Qantas Frequent Flyer - Singapore-London

I am getting a little anxious as we are flying Singapore-London-Singapore in April 2013 on the A380.
It took a great deal of effort to secure the only business class FF seats available on the flights to attend a very important event. I have to fly in J due to a problem with my hip and spine.
Now I see there is a change with Qantas and Emirates.
I am not sure how this affects me and I guess it will be chaotic to find out at this very early stage.
I am not sure if A380 flights will still be operating in April from Singapore to London as the press releases say 'from April 2013' from Dubai.
We were going to purchase flights to Singapore and back to connect with the A380.
Does anyone know more about how this would affect us?

Just from SIN or all the way Aus-SIN-LHR ?? (or is the first part not booked)

April-2013 seems to be the cutover date (although this may change based on regulatory approvals).

I suspect you will be either offered SIN-DXB-LHR (on combinatation EK/QF metal), or SIN-LHR on others metal (most likely BA)

As you say, dates vague but IATA northern winter season (which is often trigger for timetable changes) finishes 30 Mar 2013. If affected, I'd guess QF will try to offer EK SIN/DXB/LHR but there will still be a direct BA service SIN/LHR so you could try to insist on that .

Further to above, I see press reports refer to JSA termination 31 March 2013 so assume new routings wef that date or 01 April.

Sorry for ignorance but if we were offered SIN-DXB-LHR how would that differ in flying times overall (not on website as yet) and would we get those two legs in J to replace the one SIN-LHR in J currently booked at no extra cost or points?

Would like to know what any of you would do if you are offered this ... it would take me some time to work out options.

We were to be purchasing Y tickets to Singapore so will now have to wait to see where our J class seats will take us.
We were planning to travel to Italy after London but still had to come back to London to fly home to Perth on the 'old' route.
I read somewhere it may be possible to go Rome-Dubai ...
Therefore if we were previously London-Singapore maybe it's better to fly Rome-Dubai in J if we have to change anyway.

Obviously easier to take the BA option if offered but would like to know what you all think - we don't travel the route often.

Just checked via Emirates site. Not good - it seems the flight Dubai-London is around 7 hours and the flight Perth-Dubai is around 12 hours!
So the efforts made to get on the A380 in J for the longest haul of SIN-LHR may be lost.
I can't fly 12 hours in Y without having serious issues with my back - this is why we booked twelve months ahead to ensure I was able to graduate in London and used the points to secure J seats on A380 Sin-LHR, making the flight in Y Perth-Singapore is 5 hours and doable.
I imagine if they call to make changes - and it seems it applies to us - being April 2013 - then my only hope is to ask to stay with Sin-LHR-Sin.
I can't imagine they will offer J seats Per-Dubai-Per to replace our Sin-LHR-Sin seats as they are different sectors.
Perhaps if they do offer Sin-Dubai-LHR for the same as our current flight Sin-LHR-Sin in J it is an option, even though it's two flights instead of one. Would be nice to stay on the A380 though and I guess that's the Dubai-LHR sector.
It seems Sin-Dubai is around 9 hours though ... that would mean flying around 16 hours instead of 13!
Oh dear ..

I think your questions can only be answered by Qantas, but if I were you I would quickly check BA FF availability SIN/LHR on the dates you want and if there, ask QF to rebook at zero penalty instead of the normal 10k points for a change. If you leave it, you'll probably just be re-routed via DXB as from what you've said you are a SIN originating pax as far as QF is concerned and would be rerouted from there not Oz. Best of luck!

The Qantas A380 service will continue to run all the way from Sydney (and Melbourne) to London, with one service daily for QF, but will of course transit via Dubai instead of Singapore.

I think you should rebook with BA if possible :)

Just checked via Emirates site. Not good - it seems the flight Dubai-London is around 7 hours and the flight Perth-Dubai is around 12 hours!.

So you've booked SIN-LHR with points but are planning to fly from Perth to London and book the PER-SIN seperately in cash?

You will probably only be offered SIN-DXB-LHR on EK/QF or possibly SIN-LHR on BA. Probably a small chance they will try to help you out, as you have not got a single booking PER-LHR..

Perhaps best to ring QF now and discuss options.. You may be flying PER-SIN-DXB-LHR otherwise.

Oh I realise I am responsible for Per-SIN. It's just that we booked the longer haul portion of the flight to London in J on A380.
Unfortunately now the longer haul flight would be Perth-Dubai :(
I realise they are responsible for getting us from Singapore to London no matter how.
So we are probably stuck with SIN-DXB-LHR - which is more flying and stops than SIN-LHR - and, one would hope, all in J class with no extra fees or charges.
I am just hoping that by April - with all the passengers on the A380 that would have been heading SIN-LHR - they maybe use an A380 to get us to Dubai ... either EK or QF.
It seems though the leg SIN-DXB has a stop on the way ... so that's three take offs and landings rather than one direct to LHR.

I am just hoping that by April - with all the passengers on the A380 that would have been heading SIN-LHR - they maybe use an A380 to get us to Dubai ... either EK or QF.
It seems though the leg SIN-DXB has a stop on the way ... so that's three take offs and landings rather than one direct to LHR.

QF definately won't run an A380 SIN-DXB, and Emirates doesn't currently.

Most likely you'll get offered a 777 to DXB direct and onwards to LHR in J.

There are direct flights SIN-DXB on EK.


So I guess you either keep the SIN-LHR and accept you will most likely go PER-SIN-DXB-LHR with the second part in J on Emirates, or look at rebooking now on one ticket PER-LHR so that you have the best chance of getting there with one stop (either via SIN or DXB).

Don't have enough points to book Per-LHR and return in J.
That's why we used our 336,000 points for the longer haul.
Also there are no seats left - hence booking twelve months ahead last April.
Cannot afford to purchase J seats.
All searches for the date we are flying on EK found all flights SIN-DXB listing 1 stop on the flight. The return DXB-SIN has 0 stops.
I realise these are very early days ... however our whole trip and subsequent weeks' holiday hinges on whether I can manage this flight. Bearing in mind also we still have to fly Per-SIN in Y.
I see they still have to go through regulatory process and then it could take some time before call centres are aware of options.
I guess I will just have to accept it won't be the 13 hour long haul on A380 QF in J, rather a flight from SIN-DXB on EK with a stop, followed by connection DXB-LHR on A380 with QF, both hopefully still in J or all will have to be cancelled.

All searches for the date we are flying on EK found all flights SIN-DXB listing 1 stop on the flight. The return DXB-SIN has 0 stops.


If you were searching on the Emirates site, the second page of flight options has non stop flights. The cheapest options which are shown on the first page stop in CMB.

Direct flights EK355 and EK405 connect on to EK1 which is the A380 DXB-LHR.

I think you are stuck and will just have to wait it out until more information comes out, and hope that it takes a bit longer to get regulatory approval..

I'm a bit confused about this. Is there something about the 380 that will help your back? Flat bed seats also available on BA to LHR, and the announcement doesn't mean that QF is leaving oneworld. So why not just go PER-SIN-LHR, just as you'd planned, and change your QF to BA? No drama.

If you booked SIN-LHR nonstop, and there are still options available (BA) that are within the alliance and nonstop, QF should book you on those. Case closed. After all, this is their involuntary schedule change. :)

I have checked all fights including BA and there are NO FF seats in J on the dates we are flying. I have even checked the days around those dates - in fact to my knowledge there were only TWO on the QF flight and we managed to get those the moment they were released 12 months out.
If you have ever tried to get FF seats in J on a long haul flight to London on the dates you are flying you would know how difficult it is and how happy we were to secure them. Of course it would be nice to fly A380 which does have the fully lie flat beds - and I am not sure if all 747s and EK 777s have the lie flat beds which may be offered to us.
If they offer the BA flights at the time - as I said, we would look at those and hope they have lie flat on a 13 hour SIN-LHR flight, which from all reports does not look like it's an option as of April 2013.

BA J seat is far better than any QF seat in my opinion. It is a full flat bed. BA J service not as good as QF but it is a late evening departure from both SIN and LHR so sleep would be on the menu anyway.

I would just relax, quite a bit needs to happen before now and a date in April 2013 (which could be the 30th April 2013 for all we know).

Hi all - as we are now just over six months out from our scheduled SIN-LHR-SIN in J for that dreaded first month of EK-QF changes ... April - I would like any advice for those who have reasonable knowledge of usual protocol.

We booked our FF seats in J on the day they were released to ensure we had the very long haul leg SIN-LHR-SIN in J, prepared to purchase Y seats for the shorter distance PER-SIN to meet that sector.
I am aware that the changes need to go through regulatory approvals and I would like to know anything more that is available to assist in our planning.
We need to get from SIN-LHR in J (and return) on the proposed dates already booked.

Will Qantas guarantee they will get us to our destination and back in the class we have booked? I realise now this will involve two flights SIN-DXB-LHR and return rather than the direct SIN-LHR.
If this is the case I would assume we are flown on either EK or QF to DXB - and in J class - to meet connecting flights DXB-LHR - again in J class - as it covers the flight requirements of our booking.

If there is an issue with seat availability on J in EK SIN-DXB and we only had the option of Y I would not want to accept the changes.
Would Qantas have the ability to makegood the seats on EK in J?
We have specifically booked the seats to fly in J and do not want to fly in Y.

I need more clarity on the situation of protocol for changes and if they are likely to offer like for like. Otherwise we will have to rethink our journey and holiday plans. It is difficult to move further until we know how we are getting to our destination.

The T&C of FF awards cover this rather succinctly:
"14.8.3 If a Classic Award is cancelled by the airline and reasonable alternative travel cannot be arranged, Qantas will waive the Cancellation Refund Fee on any Classic Award submitted for refund and will re-credit the applicable number of Points."

This means it is entirely up to QF what is "reasonable"; that may mean reroute on SQ, BA, etc. on SIN-LHR non-stop. You are free to reject their reroute and get your points back. Of course that doesn't help much with advance planning, as QF is unlikel to offer rerouting before 2013. Also note that EK has different J quality on different planes, including some of the SIN-DXB flights (esp. those via CMB). Some are more like QF domestic J, fwiw. All are a big step down from QF A380 J SIN-LHR service which you presumably had booked. Good luck.

