The Qantas Newbie Questions Thread

Very newbie question.

Anyone here booked a classic economy reward on a JQ international flight?

What's included and what's not. Not too fussed, but would prefer to not have to shell out for 20kg of bags.
As @SYD said re food and bags, but also note if it's a 320, seats are very cramped.
Standard seat selection is $12.
Ms Flyfrequently recently flew to Bali and was very grateful that we paid $38 for the extra leg room seats for the journey back.
Happy travels @downtheback ✈️
 
As @SYD said re food and bags, but also note if it's a 320, seats are very cramped.
Standard seat selection is $12.
Ms Flyfrequently recently flew to Bali and was very grateful that we paid $38 for the extra leg room seats for the journey back.
Happy travels @downtheback ✈️
We recently flew DPS-PER (connecting to QF onto SYD - both on points). I paid for “Upfront seats” (Row 3) which are otherwise standard seats. I actually didn’t find them too bad. But that was a shortish day flight.
 
We recently flew DPS-PER (connecting to QF onto SYD - both on points). I paid for “Upfront seats” (Row 3) which are otherwise standard seats. I actually didn’t find them too bad. But that was a shortish day flight.
Handy to know @SYD , she left it a bit late to get upfront.
Back down in row 30 something her comment was " Mum, you would never cope with this"!!
 
Handy to know @SYD , she left it a bit late to get upfront.
Back down in row 30 something her comment was " Mum, you would never cope with this"!!
We also selected adjacent aisle seats (always do when flying whY). A good way to avoid the dreaded middle seat situation. Up until two weeks out, we had a row each to ourselves - but that didn’t last. Completely full flight.
 
Not sure where else to put this.

Was looking at my points balance just now and 250 bonus points have appeared for my recent return flight, on top of the standard (and expected) points. I'm not complaining, but why would bonus points be given?

edit: just worked it out.
Bonus points from Business Rewards.
 
Not sure where else to put this.

Was looking at my points balance just now and 250 bonus points have appeared for my recent return flight, on top of the standard (and expected) points. I'm not complaining, but why would bonus points be given?
Maybe bonus points from Qantas Business Rewards - travellers will earn 250 bonus Qantas Points on eligible flights in their own Qantas Frequent Flyer account
 
As @SYD said re food and bags, but also note if it's a 320, seats are very cramped.
Standard seat selection is $12.
Ms Flyfrequently recently flew to Bali and was very grateful that we paid $38 for the extra leg room seats for the journey back.
Happy travels @downtheback ✈️
Thanks for that. Flying into Singapore most likely so avoid the A320/A321 and get the B787. Will look into the extra legroom seats when it comes time to book.
 
Apologies for revisiting this question but thought I'd ask:

I've now got a trip booked next month to Frankfurt from Sydney. The trip involves this routing (in both directions): SYD > SIN > HEL > FRA. All sectors are marketed by AY but obviously the SYD <> SIN sector is operated by QF. On the outbound it's booked as an Economy L fare but interestingly enough the inbound is booked as a Flexible Economy H fare (likely due to how close in I booked this).

My questions, should you choose to answer them, are as follows:
  • Is there any chance I can request an upgrade to business on the SYD <> SIN sectors?
  • Will the QF operated, AY operated flights count towards the loyalty bonus (I'm inclined to think not since QF uses the term marketed, but thought I'd check anyway)
  • Does AY recognize QF Gold status for things like seat selection?
  • If I were to upgrade any part of the segments using cash would I receive more status credits (a gent who did this stunt with AA seems to suggest it is possible)?
  • In the event of IRROPS and rebooking can I request ORC to ensure I receive status credits from the partner flights?
Thanks in advance,

RooFlyer88
 
  • Is there any chance I can request an upgrade to business on the SYD <> SIN sectors?
no. Well you can ask :) , but you won't be able to use QF points to request an upgrade in that sense due to AY flight number (assuming this from your comment about "all sectors are marketed by AY")
  • Will the QF operated, AY operated flights count towards the loyalty bonus (I'm inclined to think not since QF uses the term marketed, but thought I'd check anyway)
No. AY flight number.

  • Does AY recognize QF Gold status for things like seat selection?
Should do yes.

  • If I were to upgrade any part of the segments using cash would I receive more status credits (a gent who did this stunt with AA seems to suggest it is possible)?
Potentially, though it depends how this was done. If it was from an airline offered upgrade for a sector, such as AY, they'd probably book it into an non earning upgrade bucket, and you'd likely still earn the base SC's. However, if upgraded sector(s) booked into a revnu booking class (unusual but possible maybe) then I'd say yes. I wouldn't count on it though.

