Qantas Domestic Business Points Upgrades

[MelUser]

I am travelling Mel to Per in March [2 passengers]

I have tried to upgrade but system won't allow it [says no upgradeable seats].

Rang QF reservations and they have advised that there is only 1 upgradable seat and they couldn't assist unless I changed flights.

They said more upgradeable seats may become available but couldn't/wouldn't say when.

Everything looks OK on seatcounter - ie 9 of all classes except "O" [not relevant to business].

2 questions:

(1) At what point - eg T-36 hours/T-168 hours or whatever will seats become available?

(2) Why won't Qantas use the international system - ie register for upgrade and then yield management can process requests in 24 hours before travel. It annoys me having to go back to computer 3 times a day and hit the Red "REQUEST UPGRADE" button only to have it display:
"No upgrade seat is available at this time.
Please try again later"

thanks,

 

[Dave Noble]

It is quite possible that no seats will become available; if there is availabillty on another flight, then you might well be better off changing

of course, should there be free seats, you can try for an ODU

The ability to pre-book and confirm in business plus also have the chance to use ODUs when that cannot be done, is better than the international lottery system

Dave

 

[serfty]

Domestic upgrades book ito the same class that J awards book into.

i.e. If you can book a business class award on a flight, you can upgrade as well.

On a regular basis (certainly every morning) I would check for award availability for 2 x J seats on your flight. If you see em; immediately request yon upgrades!

 

[QuikSmart]

Is there a particular time of day they release upgrade seats?
On a flight on the weekend I checked for an upgrade 3 days prior at about 4.30pm - no seats available. I checked again just after 5pm - Upgrade Available. Woohoo.

 

[simongr]

The ability to pre-book and confirm in business plus also have the chance to use ODUs when that cannot be done, is better than the international lottery system

Dave

Although as an SG I am not guaranteed my upgrades I like the "lottery" option - it's a nice perk of status. I would prefer that to being behind people who book discount economy tickets 11 months out and use their CC points for upgrades...

 

[MelUser]

Flying to Perth from Mel on Saturday. There are still not 2 upgradeable (U) class business seats. Tomorrow (Friday) at 24 hours before flight, it will no longer be possible to upgrade as system will cut out upgrade option. What are chances of qantas releasing (U) class business seats in the next 26.5 hours? Thanks.

 

[munitalP]

By far the easiest way to do this is an on departure upgrade! You note you are a QC member - check in earlier than what you would normally do - getting to the QC 15 mins before departure is no good - and request an ODU with ample time to spare. It also gives you time to take in the wonderful ambience and good food / service that the QC has to offer (gag!)

In my experience, if I request an ODU I usually get one unless its during peak flying hours and I leave it as stated above until way too close to departure to make the request.

The last option is of course that if flying in J is going to make or break your trip, buy a seat in J and earn the extra status credits...

Good luck

 

[simongr]

You also have to consider that xx_-PER-xx_ is a busy route at the moment due to the WA mining boom with a lot of business types justifying their J seat due to the invcredibly long flight

 

[Mr_Gimlet]

You also have to consider that xx_-PER-xx_ is a busy route at the moment due to the WA mining boom with a lot of business types justifying their J seat due to the invcredibly long flight

Yeah, I was going to say that. I fly J to Perth and it is always full of tradies with perks, very different mix to even going over to NZ. In the past, I have been unable to move flights, even with full price J, because of no seat availability.

 

[QuikSmart]

Is it possible to get an ODU on a Red-E-Deal booking??? I know the web site says no upgrades on Red-E-Deals, but has anyone done it??

I fly to CNS-BNE tomorrow and I have a lot to do on the plane - the extra space would be handy.

Usually if I want an upgrade I'll check that award J seats are available then I book a SuperSaver fare and upgrade. I've done this for the trip back.

Do I stand a chance of getting an upgrade at the QP tomorrow or is it a lost cause?

 

[opusman]

The only way would be an Op-Up which on domestic is pretty unlikely I'm sorry.

If you want to be able to ODU you have to book SuperSaver or up.

 

[QuikSmart]

Hmmm. That's what I thought. Thanks for the response.

I'll still give a try when I get there. The CS staff in CNS are usually quite helpful. No harm in asking.

 

[serfty]

You can try but you'll almost certainly be knocked back.

Domestic red e-deals book into O and N class which are specifically ineligible for points upgrades whether ODU or otherwise.

 

[opusman]

True, no harm in asking. And you never know your luck, they may have overbooked and you come along at just the right time I've had two domestic op-ups in the past 3 years (one AYQ/DRW and one BNE/MEL) so anything can happen!

 

[Flashback]

Ask, as the worst that can happen is they say no.

In my experiences, if I say "I know I'm on an O/N ticket, but.. I'd just like to check" it is always knocked back.

Other times, when I've just straight out asked, I've had better success

 

[oz_mark]

Ask, as the worst that can happen is they say no.

In my experiences, if I say "I know I'm on an O/N ticket, but.. I'd just like to check" it is always knocked back.

Other times, when I've just straight out asked, I've had better success

I have never got past them looking up the fare class and seeing O or N...

 

[Flashback]

I have never got past them looking up the fare class and seeing O or N...

I think it's called Beginner's Luck :shock: