Article: Qantas Pleased with Classic Plus Uptake

[Neil64]

Just because you can’t snare seats it’s hardly a “fact” that QF are releasing less seats.
Perhaps they are releasing less but I’d love to see the raw data before I claim it as a fact.
As others have mentioned there are far more frequent flyers now and QF have also been releasing seats in batches which obviously suits some but not others

I was using anecdotal evidence as a QFF customer so apologies if I stated it was a fact but now you mention it, I too would like to see Qantas report how many long haul business class seats they have released in the past 12 months compared to the same period 5 and then 10 years ago. I would gladly stand corrected if my anecdotal evidence is way off the mark. In fact, Qantas would immediately dispel all the negative comments and prove all the naysayers (including myself) wrong regarding long haul premium Classic Reward seat availability if it did publish the actual figures.

 

[RooFlyer]

I too would like to see Qantas report how many long haul business class seats they have released in the past 12 months compared to the same period 5 and then 10 years ago.

including a breakdown of being on Qantas metal versus OneWorld and other partners such as China Southern.

 

[serfty]

A dedicated rep for a handful of people doesn't really warrent the cost I would think.

FWIW, the original @Red Roo position portfolio was for social media in general, not just AFF. I believe the group the position was a part of was outsourced.

 

[justinbrett]

including a breakdown of being on Qantas metal versus OneWorld and other partners such as China Southern.

We'll never get specific figures (commercial in confidence) broken down by route / cabin etc.

But we can piece together a general picture - more than 10% of QF/JQ seats are available as CR.

https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/massive-release-of-international-reward-seats-for-qantas-frequent-flyers/

https://investor.qantas.com/FormBuilder/_Resource/_module/doLLG5ufYkCyEPjF1tpgyw/file/annual-reports/2023-Annual-Report.pdf

Of course these are QF sources so many here will disregard as QF spin.

 

[kcwalker]

Just because you can’t snare seats it’s hardly a “fact” that QF are releasing less seats.
Perhaps they are releasing less but I’d love to see the raw data before I claim it as a fact.
As others have mentioned there are far more frequent flyers now and QF have also been releasing seats in batches which obviously suits some but not others

I’m not sure anyone except Qantas has access to the ‘raw data’ you demand but for those of us who have our well earned points sitting in the Qantas points bank…I’d expect very few of us ( based on a hefty number of AFF comments.. ) are in any doubt that accessing flights across any part of the globe in the comfortable end, utilising classic award, is now an exercise in almost complete futility.

I'm personally not sure what ‘Raw data’ you may have to contest this conclusion but as a seasoned but humble points flyer myself.. the classic reward programme is no longer fit for purpose…….on purpose.

For Qantas to suggest Classic Plus has gifted us what we have all been waiting for and asking for, is really quite astonishing nonsense and award winning commercial arrogance.

I’ve been duped and I’ll get over it but it’s definitely feeling more like a scam than the exciting Frequent Flyer programme it formerly was.

 

[jase05]

I’m not sure anyone except Qantas has access to the ‘raw data’ you demand but for those of us who have our well earned points sitting in the Qantas points bank…I’d expect very few of us ( based on a hefty number of AFF comments.. ) are in any doubt that accessing flights across any part of the globe in the comfortable end, utilising classic award, is now an exercise in almost complete futility.

I'm personally not sure what ‘Raw data’ you may have to contest this conclusion but as a seasoned but humble points flyer myself.. the classic reward programme is no longer fit for purpose…….on purpose.

For Qantas to suggest Classic Plus has gifted us what we have all been waiting for and asking for, is really quite astonishing nonsense and award winning commercial arrogance.

I’ve been duped and I’ll get over it but it’s definitely feeling more like a scam than the exciting Frequent Flyer programme it formerly was.

