"fly ahead" with Qantas?

[vantage03]

That is part of the ticket price for business class. The OP is asking about economy.

Well the OP doesn't actually specify class in any of their posts...

Even if OP is referring to Economy it's always useful for other members (who are reading this thread because they're interested) to know the whole story.

 

[medhead]

Well the OP doesn't actually specify class in any of their posts...

Even if OP is referring to Economy it's always useful for other members (who are reading this thread because they're interested) to know the whole story.

But being able to move business class booking is an inherent part of the business fare. Fly ahead is only of extra benefit for fares that do not normally allow last minute flexibility.

 

[samh004]

It's a relatively new benefit given to P1s but TBH, anyone can ask for it and more often then not the lounge Angels will approve.

Indeed, I've had mixed success over the years as Platinum.

However, the full detail is listed under Travel Benefits:

[TABLE="class: basic, width: 718"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #F5F5F5, colspan: 2"]Flexibility to catch an earlier domestic flight[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]When can I request to move to an earlier domestic flight?[/TD]
[TD]If you are travelling on a flexible Qantas fare (Fully Flexi and Flexi Saver fares booked in B, H, K, L, M, V or Y in Economy or C, J in Business) and you arrive at the domestic airport earlier than planned, you can request to be moved to an earlier available domestic Qantas flight without paying any fare differential, even if there are no seats available in the booking class on your ticket. To move to an earlier Qantas domestic flight, a seat in the same cabin on the same routing and day must be available and the request can only be made for single sectors departing from the airport where the request is made. Standard check in and flight closure times apply.
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: last"]
[TD]How can I request to be moved to an earlier Qantas domestic flight?[/TD]
[TD]On the day of departure, you can request to move to an earlier domestic Qantas flight by visiting one of the Qantas Club/Business Lounges or the Qantas Service Desk at the airport.

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[medhead]

Indeed, I've had mixed success over the years as Platinum.

However, the full detail is listed under Travel Benefits:

[TABLE="class: basic, width: 718"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #F5F5F5, colspan: 2"]Flexibility to catch an earlier domestic flight[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]When can I request to move to an earlier domestic flight?[/TD]
[TD]If you are travelling on a flexible Qantas fare (Fully Flexi and Flexi Saver fares booked in B, H, K, L, M, V or Y in Economy or C, J in Business) and you arrive at the domestic airport earlier than planned, you can request to be moved to an earlier available domestic Qantas flight without paying any fare differential, even if there are no seats available in the booking class on your ticket. To move to an earlier Qantas domestic flight, a seat in the same cabin on the same routing and day must be available and the request can only be made for single sectors departing from the airport where the request is made. Standard check in and flight closure times apply.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: last"]
[TD]How can I request to be moved to an earlier Qantas domestic flight?[/TD]
[TD]On the day of departure, you can request to move to an earlier domestic Qantas flight by visiting one of the Qantas Club/Business Lounges or the Qantas Service Desk at the airport.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

So Qantas Fly Ahead is available for platinum one on fares that are changeable on the day of travel anyway. But not available for not changeable fares, unlike VA Fly Ahead. Ok then, great benefit

 

[boomy]

So Qantas Fly Ahead is available for platinum one on fares that are changeable on the day of travel anyway. But not available for not changeable fares, unlike VA Fly Ahead. Ok then, great benefit

Don't tell anyone but practically they are changeable on red-e-deal fares as well

 

[medhead]

Don't tell anyone but practically they are changeable on red-e-deal fares as well

I'm sure they are, but then we're getting back into unpublished benefit territory.

 

[3decks]

Ive had 12months away from Qantas on VA. Ive really appreciated the fly ahead on Virgin. My travel is changing back to Qantas, Im really going to miss it!

 

[anat0l]

So Qantas Fly Ahead is available for platinum one on fares that are changeable on the day of travel anyway. But not available for not changeable fares, unlike VA Fly Ahead. Ok then, great benefit

Well technically even with a Flexi fare you still can be charged a fare difference if you change your flight and there's no inventory left of what you originally booked, even on the day of travel. For example, you may have booked a fare in V, but if the only seats left are in the higher B or Y classes, you'll be charged the difference in fare.

