The ULTIMATE Qantas Guide

[MEL_Traveller]

Something to do with the cabotage rules in the US? I avoid AA metal (or any US airline) if at all possible!

yeah - QF won't be able to sell you the QF flight in isolation LAX-JFK vv, but should be able to in conjunction with their own flight into the USA. AA's 321T services will give full flat beds transcon in both First and business classes... not too bad an option.

I guess the QF service may have less availability given there are potentially a number of trans-pac flights that will feed into it... probably a bottleneck of sorts.

 

[get me outta here]

Ah yes thanks for all those suggestions, but I really just want to get to NYC and then come back again. I'm over transits and airports sits, and don't want to be a kill joy, but that itinerary looks exhausting! I would find a few days in HKG enjoyable, but that's about it.

I'll follow up on the CX or JL F option. CX was about 5 hours longer though. It's allowed to have a coupla days in HKG too isn't it? Do I find the JL on the QF site too?

Absolutely! Two one-way CBR-JFK flights in business would cost 256,000 points and takes you just over 20,000 miles with no stops along the way. By comparison, a oneworld award costs 280,000 points in business (only 24,000 more) and lets you travel up to 35,000 miles with up to 5 stopovers, with travel on any oneworld airline. The possibilities there are really endless, but as an example you could fly to Europe and back from New York before returning to Australia, or fly around the world.

As an example of a possible oneworld award routing, you could fly

CBR-SYD-DFW-JFK (QF)
JFK-LHR (BA/AA)
LHR-BCN (IB/BA)
BCN-GIG (IB)
GIG-SCL (LA)
SCL-SYD-CBR (QF)

Total cost: 280,000 miles, all in J, and you'd still have over 6,000 miles "spare" to explore other destinations.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I'll follow up on the CX or JL F option. CX was about 5 hours longer though. It's allowed to have a coupla days in HKG too isn't it? Do I find the JL on the QF site too?

A stopover will reprice the award as two sectors, rather than the total mileage, you'd need to play around with it and see how much it increases the award. JL won't show on the QF site, you'll need to look at either BA (for a rough estimate) or via JL (which has an easy scroll through multi-day feature), then book through the call centre.

CX via HKG may be five hours longer... but it'd very relaxing... you can sleep as long as you want on both sectors and arrive pretty refreshed. The LAX-JFK is really quite short for a good sleep.

Edited to add - CX with stopover - 2 awards business connecting to first will cost a total of 217k (or 203K without stopover). QF award will set you back 192K. So essentially 25K extra for the stopover (including the higher charge for partner awards)

 

[get me outta here]

That AA 321T fully flat F bed is quite impressive as I had much lower expectations.

yeah - QF won't be able to sell you the QF flight in isolation LAX-JFK vv, but should be able to in conjunction with their own flight into the USA. AA's 321T services will give full flat beds transcon in both First and business classes... not too bad an option.

I guess the QF service may have less availability given there are potentially a number of trans-pac flights that will feed into it... probably a bottleneck of sorts.

 

[get me outta here]

I have found some reward flights for early May on CX J. Do you think this might be the best way to do it all things considered, eg lounge access? This part is all new to me so any comments please:

SYD-HKG CX110 at 0730 -1515 on an A330

HKG-JFK CX 840 at 1610-2010 on a 777

Cost $209 and 139K points.

it is a 55 min connection. The QF bkg site allows it, but it seems a bit tight. Would my bag make it?!

What are the thoughts on the quality of J seats on those two?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I have found some reward flights for early May on CX J. Do you think this might be the best way to do it all things considered, eg lounge access?:

SYD-HKG CX110 at 0730 -1515 on an A330

HKG-JFK CX 840 at 1610-2010 on a 777

Cost $209 and 139K points.

it is a 55 min connection. The QF bkg site allows it, but it seems a bit tight. Would my bag make it?!

What are the thoughts on the quality of J seats on those two?

The seat on the 330 and 777 are pretty much same same. Same design... although maybe the 777 seat is a fraction bigger?

55 mins is ample time for connection in Hong Kong, you can be plane->security->gate in around 15 minutes or less. If your arrival flight is running late you will be met at the plane and escorted to your next flight with priority security. Baggage is not a problem either - CX are used to that.

The CX business class seat is pretty good - one of the longest business seat/beds out there. It's private, and the IFE is really good. You'll get limited bedding... which I use as a mattress cover (request a blanket from coach for over the top if you need it). Take your own PJs. The cx seat is of course completely flat... no droop as per some QF Mark II seats.

Seat selection is important for CX, you want a window seat, and preferably in the middle of the forward cabin on the A330 (the front row, row 11 suffers from galley noise and traffic to the WCs). So that's be rows 15A or 16A, or 15,16,17K. The second galley is not generally used for in-flight service.

The second cabin on the A330 may be closed off depending on pax numbers. So any assignment tere might be changed anyway.

On the 777 the first mini cabin behind First is the place to be.

 

[get me outta here]

Thanks so much MEL_T, you, and the cognoscenti on AFF are worth your weight in P1+.

The seat on the 330 and 777 are pretty much same same. Same design... although maybe the 777 seat is a fraction bigger?

55 mins is ample time for connection in Hong Kong, you can be plane->security->gate in around 15 minutes or less. If your arrival flight is running late you will be met at the plane and escorted to your next flight with priority security.

The CX business class seat is pretty good - one of the longest business seat/beds out there. It's private, and the IFE is really good. You'll get limited bedding... which I use as a mattress cover (request a blanket from coach for over the top if you need it). Take your own PJs. The cx seat is of course completely flat... no droop as per some QF Mark II seats.

