Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Mr H]

Latest for us, Qantas removing our advanced seat reservations on QF8. ExpertFlyer shows the cabin as fully booked with a few seats still blocked out. Seat reservation now is limited to selecting window or aisle preference only. Maybe the 789 will be changed? At leasgt the flight hasn't been cancelled.

That happened to me DEL-MEL. My specific windows seat was cancelled and I was given windows/aisle choice - which was ignored and I was allocated an aisle. I refused to accept the boarding pass at check in until they bumped someone else out of a window for me. It was a king and difficult argument but I refused to step aside and the queue was held up until they resolved it. Not proud of my conduct but it worked.

 

[blu]

Wonder if they do it for the whole cabin or is it just a status based thing.

 

[Phoenix-1]

It was a king and difficult argument but I refused to step aside and the queue was held up until they resolved it. Not proud of my conduct but it worked.

Wow. How did that go exactly? Did they ever give a reason as to why seat selection was cancelled in the first place?

 

[pyramidforce]

OK so not really Qantas but JL changed the plane on one of my reward bookings as part of a Qantas OWA. No notice, no email from anyone. Just did a random check and noticed that my seat was unassigned and that 777 became 787.



Selected a new seat, ticket is "ticketed" in JL app if that even means anything.



1. Any cause for panic? We all know that a 30 microsecond timing change can cause a QFF reward ticket to disappear into The Netherlands. I'm honestly surprised that a plane swap hasn't caused an issue.

2. What is the chance that I will be bumped from the flight, despite having selected a seat, the day before and be left stranded at HND?

If only I could check on CMT...

 

[Lynda2475]

I'm honestly surprised that a plane swap hasn't caused an issue.

If it is the same flight number and time of departure then no need to re-ticket.

 

[Mr H]

OK so not really Qantas but JL changed the plane on one of my reward bookings as part of a Qantas OWA. No notice, no email from anyone. Just did a random check and noticed that my seat was unassigned and that 777 became 787.



Selected a new seat, ticket is "ticketed" in JL app if that even means anything.



1. Any cause for panic? We all know that a 30 microsecond timing change can cause a QFF reward ticket to disappear into The Netherlands. I'm honestly surprised that a plane swap hasn't caused an issue.

2. What is the chance that I will be bumped from the flight, despite having selected a seat, the day before and be left stranded at HND?

If only I could check on CMT...

Equipment swaps do not cause a ticketing issue (unless the new equipment does not have enough seats!). Just select a seat again and you should be good to go. Sometimes equipment swaps work in your favour and you get a better plane/seat - and sometimes they work against you and your lovely lie-flat widebody seat becomes a recliner on a narrow body plane.

 

[PaulyB]

Another 'wow' OWA question.
I changed my OWA booking Feb 25 and it was ticketed (still is according to RJ - ahh farewell CMT - I knew you so well.....)
But I have just downloaded my Tax Invoice and it still shows the old itinerary. Is this just good old QANTAS inefficiency or reason to panic?

 

[djkelly69]

I have just downloaded my Tax Invoice and it still shows the old itinerary

Assuming it is the QF tax invoice, it is just standard QF. Updates as often or less than the QF e-tickets IME.

 

[Mr H]

Another 'wow' OWA question.
I changed my OWA booking Feb 25 and it was ticketed (still is according to RJ - ahh farewell CMT - I knew you so well.....)
But I have just downloaded my Tax Invoice and it still shows the old itinerary. Is this just good old QANTAS inefficiency or reason to panic?

I don't think you can tell from the RJ site whether or not your booking is still ticketed - only that it was ticketed at some previous point.

 

[Captain Halliday]

I had OWA flight changes today.. thanks BA!

Reached HBA on call 2 but still didn’t ticket in time and MH sectors have started dropping.

Some data points for life without CMT:

1. On RJ, as soon as the agent began making changes, the old ticket numbers dropped out.

2. I had set up both seat alerts and aircraft change alerts on EF. These fired quickly and were my first clue that the MH sectors were gone.

Frustratingly I can’t select new seats with reinstatement pending, so other than constantly checking, I don’t see another way to monitor flights.

 

[am0985]

I've got my e-ticket for my OWCA but points have yet to be deducted. I have a -318k charge and then a credit for 318k immediately after. My flight was ticketed about 24 hours after these "charges". Will the points be taken eventually or should I call up and make sure it's taken?

Don't call up. I booked mine back in late October 2022 for August - October this year. Same thing happened to me and points still haven't been taken.

Ticket numbers etc all valid and have the points still in my account in case they realise they need to take them.

 

[PaulyB]

I don't think you can tell from the RJ site whether or not your booking is still ticketed - only that it was ticketed at some previous point.

Ugh. QANTAS System may be an Oxymoron. So this is what it feels like to be flying naked.... No certainty until we return home?

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

Ugh. QANTAS System may be an Oxymoron. So this is what it feels like to be flying naked.... No certainty until we return home?

This post might help you…

Post in thread 'CheckMyTrip Update - No more desktop access or ticket numbers'
CheckMyTrip Update - No more desktop access or ticket numbers

 

[PaulyB]

This post might help you…

Post in thread 'CheckMyTrip Update - No more desktop access or ticket numbers'
CheckMyTrip Update - No more desktop access or ticket numbers

Thnx. I am very familiar with it, sadly...

