Earlier Flight Question

[thommo87]

Hi All,

I am currently booked in J on QF872 on the 18th of Aug at 0730 connecting to QF11 at 1305.

Due to the delays Canberra can experience due to fog throughout the winter months I have looked at changing to the first flight of the morning (to avoid delays in CBR and maximise time in the FLounge), leaving at 0640. Calling Qantas last night I was informed that there would be a $300 change fee for doing so.

Now my question is, if we were to arrive at the airport in time to check in for the 0640 flight and there were seats available in J (currently shows on Expert Flyer as 2 available, the remainder blocked) what are the chances of being able to get a seat on the earlier flight without having to pay a change fee?

 

[spentan]

Hi All,

I am currently booked in J on QF872 on the 18th of Aug at 0730 connecting to QF11 at 1305.

Due to the delays Canberra can experience due to fog throughout the winter months I have looked at changing to the first flight of the morning (to avoid delays in CBR and maximise time in the FLounge), leaving at 0640. Calling Qantas last night I was informed that there would be a $300 change fee for doing so.

Now my question is, if we were to arrive at the airport in time to check in for the 0640 flight and there were seats available in J (currently shows on Expert Flyer as 2 available, the remainder blocked) what are the chances of being able to get a seat on the earlier flight without having to pay a change fee?

I'm pretty sure the delays are usually only for the prop planes (Virgin ATR72 and QF Dash8s), the jet services (737s) are not usually affected.

That being said, they will probably still charge you the change fee even if you rock up early to the airport.

You will get an hour or so more in the DOM J Lounge at Canberra, but tbh, not much to write home about.

 

[richie9x]

I am very surprised they are charging to change a business class fare. Did you pay full price? or is it a sale price? or an award fare redemption?

At the airport they generally seem to be a lot more flexible about changing flights. Even the next gen kiosks allow you to change some flights. Otherwise the service desk should be able to help out. Especially if it is a full J fare I would expect them to bend over backwards to help you out.

 

[wingspan]

Staff at the airport are often able to put you on an earlier flight even if booked on extremely restrictive discount Y fares. I would imagine you would have a lot more scope to change. Of course, it is subject to seat availability and other issues. Anyway, you have F lounge access so I assume you are WP or other OWE, in which case they may be able to bend the rules even more.

Also in your decision making, remember than the first couple of flights of the day are not affected as strongly by fog as take-off in fog is not as much a task as landing in fog. Often delays due to fog are to do with the previous flight not being able to land in fog rather than take-off-specific-delays.

 

[harvyk]

Turn up early, I've found that if they expect there could be delays they are very pro-active in getting people onto earlier flights, esp where there are connecting flights at stake. The earlier you turn up to the airport in those cases, the more likely you are to get onto an earlier flight. Of course it never hurts to ask once your there even if there is no reason for a delayed flight. I've found they can be very accommodating.