Seat selection is important for CX, you want a window seat, and preferably in the middle of the forward cabin on the A330 (the front row, row 11 suffers from galley noise and traffic to the WCs). The second cabin on the A330 may be closed off depending on pax numbers. So any assignment tere might be changed anyway.

On the 777 the first mini cabin behind First is the place to be.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Thanks so much MEL_T, you, and the cognoscenti on AFF are worth your weight in P1+.

Absolutely - MEL never ceases to amaze - as a contributor to AFF second to none!

 

[get me outta here]

Me again. I have bkd my NYC on the QF site and found it used fewer points on this itinerary, but a little more on costs, and a bit quicker coming back on QF. But, I see that CX 110 is waitlisted, is that normal on a reward bkg?

CBR-SYD
CX110 SYD – HKG is wait-listed
CX890 HKG - Newark
QF18 JFK - SYD
SYD-CBR

 

[MEL_Traveller]

But, I see that CX 110 is waitlisted, is that normal on a reward bkg?

That doesn't sound right, I'd be calling asap.

 

[amaroo]

I've booked >70 long haul classic award seats on CX and BA ... never seen waitlisted.

 

[get me outta here]

Convoluted story, but QF agent says I have to wait till next week now to get see if CX will 'release' that seat to me. Seeing as it's next May, it's not classed as urgent. In the meantime, I'll keep an eye on my bkgs on line and hope for the best, or I'll ring back to QF.

This perhaps came about as when I booked on line, it failed and I had to start again. Upon checking then on line I saw I had different PNRs for 2 bkgs essentially the same except for a domestic AU flight.

I rang up, and the agent cancelled one, but didn't check that the PNR retained was all confirmed. (That was the same agent who put me in 14B when I asked him for a window exit). Today's agent, said she couldn't 'confirm' a window in the exit row, and I was quite keen to get a storage bin, I just decided to accept 15K on QF18 JFK-SYD. I guess next May when I check in I'll ask for a window exit and when they see what a strapping lass I am if there is one, maybe I'll get it.

I've booked >70 long haul classic award seats on CX and BA ... never seen waitlisted.

 

[gaz0303]

I currently have an upgrade request in for Y to J/Y+ for QF1&2 in August. If I now cancel that request, and re-request an upgrade to J only, does that put me at the back of the queue and lower my chances of success? Im happy to try Row42 and don't want to spend points on Y+. Can I reject the Y+ upgrade if it comes through?

 

[OATEK]

I currently have an upgrade request in for Y to J/Y+ for QF1&2 in August. If I now cancel that request, and re-request an upgrade to J only, does that put me at the back of the queue and lower my chances of success? Im happy to try Row42 and don't want to spend points on Y+. Can I reject the Y+ upgrade if it comes through?

Did you find an answer? I would have guessed at Yes (new place in Queue) and No, once upgrade approved points are taken straight away. But would be interested to hear if otherwise.

 

[gaz0303]

Did you find an answer? I would have guessed at Yes (new place in Queue) and No, once upgrade approved points are taken straight away. But would be interested to hear if otherwise.

No I haven't. I've hedged my bets. Reprocessed request to exclude y+ upgrade on flight I have been able to select row 42 (QF2), and kept Y+ upgrade for flight with poorer seat selection available (QF1).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Sorry to ask again - but can't seem to find the thread... booked some business class on the new SFO route... currently with the new configuration.

If they substitute the plane from a new configuration to an old one (4-class with F cabin), what happens to seat allocations? Do they carry across automatically... so if you have 2A, you get 2A in the F cabin of the 4-class? Or do they put you back into the old mark 1 skybeds and you have to monitor your booking to seat yourself back into the F cabin?

 

[get me outta here]

FOLLOW UP, due to a hiccough during the online booking precess I ended up with 2 PNRs and so I phoned up to cancel one straight away. Then, the PNR I had left, showed a CX flight as WL.

Well, it took nearly 3 weeks of QF emailing CX to get that WL cleared, even though I could see it still avaiable. Moral of the story, when you get 2 PNRs for same itinerary, double check all sectors confirmed before hanging up.

Convoluted story, but QF agent says I have to wait till next week now to get see if CX will 'release' that seat to me. Seeing as it's next May, it's not classed as urgent. In the meantime, I'll keep an eye on my bkgs on line and hope for the best, or I'll ring back to QF.

This perhaps came about as when I booked on line, it failed and I had to start again. Upon checking then on line I saw I had different PNRs for 2 bkgs essentially the same except for a domestic AU flight.

I rang up, and the agent cancelled one, but didn't check that the PNR retained was all confirmed. (That was the same agent who put me in 14B when I asked him for a window exit). Today's agent, said she couldn't 'confirm' a window in the exit row, and I was quite keen to get a storage bin, I just decided to accept 15K on QF18 JFK-SYD. I guess next May when I check in I'll ask for a window exit and when they see what a strapping lass I am if there is one, maybe I'll get it.

 

[Omarko_man]

can I access the Quantas business lounge at Sydney international airport if I am flying with EK (J class) and I am gold QFF?

and then once I get to Dubai, what lounge would you recommend I go to before next connecting flight?

thanks

 

[Princess Fiona]

can I access the Quantas business lounge at Sydney international airport if I am flying with EK (J class) and I am gold QFF?

and then once I get to Dubai, what lounge would you recommend I go to before next connecting flight?

thanks

Yes you can access the Qantas Business lounge in SYD. Your flight will arrive in T3 at DXB and you will be able to access the T3 EK Business lounge if you have an onwards connection.

 

[eminere]

Also, there is no 'u' in Qantas.