[mod hat] Since there already is a thread by the OP about this topic I will merge the two. [/mod hat]

IMHO, Qantas will see you in J on with SIN/LHR direct, most likely on BA.

deleted... wrong info.

You will be covered by the EU compensation guidelines as it is a flight operating to the EU.Isn't the other way around? A non-EU carrier is only bound by the EU Regulation for flights departing from an EU airport.

You will be covered by the EU compensation guidelines as it is a flight operating to the EU. EU regulations apply to all flights operated by an EU flagged carrier and all flights from the EU on other carriers.

Isn't the other way around? A non-EU carrier is only bound by the EU Regulation for flights departing from an EU airport.

EU regulations apply to all flights operated by an EU flagged carrier and all flights from the EU on other carriers.

yes and yes. sorry. my bad. thanks for the pick up.

Well not impressed that Qantas has not bothered to send an email re changes to our booking. Have not checked our FF page and bookings for a while as I would have thought nothing happening with EK for a while yet.
So the first leg of our booking has note at top of it (when you log in, go to the booking and enter) then you are told the booking has changed.
Option has changed from our booking Sin-LHR on A380 QF1 at 11.59pm and the option is now BA 012 at 10.55pm on April 8 on 747.

It says to 'Confirm' or contact Qantas.

Before going into this I would like any advice on confirming this change.

How best to find out about seat options on BA?

Would QF offer seat selection for BA?

If not - do I now head to the BA Flyertalk forum?

I do not want to confirm changes unless I am assured J seating with my husband next to me - so not sure what seating availabilities there are on this flight.

Can't specifically comment on your questions except to say that BA J on the 744 is probably equal to the A380 offering (in terms of seat quality). I would be trying to get row 62 or 64 on the upper deck if possible.

Once you accept it you should be able to select seats.
The QF site should work, but otherwise you can always use Manage My Booking on the BA site...

My presumption is that given the EK deal is yet to be approved, most ex-SIN pax will go to BA... LHR-SYD/MEL will go on the new QF DXB services.

Thanks so much I will endeavour to try for those seats - I don't think I will be able to find out seating until I 'confirm' the change with QF and then go over to BA to ask about seat availability - and then have to pay for advanced seat selection!

It is difficult to accept something until you know what is available - I don't want to fly on BA if we are not seated together in J which is what we booked.
I also need to find out the difference with fuel surcharge/taxes with BA as opposed to QF.

So if I accept the change .. it is up to me to follow up seating with BA?

I know this is a difficult situation but it's hard to agree to something without all the information.

We have flown once this year on BA London-Geneva and the Manage my Booking did not offer seat selection - however you could pay for the option.

I thought seat selection was available from booking for premium cabin pax, but I stand corrected http://www.britishairways.com/travel/choose-your-seat/public/en_gb?cookiesAccepted=existpop

So unless you have status, you will have to purchase seat selection.

If you have concerns about sitting together, QF agents should be able to pull up the seat map on BA, or check ExpertFlyer.

Thanks so much I will endeavour to try for those seats -
According to EF, 62 AB and 64 AB JK are available on 8 April (at least given the parameters I entered). Personally, I'd go for row 62. These are preferred seats and you need high status to get them.

Thank you - well we don't have 'high status' - just Silver FF.

Our return flights are not giving us a change option as yet.

We were returning 29 April LHR-SIN in J on A380 and then will purchase seats to Perth.

I wonder if the offer will be the same via BA from LHR to SIN and again seat avail in J on that flight is a concern.

If Qantas can look up for us while we are deciding that would be good - then we can go to BA and try to pre-select seats.

You ability to select seats will be in accordance with BA's policy on seat selection

If you are booked in J or C class, then seat selection can be done as soon as booking is held, so should be able to go to BA site and select seats using Manage My Booking. Once seats are selected then confirm the change

Otherwise, with QF Silver status, being OW Ruby, you will be able to select seats for free within 7 days of departure. If you are prepared to pay GBP60 ( iirc ) per person then you can select seats now

The likelihood of not getting seated together is , I would say, very low given that those without status can only select at check in time unless they are prepared to pay for seat selection.

If you choose not to accept the change, QF will refund your ticket for you

If you are booked in J or C class, then seat selection can be done as soon as booking is held, so should be able to go to BA site and select seats using Manage My Booking. Once seats are selected then confirm the change

you

Not sure I understand you Dave - the only option at this point is to 'Confirm' acceptance of flight change ... without information on seating ... I imagine once confirming the change we could then go to BA site and select via Manage My Booking.

How can we manage the booking without confirming the change first?

Thanks for your help

Not sure I understand you Dave - the only option at this point is to 'Confirm' acceptance of flight change ... without information on seating ... I imagine once confirming the change we could then go to BA site and select via Manage My Booking.

How can we manage the booking without confirming the change first?

