Canadian Airlines Plus - AC Q-Class Fare

Hi everyone,

I recently booked an AC deeply discounted Q-Class ticket from LGA-YYZ-HKG roundtrip (US$747!!), and I'm wondering if I can accrue miles on CP Plus with this fare.

From what I read on the CP website, it says that all AC fares are eligible for miles, but my itinerary specifically states that "This special-fare ticket does not allow pre-assigned seats, special meals or accrual of FF miles." So who's correct in this case?

I tried to book this exact itinerary using the same fare code on CP and AC reservations and they want US$1685 + tax & fees!! So I guess this is what monopoly brings upon us.

Q fares are seat sales. They are absolutely eligible for Aéroplan accumulation, so there should be no limitation on their accrual for CPlus.

If you bought from a travel agent, this chunk of text is likely a disclaimer that they throw into all itineraries to cover their derrieres.

Never heard of such a restriction even on a Q-class fare, only on consolidator and other "unpublished" fares. Your price is an extremely good one -- about $1,000 Cdn is generally the seat sale low season fare YVR-HKG -- which would likely explain the specific restrictions you've listed. I did think that consolidator tickets had their own fare class diffrent from Q, N or V which are generally the least expensive of the "published" fare classes.

It is not unheard of for all airlines to offer such deeply-discounted fares with these types of restrictions: afterall, you get what you pay for, which is essentially a [n unassigned] seat between New York and Hong Kong, period! In any case, such specific caveats when printed on the ticket or itinerary page will always have precidence over general program rules. And remember, if you bought any discounted economy class fare on CX, you could not collect points on their FF program or AA's, just on Cdn+ which was about the only program to permit such accrual on discounted Asian fares.

I think you've been caught in a sell-off of seats -- which often happens when Canadian- based carriers want to compete with U.S. and other international carriers by offering fares from U.S. centres which are far cheaper than those from Canadian centres -- and should check further with your travel agent who can explain the limitations.

This often happens in the "ethnic" travel market. [Sorry if the term is offensive to some but it is a reality of selling airline tickets to a very lucrative market of people wanting to visit their "home" countries from North America cheaply.] Such ultra-cheap tickets get sold to compete with "home country" carriers which rely on this clientele to fill their 747s each day. This very situation killed AC's Canada/UK/India service, since Air India flooded the market with ultra-cheap tickets through "ethnic" agencies, forcing AC to either complete [and lose money on the route], or leave the market, which is what AC ultimately did.

The fare is consistent with the recent AC/CP seat sale which was selling YYZ-HKG at CAD1099 (which is USD747).

This does not sound like a consolidator situation to me. AC is in the market to pick up scheduled traffic ex-USA to Asia and Europe, not to dump seats in that market. Even if it was, I think Aéroplan allows for accumulation:

"Mileage cannot be accumulated on free tickets, Aeroplan rewards, travel industry discounted tickets or infant tickets."

(From http://www.aircanada.ca/aeroplan/enroll/ap302b.html)

(Travel industry discounted tickets are AD75, ID80, ID50 and the like--not consolidator seats.)

I certainly know people have accumulated Aéroplan miles on tix they have bought through Priceline, which is a consolidator.

Easy solution--call AC, ask for seat assignments and give them your CPlus number. All should be well with the world. Any hiccoughs, just send a copy of the ticket, and the boarding pass stubs to the CPlus centre for retro-credit.

Hello all,

Priceline.com has been the only consolidator I've seen that has a restriction on accumulating FQTV miles.

I would, as AC*SE suggested call Reservations and ask them about seat assignments etc.. If this is a consolidator ticket then there will be a mention of it, and its restrictions on your file.

Otherwise, all published fares and then some, are eligible for FQTV accumulation.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Emp http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Thanks for all the information! This board is great!

Shareholder:

Yes indeed, you are right about the "ethnic" market thing. CP used to market heavily with Chinatown agents and they promote NYC-HKG special packages all the time, something like US$700-900 for a 30-day ticket and 3 nights hotel & transportation etc. But since the takeover, CP does not market in NYC anymore. Looks like AC is trying to gain entry into this market since its huge & extremely profitable.

The AC US$747 Q-fare is very attractive because other airlines such as KL, CI and Aeroflot (none of these airlines I like because of their safety record) offer similar prices. Even UA is more expensive than AC. JL is selling for $670, w/ free stopover in TYO, but its a consolidator T-fare therefore CP mile accrual is not allowed.

So I think flying AC is the best choice for getting CP miles on this route, especially when they are offering double mile bonuses for YYZ-HKG AC9/AC10 segments right now, and most importantly, AC/CP lounge access (its a long flight.)

[This message has been edited by ssw207 (edited 04-26-2000).]

One more thing, Would I be able to use any CP Year 2000 stickers to upgrade on Q-fares?

Thanks for all the help!!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by ssw207 (edited 04-27-2000).]

No, you can't upgrade using CP Year 200 stickers for Q fare.

The only way to upgrade on these deeply discounted fare are to use 1999 CP Black stickers on CP metals.

Thanks for the info Empress http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I'm gonna see if I can "beg" the check-in/gate agent for a blocked seat (or complimentary upgrade) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Update:

Received paper ticket today, the fare code is QKWNF2, ticket restrictions are 'Non Endorsable/CIC*50/300/180 Day Max'. Fare calculation is 'FP Check /FCBULK NYC AC X/YTO AC HKG'. Any clue what this means?

Called AC reservations, they gladly accepted my CP Plus number, and gave me blocked seats (ie the seat next to me is empty and will not be assigned to someone else).

Shouldn't be a problem getting miles on that ticket. I've read that CIC before and there is nothing in there that mentions a restriction on FQTV mile accumulation.

Priceline tickets have been the only ones I've seen so far that have that restriction.

Regarding the seats, what res did was a seat overide. They gave you a "prefered" seat (one thats usually reserved for full fares, elites...etc). If the flight is full, the airport will assign the seat next to you if necessary.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Emp http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Oh, I almost forgot, yes, that is a bulk ticket. Usually the best indication is that there isn't a fare breakdown on the ticket.

Also, you cannot use stickers/certificates on that ticket either. Sorry.

Emp

maybe unrelated and redundant due to end of BA and 1W association with Cdn, but I was rejected for claiming points on a BA flight YYZ-LHR with onward travel to Italy on BA. Upon return home I noticed that my FF number was not on boarding passes so i mailed off to CDN for points. Got a letter back saying sorry - consolidator fares on BA not eligible for points on Cplus.
should i send in to BA and get points on BA?

Of course.

That is, provided BA does not disallow consolidator fares.

Just wondering, can I post trip reports on this board? Since the YYZ-HKG is a new AC/CP route, I want to share the experiences with everyone. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Absolutely... Please do post a trip report.
There's a thread just for Trip reports!

BTW, when will you be going to HK? I will be there in about 2 weeks time.

OK I'll do that.

I'm leaving this Saturday, and will be arriving Monday morning.

One final question, CP Gold members are allowed to bring 4 pieces of luggage either on AC or CP flights right? Thanks.

One final question, CP Gold members are allowed to bring 4 pieces of luggage either on AC or CP flights right? Thanks.

I'm in YYZ right now! Live Report posted to the "Trip Report" thread.

Points are posted on the CP System:

06/05/00 725 Q AIR CANADA
NEW YORK - TORONTO 500 500
06/05/00 9 Q AIR CANADA
TORONTO - HONG KONG 7805
*DOUBLE POINTS* 15610

Thanks for all of those who helped me on this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif