The Qantas Newbie Questions Thread

[SYD]

No as in its JL codeshared flight flown by QF.

Dang! My example the QF flights were QF code! But that was precovid (just)….

 

[Ade]

Here is the correction. Qantas Frequent Flyers irrespective of status should be able to select from (often very) limited "available" seats on Qantas services.

Off topic but seat selection is complimentary if you booked on QF website. The issue is that not all seats are open and the best seats tend to be blocked off for higher status elites. (Row 4 on b737 for example).

View attachment 351562

@serfty @elanshin & @Lynda2475 This is the seat selection issue I mentioned in a different thread. I didn't want to go OT on that thread, so I thought I'd post in the QF Newbie thread.

My mate, a QFF NB made a booking on QF67 for 03NOV, but he is charged for seat selection.

Note: this booking was made by a TA, not direct on QF. Is purchasing from a TA is the issue? OR the issue is he might have (as @Lynda2475 mentioned) purchased a Sale fare? He doesn't remember.




I'm tracking the booking to see if the seat selection $ goes away at T-80. Will keep this thread posted.

 

[RichardMEL]

QF does tout complimentary seat selection as a "benefit" of booking directly with them which implies a charge for a booking through other channels.

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/qantas-experience/book-direct.html

also

Complimentary seat requirements and eligibility​

You can select Standard Seat Selection on Qantas operated flights any time after making your booking. The earlier you select your seat, the more choice you have. Simply select your seat at Manage booking or via the Qantas App.

Standard Seat Selection is complimentary when:

• travelling on any Qantas operated domestic service,
• travelling internationally in Economy on a Saver or Flex fare,
• travelling internationally in First, Business or Premium Economy,
• travelling internationally as a Platinum One, Platinum, Gold or Silver Qantas Frequent Flyer or equivalent oneworld and Emirates Skywards Frequent Flyer,
• travelling internationally as a Bronze Qantas Frequent Flyer on any Qantas operated flight departing from Australia when you book directly with Qantas,
• travelling on an Economy Classic Flight Reward, or
• on the same booking and travelling with any of the above mentioned travellers.

Standard seat selection is available for a charge if you're:

• a Bronze Frequent Flyer and your itinerary is originating outside of Australia, or
• travelling on an international Economy sale fare on Qantas operated flights.

from https://www.qantas.com/au/en/travel...lection-conditions.html#complimentary-seating

 

[Lynda2475]

Note: this booking was made by a TA, not direct on QF. Is purchasing from a TA is the issue? OR the issue is he might have (as @Lynda2475 mentioned) purchased a Sale fare? He doesn't remember.

Could be both.

Except for corporate TAs who book direct, using a TA removes right to free seat selection if you do not have status (per the details in my post) and might also have been an ineligible sale fare category.

Always best to book flights direct unless it is very complicated itinerary.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

I found it the hard way, airlines will sell seats to TA, but they mostly, won't let you pick the seats you want, with booking with some TA/airlines.
VA will let you pick seats, if you had booked with as I did, with FB travel.
But AirNZ would not allow me to pick seats for a booking with FB travel, not till dep, had tried to get preferred window seat, right from booing to actual departure.
Found a lady on the 787 window seat, and she slept all the way from AKL to MEL!
QF will do it the order of who has done OLCI first, for preferred seats, I had picked a seat, AKL - BNE, for window, and just because I was a bit late in doing QFi OLCI from AKL, I lost my J window seat, that I had made even from the booking stage, still got J, but was on the left of the right aisle of the 330, facing front.
Will be booking direct with the airlines for all my flights from now on.

 

[ZMan]

So I’m flying business return SYD to HKG this coming week and both flights were the A380 when I booked and I chose my seats on both.

The return flight changed to a A330 a few weeks ago and it doesn’t let me select a seat. It says seat selection is not available and just asked for a window or aisle preference.

Why is this? Will I be able to choose my seat at T-80?

 

[SYD]

So I’m flying business return SYD to HKG this coming week and both flights were the A380 when I booked and I chose my seats on both.

The return flight changed to a A330 a few weeks ago and it doesn’t let me select a seat. It says seat selection is not available and just asked for a window or aisle preference.

Is it just you or others on the booking? The Window/Aisle thing appears when there aren’t enough open seats to select from. Note that the pool of seats is a function of your FF status.

Why is this? Will I be able to choose my seat at T-80?

Yes, I would expect so unless it’s now overbooked!

You can check the available seat map using Expert Flyer to get a feel for how busy or not it is.

 

[ZMan]

Is it just you or others on the booking? The Window/Aisle thing appears when there aren’t enough open seats to select from. Note that the pool of seats is a function of your FF status.

My partner and I are on separate bookings, one classic reward and the other full fare and both can’t choose seats.

Overbooked as in I won’t be able to get on the flight!?!?

Never used Expert Flyer and I don’t have membership :/

 

[elanshin]

So I’m flying business return SYD to HKG this coming week and both flights were the A380 when I booked and I chose my seats on both.

The return flight changed to a A330 a few weeks ago and it doesn’t let me select a seat. It says seat selection is not available and just asked for a window or aisle preference.

Why is this? Will I be able to choose my seat at T-80?

