Classic Awards new dates - what time of day added

[T2Mum]

Hi,

I am hoping to book some Classic Award flights for Syd-LAX for around 28 Dec. I believe the flights for 28 Dec will become available around 7 Jan - is this correct?

Does anyone know if there is a certain time of day that Qantas adds the daily release of the Classic Award flights or do I just need to periodically check the QF website in the hope of sseeing them as soon as they are added.

I'm hoping to secure Classic Award flights (economy) for at least 4 people (2 adults, 2 children). Am I dreaming, or should this be possible provided I grab them as soon as they are released?

T2Mum

 

[mella2007]

I'm not sure of when the system is loaded, but I would start checking from midnight. Other members here will know more and will post detailed info.

That is peak season, but I think you'll be ok with trying to get economy on that route (or even Mel/Lax) on that date or very close to it.

Welcome to AFF!

 

[T2Mum]

Thank you - for both the response and the welcome! Ideally we want to get six seats (two adults and our four kids) so I will see how we go.

 

[ronicat]

Seats seem to be loaded at 10 am qld time

 

[MYT105]

Welcome, you also need to take into account the return trip, but given a quick search I can book a flight for 2 adult and 4 kids from SYD to LAX for late Jan departure and return in Feb for 2013 as long as I had 576,000 QFF points I would not be to worried about booking it straight away. There is even currently availability for Easter 2013 time for similar flights.

 

[Tortuga]

Hi,

I am hoping to book some Classic Award flights for Syd-LAX for around 28 Dec. I believe the flights for 28 Dec will become available around 7 Jan - is this correct?

Does anyone know if there is a certain time of day that Qantas adds the daily release of the Classic Award flights or do I just need to periodically check the QF website in the hope of sseeing them as soon as they are added.

I'm hoping to secure Classic Award flights (economy) for at least 4 people (2 adults, 2 children). Am I dreaming, or should this be possible provided I grab them as soon as they are released?

T2Mum

I'm not exactly an expert, but I have found the best way to get quick access to classic award seats is to set up an alert on expertflyer. I could have saved quite a bit of money if I had done a bit more research before booking my trip.

 

[serfty]

It's midnight UTC (AKA GMT) 353 days before the flight.

Currently that's 10am in BNE and 11am in MEL/SYD (variance due to daylight saving).

Come winter it will be 10m east coast Oz.

A quick excel formula for the date is =today()+353. (As I post this Dec 17 - it is not available yet, but will be in just under 5 hours)

 

[T2Mum]

Thank you everyone! Very helpful!

 

[Cocitus23]

Thanks, Serfty, for that precision. The 353 rule has mystified me. Where the heck did such an obscure number as 353 (prime, I believe, so not divisible into weeks, months, seasons) come from? But more to the point, I am aware that not all airlines use this rule. For instance, I have tried booking a OneWorld RTW ticket on points 353 days out, only to discover that some member airlines (eg CX) have already committed their allocated points seats, while others (eg AA) have not yet released any. This means that you have to make your booking in stages, and each time you incur a "change" fee of some 5,000 points. Do you know if anywhere there is a listing of the various rules which the OneWorld carriers use, equivalent to the 353 days of QF?

 

[Kangol]

Is 353 days the same for ASAs?

 

[serfty]

Is 353 days the same for ASAs?

... most bookings really ...

... interestingly, a few years ago when E/F introduced 50 week searches for QF/BA, while you could not specify a dat greater then 353 days away, a ±3 days search would reveal loadings for up to 356 days - they just could not be access when booking.

This feature was attenuated some time ago.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I don't really think economy award tickets are as good value as for Business or First Class only because once you look at the taxes & how many points it will cost, often buying a fare is better value in the long run.

IMHO you'd be better using the points for 2 J tickets for a special occasion like an anniversary trip or birthday.

With 6 of you travelling you may have more luck dividing your travel into 2 bookings each with one adult & 2 kids as it's rare to snag 6 seats at once.