Trouble is everyone wants seats on prime routes and if any are available they get snapped up quickly. As I posted the other day there is award availability nearly every day on UL out of Australia and onwards plus plenty on BA, EK, CX etc from Asia or Europe but those routes obviously don’t interest people

 

[2infinity]

I was using anecdotal evidence as a QFF customer so apologies if I stated it was a fact but now you mention it, I too would like to see Qantas report how many long haul business class seats they have released in the past 12 months compared to the same period 5 and then 10 years ago. I would gladly stand corrected if my anecdotal evidence is way off the mark. In fact, Qantas would immediately dispel all the negative comments and prove all the naysayers (including myself) wrong regarding long haul premium Classic Reward seat availability if it did publish the actual figures.

I would love transparency from Qantas, but alas that would, no doubt, be an own goal. I would also love transparency from other large corporations turning hundreds of millions to billions in profit each year. Highly unlikely we will ever be privy to that information. What we need is a Qantas whistleblower. Assange is back in country, they can hand the info over to him to publish

Other airlines guarantee reward seats on their flights, why can't Qantas? BA award seat guarantee. Qantas is so damned stingy. Why is it you have more likelihood of using QFF points for a reward seat on a partner airline internationally than using them with the airline you earn them with. There is a really big problem there and I'm surprised Qantas can't see the issue themselves. It must be cheaper for Qantas to buy you a seat on another carrier and give it away to you via points than it is losing the revenue they would get selling a cash seat on their own flight. Make money lose goodwill, but who needs goodwill when you made $2.5B profit right!

 

[Graham Atkinson]

Over the years, AFF has been able to work quite constructively with Qantas in many areas. To give you one example, we worked with them a while back to try to fix the issue of Classic Flight Rewards not getting ticketed, resulting in the flights being cancelled by partner airlines. If not for AFF, Qantas probably wouldn't have set up a dedicated email address and team to monitor these bookings and ensure they get ticketed properly.

Do you think Qantas is more likely to listen to AFF and work with us on things like this that benefit our community if we have a constructive relationship, or if we're constantly yelling at them?

I'll take the feedback in this thread on board, but once again, I simply thought that our community would be interested to hear how Classic Plus is going from Qantas' perspective and about some of the other things Qantas is currently working on. This particular article was not about whether or not Classic Plus is great value - I've already covered that before elsewhere (e.g. https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/why-qantas-introduced-classic-plus/ and https://www.australianfrequentflyer...e/#Are_Qantas_Classic_Plus_Rewards_good_value)

By the way, a lot of Qantas staff do read this forum and will no doubt see this thread. I'm sure they will have noticed how the majority of AFF members obviously feel about Classic Plus.

"That's not to say that this article was written purely to curry favour with Qantas - not at all."

Who are you kidding Matt? Of course it was.

This site immediately lost a lot of credibility by posting it in my book.

Delete the whole thing, or at least come out and say that this is a VERY POOR use of points.

The way the article read it was a pure promotion for Qantas.

As I said, a poop wrapped up with a bow and called something else is still a poop.

 

[elanshin]

I would love transparency from Qantas, but alas that would, no doubt, be an own goal. I would also love transparency from other large corporations turning hundreds of millions to billions in profit each year. Highly unlikely we will ever be privy to that information. What we need is a Qantas whistleblower. Assange is back in country, they can hand the info over to him to publish

Other airlines guarantee reward seats on their flights, why can't Qantas? BA award seat guarantee. Qantas is so damned stingy. Why is it you have more likelihood of using QFF points for a reward seat on a partner airline internationally than using them with the airline you earn them with. There is a really big problem there and I'm surprised Qantas can't see the issue themselves. It must be cheaper for Qantas to buy you a seat on another carrier and give it away to you via points than it is losing the revenue they would get selling a cash seat on their own flight. Make money lose goodwill, but who needs goodwill when you made $2.5B profit right!

Heres the problem.

Even if QF guaranteed 2 J seats + 4Y seats on every flight. Would we as the average user even be able to notice? Would they not all just get snapped up immediately as they drop.

The other thing people gloss over now is a huge exponential increase in seat alert tools. Theres now a few dozen out there and they're getting better.

Even if we didn't have an increase in users (which we do), the sheer introduction of more and more easy to use seat finder and alerts also means they disappear fast.

I have a few groups on fb for seats just to see what gets posted and usually within 2h of any post for any premium airline on any semi decent route the availability gets wiped clean.

You can see this for example with JL adding F to SYD - HND. At first it was very select places that realised (like AFF) but once it started making the rounds on popular sites, most of the availabilities were gone within hours and within a day or two everything was wiped clean.

 

[Gremlin]

I feel like some of the posts in this thread have gone beyond disagreement to direct personal attacks on Matt's integrity. That's not fair game and pretty poor form.

 

[Graham Atkinson]

I feel like some of the posts in this thread have gone beyond disagreement to direct personal attacks on Matt's integrity. That's not fair game and pretty poor form.

It can be corrected by either deleting the article itself, or calling out Qantas for what "Qantas Classic Plus" actually is. BS.

Otherwise the whole article is just a particularly disappointing promotion for Qantas.

 

[kcwalker]

I feel like some of the posts in this thread have gone beyond disagreement to direct personal attacks on Matt's integrity. That's not fair game and pretty poor form.

I’m not sure anyone is after Matt, it’s thanks to Matt we all have a dedicated forum to fly, share and fume. The Qantas ‘brief’, press release or article on the ‘success’ for Qantas Classic Plus, was a red kangaroo to a bull for many a FF. Matt’s role was more of the messenger.. it’s our role to call Qantas out for what they have become and thank Matt for the intel and for giving us the space…I understand why it might be difficult for Matt to pile in..but i’m sure some of us can do that on his behalf..

 

[flyguy77]

The other thing people gloss over now is a huge exponential increase in seat alert tools. Theres now a few dozen out there and they're getting better.

100% Agreed - These tools (alongside all the blogs sharing info on seats) have been a major factor in ruining the 'natural flow' of reward seats and I personally wish the airlines would crack down on them.

 

[justinbrett]

Enough with the witch-hunts just because you don’t agree with a post or article.

State your point and then move on.

If you don’t like CR+, don’t use them. Nobody is forcing you, nor are they forcing you to buy a toaster. There’s no evidence that CR seats have been reduced to accomodate them, and the CEO has said the contrary.

 

[Gremlin]

I’m not sure anyone is after Matt

You say this, yet you "Liked" the post immediately above yours...

 

[Gremlin]

100% Agreed - These tools (alongside all the blogs sharing info on seats) have been a major factor in ruining the 'natural flow' of reward seats and I personally wish the airlines would crack down on them.

And without something like AFF, many here wouldn't be travelling at the pointy end of the plane anywhere near as often. Should that go too?

 

[kcwalker]

100% Agreed - These tools (alongside all the blogs sharing info on seats) have been a major factor in ruining the 'natural flow' of reward seats and I personally wish the airlines would crack down on them.

The 'major factor' is Qantas control the number of points in circulation and the number seats available, there is no 'natural flow' of reward seats, it is a controlled discharge or trickle by Qantas and it is clearly more profitable to have more points and less seats. The blogs and alerts are a product of the dearth of simple, available classic reward seats. The Classic Plus programme is just Qantas doubling down on the problem to their great advantage.

 

[kcwalker]

You say this, yet you "Liked" the post immediately above yours...

I liked the post and I like Matt..it's possible. Unlike finding seats with classic award.

 

[kcwalker]

You say this, yet you "Liked" the post immediately above yours...

There you go, I've now liked you as well...anything is possible

 

[justinbrett]

I liked the post and I like Matt..it's possible. Unlike finding seats with classic award.

I just looked and next week, SYD-LAX is available in J for 5/7 days.

Undoubtably the release pattern has changed (there has been AFF articles on this), but that doesn’t mean there’s fewer seats.