Booking J SYD-SCL Latam flights using QFF

[Ken1]

We've just booked an Antarctic cruise for February 2021 so we'll be looking at booking Latam flights from SYD to SCL and on to EZE before flying to USH when Feb flights are released next March. I've been checking QFF each day for a couple of weeks to see the pattern of J award seats this year. For a couple of weeks I was seeing J seats released most days, either SYD-AKL-SCL or SYD-MEL-SCL but I'm now not seeing too many released when I log in to QFF each day.

If I log into BA I see that for example for Sat Feb 22, 2020 they show 7 award J seats on SYD-AKL QF143/AKL-SCL LA800, and 4 award J seats on SYD-MEL QF411/MEL-SCL LA804 but when I log in to QFF I don't see any seats available in any class. I don't know if these would be available to QFF members if I called QF to try to book over the phone. If I look at CX Asia Miles I don't see Latam flights and for the same date they only show SYD-LHR-SCL on BA16/BA251 so I don't know if Latam flights display through AM although being One World I would think I should be able to book with AM.

Through BA I do see LA flights for SCL-EZE and AEP-USH available so hopefully I can call QF and add those flights to the booking if I can get J seats from SYD to SCL. When we went to South America in 2014 I booked LA flights by calling QFF since they weren't showing through QFF at the time so I checked on BAEC and then called QF to book the flights.

I'd be interested in hearing from others who have booked flights to South America if you have been able to book J seats with QFF points.

Another option I could look at is with NZ flights to EZE booked through Krisflyer. I can convert Amex points to either Krisflyer or CX AM and I've recently joined Krisflyer but haven't seen any NZ flights come up there with the searches I've tried so I don't know if they show online.

I know I'm planning a long way out but and it will be 11 months before we can start booking flights but I would like to check award release regularly before then to see what might be available and what is generally released. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[Mattg]

Air NZ never release award availability to EZE, as far as I know. I would not even consider it as an option.

The trouble with the BA website is that the 7 J seats it's showing are only for the first (connecting) flight. E.g. there may be 7 J seats on QF143, but there sure aren't on LA800 . This is a common glitch.

In general, J availability to SCL on LA is very limited these days, but in any case the only way to see more-or-less accurate availability is to search for point-to-point city pairs and disregard the connections. If searching SYD-SCL brings up an option via MEL, search for MEL-SCL and see if you can see the same seat/s.

 

[Ken1]

Thanks Matt. I've just searched MEL-SCL for 22 Feb, 2020 and QF shows nothing for LA804 but on BA it shows 4 J seats available, the same as it shows for SYD-MEL-SCL. I've also searched AKL-SCL for that date and nothing is showing on QF but on BA it still says 7 J seats available for that sector. Whether QF would see those seats that BA shows if I call them I don't know. At least I have plenty of time before I have to book.

Thanks also for letting me know about Air NZ award availability.

 

[Ken1]

This morning I've looked at QFF and BA award availability for 22 Feb with LA flights from AKL or MEL and QF show nothing available but BA still show 3 J seats via MEL and 7 via AKL. I've just phoned QF and they see nothing available, whether starting in SYD, MEL or AKL. I wonder if LA give award seat availability to BA that they do not give to QF or if the BA site is not always accurate.

 

[Berlin]

Not directly related to your question about redemption seats but as a general warning when flying LATAM, and connecting from one flight to another: Never expect to actually sit in J class only because you have booked it, especially on the second or third flight of the same itinerary. Many cases of downgrades in the very last minute (I've experienced it twice myself and it seems to be an incredibly common issue).

 

[juddles]

Air NZ never release award availability to EZE, as far as I know. I would not even consider it as an option.....

I agree it is not an option, but they do actually release the VERY infrequent seat. Due to my personal travel situation I have closely monitored NZ award J seats between EZE-AKL for a few years. Some J seats do appear, but very very rare. If you have known dates check them out anyway as you may be able to jag one oneway (I have NEVER seen availability for my needs as a return) and then get a QF ticket one way the other way.....

 

[Danger]

This morning I've looked at QFF and BA award availability for 22 Feb with LA flights from AKL or MEL and QF show nothing available but BA still show 3 J seats via MEL and 7 via AKL. I've just phoned QF and they see nothing available, whether starting in SYD, MEL or AKL. I wonder if LA give award seat availability to BA that they do not give to QF or if the BA site is not always accurate.

A number of people disagree with me and insist that award availability across oneworld airlines should be the same (with the possible exception of an airline holding some award seats for its own FF members). However, I have long believed this not to be the case. In my experience, airlines frequently do not provide uniform access to award seats across the alliance and this may well be one of those cases.

