it isn't a dirty word, it is factual
If you buy a flexible ticket, then one of the benefits is to be able to change flights at any time with no fees ( just any fare difference )
A discounted ticket does not permit this; I expect that the agents here a lot of times a day for nor permitted changes on day of departure
Lots of people do buy flexible tickets if they want flexibility
If you are flying on QF from MEL-SYD, QF will take you on the flight that you have booked, Unless you have a flexible ticket ( indicated as FLEX in the booking column) , it will not allow you to travel on a different flight
( there are exceptions - e.g. a flight gets cancelled or there are other events where QF decides to allow passsengers flexibility to deal with the situation )
QF does not do standby at all - any change is a confirmed change; if it is permitted by the fare purchased, it will be done easily
If you have a through ticket from MEL-SYD onto AA, if booked through QF then QF will permit changes in accordance with the fare rules of the ticket otherwise refer you back to where you purchased it If you do misconnect it will be responsible to get you onwards to the ticketed destination
If this is 2 separate tickets, then it will be simply down to AA how it wants to treat the no-show situation; if you have this and are concerned that you have not left enough time to make the connection, might be a good idea to rebook onto an earlier flight ; discount tickets can be changed for $99 - details of what is permitted are at
https://www.qantas.com/regions/amade...ED1JQ_SUMMARY/