 

[markyb]

Am looking at a PDX - HEL leg in Nov/Dec as part of a OWA in J and the taxes are pricing at USD1000 I'm assuming cause it has a connection through LHR. I realise flying out of LHR is tax stupidity but that was the cost of my whole OWA taxes a few yrs ago. Have things changed - or do taxes somehow even out once the OWA legs are confirmed and 318K used?! Any clues on other ways from NW USA to Europe, avoiding LHR?

 

[Mr H]

Am looking at a PDX - HEL leg in Nov/Dec as part of a OWA in J and the taxes are pricing at USD1000 I'm assuming cause it has a connection through LHR. I realise flying out of LHR is tax stupidity but that was the cost of my whole OWA taxes a few yrs ago. Have things changed - or do taxes somehow even out once the OWA legs are confirmed and 318K used?! Any clues on other ways from NW USA to Europe, avoiding LHR?

I have not researched this deeply, but taxes and fees are much higher now than they have ever been. Some airlines are reportedly expensive and others less so. I consistently hear RJ and BA cited as expensive. The UK's air passenger duty is high for long distance international routes in premium class, but personally I would not bother with the inconvenience you have in trying to avoid it. It just adds to the overall bill you have to pay, but I don't investigate the bill too closely. I just fly with my airlines and routes of choice subject to availability. I know this is illogical as I will get a nosebleed if I have to pay more than $100 a night for accommodation, more than $60 for a visa or more than about $20 for ground transportation.

 

[Lynda2475]

Am looking at a PDX - HEL leg in Nov/Dec as part of a OWA in J and the taxes are pricing at USD1000 I'm assuming cause it has a connection through LHR. I realise flying out of LHR is tax stupidity but that was the cost of my whole OWA taxes a few yrs ago. Have things changed - or do taxes somehow even out once the OWA legs are confirmed and 318K used?! Any clues on other ways from NW USA to Europe, avoiding LHR?

My latest J OWA booked in Feb is SYD-DFW (QF) stop DFW-LHR (BA) stop LHR-DUB (BA) stop DUB-HEL (AY) stop HEL-JFK(AY) thent LAX-SYD (QF) total taxes $1.3k so they have gone up a little since last year's OWA which was SYD-SIN-LHR (QF)-EDI(BA) stop // GLA-LHR (BA) stop LHR-JFK(BA) stop JFK-ORD (AA) stop ORD-DFW(AA)-SYD(QF) which was $1.1k for taxes; but both had LHR stops.

Doesn't seem right that one leg would add $1k extra in taxes; have you priced this doing a dummy booking for whole itinerary or was it quoted by a call centre agent?

On AY (Finnair) you can fly ORD or JFK to HEL and then onward to most major ports in EU. Iberia also fly from New York, Chicago O’Hare, Boston and Washington. Or you can g the long way from US via DOH to EU.

 

[markyb]

My latest J OWA booked in Feb is SYD-DFW (QF) stop DFW-LHR (BA) stop LHR-DUB (BA) stop DUB-HEL (AY) stop HEL-JFK(AY) thent LAX-SYD (QF) total taxes $1.3k so they have gone up a little since last year's OWA which was SYD-SIN-LHR (QF)-EDI(BA) stop // GLA-LHR (BA) stop LHR-JFK(BA) stop JFK-ORD (AA) stop ORD-DFW(AA)-SYD(QF) which was $1.1k for taxes; but both had LHR stops.

Doesn't seem right that one leg would add $1k extra in taxes; have you priced this doing a dummy booking for whole itinerary or was it quoted by a call centre agent?

On AY (Finnair) you can fly ORD or JFK to HEL and then onward to most major ports in EU. Iberia also fly from New York, Chicago O’Hare, Boston and Washington. Or you can g the long way from US via DOH to EU.

Thanks @Lynda2475 for the tax comparisons and routing ideas.

The taxes for the dummy booking (using multi city tool) were $1031.10 (USD) for 1 person in J.

 

[BriarFlyer]

The high taxes aren't due to the connection through London as much as the carrier being BA* and the flight originating in the US. But as part of a OWA, the taxes will recalculate according to wherever you start your OWA. Assuming that's Australia, have you tried the dummy booking with Australia as country of origin, i.e. try a local domestic flight as Flight 1 and see the difference this makes.

*As Lynda mentioned, you'll find the taxes on AY to be considerably lower than on BA.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The high taxes aren't due to the connection through London as much as the carrier being BA* and the flight originating in the US. But as part of a OWA, the taxes will recalculate according to wherever you start your OWA. Assuming that's Australia, have you tried the dummy booking with Australia as country of origin, i.e. try a local domestic flight as Flight 1 and see the difference this makes.

*As Lynda mentioned, you'll find the taxes on AY to be considerably lower than on BA.

This!

BA TATL by itself is very expensive. Once part of a OWA the surcharge in carrier fees for TATL reduces significantly.

On a US-HEL-LHR itinerary there shouldn’t be any significant LHR fees, except maybe an arrival fee.