 

[Mattg]

A number of people disagree with me and insist that award availability across oneworld airlines should be the same (with the possible exception of an airline holding some award seats for its own FF members). However, I have long believed this not to be the case. In my experience, airlines frequently do not provide uniform access to award seats across the alliance and this may well be one of those cases.

In this case, I believe BA is showing phantom availability anyway.

 

[love_the_life]

Personally my view is that if you really want to fly J and you are not seeing any availability, if and when a sale fare for J comes up, just suck it up and pay.

 

[Ken1]

I'll see if any award flights become available for the dates we will need and if not will look out for any J sale fares. Do these happen very often? I've seen some Facebook ads come up for a current sale until August but don't know if they ever offer sales for the Feb/Mar time of year.

 

[Mattg]

I'll see if any award flights become available for the dates we will need and if not will look out for any J sale fares. Do these happen very often? I've seen some Facebook ads come up for a current sale until August but don't know if they ever offer sales for the Feb/Mar time of year.

For that time of year, I expect there might be some decent fares in the early-bird sale that comes around every September/October. (And by then you'll know whether or not you were able to get an award )

 

[tgh]

Much nicer to fly Roo J than Latam, even If payment of money is involved

 

[Ken1]

For that time of year, I expect there might be some decent fares in the early-bird sale that comes around every September/October. (And by then you'll know whether or not you were able to get an award )

The Antarctica cruise we have booked departs from Ushuaia on Feb 10, 2021 and returns on March 2. We're not planning to do much else in South America on this trip since I visited Cusco, Machu Pichu, Rio, Buenos Aires and Iguassu Falls in 2014 although I'd like to visit Patagonia on this trip and will try to research the best way to do it from Ushuaia.

Since we'll be wanting to leave SYD in early February and return in early to mid March I'll be looking for award flights when they're released from March next year. If we don't get any we'll have time to wait for a sale fare although since I'm used to booking travel as soon as flights are released since we've done J trips with points for quite a few years now, so I may feel a bit worried waiting until September or October, only a few months before we depart, to book flights. I'll check fares regularly later this year for the Feb/Mar 2020 period to see if there are fare price changes and sales this year.

 

[shuuy]

For an upcoming trip over holidays was able to book SYD-SCL in J, however SCL-SYD was Y only. It's possible!

 

[Flying mermaid]

The Antarctica cruise we have booked departs from Ushuaia on Feb 10, 2021 and returns on March 2. We're not planning to do much else in South America on this trip since I visited Cusco, Machu Pichu, Rio, Buenos Aires and Iguassu Falls in 2014 although I'd like to visit Patagonia on this trip and will try to research the best way to do it from Ushuaia.

Since we'll be wanting to leave SYD in early February and return in early to mid March I'll be looking for award flights when they're released from March next year. If we don't get any we'll have time to wait for a sale fare although since I'm used to booking travel as soon as flights are released since we've done J trips with points for quite a few years now, so I may feel a bit worried waiting until September or October, only a few months before we depart, to book flights. I'll check fares regularly later this year for the Feb/Mar 2020 period to see if there are fare price changes and sales this year.

I booked 4 J fares (QF) to Santiago for January this year (we also went on an Antarctic cruise - it was magic). I booked literally as soon as the dates became available in 2018 - so a year out. there didn’t seem to be any awards available in J, but then it was school holidays. The price was quite reasonable - around $5,000 return. I didn’t particularly monitor prices after that but they seemed to get more expensive. The flights were very full in J.

 

[rcn]

Does anyone know what time LA800 check in opens in SYD?
Thanks

 

[Berlin]

Does anyone know what time LA800 check in opens in SYD?
Thanks

3 hours from memory but it might even be earlier (never came further out than that). Tends to get really messy at Why checkin around the 2 hour mark while the premium check in usually is quite civilised.

 

[ozflier]

Much nicer to fly Roo J than Latam, even If payment of money is involved

I agree .
I flew in paid business across BNE-AKL-SCL and back via SYD.
My paid J seat disappeared by the time I got to AKL.
Coming back , all on QF and the long flight was brilliant.

 

[Berlin]

I agree .
I flew in paid business across BNE-AKL-SCL and back via SYD.
My paid J seat disappeared by the time I got to AKL.
Coming back , all on QF and the long flight was brilliant.

Here we go, the disappearing J seats again. This is THE reason for me these days to avoid LATAM if I can. I don’t know any other airline anywhere that is so bad with this

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Given the problems with LATAM bookings (also raised today in another thread where a QF busines booking was 'not in the system') I would wholly recommend allowing an extra day over and above normal requirements in case your seats are bumped. You don't want to miss the cruise!