Qantas to charge passengers extra for exit row seats

[mannej]

I disagree, I found 24F v. comfortable and slept all the way from PER-NRT

I envy your ability to sleep on a plane:evil:
24F is an exception on a 763 I believe!

I have not been lucky enough to get that far forward yet.

 

[JohnK]

But I hope there comes a a point one day where QF (and I might add SQ, if you read the SQ section of Flyertalk, elites there are even more cynical than many of us are here ) have to start adding benefits rather than at the moment where it appears they are always taking them away (and I don't just mean putting a wall up in QP and serving some pancakes for breakfast )

One can only hope....

 

[Commuter]

He said Qantas subsidiary Jetstar and Virgin Blue airlines have made significant revenue out of charging extra for the seats.

Comparing Qantas to LCCs. I guess Joyce will indeed turn Qantas into Jetstar?

Anyhow, I don't care if they want to charge for it as long as they prioritise WPs (followed by SGs etc). But I somehow doubt it.

To me, it's more about semi-assured access than money (as long as fees aren't completely ridiculous).

 

[vt01]

Checked in today and was given my requested exit row seat at no additional charge . So perhaps QF will not charge WP when we request exit row seats through the premium desk..

 

[pauly7]

Checked in today and was given my requested exit row seat at no additional charge . So perhaps QF will not charge WP when we request exit row seats through the premium desk..

I wasn't aware they had started charging yet anyway?

 

[oz_mark]

I wasn't aware they had started charging yet anyway?

Nor was I, and I think they need to get the web seat selection thing working before they introduce it.

 

[futaris]

Book - Manage Your Booking - Flight Booking - Exit Row Seat Bookings

Short Haul
For example, between Australia and Asia, or Asia and Europe. $80 or 10,000 points

Long Haul
For example, between Australia and Europe, Americas or Africa.
Includes stopovers, for example Sydney to Bangkok, stopover in Bangkok, then Bangkok to London. $160 or 20,000 points

 

[Cyclogenesis]

20,000 pts??? that's pretty steep given an upgrade to PE can cost 45,000 or J 60,000 (ish)

 

[oz_mark]

Well there you go. I'll just take my chances at check-in, I think!

I wonder what happens if you pay for it, then an upgrade to PE or J comes through?

 

[JohnK]

Well so much for the courtesy call I received from Qantas telling me that they would give plenty of notice of any changes in regards to paying for exit row seats and will even go to the point of asking for feedback before making any decisions.

Has any Platinum got a flight that they have not pre-allocated an exit row yet? Would be interested to hear what happens if you ring up and request a complimentary exit row for a booking.

 

[JohnK]

I thought I would call Qantas myself to enquire about the recent changes.

The official stance is that we cannot request an exit row seat unless you want to pay for it. And it is first in first served with no priority for status. And yes Qantas acknowledges that it was a privilege offered to Platinums but they are now removing that benefit although we still have priority check-in and preferred seating although that is available to Silver members as well.

Unless Qantas does an about face and restores the existing benefit I will cease to fly Qantas internationally unless it is part of a Oneworld award. I do enough flying domestically to maintain Platinum status and if I am short then I will do some CX business class flights in SE Asia, or KUPPs/YUPPs in the USA if I need a top up. As a Platinum I still have access to business class lounges when flying another airline.

If there is anyone out there who feels like they have something to lose with the recent change I urge you to send feedback to Qantas. If enough Platinums provide feedback Qantas may restore the privilege....

 

[Commuter]

The official stance is that we cannot request an exit row seat unless you want to pay for it. And it is first in first served with no priority for status.

To book an exit row seat call 1300 799 798 within Australia, or your local Qantas office, Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm (AEST) from seven days up to 24 hours before your flight departure.

(My emphasis)

Assuming that WPs can still request it before 7 days prior to departure, then I don't mind if I have to pay. It is not about the money, but it is about near-guaranteed availability through priority as far as I'm concerned.

It'll be a silly thing for QF if they do not give WPs access to those seats before 7 days prior (with or without fees) and they lose my custom because of it.

I'd have been a (an even) better revenue-generator for them, as I decided not to bother flying economy long haul any more anyway, so they'd have got more money out of me in the future (and so the point about the exit row is not even particularly relevant to me but I will still stick with it - I guess I do not like WP privileges eroded).

 

[JohnK]

Assuming that WPs can still request it before 7 days prior to departure, then I don't mind if I have to pay. It is not about the money, but it is about near-guaranteed availability through priority as far as I'm concerned.

No special privileges for Platinums. The guy on the phone read out to me the official stance from Qantas on the new procedures for exit rows. Qantas wants everyone to have equal access to exit rows and that means that as a Platinum you cannot request it before anyone else.

I am not prepared to pay for the privilege of an exit row at any price. That is a decision I have made. Most QF airfares to SE Asia are already $300-$400 more than the competition and I am not paying even more just for the privilege of an exit row.

