Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[flapper]

I was told yesterday that each flight has a different ticketing deadline. Some of my QR flights have a ticketing deadline of 8 August - so well beyond the 24 hours. She then told me the ticketing deadlines for some of the other flights on the itinerary. My question, which obviously the agent would not have been able to answer, is - if the ticketing deadlines are visible to QF, why the QF don't they have a system in place to make sure they are ticketed ahead of that deadline?

An operator told me today that my QR flight indicates has a 24 hour reticketing time. Mr H's post was the first I'd heard the reticketing time showing and quite frankly I thought they were having a lend of you. Anyway the operator just happened to mention it. I asked where it was and she said it was on the 1st page of the booking. I don't know if this is something new or not but why the resistance many operators have to reticketing? They almost always parrot 24-48 hours yet they must be seeing 24 hours on the booking and ignore it.

 

[DC3]

An operator told me today that my QR flight has a 24 hour reticketing time …

That fits in with most of the reported experiences, before the booking drops off.

 

[flapper]

I added a flight to my OWA booking booking again today. It took 8 calls to get someone who could add it, mostly Fiji but a few CT. I'm quite quick at flitering them now and just HUACA if they fail my test questions. Got a few telling me they can't add a flight to an existing booking (I thought that was mainly a Manila problem), got 2 saying they can't see flights past 354 days, plus some telling me they just couldn't see the flights.
The biggest problem was the time on the phone trying to get it reticketed.
1st call took about an hour to recalculate taxes and took my credit card again and points even though they were recalced and taxes paid when I added the flight. She wanted to end it there but I pushed for reticketing, she said she would call me back as it would take about an hour. Of course no call.
2nd call took 1:50 hr just for him to recalc taxes and points, wanted credit card again. Call dropped out twice but he called back. He wanted to end it there but I pushed for reticketing, he finally agreed but call dropped out after a while. He didn't call back this time.
3rd call was the woman who added the flight but wouldn't ticket in the morning. She actually remembered me. She took about 15 mins to recalc the taxes and points (why did it take the other guy 2 hours???). She then had to contact ticketing after about 1:30hr she got through to them and came back and wanted my credit card again, 4th time today. She then had to go back to ticketing. While waiting call cut out. She didn't call back.
4th call I called and asked to get the previous operator to call me, she went off and came back and said she was on another call and will call back. Of course that never happened.
5th call. I got AKL. I couldn't believe it. I told her it was like winning the lotto. It was the 1st time in over 50 calls these past 3 months. She said the reference number dropped off (whatever that is) which it why they kept asking for my credit card. She worked on it for 30 mins then said she had to contact her supervisor for ticketing it would take 15 mins max and would call back. I begged to wait onhold having already told her all the call drop outs I'd had and how many hours I had waited. She said I can't wait on hold. She did tell me her supervisor was online and she (the supervisor) would do the ticketing but she may need my cr card again. True to her word she called back 15 mins later and it had been ticketed (no cr card need again, I'd already been charged twice).
She confirmed the booking shows how long they have to reticket it.
Interesting, it seems AKL & I guess HBA have ticketing on tap yet the OS call centres have to wait in a queue which is usually over an hour.
She also said AKL operates 24 hours and HBA finishes at 1:00am.

 

[DC3]

She also said AKL operates 24 hours and HBA finishes at 1:00am.

Good news to hear that Hobart has extended hours, past the 11.00pm of late. Unless she was referring to Kiwi time, 1.00am in Kiwi land would be 11.00pm in Taswegia?

Cape Town and AKL certainly never close. Not sure about Manila and the other one in Fiji.

 

[squid01]

Another question relating to another cancelled flight on my OWA. I originally had a leg booked of ADL>PER>KUL>HKT>DOH>LHR (I know lol). All flights just transit and less than 24hours between each, so not stops.

The KUL>HKT flight has been cancelled by MH, there is no oneworld option to pick up another flight on that date. I am going to have to buy a revenue fare on another airline and make my own way. That would be a surface segment, but between landing in KUL and departing HKT will still be less than 24hrs. So will that count as a stop, as not flying out of the same airport? Or just a stopover still as between landing and departure is less than 24hours?

Also, my itinery starts in ADL and finishes in MEL. Landing back in MEL is that considered a "stop"?

Does anyone have any experience on these two points regarding counting of stops?

 

[squid01]

Just a follow up on this; still no word from AA on if they will release the rewards seat on that flight due to their cancellation of my original flight. Phoned Qantas back after one week from original request said need to wait longer. Just called again (16 days after original request) they put in a follow up request to AA. Not sure why it took over an hour for them to do something so simple as a follow up.

If I call back in a few days to try and escalate it what can I say? Do the operators managers have the ability to connect directly with AA perhaps via a phone line, to push the request through? Or are we truly at the mercy of the email request line of communication they have been doing?

An update on this, it has been five weeks since the original request for AA to release the seats. No response. Followed up with Qantas many times they all say they can't escalate it and can only put in a follow up to the request via email. Think I will just change that flight to economy class as that has availability, not worth this effort anymore.