The benefit is meant to be for Platinum Ones, there is no fare differential payable, so long as another seat in the same class of service exists on the flight.

However, yes, the written benefit as is provides no facility for non-flexible fares.

 

[YSSY]

I've had the airport checkin terminals ask me if I'd like to move to the earlier flight on several occasions, and have asked at the lounge and been transferred without a problem, they didn't seem to see it as an unusual request, but i did ask at the QP.

 

[RickyT84]

I haven't asked to move my flights forward recently but I was able to move to an earlier flight in the past (with some success).

When I am booked on the 10:05pm SYD-MEL and turned up at the airport really early (at around 7pm), the lounge agents are usually quite accommodating to my request.

 

[danielt25]

Thanks - an interesting read

the mixed success reported here might be more airport specific.

I just do domestic (saver/flexi occ business when on sale) bne-cns-bne weekly and I use the virgin fly ahead quite frequently out of Cairns ... But if I had to achieve platinum one to get that with Qantas that's quite a significant premium ($ plus SC) over what's required with status with virgin.

 

[significance]

Thanks...So for those who have had success are you gold or platinum?

I am currently gold, but have had a fair bit of success even when silver QC. As long as you are moving from a heavily booked flight to an earlier flight with a lighter load.

 

[harvyk]

PS + QP here, I'm prob at around 90% hit rate, almost exclusively on red-e-deals.
I'm often given QF love, and even trumped SG's / WP's a few times, so I'm going with it's 10% QF policy, 90% how you ask.

 

[Christoo]

I find on the Mel - Syd route that it's pretty easy to get moved onto anything before 5pm, but after that it's difficult.
One of my oddities is that I would rather sit in the lounge for an hour longer than endure a middle seat to get home an hour earlier.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

In Business (whether paid or on points), if the flight beforehand isn't full in J I've had 100% success rate at any time of day between SYD/MEL/BNE. In fact, it's unusual for me to fly domestically and not asked to be moved up to the next flight..!

Catering not assured, obviously.

This!

Yesterday family members were flying on points, arrived 2 hours prior to departure and were handed boarding passes for a flight boarding in 3 minute's time!

 

[medhead]

I find on the Mel - Syd route that it's pretty easy to get moved onto anything before 5pm, but after that it's difficult.
One of my oddities is that I would rather sit in the lounge for an hour longer than endure a middle seat to get home an hour earlier.

Hahaha. I'd rather sit in a lounge for 3 hours than a middle seat.

 

[wooley]

Hahaha. I'd rather sit in a lounge for 3 hours than a middle seat.

Well... I'd rather sit in the lounge for 5 hours than a middle seat.

 

[mrpooky]

Hi all,

Has anyone done this on a red-e-deal fare in the past month or so?

I'm on QF652 tonight (@2310) and I managed to get to the QC in Perth about three hours earlier than normal, just after three pm. I'm HLO and asked politely at both counters whether there was any chance whether they could move me to QF594 (@1620) and was told flat out by both dragons that they are unable to do so on my fare class, even without checking loading or anything for the flight. This was the first time I remember trying to do this on a QF red-e-deal fare, which I understand is not really supposed to be allowed, but I was a bit surprised that they'd rather I spend ~8 hours in the Qantas Club on a very busy evening than give me a seat on an earlier flight.

Are they now strictly enforcing the policy, or were they lying: they are actually able to, but simply didn't want to? I'm WP, by the way, although I suspect it makes little difference these days.

mrpooky.

 

[TheInsider]

Non flexible tickets will not be changed at all anymore. Unless qantas has a need to change them (like weather, delays, cancellations)

 

[anat0l]

Non flexible tickets will not be changed at all anymore. Unless qantas has a need to change them (like weather, delays, cancellations)

Does that include flow forwarding periods?

If you were in a peak travel period on the golden triangle, I'd imagine perhaps a higher chance of success. On PER routes which lack intense frequency of the aforementioned network, no chance.