (despite QF sponsoring MH into oneworld).
There were claims that the airlines attempted to merge 15 years ago, which reportedly failed because MH wanted more of a share in a combined company then QF was willing to give (neither airline confirmed the reports).
QF also attempted to set up a premium version of Jetstar to be based in KUL (or SIN) which would have directly competed with MH's short-mid haul operations.

The QF/EK tie up and the MH bankruptcy didn't help with the relationship between QF and MH.

Qantas wants QFF members to fly on their own QF marketed services on the Kangaroo route, so reduces point earn on other carriers (especially those they don't have a good relationship with) who compete with them on the AU/NZ-Asia-EU route.
As a result, QFF earn on MH mid-long haul flights is low compared to the same fare class and route when flown on QF services while earn on MH short-mid haul routes within Asia have more normal/reasonable earn rates for the fare class.

 

[aaa99]

Thanks, interestingly, MH routes like KUL-PER and KUL-ADL earn more than KUL-MEL despite them being shorter.

 

[SYD]

Thanks, interestingly, MH routes like KUL-PER and KUL-ADL earn more than KUL-MEL despite them being shorter.

View attachment 347838

OT, but that’s also true for QR earn (and probably others). Look at QR earn ADL or PER-DOH v SYD/MEL-DOH….

 

[aaa99]

A follow up question on this.
MEL-HKG on CX books under M, which is shown as discount economy in Qantas.

And discount economy doesnt show up on the points calculator page for this route on CX. Does that mean it earns 0?

 

[oz_mark]

A follow up question on this.
MEL-HKG on CX books under M, which is shown as discount economy in Qantas.

And discount economy doesnt show up on the points calculator page for this route on CX. Does that mean it earns 0?

The calculator can be a bit buggy, but it's the tables that are what counts.

 

[CaptJCool]

They probably hadn't loaded the points/SC earn in the calculator yet because it's a new route. But don't worry, you'll definitely earn Qantas points & status credits as you would for any other Qantas trans-Tasman flight.

I agree it's very poor that the contact centre has no idea what they're talking about.

That would have been the same with HBA-ADL Direct services which at the time I looked came up as “undefined”

 

[adammarcos]

There are times when i like the whole Speed Test service. Other times i just want a lie flat bed.