QANTAS - Confirm your flights today, and pay for them later

[futaris]

Bookings - Pay Later

This is new... Since when has this been available? No news of it in the July FF Newsletter.

 

[Standby]

Bookings - Pay Later

This is new... Since when has this been available? No news of it in the July FF Newsletter.

As all disc Dom bookings are instant purchase this must be aimed more for international travel. Good idea as its apretty big purchase decision to click a button for a family of 4 to LAX in one go,especially if you have to organise accom etc on the side..other gurus here do you know of any other airline offering book now pay later ???...another reason not to be setting up a travel agency any time soon I suppose

 

[simongr]

One downside will be that if you want an UG request you will need to have paid...

 

[mabunji]

Interesting . This is a great idea..... well it is a great idea as long as I am the only passenger doing it.

I' m thinking of going to the UK at Christmas - or then again maybe Asia -or perhaps stay at home and over to NZ in the New Year ?. No problem I'll book and hold the seats for all of these flights - I'll decide and pay nearer the time. In the meantime no other pax will not be able to access those seats.

Christmas is peak time - seats are at a premium - losing a $25 deposit is probably worth it when I finally get round to making up my mind.

Of course if other pax start playing this game its going to clog up things pretty quickly.

 

[Mal]

Not bad at all. Very similar to a service that Travel Agents can do!

Here is a sample of a cheapish fare to HKGin November:

Important Information

* To hold this booking you must pay a holding guarantee of A$25.00 per passenger. This will be refunded when full payment is made online at qantas.com/yourbooking.
* While your booking is on hold, the total ticket price may fluctuate due to changes in surcharges and taxes.
* Payment must be made by midnight Thu 18 Oct 2007 (AEST) or the booking will be cancelled and your holding guarantee forfeited.
* If final payment is made through Qantas Telephone Sales, Airports or Qantas Travel stores your holding guarantee will not be refunded.

So If I booked this today, I don't need to pay it off until 30 days before travel. Not bad at all. Of course I would have to monitor airport taxes and fuel fine changes to make sure I got the best deal (normally TA's will tell you if that's about to occur) but I can live with that.

 

[Mal]

Interesting . This is a great idea..... well it is a great idea as long as I am the only passenger doing it.

No worse than what Travel Agents do at times... Although Qantas have cracked down on Travel Agents doing dodgy things (I think their process is called "Flight firming"), and I assume at some stage that they will also crack down on 'speculative holidays'

 

[simongr]

Can't you do this already with QF? I booked a CircleAsia in D a while ago for a November journey and don't have to pay until Mid Oct.

 

[Nick]

Not bad at all. Very similar to a service that Travel Agents can do!

Here is a sample of a cheapish fare to HKGin November:

So If I booked this today, I don't need to pay it off until 30 days before travel. Not bad at all. Of course I would have to monitor airport taxes and fuel fine changes to make sure I got the best deal (normally TA's will tell you if that's about to occur) but I can live with that.

Yes, this sounds good, but watch out for Red E-Deals. Like all their other restrictions, I tried a SYD/LAX/JFK/LAX/SYD booking for April 2008 and it came back asking me for full payment by next Monday 23 July 2007.

Obviously makes sense that the red e-deals get the shortest time frame, but I wonder if it is also dependent on route as well?

 

[Mal]

Obviously makes sense that the red e-deals get the shortest time frame, but I wonder if it is also dependent on route as well?

It's based on the conditions of the fare sold. Different markets have different fares with different conditions.

You really need something like ExpertFlyer or another online tool that shows Fare conditions to work out how long you would have for the fare and what fares allow more time.

 

[futaris]

Can't you do this already with QF? I booked a CircleAsia in D a while ago for a November journey and don't have to pay until Mid Oct.

I thought you could only book open-jaw and simple itineraries online... How'd you book a CircleAsia online?

 

[futaris]

I saw the new multi-city booking, but I think this just adds up the price of the separate one-way tickets:

Bookings - Flights - Multi City - Map Search - Australia

 

[simongr]

I thought you could only book open-jaw and simple itineraries online... How'd you book a CircleAsia online?

It was a phone booking - didnt realise there was a difference between phone and internet in this regard.

S

 

[futaris]

Incidentally you can use that tool for booking return flights with stopovers, etc...

 

[serfty]

Here's where you can find eligibility.

Bookings - Flights - Fare Types - Fare Guide Index

Note that a 'holding fee' is charged (AUD25 for Oz->US) which is 'refundable' when final payment is made.

For domestic Oz it only for K, W (Flexi Save), H & Y (Fully Flex) fares: Oz Domestic

 

[littl_flier]

Can't you do this already with QF? I booked a CircleAsia in D a while ago for a November journey and don't have to pay until Mid Oct.

Hey Simongr. Hope the behomoth is going well! I presume you didn't book this online? This is a new innovation for online bookings in a move to win further business from the TA's. QF have been successful in moving overides to TA's from ~7% over the last couple of years to 1% plus a superoveride for the bigger customers. It looks like they're still keen for the extra 1% piece of the pie. In the past, market research has shown that those who are internet savvy, (ie. confident to book travel online) would still use a shop-front TA to book travel for stopovers and because of flexible payment conditions. It appears QF may be leading the pack when it comes to further "enhancement" for the consumer. And who can blame them given the current climate? BRING IT ON!

Cheers,
littl_flier

EDIT: Thanks, just made it to the end of the posts- realise you didn't book online now. Still think its a great idea from QF though. MY TA rushed through my last fare so it could be ticketed in their commission month. :evil: At least now I'll know when its really due.

 

[simongr]

Behemoth took 3 weeks to book through TA, SOB took 7 1/2 minutes to book (and a week to pay for) on phone to AA.

Behemoth is interesting - hard to believe I am less than half way through the flights...

 

[d15.in.oz]

...SOB took 7 1/2 minutes to book (and a week to pay for) ...

Well if the equivalent of a DONE4, is a week's wages (booked ex-USA or AUS) I am for hire! LOL

P.S. hope your luggage turned up!

 

[simongr]

It took me a week to make the payment - if I was earning enough in a week for a DONE4 - I would be flying an AONE4

Nope - no luggage yet

 

[serfty]

It took me a week to make the payment - if I was earning enough in a week for a DONE4 - I would be flying an AONE4

Nope - no luggage yet

If you were earning that much, you'd be flying F.

As for luggage; damn - where can I buy my tumi here in London or Paris or New York,

 

[simongr]

If you were earning that much, you'd be flying F.

As for luggage; damn - where can I buy my tumi here in London or Paris or New York,

Too cheap for full F and I would still be chasing more miles

Oi - don't make my luggage traumas sound so glamorous . Anyway it's London Selfridges, London Tumi Store, New York or Hong Kong - not back to Paris anytime soon