The Qantas Newbie Questions Thread

[SYD]

Hi all! Long time reader, first time poster. (Apparently my account is over 10 years old but I forgot about it!)

I've read a few things about QC and using AA's Admirals Club lounges in the US but I was curious if anyone was aware if it worked from Australia?

As an example if you booked AA72 in Y, would you be able to use the QF SYD lounge?

On the flip side, my understanding of the QC rules is that if you were flying AA73 in Y you could then use the Admirals Clubs at LAX.

Thanks!

Welcome!

I believe an AA flight number plus QP membership doesn’t get lounge access in SYD but you should be ok accessing the AA AC in LAX as QP (as well as ACs across from he US if flying on AA).

 

[Le_Champion]

Is there any advantage to booking Row 2 (bulkhead) on the 789? Currently booked in Row7 with my wife.

 

[RichardMEL]

Is there any advantage to booking Row 2 (bulkhead) on the 789? Currently booked in Row7 with my wife.

Huh? Row 2 is not a bulkhead. Assume you mean row 1.

The advantage is wider footwells for feet for more comfy sleep. Also there is a small tray under the monitor that can be yseful for small items.

Possibly some galley noise though far more work happens in the galley area closer to row row 7 imo


Also window seats in row 1 are more private as towards the window (but 7 us the same in that regard).

I prefer row 1 on the 789 due to the footwell personally.

 

[Le_Champion]

Huh? Row 2 is not a bulkhead. Assume you mean row 1.

The advantage is wider footwells for feet for more comfy sleep. Also there is a small tray under the monitor that can be yseful for small items.

Possibly some galley noise though far more work happens in the galley area closer to row row 7 imo


Also window seats in row 1 are more private as towards the window (but 7 us the same in that regard).

I prefer row 1 on the 789 due to

Cheers I meant row 2 as we would want the centre seats as a couple. But I assume the same benefits apply as the Row 1 windows

 

[encryptededdy]

I'm trying to figure out the bassinet seats on QF51 (BNE-SIN). When doing a dummy booking on QF site for the date I want, it gives me this seat map. But Aerolopa and QF's own seat maps all have the Y cabin starting from row 23 (a selected A333's from 31). So, which type is the one the booking system shows???

View attachment 383665

Did you scroll up using the arrows below the map?

Post automatically merged: May 7, 2024

Huh? Row 2 is not a bulkhead. Assume you mean row 1.

Row 2 is bulkhead for middle seats. Row 1 is A & K only.

 

[RichardMEL]

Right yes, sorry. Mea culpa. I am used to 1A/K

So yeah.. footwells

 

[tdimdad]

Did you scroll up using the arrows below the map?

What's the emoji you can add to show you're embarrassed when someone points out the obvious that you've overlooked?

I had thought I did that and it stopped at row 25. Did a new dummy booking and now it scrolls to 23. Rows 23-24 are fully blocked on the QF site, EF shows only one seat taken on row 23 but the difference would be QF applying the "our P1/CL buddies" shading to their view, I assume.

It still does not tell what exact A33x variant is planned for the route, i.e. can we expect the bassinet seats to be still available. If only it was my booking, I'd try to get Hobart and them to allocate the seats. At this point, I'm just trying to pinpoint what exactly to ask for when the lucky pax with the baby retries the call centre roulette.

 

[RooFlyer]

What's the emoji you can add to show you're embarrassed when someone points out the obvious that you've overlooked?

Facepalm or . RooFlyer ... always here to help.

 

[Ade]

Newb question and I think I probably know the answer - want to confirm my understanding.

Flying MH140 (SYD-KUL), in Y, QF WP - can the staff at SYD QF F lounge change seats on a MH metal? My understanding is QF lounge staff won't be able to change seats.

Want to snatch a seat in the extra leg room rows (9 and 10) in A330 for free, if possible (right now charges $91 approx) OR can ask nicely at check in?

