Originally Posted by
nomadabroad
My question relates so why they’ve only opened up all new bookings to a non-Avios earning fare code regardless of Lite/Basic/Flex fares on the MH website.
So if I want to buy a fully flex ticket at the moment I could only get a Q fare code from the MH website regardless of the fare bucket which earns nothing. The only way around this as you said is to call a TA to manually put you on a fare code that earns Avios.
This is non-standard practice amongst OW carriers - you buy the cheapest ticket on BA/AY it would still earn TP/Avios. You buy the most expensive flex Y fare on any OW carrier it would always be on a fare code that earns TP/Avios. So why is it so different with MH? Why buy the most expensive MH Y flex fare then if it earns you zero Avios? Doesn’t this dis-incentivise people from flying MH if earning avios is of importance to you then?
Best to stop using the generic term "Y" to refer to Economy as a whole, because it's misleading in this context where the individual RBDs are important.
Let's be clear here: for
£700, you are not purchasing a Y fare, but an O fare as you say. You're paying a small premium to get flexible perks on an O fare. That's not the same as buying "the most expensive flex Y fare", which costs far more than
£700. You'd earn 100% on a Y fare (regardless of fare brand), so it's incorrect to say it earns nothing at BAEC.
Not sure why the insistence on referring to "standard" OW practice. Just because BA does it their way, doesn't mean every other OW carrier should. MH lets you add a small premium to get a fully refundable ticket with extra baggage allowance, even at their lowest fares. If you're OWE, you'd still get baggage allowance on MH's HBO fares. You get neither of those things with BA. I could ask the same thing - why does BA do things differently?
Most people who book MH tickets online just want the cheapest fare, which is what the website prioritizes here. They think about things like change fees and baggage allowance. Avios earnings, not so much.
The people who
do count their TP earnings down to a T are probably sophisticated enough to tell their TAs (or ITA Matrix) exactly what they want.