  • In the event of IRROPS and rebooking can I request ORC to ensure I receive status credits from the partner flights?
yes potentially. though probably a lot of mucking around between QFF and AY potentially in this (unlikely) situation. I could see pushback from QFF - you'd most certainly need proof of the originally ticketed flights, rerouting and probably something from AY(or whoever caused the problem) to push your case. Could be messy.
 
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Is there any chance I can request an upgrade to business on the SYD <> SIN sectors?
The only way to get this is through AY directly. If you are a member of Finnair Plus (their FF progam), this would be avenue to do it.
AY does sometimes sell upgrades on their own lights, with an email coming 1-3 weeks prior to the flight.
Does AY recognize QF Gold status for things like seat selection?
Yes they do. I usually aim at their Economy Comfort seats which are the front of the Y cabin and have a few extra inches of legroom.
In the event of IRROPS and rebooking can I request ORC to ensure I receive status credits from the partner flights?
Just make sure you have a copy of the original ticket and then all the boarding passes for the actual flights taken if you submit a claim. Rerouting may also trigger a new ticket so do pay attention to keep all the tickets issued so the trip can be reconciled and the right SC's credited.
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback and analysis on the trip, much appreciated.

One other question - what's the best lounge I can access at Singapore Airport? I've got AmEx Platinum plus Qantas Gold so per my analysis these should be available to me:
  • Emirates Business Lounge
  • Blossom Lounge (Terminal 4)
  • Plaza Premium Lounge (Terminal 1)
  • Ambassador Transit Lounge (Terminal 2 & 3)
  • Marhaba Lounge (Terminal 1 & 3 )
  • SATS Premier Lounge (Terminal 1 & 3)
  • British Airways Business Lounge
  • Cathay Pacific Business Lounge
  • Qantas Business Lounge
My inclination is to think that the Emirates lounge would be best given how much it knocked my socks off in Sydney but would appreciate some expert feedback here (the last time I was in Singapore I had United Premier Gold so my options were limited to the dump that is the Singapore KrisFlyer Gold lounge and the Thai lounge with its reheated samosas making Changi arguably one of the worst airports in the Pacific in that regard).

I just thought I would confirm that indeed, Qantas Gold members do have access to better seats on FinnAir for free:
Screenshot 2023-08-15 at 02.17.05.png

But access to the best seats in the house will still cost you argent:
Screenshot 2023-08-15 at 02.13.57.png
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback and analysis on the trip, much appreciated.

One other question - what's the best lounge I can access at Singapore Airport? I've got AmEx Platinum plus Qantas Gold so per my analysis these should be available to me:
  • Emirates Business Lounge
  • Blossom Lounge (Terminal 4)
  • Plaza Premium Lounge (Terminal 1)
  • Ambassador Transit Lounge (Terminal 2 & 3)
  • Marhaba Lounge (Terminal 1 & 3 )
  • SATS Premier Lounge (Terminal 1 & 3)
  • British Airways Business Lounge
  • Cathay Pacific Business Lounge
  • Qantas Business Lounge
My inclination is to think that the Emirates lounge would be best given how much it knocked my socks off in Sydney but would appreciate some expert feedback here (the last time I was in Singapore I had United Premier Gold so my options were limited to the dump that is the Singapore KrisFlyer Gold lounge and the Thai lounge with its reheated samosas making Changi arguably one of the worst airports in the Pacific in that regard).
Not all those lounges are practical. Forget T4 unless you have a very long layover.

I’d be content with QF or BA (I doubt you can get into EK on a AY ticket). The contract lounges in SIN can be pretty coughty. AY might direct you to one of them but don’t bother.*

If you somehow manage to score an upgrade out of SIN head to the QR lounge.

*Edit: according to OW, they’re still using the Marhaba lounge for AY and JL.
 
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One thing I forgot to mention about this trip is that since it is all FinnAir marketed flights, the entire itinerary is protected by EU261. It does not matter if Qantas operated the flights between Sydney and Singapore, they are still on the hook should I arrive at my destinations more than 4 hours after scheduled arrival. This is arguably one of the few benefits of booking with an AY code (I'm giving up more status credits and points upgrades for that, so will be interesting to see if I "make" this inconvenience back).

Not all those lounges are practical. Forget T4 unless you have a very long layover.
Layover on outbound is 2 1/2 hour and on inbound is 1 hour at SIN. So lounge hopping may be possible on outbound, but inbound seems less likely. It seems like FinnAir and Qantas both operate from Terminal 1 so best to stay there I suppose. IIRC you have to clear security at the gate, right? If so, when should I be leaving the lounge for the gate?
If you somehow manage to score an upgrade out of SIN head to the QR lounge.
Noted. We'll see what offers there are. For me the key sector is that long haul one to/from HEL. No doubt it'll cost an arm and a leg. Then again, the upgrade offer on the inbound from a Flex H fare could very well be competitive.

