Qantas SYD&MEL to SIN $510 ret ($410 through .br site)

[AdMEL]

Are some of the cheap airfares a glitch or the booking class availability different for each market?

From what I've read on here, both.

 

[dajop]

OMG. You don't want to.

I will re-iterate this warning when it comes to changing. YOU DO NOT WANT TO CHANGE THESE FARES.

I managed to get onto expedia.com.br, and unfortunately QF did not confirm the changes. So I did my research, found nice O class fare to change to that added a mere 150 BRL across all five pax. Add in $100 AUD change fee that would only be $115 to change per passenger. Sweet, costly, but bearable solution.

However it seems the agents CANNOT see the same fares as online. They wanted to charge a little over 300 BR + change fee (ie it worked out $270 AUD) per passenger to change to exact same flights in the same fare class. A complete farce because the person made a very very silly mistake that we were not able to communicate with the travel agent within the tolerance period for correcting mistake! C'est la vie.

 

[Must...Fly!]

A nice midpoint solution for those whose plans are likely to change may be to book via Expedia Ireland.

Yes it is not as cheap but the change process is easy as the agents, of course, speak English. I have changed a flight through them before for the correct rate (i.e. AUD100 + Fare difference (trivial few Euro), paid in Euro).

Edit: Actually it comes through as 375EUR now for the fare which is appreciably higher (just over 500AUD) than our other friends...I guess it is still cheaper than Qantas.com by a fair way

 

[Aussie_flyer]

The issue is that even if O class shows 9 seats available to an Australian based agent or Qantas.com Australia that a brazilian based agent MAY see O class at 0 seats. The availability is not identical.

 

[dajop]

The issue is that even if O class shows 9 seats available to an Australian based agent or Qantas.com Australia that a brazilian based agent MAY see O class at 0 seats. The availability is not identical.

No that is not the issue it had nothing to do with QF availability in Australia.

Expedia.com.br had seats available in O class. The phone agent had seats available in O class. There was a price discrepancy (of slightly more than 250 BRL per passenger) between what the agent was quoting as total fare and what Expedia.com.br was quoting - both in O class. Hence changes cost more than what one would normally expect.

 

[Jleno]

I will re-iterate this warning when it comes to changing. YOU DO NOT WANT TO CHANGE THESE FARES.

I managed to get onto expedia.com.br, and unfortunately QF did not confirm the changes. So I did my research, found nice O class fare to change to that added a mere 150 BRL across all five pax. Add in $100 AUD change fee that would only be $115 to change per passenger. Sweet, costly, but bearable solution.

However it seems the agents CANNOT see the same fares as online. They wanted to charge a little over 300 BR + change fee (ie it worked out $270 AUD) per passenger to change to exact same flights in the same fare class. A complete farce because the person made a very very silly mistake that we were not able to communicate with the travel agent within the tolerance period for correcting mistake! C'est la vie.

Did Expedia.com.br charge just the change fee or did they charge the fare difference as well?

Considering if you book direct on QANTAS, they will charge you the A$60 change fee as well as any fare difference, generally that fare difference will be the determining factor on whether you should bother to change. If Expedia.com.br only charges the change fee and not the fare difference, it may well be the better option?

 

[Aussie_flyer]

No that is not the issue it had nothing to do with QF availability in Australia.

Expedia.com.br had seats available in O class. The phone agent had seats available in O class. There was a price discrepancy (of slightly more than 250 BRL per passenger) between what the agent was quoting as total fare and what Expedia.com.br was quoting - both in O class. Hence changes cost more than what one would normally expect.

Im saying its an Issue in general sorry.... im referring to pricing differences like when qantas.com is selling o class sale fares on a certain date but they dont show on .br

 

[dajop]

Did Expedia.com.br charge just the change fee or did they charge the fare difference as well?

Considering if you book direct on QANTAS, they will charge you the A$60 change fee as well as any fare difference, generally that fare difference will be the determining factor on whether you should bother to change. If Expedia.com.br only charges the change fee and not the fare difference, it may well be the better option?