Thanks for your help

Since you are booked on the BA flight, if you go to the BA site you will be able to access the reservation on the BA Manage Booking

If you are entitled to seat selection, you will be able to do it there and then before you call Qantas

You do not need to confirm the change with Qantas before checking the seating

I really wouldn't worry too much; the likelihood of not getting seated together is low; try and avoid the OCD on seating that tends to pervade these fora :)

Well not impressed that Qantas has not bothered to send an email re changes to our booking. Have not checked our FF page and bookings for a while as I would have thought nothing happening with EK for a while yet.
So the first leg of our booking has note at top of it (when you log in, go to the booking and enter) then you are told the booking has changed.
Option has changed from our booking Sin-LHR on A380 QF1 at 11.59pm and the option is now BA 012 at 10.55pm on April 8 on 747.

It says to 'Confirm' or contact Qantas.

Before going into this I would like any advice on confirming this change.

How best to find out about seat options on BA?

Would QF offer seat selection for BA?

If not - do I now head to the BA Flyertalk forum?

I do not want to confirm changes unless I am assured J seating with my husband next to me - so not sure what seating availabilities there are on this flight.

I'd simply give Qantas a call. I suspect that they would be able to give you seat allocation on the BA flight and you can confirm it there and then, or you can discuss other alternatves. Or you may choose not to confirm it on the phone, think about it, then either confirm on-line or call them back. You might want to check out the BA seat config on Seat Guru before calling.

I'd simply give Qantas a call. I suspect that they would be able to give you seat allocation on the BA flight and you can confirm it there and then, or you can discuss other alternatves. Or you may choose not to confirm it on the phone, think about it, then either confirm on-line or call them back. You might want to check out the BA seat config on Seat Guru before calling.

I do not think that they will be able to give the passenger a seat allocation. Unless the person is booked in the 2 highest business cabins ( J / C ) then there is no free seat allocation for a silver member so far in advance of departure. Looking at the other thread that the OP started on the same issue, it would seem that the OP is using an award booking ( http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/qantas-frequent-flyer/1384748-singapore-london.html ) which will not be eligable for free seat allocation until april 1

As far as available seats on BA12 on April 8 go, at the moment the only seat that has been taken is 62K . All other 69 seats are unallocated

Since you are booked on the BA flight, if you go to the BA site you will be able to access the reservation on the BA Manage Booking

If you are entitled to seat selection, you will be able to do it there and then before you call Qantas

You do not need to confirm the change with Qantas before checking the seating

I really wouldn't worry too much; the likelihood of not getting seated together is low; try and avoid the OCD on seating that tends to pervade these fora :)

Dave - thank you so much. I am so relieved - as I went to BA site - entered our reference number from QF and surname and up came the flight! I did not think that could happen as it was QF and we hadn't accepted or confirmed.
So I went in ... lower deck, up the stairs - and we have the option of 64 A and B.
Nice and quiet and roomy.
However - there is a fee of around $125 each to purchase this seat selection ($100 ea for lower deck). Does this sound correct?
I am thinking perhaps we should do it and then confirm on QF FF page.
I have no idea what adjustments are made for fuel surcharges, taxes etc - being a different flight.

As Qantas has made changes to your flights, there should be no additional fuel surcharges or other fees (other than exit seat) applied to your ticket.

So I went in ... lower deck, up the stairs - and we have the option of 64 A and B.
Nice and quiet and roomy.
However - there is a fee of around $125 each to purchase this seat selection ($100 ea for lower deck). Does this sound correct?The normal BA prices in GBP are (I think) something like £80 upper deck and £65 main deck, so those AUD prices look about right.

As between 64AB and 64JK, there are divided opinions, principally about the window seats (which are both aft-facing, like all Club World window seats on the 744).

64A is more open but tends to be exposed to light from the galley and the aft toilet when the door is open. 64K is secluded and very private, but some think it feels claustrophobic; there is generally no problem with toilet noise or smells in 64K. 64B and 64J are just normal aisle seats; I wouldn't be picking them on their own, but the choice of window seats rather dictates them if you're travelling as a couple.

64A has a bassinet position which is apparently still functional, but no longer sold as such.

There's lots of info on the BA board, but this is the distilled fundamentals for row 64.

Row 62 is not available for paid pre-allocation - basically it's Emeralds, Sapphires and full fares only.

I would call QF - state you had advance seat selection on the old flight -- they have unilaterally moved you and they should arrange/pay on the new one.

[mod hat] Since there already is a thread by the OP about this trip I will merge the two. Again. [/mod hat]

.........................

Dave - thank you so much. I am so relieved - as I went to BA site - entered our reference number from QF and surname and up came the flight! I did not think that could happen as it was QF and we hadn't accepted or confirmed.
So I went in ... lower deck, up the stairs - and we have the option of 64 A and B.
Nice and quiet and roomy.
However - there is a fee of around $125 each to purchase this seat selection ($100 ea for lower deck). Does this sound correct?
I am thinking perhaps we should do it and then confirm on QF FF page.
I have no idea what adjustments are made for fuel surcharges, taxes etc - being a different flight.