-RooFlyer88
 
Layover on outbound is 2 1/2 hour and on inbound is 1 hour at SIN. So lounge hopping may be possible on outbound, but inbound seems less likely. It seems like FinnAir and Qantas both operate from Terminal 1 so best to stay there I suppose. IIRC you have to clear security at the gate, right? If so, when should I be leaving the lounge for the gate?
Be at the gate at T-40 minutes, queuing to the security check. This means that on your inbound, you probably would do well by pretty much walking straight from arrival gate to the next departure gate (unless your incoming is early or departure delayed).
 
As @SYD said, you will not get EK lounge access flying AY(only EK or QF). Possibly on the return flying QF metal, but they probably will balk at the AY flight number.

I would stick to T1. Yes, T2/T3 is doable, but it's not a LOT of time in transit - as noted above you need to get to the gate earlier than you normally would due to gate level security at SIN.
 
Would this be a voluntary or involuntary change?

I have a SYD-SIN / SIN-MEL-SYD booking (revenue). The return was originally booked on QF38 (dep 2340), connecting to QF440 (dep 1200) and gave me 1:50 for the transfer in MEL. A while back I received a flight change notice of QF38 being cancelled and I was moved to QF36 (dep 1940) but my domestic connection stayed the same, meaning 5:50 to spend in MEL. I have not accepted the change in my booking yet so it's still pending customer action in the system.

I've tried the call centre roulette twice but the agents have not gotten why I want to move to an earlier domestic connection and have insisted that QF440 at 1200 is the first flight on the day. :rolleyes:

I see both from EF and QF that QF38 is back online and tickets being sold. To maximise my day in SIN, I'd like switch back from QF36 to my original booking on QF38. Would this go as a voluntary (customer requested) change or can I attempt to push this as an involuntary one?

Timing-wise, about two months before this trip I'll hop up to WP level and can try to raffle my way to the Hobart call centre. If the overseas centres are still equally clueless than earlier, I'm happy to wait for the opportunity to try Hobart because my travel dates are likely to be quiet ones so there's a high likelihood that QF38 has plenty of seats left (or an earlier domestic connection is available, if I need to go with QF36).
 
Would this be a voluntary or involuntary change?

I have a SYD-SIN / SIN-MEL-SYD booking (revenue). The return was originally booked on QF38 (dep 2340), connecting to QF440 (dep 1200) and gave me 1:50 for the transfer in MEL. A while back I received a flight change notice of QF38 being cancelled and I was moved to QF36 (dep 1940) but my domestic connection stayed the same, meaning 5:50 to spend in MEL. I have not accepted the change in my booking yet so it's still pending customer action in the system.

I've tried the call centre roulette twice but the agents have not gotten why I want to move to an earlier domestic connection and have insisted that QF440 at 1200 is the first flight on the day. :rolleyes:

I see both from EF and QF that QF38 is back online and tickets being sold. To maximise my day in SIN, I'd like switch back from QF36 to my original booking on QF38. Would this go as a voluntary (customer requested) change or can I attempt to push this as an involuntary one?

Timing-wise, about two months before this trip I'll hop up to WP level and can try to raffle my way to the Hobart call centre. If the overseas centres are still equally clueless than earlier, I'm happy to wait for the opportunity to try Hobart because my travel dates are likely to be quiet ones so there's a high likelihood that QF38 has plenty of seats left (or an earlier domestic connection is available, if I need to go with QF36).
Connecting QFi to QFd they will simply put you in the next available flight. Otherwise once you are platinum you can get hobart to do it for you.

But it is an involuntary change, and you should be able to be moved to an earlier flight straight away. The problem sounds like the call centre you’re currently getting through to isn’t applying the correct waiver to get you moved. Blocking domestic connections is a known issue with the booking engine. That’s what you’ve run in to here. To override needs someone with the right authority.

Not worth it for now. Wait till you get platinum, or, worst case, on day of arrival they’ll move you forward.
 
Am i dreaming in thinking i can get ecnomy award fares to Europe June/July next year? Doesn't seem to be anything at all, not sure if I should bite the bullet and plan a usa trip instead..., need to organise a few things far in advance so cant really wait too long :|
 
Am i dreaming in thinking i can get economy award fares to Europe June/July next year? Doesn't seem to be anything at all, not sure if I should bite the bullet and plan a usa trip instead..., need to organise a few things far in advance so cant really wait too long :|

Short answer - yes, but dreams can come true.
Most likely will be availability when QF decides to do random allocation of reward seats in bulk... may be announced and publicised, maybe not - so just check everyday!
 

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