 

[DC3]

I don’t rely on what’s in MMB. It’s the re-issue of the e-ticket that I’m after.

 

[DC3]

… they can't escalate it and can only put in a follow up to the request via email. Think I will just change that flight to economy …

I take what seats I can get at the time, even if that means Y, so at least I have a seat. Then monitor for U availability. My only experience with AA releasing seats (business) was due to a QF ‘glitch’ with the booking. The seats were re-instated by AA in two days after Hobart submitted a request.

 

[squid01]

I take what seats I can get at the time, even if that means Y, so at least I have a seat. Then monitor for U availability. My only experience with AA releasing seats (business) was due to a QF ‘glitch’ with the booking. The seats were re-instated by AA in two days after Hobart submitted a request.

Yes but the request for release is due to AA cancelling the original flight I was on. They put me on a 6am flight (change) but I can't make that flight so requested they release an award seat for the flight later in the night. It really shouldn't be this hard to just get an answer from them :/

 

[Mr H]

It really shouldn't be this hard to just get an answer from them :/

I suspect the silence is your answer.

 

[PointsTraveller!]

It starts as a normal Classic Award, and automatically "turns into" a OWA when the conditions are met.
yes, book the first available leg (or legs if multiple are available already) online as a Classic award.
Then call to add further legs.
And the points will cap at 318k (for J), if the OWA conditions are met.
Keep it simple on the phone, "make a change to an Award booking".
Start mentioning OWA etc you'll confuse the hell out of them and start the slippery slope to despair

What if this is done via the Qantas website, will it automatically be recognised as a OWA if all the conditions are met and be capped at 318k points? Thanks

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

What if this is done via the Qantas website, will it automatically be recognised as a OWA if all the conditions are met and be capped at 318k points? Thanks

It *should* be recognised automatically, but this is the Qantas website that we're dealing with...

 

[ozflier]

What if this is done via the Qantas website, will it automatically be recognised as a OWA if all the conditions are met and be capped at 318k points? Thanks

That has been my experience.

 

[am0985]

Pretty good availability SYD/MEL - HND/NRT then HND/NRT - JFK for (just under) 12 months time, if anyone is looking for a feasible first two legs to their OWA in the midst of northern hemisphere summer (which often has coughpy award space)

 

[PointsTraveller!]

Another query I have in which I've tried to get an answer off Qantas unsuccessfully, is whether Qantas call centre can only book reward flights shown as available on the Qantas website or do they also have access to book reward flights shown available through AA, JAL, BA etc?

 

[Mr H]

Another query I have in which I've tried to get an answer off Qantas unsuccessfully, is whether Qantas call centre can only book reward flights shown as available on the Qantas website or do they also have access to book reward flights shown available through AA, JAL, BA etc?

They will say that their access is not quite the same as you see on the QF website as their access is real time and the QF website may not be up to the minute (i.e. if a flight has just been added by an airline or booked by someone else). The availability of awards for other airlines - as shown on their websites - can be quite different. Al Qataria, for example, make fewer award seats available for QF than for some other OW airlines.

 

[jkcfc]

On my call today I was told it appears the system is having issues and my changes have to be manually reticketed ... was AKL and seemed competent. Now monitoring MMB to ensure no flights drop off.

 

[Mr H]

On my call today I was told it appears the system is having issues and my changes have to be manually reticketed ... was AKL and seemed competent. Now monitoring MMB to ensure no flights drop off.

MMB is probably the worst place to monitor this because it is not updated in real time and will show the last ticketed booking for long after it has dropped off. Although in any case, monitoring will only tell you when there's a problem to be fixed and won't stop the problem occurring in the first place.

I am currently using CMT and checking ticket numbers on a daily basis in the hope that if a ticket number drops off, it will be possible to reticket before the booking is cancelled. I should not have to do that.

 

[jkcfc]

MMB is probably the worst place to monitor this because it is not updated in real time and will show the last ticketed booking for long after it has dropped off. Although in any case, monitoring will only tell you when there's a problem to be fixed and won't stop the problem occurring in the first place.

I am currently using CMT and checking ticket numbers on a daily basis in the hope that if a ticket number drops off, it will be possible to reticket before the booking is cancelled. I should not have to do that.

So on CMT i now have 'Fictitious Point' QF9098 where my MEL-SYD flight that I was removing used to be. Was told that he added notes to the system just wanting that flight removed but all other flights to remain however the manual exchange system would work. So this is now with the team for manual re-ticketing.

Has anyone had this before?

 

[tooten69]

Hi all, I am about 3.5 weeks away from attemping the start of my first multi trip award booking. 4 people... I have read over a lot of the comments but had two questions I wanted to confirm with the community.

1) if I start a booking with 4 people on a single booking to lets say KUL and then wish to book the next leg with 2 people in J and 2 in W or Y is this possible? Or is it recommended to split the booking into two accounts (from the start) and have 2 separate bookings to allow separated tickets/classes?

2) If I start a booking in SYD and later on wish to add a domestic leg (MEL-SYD) to the start of the booking is this possible? I know you can add onto the end just not sure if you can add flights at the beginning?

Thank you,
Robert