Indeed it does cost about $125 for business class seat pre-allocation

I really would not obsess over the seating and would suggest waiting until 7 days before departure and then getting the seats for free. The likelihood of not being able to get 2 seats together is low and not worth paying $250

Since it is an involuntary change, there would be no additional fuel surcharges etc to pay even if there was a difference

I would doubt that QF will pay up for seating; they have provided a replacement flight or will provide a refund if preferred. I would not be expecting them to pay for optional extras

I would just call Qantas and ask. No harm in trying and removes any doubt.

Since it is an involuntary change, there would be no additional fuel surcharges etc to pay even if there was a difference
Nor a refund due if the new surcharges were less ...

So now we are at the third change with the airlines - another time change - still within the same 'day' of flight London-Singapore initially booked on QF on the A380 but now on BA 747.

As we had to book the FF points almost a year prior - our itinerary has changed somewhat and while we would have been happy to return to London to take the QF A380 flight to Singapore - we are now not so keen to fly to London from our holiday in Italy to catch a BA 747 flight which has had time changes.

We would prefer to pay to fly Milan-Singapore or Rome-Singapore on another airline in J and try to recoup the points to be used at a later date on a more efficient schedule.
We have already purchased tickets Sin-Per with QF. I realise we should fly in a day earlier to avoid missing this flight.

May I ask if any of you could advise with some certainty - if we are to cancel the new change BA are asking us to confirm, which is LHR-SIN in J - what would be refunded? We have used 168,000 points for this booking.

As they are still giving us the same date to return to Singapore - but different aircraft and time - I would imagine we are the ones doing the cancelling and therefore forfeit some points - we also incurred $398.00 per person of Taxes/Fees/Carrier Charges - would all of that be refunded?

So now we are at the third change with the airlines - another time change - still within the same 'day' of flight London-Singapore initially booked on QF on the A380 but now on BA 747.

As we had to book the FF points almost a year prior - our itinerary has changed somewhat and while we would have been happy to return to London to take the QF A380 flight to Singapore - we are now not so keen to fly to London from our holiday in Italy to catch a BA 747 flight which has had time changes.

We would prefer to pay to fly Milan-Singapore or Rome-Singapore on another airline in J and try to recoup the points to be used at a later date on a more efficient schedule.
We have already purchased tickets Sin-Per with QF. I realise we should fly in a day earlier to avoid missing this flight.

May I ask if any of you could advise with some certainty - if we are to cancel the new change BA are asking us to confirm, which is LHR-SIN in J - what would be refunded? We have used 168,000 points for this booking.

As they are still giving us the same date to return to Singapore - but different aircraft and time - I would imagine we are the ones doing the cancelling and therefore forfeit some points - we also incurred $398.00 per person of Taxes/Fees/Carrier Charges - would all of that be refunded?

if your new itinerary is substantially different from the one you originally booked, including changes if aircraft and flight times (the a380 is a selling point for qf), then you should be entitled to a full refund if the new arrangements are not suitable.

while the latest BA change may only be incremental, you should compare it against the original itinerary when speaking to an agent if they are not initially willing to refund you free of charge and without penalty (that is, little by little the changes were ok, but this latest one is the proverbial straw and you now want out).

if you have no luck with that then if you want you can post back here to see what options you might have.

I have just spoken to the second person today (first one said there would be penalties)
This latest person was more informative.
There will be a loss of 5,000 points per person and full refund of dollars.

I personally feel it would be a good PR exercise to refund the points in full - purely due to the fact that Qantas promotes the A380 product - as you can see from all my posts - we went out of our way to try and secure this - and then had a couple of months not knowing the changes due to the Emirates partnership and how they would affect us - then accepted the first airline change - but this last time change is - as you say, the final straw in our experience.

We also have to pay for seat allocation on BA and as we are not on the same booking reference I have my doubts about being seated together - we asked for them to be linked many times and even the latest conversation they weren't linked. We have already paid for seat allocation SIN-LHR on BA - which was very expensive as we chose the upper deck.

The changes in time are not massive - but - the change in aircraft, the paying for seat allocation, the constant time changes etc - has left us weighing up the opportunity to delete a flight back to London and fly direct from Italy to Singapore. As I said before - would have done that with the initial booking but now - not so much.

Is there a way to earn points on the QFF program via other European countries? We are at this stage considering joining Singapore Airlines rewards program.

So now we are at the third change with the airlines - another time change - still within the same 'day' of flight London-Singapore initially booked on QF on the A380 but now on BA 747.

As we had to book the FF points almost a year prior - our itinerary has changed somewhat and while we would have been happy to return to London to take the QF A380 flight to Singapore - we are now not so keen to fly to London from our holiday in Italy to catch a BA 747 flight which has had time changes.

We would prefer to pay to fly Milan-Singapore or Rome-Singapore on another airline in J and try to recoup the points to be used at a later date on a more efficient schedule.
We have already purchased tickets Sin-Per with QF. I realise we should fly in a day earlier to avoid missing this flight.

May I ask if any of you could advise with some certainty - if we are to cancel the new change BA are asking us to confirm, which is LHR-SIN in J - what would be refunded? We have used 168,000 points for this booking.

As they are still giving us the same date to return to Singapore - but different aircraft and time - I would imagine we are the ones doing the cancelling and therefore forfeit some points - we also incurred $398.00 per person of Taxes/Fees/Carrier Charges - would all of that be refunded?

If it has significantly changed in time, then should be no issue getting a full refund

if they decide that your cancellation is voluntary since they are providing a flight at a similar time, then the cancellation penalty of 5000 points per ticket would apply. The taxes and fines would be refunded to original form of payment

Worst case is a 5000 point penalty and then you are free to book whatever you want with any airline you desire.

Dave

VLJ - the 5000 points is the standard cancellation charge for points bookings. I'm guessing the 'compared to the original booking on the a380' line didn't sway them?

what was the original a380 compared to current itinerary?

VLJ - the 5000 points is the standard cancellation charge for points bookings. I'm guessing the 'compared to the original booking on the a380' line didn't sway them?

what was the original a380 compared to current itinerary?

I cannot see using an A380 argument to hold any water since the passenger was on a 747 BA flight already after having accepted a rebooking onto BA earlier. That might have held sway with the original change but now would jut sound like a scam to avoid penalties

The one redeeming feature of the QF scheme is that cancellation penalties are low

No - very black and white about the fine print. I understand there are rules but in this case there has been a degree of inconvenience not knowing what was happening.

I don't want to sound like a whinger - but this has been a bit of a marathon and we are very loyal customers. I just thought what is 10,000 points to them in the scheme of things?

It was three and a half hours difference for departure time.

We have a paid flight from Singapore to Perth but we are now considering changing all the journey to fly Paris to Singapore on the Singapore Airlines A380 and journeying home on a better schedule and a better overall experience.

I know it doesn't seem much but add to that change of aircraft type to 747, not able to pre allocate seats without paying extra, constant changes and a feeling of further more ahead ... we just feel a little uneasy.

A 'scam' to avoid penalties?

I think I would treat my customers a little more compassionately.

I get that they don't 'have' to, really I do.

Why spend money on advertising, feelgood promotions, we are the spirit of Australia etc., why not just make it black and white.

We do what we do - get over it.

As long as you are happy to pay for a business class ticket on SQ, then fine

just take the 10k penalty and put the issue behind you

I can understand that QF will not provide a fee free cancellation. Since you have already paid for seat assignments on the itinerary, my understanding is that BA will not charge the seat assignment fee again so can get on and select seats that appeal

The one thing that is reasonable to expect in all dealings is that they will follow the T&Cs. If the latest change is 3.5 hours from the previous time, I am surprised that they will not refund for free, but c'est la vie

No you cannot have fee free seat allocation on the return trip on BA.

I have already checked on the first BA change.

No you cannot have fee free seat allocation on the return trip on BA.

I have already checked on the first BA change.

I thought that you had paid for seat allocation when first booked onto BA

I paid for seat allocation SIN-LHR on the upper deck - it cost about $200 I think.

The return LHR-SIN is a separate booking reference as you can't get all the FF awards for a return flight at the same time.
My husband and I also have separate booking references as we did not have the full points at the time of award release and were bought a few days apart.

I would be very happy to fly LHR-SIN on the QF A380 at the original time - even flying back to London for the experience.

Not so keen to fly BA 747 at a different time paying for seat allocation to make sure we are seated together.

One way fares from FCO-DXB-SIN are not too bad. EK has business class for approx $2000 one way . If your SIN-PER is refundableish then they have FCO-DXB-PER for $3000. The daytime FCO-DXB service is an A380

Thank you Dave.
That would be a good option. Do we accrue FF points on QFF program for a purchase such as this?
We can cancel the Sin-Per leg quite easily to do this.

A teeny bit disappointed the A380 is the short leg :)

Not sure what the quality of the 777 10 hours to Perth is like?

Thank you Dave.
That would be a good option. Do we accrue FF points on QFF program for a purchase such as this?
We can cancel the Sin-Per leg quite easily to do this.

A teeny bit disappointed the A380 is the short leg :)

Not sure what the quality of the 777 10 hours to Perth is like?

Given that your journey is scheduled after the alliance starts , you may well be able to accrue to QFF if desired, but I would suggest that the EK programme is a much better value programme for those travelling in premium cabins

The 777 business class is quite reasonable; they have lie flat ( but not horizontal ) seats, decent (imo) catering, very good IFE options with a nice large screen, plus, of course, provide the chauffeur service at FCO and PER plus , if you choose to stopover in DXB, a car from and to the airport in Dubai

Dave

This has changed everything. Much cheaper option - however...

I have checked the website
http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/qantas-and-emirates-partnership/global/en

It says we DO accrue points but I would want that confirmed when booking.

I also think the option to check our luggage all the way thru to Perth is very attractive and gives us extra holiday time in Italy not having to worry about transits.

The chauffeur service may not apply in Rome as it is under ten hours? Or do Emirates give you the service no matter the flight length?

That means we also get chauffeur driven home????

Sounding even better ...

There seems to be a lot of discrepancy in price - my husband checked Emirates Paris-Dubai-Perth and it was 8048 euros whereas Rome-Dubai-Perth is 4530 for two in Business.

=
I also think the option to check our luggage all the way thru to Perth is very attractive and gives us extra holiday time in Italy not having to worry about transits.

The chauffeur service may not apply in Rome as it is under ten hours? Or do Emirates give you the service no matter the flight length?

That means we also get chauffeur driven home????

Emirates provides chauffeur service in most locations and FCO, DXB and PER are locations where it is provided

I don't see what more you would want confirmed about FF earning than what QF publishes. I would still look at the earning that you could get on the EK scheme and then determine which gives the better earn/redeem rates . FCO-PER could accrue you 32,000 miles on the EK scheme


Sounding even better ...

There seems to be a lot of discrepancy in price - my husband checked Emirates Paris-Dubai-Perth and it was 8048 euros whereas Rome-Dubai-Perth is 4530 for two in Business.

Rome to Dubai at EUR4530 for 2 sounds right for one way from Italy. Fares for Paris to Australia are indeed a lot more at around EUR4000 each. No discrepency, just that the fares are different

Thanks Dave - I really appreciate you offering the alternative ideas.
I am running out of time (three months away) and we were about to book Singapore Airlines from Paris to Singapore.
Rome-Dubai-Perth is the same price and we get all the way home in J.
Will start doing the legwork. The icing on the cake would be earning the points with QFF.

No problem with the limo in Rome. We used it last year. Then took a limo from SYD Int to SYD Dom.

Thanks Dave - I really appreciate you offering the alternative ideas.
I am running out of time (three months away) and we were about to book Singapore Airlines from Paris to Singapore.
Rome-Dubai-Perth is the same price and we get all the way home in J.
Will start doing the legwork. The icing on the cake would be earning the points with QFF.

Rome-dubai-Perth is a nice easy journey plus being able to get refunded on the SIN-PER and get the FF miles and the taxes/fines back for the BA flight sounds like a good deal to me. Nice 1 stop service sounds pretty reasonable

List of cities offering chauffeur drive and the mileage limits are listed at http://www.emirates.com/english/plan_book/to_and_from_airport/chauffeur_drive/where_available.aspx

There are options of anything from three hours to 22 hours in transit in Dubai.

I know nothing of this airport - as our luggage would be checked through - it might be nice to spend some time walking around before the ten hour flight home.

Any suggestions? Would you spend a few extra hours there?

There are options of anything from three hours to 22 hours in transit in Dubai.

I know nothing of this airport - as our luggage would be checked through - it might be nice to spend some time walking around before the ten hour flight home.

Any suggestions? Would you spend a few extra hours there?

If it was me doing the journey, I would take the A380 service to Dubai, spend the night there and take the 10am service to Perth . Gives a night in a bed and then pop off in the morning. If you do stop , you get the chauffeur service but will need to pay for your own hotel

With < 24 hrs in Dubai, EK can check the bags through to Perth, so no need to collect them in Dubai

Sounds pretty good.
Will look into it - thanks again.

With < 24 hrs in Dubai, EK can check the bags through to Perth, so no need to collect them in Dubai


Make sure you pack a change of underwear in your carry-on!!!!!!

Make sure you pack a change of underwear in your carry-on!!!!!! Two actually, you might want to shower again before your onward flight after all day in a Middle Eastern locality.

Dave

Due to itinerary changes we have to fly home now via Paris.

Malaysian Airline Systems flies Paris-KL-Per (A380 and A330) in Business for 3667 EU one way for two passengers.

According to media reports and advice it seems they are part of the OneWorld program and as such we should be able to accrue points with the QFF program by purchasing these seats?

Could anyone please add advice on this?

I am so disappointed as we booked Paris-SIN-Per on Singapore Airlines the day before I found this out and we paid 5266 EU for two passengers in J one way.
Am hoping we can get a refund because the savings would be worth it.
The ticket is a "D" category and from the fine print I can find it is US $100 for cancellation, not sure if that is per person or per booking.

But it would be worth it to save a heck of a lot of $$ and to gather FF points.

Although we would have to wait until Feb 1 to make the new booking on MH?

Due to itinerary changes we have to fly home now via Paris.

Malaysian Airline Systems flies Paris-KL-Per (A380 and A330) in Business for 3667 EU one way for two passengers.

According to media reports and advice it seems they are part of the OneWorld program and as such we should be able to accrue points with the QFF program by purchasing these seats?

Could anyone please add advice on this?

I am so disappointed as we booked Paris-SIN-Per on Singapore Airlines the day before I found this out and we paid 5266 EU for two passengers in J one way.
Am hoping we can get a refund because the savings would be worth it.
The ticket is a "D" category and from the fine print I can find it is US $100 for cancellation, not sure if that is per person or per booking.

But it would be worth it to save a heck of a lot of $$ and to gather FF points.

Although we would have to wait until Feb 1 to make the new booking on MH?

I suspect the $100 is per passenger. You could always make the MH booking now. The mileage earning (for OW) will be dependent on the flight date, not booking date (but you might need to wait to enter in your FF program number till 1 Feb).

We have just booked MAS and paid 3691 EU - after a cancellation fee of 152 EU we made an overall saving of around 1400 EU.
I realise the Singapore Airlines product is considered superior but a saving like this and still remaining in Business all the way home from Paris to Perth is a bonus.
It is a Business Promo sale on until Jan 10 - so the timing was good - the cancellation and change fee is significant though.
Let's hope they continue with the OW alliance and also using the A380 on this journey (Paris to KL from March 2013 on A380)

But does MH offer flat beds?

Yes - the A380 (one of the most recent to be allocated I believe) does have fully flat beds and according to the website also has the widest A380 beds - I though Singapore Airlines A380 beds looked huge!

It is a Business Promo sale on until Jan 10 - so the timing was good - the cancellation and change fee is significant though.


Significant enough to ensure you have adequate insurance should your circumstances change again??

Regards,

BD

Yes BD it's around 300 EU each but we have good travel insurance.

After the changes with the Asian network we were moved from the QF A380 onto a BA 747 for our flight sector SIN-LHR.
The times changed on three occasions with that flight but we were committed to the date.
We paid over $250 to be seated on the upper deck in our chosen seats.
BA then moved us out of our seats - 'due to operational reasons'.

The A380 LHR-SIN was also changed to BA 747 - and that flight also had more than three time changes.
After the seating issues, constant time changes, no QF A380 etc., we opted to cancel the award booking and have the points and costs refunded.
We did this a week ago and these bookings still appear in our FF account.
Is it because it originates from LHR and we are in Perth?
There have been so many calls to and fro and we are so fed up with the whole journey I can't believe WE have to check on them cancelling and refunding when they said it had been done.

What did you book instead?

BA's LHR-SIN-LHR times have moved +/- 1hr recently, I have been notified by QF after a 10min BA flight time change.

BA have also removed seats 64 A/B/J/K from purchase and are only available to BA Gold and OW Emeralds.

BA have also removed seats 64 A/B/J/K from purchase and are only available to BA Gold and OW Emeralds.[/QUOTE]


That's all very well but we were offered 64A and B which we accepted allocation and paid for - very expensive too.

If they made an error in making it available to us due to 'operational reasons' (in other words - shouldn't have sold them to us in the first place) - then they should not have made it retrospective and allowed those customers who paid for the seats to remain on them - OR - refund the seating costs in full. At this stage there is a lengthy thread on the BA forum with a lot of very disappointed paying customers who have not been offered refunds, merely moved into another 'suitable' seat.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1430000-seats-changed-e-mails-advising-youve-been-evicted-your-row-64-seat.html

Yes, I have posted in that thread. The BA T&C's are clear "We cannot guarantee that your seat is reserved". However their refund policy states that they will refund the money in this case, perhaps after the flight. However you would get free seat selection in that case.

Were you moved to Row 63 J/K?

Cancelling your award flights just for being moved from 64A/B to another pair of business class seats, and a few time changes of +/- 1hr seems a bit much really.

We wanted to fly with Qantas.

We wanted to fly the A380 - almost a year ago we booked our award seats flying SIN-LHR-SIN in J on the A380.

This was then changed to BA on the 747 -
We opted to pay for seat selection on BA rather than wait for allocation seven days prior - as we are on separate booking references and wanted the guarantee of being seated together, so while paying for that privilege - one would assume you get the seat you request or receive a refund.

After all we selected our seat for free with our initial booking with Qantas.

We wanted to fly at the time we booked to connect with the flights we booked with Qantas which also changed - one of which was deleted altogether.
Many things have now changed including carrier, aircraft type, seat selection, connecting flights etc.

There is so much more to this whole journey which I won't bore you with as it is already a marathon.
I have tried very hard to remain with Qantas as we are loyal FFers but since the recent changes it seems for Perth we have a lot more options with other carriers.

Now I just really want to know why the return flights LHR-SIN have not yet been cancelled after talking with the consultant a week ago?

Did you SIN-LHR seperate to LHR-SIN? If so, can you not just cancel it yourself online? The agent may have only cancelled the outbound.

I guess this is the risk you run if you book non connected tickets (fully realise in your situation you couldn't though). A family member had a booking of MEL-HKG-LHR return booked for after April in J, with MEL-HKG on QF A330 and HKG-LHR on BA 777. BA changed flight times slightly and then it was no longer offered as a QF codeshare. Qantas first offered to rebook as a straight BA code, but had no problems changing the booking to be MEL-DXB-LHR return all on the QF A380, even though the discount fare code was not available.

We had to book separately as they are award flights and released many weeks apart - there are only two seats in J released on each flight to my knowledge on the A380 at the time so we had to do the first sector, then wait for the return.

We are still flying SIN-LHR as per their changes.
However the return flight LHR-SIN asks us to 'confirm changes' (relating to the time changes)

Interesting thing is we had a long conversation and the consultant was very helpful - spoke to my husband first with his booking reference, then me - and said great, all good - the flights will be cancelled and fees refunded.
That was a week ago and it's all still there - how long does it take - as I said - we are in Perth - the flight originates in London - is that why?

Just press Confirm and then Cancel, no need to call.