I declined (at this stage) so nothing charged yet! They wanted to charge change fee ($100 AUD as per fare rules) + plus fare difference (as per fare rules). The problem was what defined the fare difference. On the website, booking a new fare in O class came to ~3850 BRL for all passengers (vs original fare of ~ 3700 BRL) .. ie 150 BRL more, however on the phone they wanted an extra ~300 BRL per pax plus the change fees. I don't know why web was showing fare difference of 30 BRL per pax vs 300 BRL per pax over the phone. As an aside - the first problem was that we couldn't rebook onto N class (original fare) on another day either - my theory on this one was the fare had decreased (it was across all pax about 50BRL cheaper), and IIRC you can't rebook into a lower fare (even though same class).

Anyway, moral to story is changes are not as straightforward as we would expect in Australia.

Im saying its an Issue in general sorry.... im referring to pricing differences like when qantas.com is selling o class sale fares on a certain date but they dont show on .br

Yes, no correlation between qantas.com and expedia.com.br.... nor between expertflyer and expedia.com.br!

 

[nate89]

Had a shot at calling them twice in the past hour. First time I got through after 20 minutes of being on hold, but the guy didn't speak english and I didn't know how to get him to put me back in the waiting line so I ended up hanging up and calling again. 35 minutes on hold and I have to go out so again I had to hang up.

I'm a bit frustrated, but I will try calling again during more regular business hours. If I have no better luck tonight I might ask Dajop for an email address of the english speaker!

 

[markis10]

Expedia cannot make any changes if you have an upgrade request in on one of the flights ...hint....hint!

 

[GalaxyNexus]

But the super-cheap fare is non-upgradable...

 

[markis10]

But the super-cheap fare is non-upgradable...

They are if you have a domestic leg, another bonus to go with points and extra SCs

 

[lovestotravel]

They are if you have a domestic leg, another bonus to go with points and extra SCs

Hmmm really ?

QF.com wont' let me upgrade it

 

[markis10]

Hmmm really ?

QF.com wont' let me upgrade it

Discount Economy includes Red e-Deal fares (classes E, N, O, Q and S) for domestic upgrade award eligibility.

 

[nate89]

Hmmm really ?

QF.com wont' let me upgrade it

I haven't tried, but it shows as having the option in my booking... but maybe it isn't for all domestic flights :|

 

[AdMEL]

They are if you have a domestic leg, another bonus to go with points and extra SCs

Discount Economy includes Red e-Deal fares (classes E, N, O, Q and S) for domestic upgrade award eligibility.

Are you saying that any international red e-deal that includes a domestic flight is upgradable, because of this?

 

[markis10]

Are you saying that any international red e-deal that includes a domestic flight is upgradable, because of this?

No, I am saying the domestic flight is upgradable, which if the option is taken means Qantas can then do the changes in the booking for you and not speak Brazilian!

 

[AdMEL]

I haven't tried, but it shows as having the option in my booking... but maybe it isn't for all domestic flights :|

IME, all flights have the upgrade tab, but that doesn't mean the flight is upgradable! Just checked an upcoming flight and that is the case.

 

[anat0l]

No, I am saying the domestic flight is upgradable, which if the option is taken means Qantas can then do the changes in the booking for you and not speak Brazilian!

Is that so? Even for the non-upgradeable (and thus, upgrade non-registered) international leg?

I find that quite curious, but if it works....

I suppose then you change at Qantas' terms then, i.e. with their penalties according to the fare type...

That said, it will cost you some thousands of points since you have to upgrade the domestic leg (or, if you are "unlucky" enough, go on the upgrade waitlist).

 

[serfty]

I you have, say, an itinerary on QF BNE-xMEL-SIN-BNE all in O class and if you click the [ > Upgrade ] option, it will come back with BNE-MEL upgradeable showing the number of points required with [ > Request Upgrade ] and the other segments showing "Upgrade not available".