Reward flight rescheduled (EK404) - will QF spring for a hotel?

[Mr H]

I have a redemption in F - MEL-SIN-CGK//CGK-SIN-MEL. The final sector is with EK in F. It has been rescheduled for nearly 19 hours later. Apart from the additional cost of having to stay in Singapore overnight, I can live with the change and I have verified that there are no suitable alternative routings. What would have been an 11 hour journey is now going to be 30 hours. Would QF pay for a hotel for me in Singapore for the extra night? Would they offer any form of gratuity - e.g. FF points? Just want to know where I stand before they call me back in "over 1 hour and 30 minutes." Thanks

Should add - no status and the flight is in April.

 

[Want2flymore]

I was on EK404 on the 19th of April, have been moved to the 20th at 10:25. I was hoping to have a look at the new first class lounge but it appears it doesn't open until 1430.

 

[Mr H]

I was on EK404 on the 19th of April, have been moved to the 20th at 10:25. I was hoping to have a look at the new first class lounge but it appears it doesn't open until 1430.

At the risk of heresy, would the F lounge really be anything you haven’t seen before?

I’m far from a frequent flyer – almost entirely now a leisure flyer – and I’d rather have a lounge than not, but they are all rather samey. Basically a waiting room with chairs of varying levels of comfort – with food and drink selections that are likely to be inferior to what you’ll get on the plane and inferior to what you can find outside the airport. It is a long time since I was wowed by what a lounge had – but often I seem to be frustrated by what they don’t have.

I wouldn’t turn up at an airport early for a lounge experience and wouldn’t give any thought to missing a lounge I could have seen.

 

[RichardMEL]

Well they are all a little different (the QF F lounges) and while the SIN EK lounge is pretty nice, it probably would be nicer in the QF F lounge. Moot though given it is not open in the morning, but I could see the wish to try it out if going through SIN.

 

[Zanzara]

Record wait for a QF call back regarding a discussion of options regarding the EK 404 schedule change...

5 Hours!

As it was a QF tix, I couldn't call EK. Doubt I would have waited 5 hours if I had booked it directly with them. I can understand why QF prefer you don't call their Service Centre and refer and revert you to manage your booking or chat, but sometimes there's no effective choice.

Wonder what triggered the schedule change.

 

[Mr H]

Just had a nasty thought. If the flight has been rescheduled to 10:25 does that mean the meal served will be breakfast?

 

[eagleflyer]

My wife is on ek405 in F originally scheduled for 6pm on 22 April, now at 2am on 23 April. The thought of flying out at 2am doesn’t sound very appealing so will call to see if there is another option.

 

[AIRwin]

If the flight has been rescheduled to 10:25 does that mean the meal served will be breakfast?

The inflight dining menu is now available online for an EK flight I'm booked on departing SIN at 10:10 am and it is showing lunch not breakfast...

 

[Mr H]

The inflight dining menu is now available online for an EK flight I'm booked on departing SIN at 10:10 am and it is showing lunch not breakfast...

Thanks for that - huge relief. I remember a VA PER-MEL that left at something like 11.00am - was catered for breakfast to add on top of breakfast in the lounge and breakfast at my hotel.

 

[fersea]

Emirates have also changed their times from Brisbane too. We were going to book on the flight to Dubai that leaves just before 11pm but now they have changed it to the family friendly departure time of 2.50am. They have taken out the flight that normally leaves at this time and goes via Singapore.

 

[Bindibuys]

My wife is on ek405 in F originally scheduled for 6pm on 22 April, now at 2am on 23 April. The thought of flying out at 2am doesn’t sound very appealing so will call to see if there is another option.

Also booked F on EK 405, thank goodness it is end of Jan and we miss this mess. Me and 2am - not a good mix.

 

[Mistress]

we are in this MEL-SIN mess as well... dragging 2 kids through the airport at 2am is not going to be fun! whats worse is we were supposed to have a 7 hr layover in melbourne, which has now turned into a 16hour layover! My kids are going to kill me! and everyone else in the lounge. I apologise now. Hopefully by 9pm they are snoring their heads off! But even so, Emrites lounge isn't open til 3 hrs before the flight, and QF lounges close at 11pm.. so still having to drag them through the airport at that time is not going to be good. Flights booked on redemption. Nothing else available as it was 4 tickets

 

[Mr H]

we are in this MEL-SIN mess as well... dragging 2 kids through the airport at 2am is not going to be fun! whats worse is we were supposed to have a 7 hr layover in melbourne, which has now turned into a 16hour layover! My kids are going to kill me! and everyone else in the lounge.

I feel your pain. My advice would be to make lemonade with the lemons. Go into Melbourne, do the circle line tram (free), go to the National Gallery of Victoria (free), look at Ned Kelly's armour in the State Library (free), go to the market if open that day (free), consider tours of Parliament (may charge) and the MCG (will charge), got up the Eureka Tower (will charge). You have the option of a hellish day kicking around an airport or spending some money and making a day of it. BTW, if money is an issue, you can get a day Myki and there is a bus that goes from the airport to Broadmeadows and you can get the train into the city. The buses are infrequent and hard to find, but it can be done with some determination and is cheaper than the Skybus.

 

[AIRwin]

But even so, Emrites lounge isn't open til 3 hrs before the flight, and QF lounges close at 11pm..

In BNE, EK will let you remain in the lounge after the non-stop A380 flight departs around 9 pm if you're booked on the B777 flight to SIN around 2:30 am so it may be the same with MEL?

 

[Mistress]

Its all good in regards to lounges, as we have American Express, Priority Pass, I will be Gold and better half is WP with QF. Just a pain moving kids around due to lounges closing/opening late at night. We can access the Domestic lounge when we land in Melb, so we can have lunch. We just used points as it was easter so cheaper then paying for flights, and so we could do the first class lounges before WP is lost. I never thought about going into Melbourne. I thought it was too far out of the city and no transport options to get into the city. Also i have to consider luggage, though we will most likely be only travelling with backpacks, so it shouldn't be too bad.

another option maybe to hire a car for a day to get around.

 

[serfty]

I haven't seen the actual changes listed anywhere, so I checked them out.

Flight Number	Origin	Destination	Before	After
EK404	DXB	SIN	0105 - 1215	2115 - 0850+1
	SIN	MEL	1355 - 1220+1	1025+1 - 1935+1
EK405	MEL	SIN	1855 - 2335	0225 - 0815
	SIN	DXB	0120+1 - 0445+1	0940 - 1300

 

[eagleflyer]

I called Qantas following this reschedule and they rebooked my wife on direct Sydney - Singapore QF1 in F (instead of via Melbourne as originally booked). Very happy with that outcome!

 

[AIRwin]

I called Qantas following this reschedule and they rebooked my wife on direct Sydney - Singapore QF1 in F (instead of via Melbourne as originally booked). Very happy with that outcome!

You can spend the whole day at the F lounge in SYD!

 

[eagleflyer]

You can spend the whole day at the F lounge in SYD!

Will be the first time for the wife in F so I have no doubt she will enjoy it.

 

[AIRwin]

Will be the first time for the wife in F so I have no doubt she will enjoy it.

If you have time, you can even check out the EK lounge when it's open...

 

[Fergo747]

another option maybe to hire a car for a day to get around.

That would have been my suggestion. Much cheaper and more flexible than taxi's / uber's / skybus particularly with 4 pax