Nope, they wouldn't have access - specially for a function like that abd prob refer to gate staff. Best to sort that at check in ratger tgan waiting for liunge (even if connecting in SYD you still would pass by check in and as WP can use MH J check in of course)

Thanks @RichardMEL I will check at MH check in at SYD. I was hoping that the $ seats will be made free when check in opens (opened last night 2200 hours) but I was incorrect.

Updates to this - at SYD MH check in desk, I asked if it is possible to select a seat from row 9 or 10 and was told that the all seats in those 2 rows are taken. They are effectively PE seats, sold as Y. I then asked if there are any exit row seats or other extra leg room seats available, was told that there is none, although, the check in agent was happy to put me on waitlist to be allocated a exit row close to boarding. I then asked if there is anyone next to me in my current seating, was told the seat next to me is empty. I asked if they can put a courtesy block on that empty seat, the check in agent did not have permissions to do that. So she asked me to talk to the service desk. After check in, I went to the service desk and requested if it is possible to keep the seat next to be blocked. The person on the desk said that he can do that, but if the flight becomes full and if they needed that seat, they will have to take it off. I said ok. My shadow stayed for that flight.

Also had a shadow for MH182 KUL-MAA following morning.

I used to call MH for seating changes directly. It's been a long time since I flew Y on MH, but back then they were always happy to put me wherever I wanted, as a OWE pax.

Cheers,
Matt.

Thanks for this advise @dairyfloss - I called MH to see if they can select a seat on row 9 or 10. They told that all seats are taken and they are unable to. Will keep this in mind next time I book MH - to call as soon as booking is done to select the extra leg room seats.

 

[elanshin]

Real awkward situation.

My partner and I booked separately for this upcoming positioning flight to CGK to start our OWA J.

As we checked in this morning, i noticed i got an upgrade (free, not requested). But she didn't as it's not a linked booking.

Any chance I could get SYD F to swap us? I doubt they can actually upgrade her as well.

 

[flyingfan]

Real awkward situation.

My partner and I booked separately for this upcoming positioning flight to CGK to start our OWA J.

As we checked in this morning, i noticed i got an upgrade (free, not requested). But she didn't as it's not a linked booking.

Any chance I could get SYD F to swap us? I doubt they can actually upgrade her as well.

I think you’re better off asking the CSM on board to swap.

 

[baggyred]

I know the rules state "no" but keen to see how it is in practice.

Have a flight coming up when I'll still be lowly silver - looking to use my lounge pass before I become gold.

Anyone had success using it and getting a small child in as well?

 

[Captain Halliday]

Does the child fit in your hand luggage?

If not, refer to:

I know the rules state "no".

 

[Pbags]

I am a gold FF with 58 status credits short of flipping to platinum status. (1342 status pts with 2 months left to obtain). I was recently on a work trip and need to book a return flight from HKG-PVG. I decided to use the Qantas points calculator to see what I needed to do to obtain enough status - the calculator specifically confirmed that route would give me 60 status points on a fully flex economy ticket on CX. I booked it in good faith - only to find I never received FF points or status applied to my account. I rang QF FF team tonight and had a very rude team member treat me like an idiot stating that the N class I booked wasn't eligible. Im not au fait with class bookings, but I know I had no option when booking with CX Fully Flex Economy on their website - fully flex is fully flex and I could have bought a ticket for a fraction of the price if I knew I wasn't getting what their website had promised. I took their calculator as confirmation it would be fine and it seems fraudulent if there is additional caveats without making it clear to consumers.

I'm taking a QF trip next weekend overseas which WILL bring me up to Platinum but I was hoping to use the first lounge in Sydney enroute. (No first lounge in ICN to enjoy on the way home!) - Absolutely no flex with the Qantas person I spoke to and said they couldn't help me whatsoever and "file a complaint online" if I wanted to quite dismissively. They seriously couldn't have cared less. Qantas has a bad rep but this just cemented to me why. Any suggestions or I just need to suck it up? Such poor form. Im no advanced travel person, but this has left the worst taste in my mouth with them.

