Qantas Increases Legroom Charges; Changes to Row 4 selection on most 737 flights

[sudoer]

Sorry to dig up an old thread but I'm hoping someone can confirm...

I'm in premium economy on QF1 this weekend. Will the bulkhead row open as it previously did at T-80 for free selection or will it cost me to select it before T-24?

If it costs money and I pay, then my upgrade request to J goes through, will the fee get refunded?

 

[elanshin]

Sorry to dig up an old thread but I'm hoping someone can confirm...

I'm in premium economy on QF1 this weekend. Will the bulkhead row open as it previously did at T-80 for free selection or will it cost me to select it before T-24?

If it costs money and I pay, then my upgrade request to J goes through, will the fee get refunded?

Rdm SYD - LAX flight departing in the next few days. That being said, 31E is free.

 

[sudoer]

Rdm SYD - LAX flight departing in the next few days. That being said, 31E is free.

Thank you for the data point! Interesting that 31A/K are considered standard but 31E is extra leg room.

 

[elanshin]

For reference on the a330s 23A,B,J,K are not considered extra leg room (and rightfully so) but 24D,E,F,G are considered extra leg room.

It may also have to do with bassinet access and potentially messing up the system for that.

 

[madrooster]

If it costs money and I pay, then my upgrade request to J goes through, will the fee get refunded?

No.

For reference on the a330s 23A,B,J,K are not considered extra leg room (and rightfully so) but 24D,E,F,G are considered extra leg room.

It may also have to do with bassinet access and potentially messing up the system for that.

QF charge for BSCTs too, so it's not that they are marked as extra legroom seats, they're marked as chargeable BSCT selections.

https://www.qantas.com/agencyconnect/au/en/policies/book/seating/select-a-seat.html

 

[aikman]

I guess the trick of getting it for free at 24 hrs before departure doesn't work for trans Tasman.

 

[ShrinkWrapped]

I guess the trick of getting it for free at 24 hrs before departure doesn't work for trans Tasman.

I'm pretty sure once OLCI opens exit row seats are free for selection

 

[DAC1]

I'm pretty sure once OLCI opens exit row seats are free for selection

Agreed and it has done so for me on trans Tasman flights recently.

Note you need to actually go through OLCI and then change it to row 4. If you merely just try to change your seat without actually being checked in it will still require payment.

 

[sudoer]

I'm in premium economy on QF1 this weekend. Will the bulkhead row open as it previously did at T-80 for free selection or will it cost me to select it before T-24?

Just confirming row 31 opened at T-79h58m and I secured my preferred seat

 

[CaptJCool]

In my next QF flight
I could book row 8 & above
Exit rows at $45

At T80 Rows 5 & above opened up
Row 4 legroom at $45
By 1 minute before OLCI only 1 row 4 & 1 exit row seat had been “sold”

At OLCI 23 hours and 59 minutes I checked in
Then needed to find the view/change seat “button”

Row 4 had opened up as FREE so I’m in 4F

What occurred to me that because row 4 is for sale at $45 that this would dissuade most travellers from buying it up. (If on employer paid tic it’s like no capacity to do the add-on extra) and budget conscious travellers aren’t going to stump up $45 for the privilege either

So that means 75% plus seats will likely be available at OLCI

 

[Kangol]

In my next QF flight
I could book row 8 & above
Exit rows at $45

At T80 Rows 5 & above opened up
Row 4 legroom at $45
By 1 minute before OLCI only 1 row 4 & 1 exit row seat had been “sold”

At OLCI 23 hours and 59 minutes I checked in
Then needed to find the view/change seat “button”

Row 4 had opened up as FREE so I’m in 4F

What occurred to me that because row 4 is for sale at $45 that this would dissuade most travellers from buying it up. (If on employer paid tic it’s like no capacity to do the add-on extra) and budget conscious travellers aren’t going to stump up $45 for the privilege either

So that means 75% plus seats will likely be available at OLCI

Strange inference in the last line, based on one observation.
CL/P1 can select row 4 at any time after booking.
If you are on a typically heavy CL/P1 route, likely there will not be as many row 4 seats available at OLCI.
End of the day, it's only a few rows back or a small fee of $45.

