Status Runs using Multiple Seats

[logicallysynced]

So I was doing some late night googling about flights in general, and I came across an interesting page:

Extra Seat (EXST) for Personal Comfort

Customers can purchase extra seat/s on Qantas operated and marketed flights for their personal comfort. If travel includes any codeshare or interline flights, please contact the operating airline for further information.

www.qantas.com

Basically the page details that passengers can book extra adjacent seats for “personal comfort” and explains how to book it from a travel agent perspective. There’s technical information there for how to book it for each booking system too.

In particular, this stood out to me:

“Qantas Frequent Flyers can earn Qantas Points and status credits for each seat purchased.”

So the question then must be asked - If you were planning to do a status run, does this mean you could book an additional “comfort” seat on each leg (assuming QF marketed flight) and earn double status credits, potentially quadruple if during a double SC promotion?

Doing this would obviously double increase the cost, but if you were planning to do multiple back and forth legs, this could potentially be a useful shortcut.

 

[oz_mark]

Yes. Several members have used this to good effect.

 

[Mattg]

The one thing that's unclear to me is whether you would get quadruple status credits during a DSC offer, or just triple.

BTW, it's slightly less than double the cost for the extra seat as you don't pay taxes/airport charges on the comfort seat.

 

[samh004]

Doing this would obviously double the cost, but if you were planning to do multiple back and forth legs, this could potentially be a useful shortcut.

The answer is yes, it can be done, and no it doesn't double the cost as the extra seat does not have the same passenger taxes applied to it as the main one (as there's only one passenger). I am proof that it can be done, having once used comfort seats to launch me to Platinum and help me along to Platinum One, predominantly flying regional QLD routes. Was a fun couple years.

However... the extra seat needs to be booked by an agent, so back then it was a call to the call centre and very easy. These days I imagine it would be a very painful process and not worth the effort. Don't just assume you can book two seats under your name online, it wont work in your favour.

Extra cost was about 50-65% from memory, and I usually booked during sales, occasionally with DSC – but DSC usually didn't line up to sales.

Also, as these fares were quite weird in nature, seat selection would not work and usual perks like seating near the front was not offered. There were a number of things you couldn't do when your booking had an extra seat. The system simply wasn't designed to let you.

 

[Mattg]

Extra cost was about 50-65% from memory, and I usually booked during sales, occasionally with DSC – but DSC usually didn't line up to sales.

Did you get quadruple SCs if booking during a DSC offer?

 

[TheTravelExperience]

sorry for a newbie question, are these extra seats sold on 5th freedom flights? I'm looking at SIN-LHR

 

[MEL_Traveller]

sorry for a newbie question, are these extra seats sold on 5th freedom flights? I'm looking at SIN-LHR

Yes, they’re sold on all QF operated aircraft.

 

[ChrisMars]

Mm can confort sears be requested in business?

 

[bam71]

Yes but why would you? Interested to hear…..

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

Yes but why would you? Interested to hear…..

Musical instrument?

Faster earn (less flights needed).

 

[andye]

Yes but why would you? Interested to hear…..

Time poor to achieve status would be most common reason I guess

 

[ChrisMars]

Yes but why would you? Interested to hear…..

Direct aisles access on 737 J?

 

[samh004]

Mm can confort sears be requested in business?

Yes but why would you? Interested to hear…..

The issue really comes down to the fact that comfort seats only remove the passenger taxes component, not the seat cost component. On a business class seat I imagine the saving would be extraordinarily small because of this. Plus, other than the reason below, comfort seats were designed as a way to sit a larger person across two seats, which makes no sense in any J configuration

Musical instrument?

Faster earn (less flights needed).

This is probably the only reason that would make sense, beyond the obvious of SC.

 

[Quickstatus]

Remember also that comfort seats can be taken back by the airline if they think they can fix a standby or overbooking issue by putting someone else in the seat and giving you a refund.

And if the comfort seat is multisector and they put someone in it for one sector, your refund will be paltry

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Remember also that comfort seats can be taken back by the airline if they think they can fix a standby or overbooking issue by putting someone else in the seat and giving you a refund.

And if the comfort seat is multisector and they put someone in it for one sector, your refund will be paltry

fortunately I don’t believe this is the case - at least for qantas*

The extra seat is locked in totality to the main seat, pretty much meaning it is inseparable. You cancel the extra seat and it’s the same as cancelling the main seat.

I know from experience flying home from USA a week before christmas, totally full flight, multiple calls from Qantas asking me to give up the extra seat, which I denied. The seats held. They explained there was nothing they could do unless I agreed to giving up the extra seat.

Other times I was offered business class in place of the extra seat(s) which I also denied given it was angled skybeds. The seats also held.

*some airlines like southwest advertise than an extra seat may be forfeited in certain circumstances, for example the passenger doesn’t qualify. But they have different rules i that the extra seat is free as long as there is a spare seat on the plane somewhere. IIRC they only charge you if the flight is full.

 

[Welshie]

The one thing that's unclear to me is whether you would get quadruple status credits during a DSC offer, or just triple.

BTW, it's slightly less than double the cost for the extra seat as you don't pay taxes/airport charges on the comfort seat.

Does anyone have the definitive answer on this?

 

[Mattg]

Does anyone have the definitive answer on this?

@samh004 subtly confirmed this up-thread

 

[samh004]

Remember also that comfort seats can be taken back by the airline if they think they can fix a standby or overbooking issue by putting someone else in the seat and giving you a refund.

I also do not believe this to be the case. I once boarded a Dash-8 to find someone sat in one my of seats, and the crew moved them along giving them both back to me

As an aside, I have some photos from old status runs I did. The only giveaway that you have an extra seat is EXST printed on your BP. You don't get a second BP.

As you might tell from the first BP this was a day trip BNE-xROK-xMKY-xROK-BNE, and was how I accumulated a lot of my status – February 2009 at zero to March 2020 at 14,000 LT SC. But... right in the middle of that period was the fare wars between QF and VA that pushed some regional day trips to crazy prices. I don't have any records (just looked) but I recall comfort seat returns below the $300 mark for 4 flights, netting 80SC, so below $4/SC. I haven't looked, but can't imagine a run like that would be anywhere close to that price, let alone tacking on a comfort seat.

 

[Hvr]

So does each seat count as a sector? I.e. does each entry for points/SCs earned have a ~ ?

Could potentially be a quick way to gain required eligible QF/JQ flights.

 

[33kft]

Does the comfort seat need to be booked for all flight sectors within a booking/PNR? Just wondering how strategically they can be booked.