QF now charging WP for all Exit Row economy seats [CL/WP1 exempt]

[ozbeachbabe]

Just spoke with Qantas and was told that Row 4 will not be opened up at T-80 to all and sundry and will only be allocated at airport when flights are fully booked..... And that Platinum Members will not be able to select these seats, other than at the airport on a full flight...

Whilst 'T-80' phraseology is common place on AFF I don't think res or even staff who work at the airport really know or understand the whole dynamic.

I'd suggest the person giving out this information has no airport experience and is not familiar with the Altea checkin system.

I really don't think row 4 will be 'P' blocked for airport use like exit and bulkhead rows are on international flights which it would have to be if row 4 was allocated at the airport.

I wouldn't get too worked up as I think this is just a case of "move along folks nothing to see here."

Mr FM hated exit rows (likes to put hand luggage under the seat in front, not fight for space overhead), so I gave up booking them years ago for us.

A lot of WP & SG don't even bother with any seat selection at all never mind exit rows. If a flight is short of numbers in the exit row a large proportion of status pax seated in the first few rows of whY don't want to go further back.

I think the main reason is wanting to get off the plane asap on arrival with the second one being people like having easy access to their gadgets and devices in their carry on whern it's under the seat in front.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Don’t get me wrong, I do not agree with it, from what you read all the airlines seem to be devaluing their FF programs and removing benefits from higher status passengers this is just another.

Personally, I would like to see and ready for the backlash:

• R4 only available to WP1 and CL, and not available to others at T-80, unless the flight is fully booked, then only available to WP
• QF to follow VA and other international carriers and introduce an economyX or main cabin extra and make it free for WP. Noted they have stated it is not in the current plan.
• Exit Rows free of charge to WP at the time of booking and available to others at T-80 or T-24.

Bit OT, these days it seems every person and their dog is a so called elite traveller with an ever increasing sense of entitlement. There seems to be very few (if any) tangible benefits between WP1 and WP, unpublished benefits like opt-ups seem to have reduced to almost nil over the past couple of 12-18 months. Likewise there seems to be few tangible benefits between SG and WP other than WP being able to request additional rewards seats being made available and F Lounge access.

Nail hit on the head there.

When I was Plat1 I was told the shadow could not be Guaranteed as they could not hold any seat specifically for Plat1 or Chairman's Lounge. This appears to be not the case any more.

I have asked for and been successful in obtaining a blocked seat next to me on all my recent Y flights.


I should say that the difference between SG and WP is becoming vanishingly narrow given that it takes double the amount of SC to attain/retain.
Won't be long before P1 is WP and there's some ultra high Diamond Roo level or something

 

[Matt_01]

Just spoke with Qantas and was told that Row 4 will not be opened up at T-80 to all and sundry and will only be allocated at airport when flights are fully booked..... And that Platinum Members will not be able to select these seats, other than at the airport on a full flight...

I took a look at EF for my upcoming flights, then a number of random flights on any given date and EF is not showing R4 blocks on any of the QF flights I looked at. If what the agent informed you is correct it will be interesting to see if this filters through to EX over the next couple of days. All exit rows are shown as blocked but I am not sure if this is normal as I do not normally check these or have any interest in them.

 

[serfty]

They are not charging for row 4 seats on 73H's.

 

[TheInsider]

The row 4 seating isn't changing. The only change is exit rows will be paid for now. That's all there is to it.

 

[Ansett]

The row 4 seating isn't changing. The only change is exit rows will be paid for now. That's all there is to it.

What evidence or confirmation do you have that WP will be able to still select Row 4 along with every one else?

 

[Matt_01]

I mean shouldnt QF be worried about their elite pax jumping ship to other OW partners. Clearly they dont think we are going to jumo ship to VA. Eg CX if they travel to Asia a lot, AA if the US ect. Im not saying its better of at those airlines but there has to be some lure to keep us loyal and with them right above what i could just get if i was the same status level with a partner.

I have not looked into jumping to other OW partners but I may a look at which other OW partners have a good SC earn rate between the carriers and then back to QF for domestic travel. I just occasionally travel on OW partner metal and use their F lounges.

Also OT, there has been many discussions about VA and *A and I will not go into that further other than to say if VA did choose to join *A this could be a threat to QF retaining high status travellers. The known and agreed *A benefits would sway me to put up with the VA domestic service knowing I have access to the published *A benefits and carriers rather than the current adhoc partnering arrangements.

 

[serfty]

What evidence or confirmation do you have that WP will be able to still select Row 4 along with every one else?

The article linked in post #1 indicates that has/will continue/d to be the case.

 

[Matt_01]

What evidence or confirmation do you have that WP will be able to still select Row 4 along with every one else?

On my flight this Friday, EF shows 4A and 4C (me) taken. 4B is not blocked, so open to all. 4D is blocked and has been for a couple of days prior to T-80 with 4D and 4F occupied prior to T-80, I assume most likely a couple of CLs or a CL/ P1 combo.

 

[Supersonic Swinger]

After the recent run-up in the Qantas share price, QF management must be running around looking for revenue boosters to help justify the valuation.

 

[Ansett]

The article linked in post #1 indicates that has/will continue/d to be the case.

Hi serfty yes I read that and checked 3 times with the frequent flyer team today and was told on each occasion it would be for P1 and CL only NOT SELECTABLE at any time by any other tier and only made available to airport check in when flight is fully booked.

Guess we will have to wait and see over the coming weeks.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Plenty of posts on QF's facebook site about charging for exit rows. None responded to by QF.

 

[amaroo]

I mean shouldnt QF be worried about their elite pax jumping ship to other OW partners.

I would start to get itchy feet if they fiddled around with lounge access, luggage entitlement and priority check-in/boarding, the best cue in QF's rack is One World and reciprocal benefits between members ... if they stuffed that up - we're off!

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Hi serfty yes I read that and checked 3 times with the frequent flyer team today and was told on each occasion it would be for P1 and CL only NOT SELECTABLE at any time by any other tier and only made available to airport check in when flight is fully booked.

Guess we will have to wait and see over the coming weeks.

SO who is WP has a booking tomorrow had selected 6C a few days ago when he booked. It's less than 24 hours before departure and I just logged on to MMB and changed him to row 4 with no issues whatsoever. After saving that change I went back in to experiment with exit rows and it wanted $20.00 - not that he wanted the exit row anyway so I ignored that change.

T-80 appears to be alive and well.

 

[Kendall Roy]

I suppose QF could open up the exit rows to all pax but waive any seat fee for elites. That seems to be a model used by some other airlines.

Yes please. I'm a massive fan of the AA model.

 

[Kendall Roy]

Finally spoke to a helpful CSR who advised the seating department had caused bulk changes and reinstated my seats at no cost.

Interesting to note that as a PS I'm unable to select the EROW $$$ option on a 737. Perhaps WP/SG still get first dibs at payment?

The accountants are well and truly in charge of the show at QF!

 

[Ansett]

SO who is WP has a booking tomorrow had selected 6C a few days ago when he booked. It's less than 24 hours before departure and I just logged on to MMB and changed him to row 4 with no issues whatsoever. After saving that change I went back in to experiment with exit rows and it wanted $20.00 - not that he wanted the exit row anyway so I ignored that change.

T-80 appears to be alive and well.

Thanks ozbeachbabe Lets hope it stays that way then and good to see that the QFF Staff have been properly trained on the changes

 

[Pleb Status]

I would start to get itchy feet if they fiddled around with lounge access, luggage entitlement and priority check-in/boarding, the best cue in QF's rack is One World and reciprocal benefits between members ... if they stuffed that up - we're off!

Flying mainly to/from PER, I would trade all of those for a free extra legroom seat if I had to make a choice on domestic flights. Four to five hours of relative comfort would easily make up for the loss of the other benefits combined.

If the flight is running on time, I would spend no more than 20 minutes in the lounge, it has been years since I travelled domestically with a bag and PB on QF is non existent...

 

[kermatu]

Love the fact that the quote from QF actually uses the word 'fairer'.

As a current P1 I'm intrigued to see how this will hit Row 4 (my preferred Y seats by far). I've been lucky with empty seats near me this year but shadows are never blocked except for CLs (based on only a few cases I know of, but seems to be true) and I don't bother asking the P1 team any more. 4B and 4E are filled usually with non-status pax best I can tell these days.

 

[ajd]

I think it comes down to, that the majority (not majority spending) customers never get the opportunity to purchase or even get to choose the exit rows, as they are always taken by the high tier FFers and not shown on their seat map. Now everyone has the opportunity to select them. Yes it's a downside for Gold and Platinum, but it's a major benefit for non frequent flyers, bronze and silver ff'ers.

I'm PS, 193cm, and I've managed to get a decent number of exit rows at T-80, so this is a downgrade for me.