Equipment change usually means their "available allocation" to your status tier is now no longer the same thus you don't get the choice anymore. It may be that the whole cabin is full or there are now seats blocked for high status PAX or priority PAX that you don't get access until later.

You can check at T-80 or if you let people know here which flights I'm sure someone with EF access can pull up the seat map for the flight.

 

[ZMan]

Equipment change usually means their "available allocation" to your status tier is now no longer the same thus you don't get the choice anymore. It may be that the whole cabin is full or there are now seats blocked for high status PAX or priority PAX that you don't get access until later.

You can check at T-80 or if you let people know here which flights I'm sure someone with EF access can pull up the seat map for the flight.

QF128 on 12/11 at 18:35
HKG to SYD

 

[SYD]

My partner and I are on separate bookings, one classic reward and the other full fare and both can’t choose seats.

Overbooked as in I won’t be able to get on the flight!?!?

Never used Expert Flyer and I don’t have membership :/

Looks pretty empty to me as WP

 

[ZMan]

Looks pretty empty to me as WP

View attachment 352242

Can you see the business cabin as well?

 

[SYD]

But down the back is showing full - that’ll be all the NB and PS (and no status PAX).

There’s a free option for EF. You can do 4 seat searches a day.

Post automatically merged: Nov 1, 2023

Can you see the business cabin as well?

Ah, now that’s looking a bit busier!

Post automatically merged: Nov 1, 2023

Those seats should open up at T-80.

 

[ZMan]

But down the back is showing full - that’ll be all the NB and PS (and no status PAX).

There’s a free option for EF. You can do 4 seat searches a day.

Post automatically merged: Nov 1, 2023

Ah, now that’s looking a bit busier!
View attachment 352243

Post automatically merged: Nov 1, 2023

Those seats should open up at T-80.

Thanks so much.

I guess they’re reserving them til T-80 for gold members or full fare paying last minute bookings?

 

[SYD]

Thanks so much.

I guess they’re reserving them til T-80 for gold members or full fare paying last minute bookings?

Those “open” seats are WP land. The front row is P1/CL land. Plus basinet in the centre front.

 

[encryptededdy]

Thanks so much.

I guess they’re reserving them til T-80 for gold members or full fare paying last minute bookings?

All the seats available for Silver/Bronze early selection have already been taken, so yeah. Check again at T-80.

 

[AIRwin]

I guess they’re reserving them til T-80 for gold members or full fare paying last minute bookings?

Set a reminder for 10:35 am on 9/11!

 

[MelbFlyer]

The front row is P1/CL land.

I'm a lowly Bronze member however on both my recent reward / OWA business seats on QF (MEL>HKG and SIN>MEL), I was able to get the first row / bulkhead seat on both legs.

For the MEL>HKG leg -
I selected row 1 upon checking in

For the SIN>MEL leg -
Row 2 was already allocated for me upon check-in (as there is no Row 1 in the middle portion on the 787-9 and I couldn't choose my seat as all other seats were full)

Guess I got lucky on both occasions in that there was probably no Platinum / Gold members in the cabin who chose front row seats / I beat others to seat selection? (I did log on literally 24hrs to the minute that online check-in opened though however)

Same goes for my BA flight in PE from LHR to SIN, I didn't want to pay the ridiculous AUD$100+ to allocate seating prior to check-in, but upon checking in (again, literally 24hrs to the minute) I got Row 30 on the 777-300ER already allocated (front row / bulkhead seat).

 

[elanshin]

Guess I got lucky on both occasions in that there was probably no Platinum / Gold members in the cabin who chose front row seats / I beat others to seat selection? (I did log on literally 24hrs to the minute that online check-in opened though however)

Often times your typical average traveller set and forget or don't even know that this is an option. Which is why sometimes you come in late to seat selection and end up with the best seat.

While QF opens up all their seats, some airlines will still not open their "better" seats up for free until they're absolutely forced to (ie at check in and the rest are full). I've also found it doesn't hurt to ask the check in agent if there is a better seat - especially if the airline is still a bit more old school and bad with technology (despite QF being bad at IT, it's actually pretty ok in the grand scheme of aviation companies).

 

[SYD]

I'm a lowly Bronze member however on both my recent reward / OWA business seats on QF (MEL>HKG and SIN>MEL), I was able to get the first row / bulkhead seat on both legs.

For the MEL>HKG leg -
I selected row 1 upon checking in

For the SIN>MEL leg -
Row 2 was already allocated for me upon check-in (as there is no Row 1 in the middle portion on the 787-9 and I couldn't choose my seat as all other seats were full)

Guess I got lucky on both occasions in that there was probably no Platinum / Gold members in the cabin who chose front row seats / I beat others to seat selection? (I did log on literally 24hrs to the minute that online check-in opened though however)

Same goes for my BA flight in PE from LHR to SIN, I didn't want to pay the ridiculous AUD$100+ to allocate seating prior to check-in, but upon checking in (again, literally 24hrs to the minute) I got Row 30 on the 777-300ER already allocated (front row / bulkhead seat).

Yep, if you’d gone in at T-80 you probably would have been able to select those also.

The advantage of going in sooner rather than when checkin opens is the upgrade list is being processed in the background and higher status PAX are being spirited out of whY into J. On an A380, that can also have very favourable outcomes - high status PAX gets spirited out of a good J seat into F! Which might also have been why you got lucky at checkin.