I may as well go back to bookin WHY on BA flights from SE Asia with the option to select my own seats that do not discriminate where I can sit as generally I can get bulkhead quite easily or pay a little bit extra for BA WT+ and get double SC's and 110% bonus on FF points.

It'll be a silly thing for QF if they do not give WPs access to those seats before 7 days prior (with or without fees) and they lose my custom because of it.

They will defintely lose my business and if I really need Qantas Platinum status badly, anytime access to lounges both domestic and international when flying other carriers is handy, then I will get it on CX, LAN or AA KUPPs/YUPPs.

 

[aus_flyer]

For those lucky enough to be in this category, Chairmans Lounge members are still able to pre-allocate to exit rows for free.

 

[Commuter]

No special privileges for Platinums. The guy on the phone read out to me the official stance from Qantas on the new procedures for exit rows. Qantas wants everyone to have equal access to exit rows and that means that as a Platinum you cannot request it before anyone else.

That's a privilege definitely being taken away then. That is highly disappointing, considering it would have been no loss to QF to give WPs access prior to 7 day period if they charged for it (because the revenue would still have been generated AND they would have kept the likes of me a bit happier).

I'm defecting to other OW carriers for long haul - voting with closure of my wallet! I would still rather fly QF domestically (I do not fly on DJ, and would still rather fly QF than JQ) but my long haul business will be going elsewhere. My next 12 months of long haul travel on QF-served routes would have been worth around $25,000 to QF, so they lost that through this.

 

[JohnK]

I'm defecting to other OW carriers for long haul - voting with closure of my wallet!

I will more than likely do the same but at least provide Qantas with feedback of your disappointment. If enough people complain they may restore the benefit.

I would still rather fly QF domestically (I do not fly on DJ, and would still rather fly QF than JQ)....

In my opinion and for someone in my situation QF is the only realistic option domestically.

 

[Commuter]

I will more than likely do the same but at least provide Qantas with feedback of your disappointment. If enough people complain they may restore the benefit.

Trust me, I will be doing so, in case they do change their mind about 'reduction in WP benefits' as I see it.

 

[dajop]

I would still rather fly QF domestically (I do not fly on DJ

Not wanting to single you out, but to use this as an example, on AFF board there is a lot of high a mighty principled stances around the ongoing erosion of benefits. Yet when push comes to shove people still fly Qantas.

Which indicates to me that QF are right on the money with what they do. Why bother offering benefits if passengers are still going to fly QF anyway. If people are serious, not only do they defect from QF internationally they should defect from QF domestically and OW internationally - to star alliance or the like. Flying OW internationally will still lock you in to QF domestically.

Now I am playing devil's advocate here admittedly, as I too am somewhat guilty (doing enough to maintain WP, but putting the rest of my flights to star alliance) but I am sure this is exactly the logic behind QF decisions.

And nothing will change unless DJ enters a major alliance with significant cross airline benefits.

 

[Alanslegal]

Very well said dajop

 

[Commuter]

Not wanting to single you out, but to use this as an example, on AFF board there is a lot of high a mighty principled stances around the ongoing erosion of benefits. Yet when push comes to shove people still fly Qantas.

If AN was still operating, I'd fly on AN.

I actually have not paid to fly DJ since I had a number of poor-bordering-on-strange experiences on them (that's excluding badly done 'silly' PAs). I only used up my points to fly when I was on a very loose schedule once, and never since.

JQ does not offer the routes that I need to fly, so they are ruled out (and I'm not inconveniencing myself by going to Avalon).

If I had a choice, I would avoid QF domestic as well, but there are only worse options - DJ, in my view, regardless of QF's recent 'degradation of WP benefits', is still worse than QF. I will not be inconveniencing myself that much to avoid QF - it's not as if I would like to avoid travelling altogether.

To illustrate a point that I do stick to what I say I would, I have not flown SIA since I had a very bad customer service (ground) experience, and I have stuck to that. I have not had a paid-for flight on DJ since too many poor experiences, and since I have used up my points, I will not be flying on them again.

Which indicates to me that QF are right on the money with what they do. Why bother offering benefits if passengers are still going to fly QF anyway. If people are serious, not only do they defect from QF internationally they should defect from QF domestically and OW internationally - to star alliance or the like. Flying OW internationally will still lock you in to QF domestically.

To me, they are not on the money. My domestic spending is only around $5,000 (excluding taxes) a year anyway, which is neither here nor there. Compared to the minimum $25,000 per year 'loss of revenue' QF will have from me (which would have probably been more, but I'm estimating it conservatively), which is still not a huge amount of money but it is still far more than what they do retain from me. To me, it seems like an unnecessary loss of revenue during tough economic times.

Why should I avoid OW though? OW benefits have not changed, and I have no intention of defecting from OW - there is no need to defect to Star Alliance, as I hold status with them as well anyway. Flying OW internationally will not lock me in to QF domestically. I fly on whatever I feel like flying, not just because of the alliances. I hardly need to do extra sectors to keep qualifying for WP.

It's simply the lack of viable option that locks me into QF domestically, whereas it is of no inconvenience to me to fly long haul on another carrier.