 

[tdimdad]

End of the day, it's only a few rows back or a small fee of $45.

But that "small fee" can add up to +30% to the expense. Relatively speaking, a clear increase.

 

[Kangol]

But that "small fee" can add up to +30% to the expense. Relatively speaking, a clear increase.

A percentage without the original amount is irrelevant and misleading.
Relative to $150 or relative to $900?
Flying is an optional luxury. People don't need to fly to keep their heart beating or their lungs breathing.
For someone who can afford to fly on a QF 737 domestic flight, $45 in today's money is a small fee regardless of anyone's opinion.

 

[serfty]

A percentage without the original amount is irrelevant and misleading.
Relative to $150 or relative to $900?
Flying is an optional luxury. People don't need to fly to keep their heart beating or their lungs breathing.
For someone who can afford to fly on a QF 737 domestic flight, $45 in today's money is a small fee regardless of anyone's opinion.

In my case I do not consider $45 a small fee on top of a domestic fare. Such can be a significant impost.

I do not buy domestic flex fares on Qantas. With that such things are relative.

This week I am travelling MEL-BNE on Qantas. As a WP I have already been able to preselect a row 5 aisle seat.

The fare cost me 8400 QFF points and $46 on an award sale back in June.

$45 for a row 4 seat? Ahh ... no ...

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Should row 4 be bookable for Gold at check-in free of charge? I can select row 4 on the mobile app, but MMB through the website retains the original seat selection. I can select row 4 on the website for a charge. Some sort of glitch? Weird.

 

[I love to travel]

Should row 4 be bookable for Gold at check-in free of charge? I can select row 4 on the mobile app, but MMB through the website retains the original seat selection. I can select row 4 on the website for a charge. Some sort of glitch? Weird.

I had the same issue last week

 

[SYD]

Should row 4 be bookable for Gold at check-in free of charge? I can select row 4 on the mobile app, but MMB through the website retains the original seat selection. I can select row 4 on the website for a charge. Some sort of glitch? Weird.

Yes, but via the view/change seat button AFTER you checkin.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

This is what I see on mobile and website after changing seat to row 4 via mobile - different seat selection but 4D is showing as blocked via website. Unable to change to row 4 via website without incurring a charge.

Mobile:


Website:

 

[eminere]

Data point: Checked in for my AKL-SYD flight on the app as soon as check-in opened at T-24 but 4E and 4F has remained blocked. (4A/B/C/D are all occupied.) Called Qantas to see if an agent could manually assign me 4F but she couldn’t do so either.

 

[SYD]

Data point: Checked in for my AKL-SYD flight on the app as soon as check-in opened at T-24 but 4E and 4F has remained blocked. (4A/B/C/D are all occupied.) Called Qantas to see if an agent could manually assign me 4F but she couldn’t do so either.

You might be in a similar situation to me in seeing less seats than other WPs?

Thread 'Same status different seat selection availability'

Oct 12, 2024

Wasn’t sure if this is a question under T-80 or Shadows but possibly warrants a seperate thread (if not already asked before?).

Two of us on seperate tickets flying SYD-MEL whY (return). Bookings are not linked AFAIK but we can see quite different seat availability within T-80 (I think it’s much the same before T-80 and not aware of this on QFi).

Both of us WP/LTG/PC/GT and flying associated to my QBR account. I’ve been continuous WP longer, attained LTG several years earlier.

Flying down to MEL we had adjacent aisle seats (as usual), EF was showing our middle seats blocked (shadow?)...

• SYD
• seat selection
• Replies: 13
• Forum: Qantas | Frequent Flyer

• 

We flew AKL-SYD a few days ago (seperate bookings but linked) and could have selected any of the available Row 4 seats but unfortunately one of the aisle seats was taken (we only do adjacent aisle seats on narrow body jets - unless we know for sure we can get 3 seats for two of us).

Anyway, we should have taken the other aisle and window seat because the middle seats remained empty (blocked to others)… We would have asked to swap seats with one or other….