Likeliness of D-class opening up SIN-SYD for July 2016?

[Economy_Gold]

We (two adults) are flying a relativly complex discount business class itinerary from Sydney to Europe. The best option for the last leg of that journey for us is SIN-SYD with Qantas on a Saturday in July. However, as there is no D-class available on either Qantas flights (QF6 and QF82), we are currently booked in Y on QF82 and waitlisted for D. Unfortunately, there is also no Qantas D-class availabiity one day before and after and we cannot use the BA flight due to the ticketing restrictions.

Does anyone has experience how likely it is for Qantas D-class to open up between now and July 2016 on this route (SIN-SYD)?

It would be great to get D-class as are paying for a business class ticket and would like to fly business class

 

[Mattg]

We (two adults) are flying a relativly complex discount business class itinerary from Sydney to Europe. The best option for the last leg of that journey for us is SIN-SYD with Qantas on a Saturday in July. However, as there is no D-class available on either Qantas flights (QF6 and QF82), we are currently booked in Y on QF82 and waitlisted for D. Unfortunately, there is also no Qantas D-class availabiity one day before and after and we cannot use the BA flight due to the ticketing restrictions.

Does anyone has experience how likely it is for Qantas D-class to open up between now and July 2016 on this route (SIN-SYD)?

It would be great to get D-class as are paying for a business class ticket and would like to fly business class

I would be surprised if there was no D class availability at all, under normal circumstances. But if you're looking at travelling during school holidays then that changes things a bit.

What date/s are you looking at specifically? And can you route via BNE or MEL?

 

[JohnPhelan]

Saturday 30 July is the only Saturday in July 2016 that is showing D class availability on QF SIN-SYD (including connections via BNE or MEL). All other Saturdays are showing no availability. D class is available during weekdays in most cases, and sometimes on Sundays.To answer the OP's question - yes, it is possible that further D class availability may open up. But QF is obviously withholding D class because its systems indicate it is likely to sell the seats at higher J prices. Also bear in mind that, with the A330 reconfiguration, the number of J seats per aircraft is dropping from 36 to 28, so there are fewer J seats to go round.So - likelihood of additional D seats becoming available? Not high, especially on weekends.

 

[opusman]

Have you asked how much it would cost to upgrade to J class on that sector?

 

[JohnPhelan]

Does your ticket allow you to fly on the EK flight MEL-SIN (either on EK flight number or QF codeshare number)? You could then connect on a QF flight MEL-SIN.

 

[Economy_Gold]

Does your ticket allow you to fly on the EK flight MEL-SIN (either on EK flight number or QF codeshare number)? You could then connect on a QF flight MEL-SIN.

Thanks for the idea, but the ticket is through JAL - so EK will not be possible.

 

[Economy_Gold]

What date/s are you looking at specifically? And can you route via BNE or MEL?

The specific date is Saturday 9 July. If anyone with access to appropiate tools can check if a connection via BNE or MEL is possible, that would be a great help.

 

[Mattg]

The specific date is Saturday 9 July. If anyone with access to appropiate tools can check if a connection via BNE or MEL is possible, that would be a great help.

QF82 is showing zero Business availability in any fare class, so I would write that off. QF6 on that day though still has seats in J and C classes, so D seats could possibly be released in future. Availability exists on both SIN-SYD flights on 10 July.

No availability via MEL or BNE on that day, unfortunately.

Can you take MH via KUL?

I notice that SIN-PER and PER-SYD have D availability on QF, but the timings aren't great (a night in Perth would be required).

 

[JohnPhelan]

The specific date is Saturday 9 July. If anyone with access to appropiate tools can check if a connection via BNE or MEL is possible, that would be a great help.

No flights in D on Saturday 9 July (including connections) - BUT there are D seats on Sunday 10 July, on both QF82 and QF6.

 

[Economy_Gold]

No flights in D on Saturday 9 July (including connections) - BUT there are D seats on Sunday 10 July, on both QF82 and QF6.

Thank you MattG and JohnPhelan for your very helpful responses - I will try to change to 10 July.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Call me old fashioned, but I'm sorry if an airline can't make a paid, revenue business class seat available for you on a flight 10 months out when the cabin is near empty with no sales - my business would be going elsewhere in a heartbeat no questions asked.

 

[opusman]

if an airline can't make a paid, revenue business class seat available

Presumably they can, just not in the discount fare bucket the OP has booked.

 

[Mattg]

Call me old fashioned, but I'm sorry if an airline can't make a paid, revenue business class seat available for you on a flight 10 months out when the cabin is near empty with no sales - my business would be going elsewhere in a heartbeat no questions asked.

I agree with the sentiment, but I do note that on at least one of those flights there was zero availability even in J and C. So, it's possible that the cabin had already been completely sold. (If that's not the case, then I'd love to know what's going on there!)

 

[Himeno]

You could try requesting D seats be opened for you. If you have high status and there is a lot of J and C available, they might very well do it. I've often had them open D for me on SYD-NRT.

 

[Economy_Gold]

Call me old fashioned, but I'm sorry if an airline can't make a paid, revenue business class seat available for you on a flight 10 months out when the cabin is near empty with no sales - my business would be going elsewhere in a heartbeat no questions asked.

Acutually it is worse than that! The JAL online booking engine did not show at any stage that we would be booked into Economy for the SIN-SYD flight :evil:

So in case that they are unwilling to change the booking to 10 July, I will consider going to NSW Fair Trading considering that they (in my opinion) made misrepresentations about the product at the point of sale.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Presumably they can, just not in the discount fare bucket the OP has booked.

Let me flip this around to look at it a different way.

Of all the airline websites in the world, qantas.com has one of the lowest direct booking rates in the industry. So, with such little data on what potential customers are searching for since this is owned by GDS, OTAs and meta search companies like kayak - does Qantas really have a clear picture of the sales they are turning away? No. Can revenue analysts do their job effectively? No. Is the company losing sales? Highly likely.

Counting the cost of lost audience segmentation and having a holistic CRM view of customer is something that is no doubt on Qantas and other blue chip companies radars. Especially for a frequent flyer program where understanding loyalty is part of the CRM strategy. Dissecting this data then provides a clear revenue path that will positively impact the bottom line.

Basically, Qantas (just like many other airlines) is like an 'A' grade student that is coasting along with a 'C'. It's a pass - so why strive for more?

 

[Economy_Gold]

Just a huge thank you again for everyone's suggestions and help! We have now included a nice Tokyo stopover and are flying Business Class all the way.