 

[RichardMEL]

Unfortunately you are a victim of tge limited fare classes offered by CX that qualify under QFF.

See

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/earn-points/airline-earning-tables/earn-category-tables.html#cathay-pacific

So the agent was unfortunately correct.

And yeah not much you can do - even if you had a loyalty bonus owing or could earn green tier 50 SC before the weekend it's not enough.

I am not surprised they would not budge on the status despite you acting in good faith. Sigh.

 

[TheDefenestrator]

I am a gold FF with 58 status credits short of flipping to platinum status. (1342 status pts with 2 months left to obtain). I was recently on a work trip and need to book a return flight from HKG-PVG. I decided to use the Qantas points calculator to see what I needed to do to obtain enough status - the calculator specifically confirmed that route would give me 60 status points on a fully flex economy ticket on CX. I booked it in good faith - only to find I never received FF points or status applied to my account. I rang QF FF team tonight and had a very rude team member treat me like an idiot stating that the N class I booked wasn't eligible. Im not au fait with class bookings, but I know I had no option when booking with CX Fully Flex Economy on their website - fully flex is fully flex and I could have bought a ticket for a fraction of the price if I knew I wasn't getting what their website had promised. I took their calculator as confirmation it would be fine and it seems fraudulent if there is additional caveats without making it clear to consumers.

I'm taking a QF trip next weekend overseas which WILL bring me up to Platinum but I was hoping to use the first lounge in Sydney enroute. (No first lounge in ICN to enjoy on the way home!) - Absolutely no flex with the Qantas person I spoke to and said they couldn't help me whatsoever and "file a complaint online" if I wanted to quite dismissively. They seriously couldn't have cared less. Qantas has a bad rep but this just cemented to me why. Any suggestions or I just need to suck it up? Such poor form. Im no advanced travel person, but this has left the worst taste in my mouth with them.

Unfortunately, The N fare class and some other fare classes on Cathay Pacific (CX) won't earn you any QFF points or Status Credits (The QFF airline earning tables are the best reference for this).
At least Cathay advise of the fare class before you proceed to purchase. QF don't tell you your fare class until after you've booked a ticket (which can be annoying if you wanted to credit said QF flight to a different airline loyalty program).
It doesn't help that as you've seen, CX do sell different fare brands/options that fall into the same fare class/bucket (so Economy Light, Essential or Flex could all book into N, S or some other fare class).

It's probably cold comfort, but it seems AA has even less CX Economy fare classes that actually earn AAdvantage Loyalty Points and miles compared to QFF.

Someone more experienced can probably confirm this, but you'd probably need a travel agent if you want to be able to book into a specific fare class with an airline.

Please also see these AFF articles for more info on fare classes:

How to Calculate the Points You'll Earn Flying Partner Airlines

More airlines are offering branded fare categories that all book into the same fare class (RBD). This can cause confusion when trying to work out how many frequent flyer points and status credits you'll earn when flying partner airlines.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/beware-oneworld-fare-class-qantas-points/

 

[encryptededdy]

I am a gold FF with 58 status credits short of flipping to platinum status. (1342 status pts with 2 months left to obtain). I was recently on a work trip and need to book a return flight from HKG-PVG. I decided to use the Qantas points calculator to see what I needed to do to obtain enough status - the calculator specifically confirmed that route would give me 60 status points on a fully flex economy ticket on CX. I booked it in good faith - only to find I never received FF points or status applied to my account. I rang QF FF team tonight and had a very rude team member treat me like an idiot stating that the N class I booked wasn't eligible. Im not au fait with class bookings, but I know I had no option when booking with CX Fully Flex Economy on their website - fully flex is fully flex and I could have bought a ticket for a fraction of the price if I knew I wasn't getting what their website had promised. I took their calculator as confirmation it would be fine and it seems fraudulent if there is additional caveats without making it clear to consumers.

Yep, this is a big annoyance with airlines with these horizontal fare products, such as Cathay, Malaysian, Finnair, Lufthansa and Air New Zealand to name a few.

