Qantas Business Sale - what exactly does "changes not permitted" fare conditions mean

[ozgod]

It's that time of year to go home to Australia again and I'm looking at a Business Sale fare from LAX to SYD. In the past I would book a Premium Economy Saver and use points to upgrade to Business but this year I'm also considering just getting a Business Sale fare. On checking the fare conditions I see this for Business Sale:



I must have never bought a Sale ticket before because I can't remember seeing "changes not permitted" in the fare conditions. Either they have been fee-free for the Flex or change with a fee for the Saver.

What exactly does "changes not permitted" mean? Does it:

a) literally mean you cannot reschedule the flight and will be forced to take it no matter what, or;
b) if you physically can't (e.g. you come down with Covid and cannot fly back to the US) you have to cancel the flight, paying the full amount, and re-book another one? Or can you;
c) change it for a penalty? (I'm guessing the answer to that is no but I thought I would ask.)

Thought I would ask here before trying my luck with calling Customer Service (hopefully it's no longer 4 hours wait this time). I'm also debating whether to skip flying Qantas altogether and going with United or Delta. Any insights would be appreciated!

 

[RooFlyer]

Can’t help you with a suggestion on your main question, sorry. But I think if push comes to shove, no matter what they might have actually meant, Qantas would hold all the cards in respect to what they would allow if anything, or not allow.

I’d be pricing other airlines to see what their costs, amenity and conditions are in comparison.

 

[encryptededdy]

c) change it for a penalty? (I'm guessing the answer to that is no but I thought I would ask.)

If you look under cancellation it says

This fare may be used as credit towards the payment of any equal or higher fare from the point of origin, provided the new fare conditions are met. A reissue/rerouting fee of USD $500 per person applies. If the new fare is cancelled, the original conditions apply. This credit must be used within 12 months of the original ticket/s date of issue.

 

[ozgod]

This is what I was looking for, I guess it's a roundabout way of saying you can change your trip, but you have to get another fare and pay a penalty as long as you meet certain conditions. So basically you can pay $1100 USD more for a (Business) Saver ticket where you can make unlimited changes or stick with a Sale ticket and pay a fee of $500 per change. Makes a little more sense now. Thanks for pointing that out!

 

[ozgod]

Interestingly, I checked the qantas.com website again now that I'm here in Sydney as I'm looking to reschedule my departure from Sydney to LAX and the fare conditions they have for the same fare class (Business Sale) are different, it says you can change your itinerary and pay a $400 fee plus fare differential. Nothing about having to use the fare as credit for any future new fare. Don't understand why it's different if you're booking from the US vs from Aus but I guess they have different rules for different countries, maybe to deal with different legislation.

 

[bam71]

Not legislation, just differing markets. Prices/fares/conditions are never the same between A to B as opposed from B to A.

 

[PERLHR]

Not legislation, just differing markets. Prices/fares/conditions are never the same between A to B as opposed from B to A.

And no doubt conditions never as favourable, just like the costs with origin Australia!

 

[encryptededdy]

And no doubt conditions never as favourable, just like the costs with origin Australia!

Except in this instance it can be more favourable, especially if you just want to change your itinerary, the fee is AU$400 vs. US$500.