The "correct" way to do this (which isn't made obvious by the Qantas calculator) is to also look up https://www.qantas.com/au/en/freque...bles/earn-category-tables.html#cathay-pacific and find the mapping from booking class to FF earn category.

There's a good AFF article on this: https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/points-status-credits-earn-partner-airlines/

The thing to remember is: What the marketing carrier (e.g. Cathay) markets the fare as (e.g. Flex) doesn't necessarily line up with what the crediting airline (e.g. Qantas) calls said fare

As for if there's anything you can do... honestly, I doubt it unfortunately . As far as Qantas is concerned, you could've booked a "Economy Light" fare, as Cathay would book that into "N" too.

Someone more experienced can probably confirm this, but you'd probably need a travel agent if you want to be able to book into a specific fare class with an airline.

Yeah. Note that all Cathay Premium Economy fare classes earn though, so if you were going to pay for Economy Flex, it may be worth to just splurge a little more for Premium Economy.

I wish Qantas would rename the FF earn categories to something else for partner earn (maybe A, B, C? or 50%, 100%, 125% etc.) so that we don't get confusion like this (especially stuff like Business or Premium Economy sometimes crediting as "Flexible Economy")

 

[RichardMEL]

Im not au fait with class bookings, but I know I had no option when booking with CX Fully Flex Economy on their website - fully flex is fully flex and I could have bought a ticket for a fraction of the price if I knew I wasn't getting what their website had promised. I took their calculator as confirmation it would be fine and it seems fraudulent if there is additional caveats without making it clear to consumers.

While I agree to this point, QF have clearly covered their behind. On the points calculator page, under "Things you need to know" and the "Earning points and Status Credits, there is an explanation of terms, earn categories and booking classes. It also says, in part:

Qantas Points and Status Credits (where applicable) are earned on eligible flights with that airline's flight number on your ticket. Qantas Points and Status Credits may not be earned on some Fare Types, booking classes, flights or routes and the Qantas Frequent Flyer Earn category may be different to the cabin purchased. Always check your e-ticket for your Fare Type or Booking Class and reference against the Airline Earning Tables or contact the Frequent Flyer Service Centre before booking a flight directly with a partner airline. For full details, see terms and conditions and the Airline Earning Tables for details on the conditions for the applicable airline.[/quote)

So yeah.. backsides covered.

 

[Pbags]

Unfortunately you are a victim of tge limited fare classes offered by CX that qualify under QFF.

See

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/earn-points/airline-earning-tables/earn-category-tables.html#cathay-pacific

So the agent was unfortunately correct.

And yeah not much you can do - even if you had a loyalty bonus owing or could earn green tier 50 SC before the weekend it's not enough.

I am not surprised they would not budge on the status despite you acting in good faith. Sigh.

It all just seems horribly deceptive for the average punter when they are acting in good faith based on a tool provided by the airline to check such things - that even goes into detail about selecting oneworld/partner airlines - there were no clear call outs about caveats on that calculator tool - a relatively simple UX/UI fix on their website to at least direct people to check the fine print. If I could have flown on a QF plane from HKG-PVG I would have but had to settle for a Oneworld partner. I've filed a complaint but Im not expecting much from them by the sounds of it. All I really want is a bump to the next category which I thought I had earnt (and will have achieved after the next big trip in a couple of weeks - I just dont get to use the first lounge which is annoying). It really would be no skin off their nose to even just throw a comp first lounge pass my way and actually help to turn around some of this negative sentiment around the airline. It really makes me question my loyalty with them for the future. They need to empower their teams to actually make meaningful experiences for their most loyal customers.

 

[kiwipino]

Hi all,
Just checking if anyone has had issues with the lounge staff not being aware of the rules when flying on QF J and wanting to access the AKL EK lounge before QF148. Haven't been in any EK lounge before and reviews say this outstation lounge is still better than the QF AKL lounge. Thanks!