Jan 13, 2018, 9:43 pm
Premium Fare Deals | 2018 edition
Aug 17, 2018, 8:46 am
#901
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: BA
Posts: 7
General tip: Qatar through BA website
I appreciate that this might not be specific enough but I've noticed that Qatar fares loaded onto the BA website, thanks to their codeshare agreement, are often more than 50% cheaper. We just bagged ourselves some Qatar flights to Bali in business for £1,800 return. The exact same flights on the Qatar website are in excess of £4,500.
Aug 17, 2018, 9:23 am
#902
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Manila, Philippines (MNL)
Programs: BAEC Gold [>20k Lifetime TPs] | Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond [as is Mrs PtF] | Various Others
Posts: 6,156
I appreciate that this might not be specific enough but I've noticed that Qatar fares loaded onto the BA website, thanks to their codeshare agreement, are often more than 50% cheaper. We just bagged ourselves some Qatar flights to Bali in business for £1,800 return. The exact same flights on the Qatar website are in excess of £4,500.
) are you sure that you are not only comparing the exact same flights, but also the exact same fare class? Nobody in their right mind would pay GBP4.5k + to fly QR J LON DPS and vv unless they were desperate. Is it possibly not the case that you have booked an I-class fare, while the fare you are comparing with on the QR website is C or J-class?
Aug 17, 2018, 9:47 am
#903
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: BA
Posts: 7
It's completely possible, yes. But the point would still be that the fare (class) found on BA was not available on QR so the net effect is that you fly the same travel class for less money. That was the essence of my post.
Aug 17, 2018, 9:54 am
#904
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Switzerland
Programs: AY+ Platinum, SK Gold, BAEC Silver, airbaltic VIP, Radisson VIP
Posts: 6,532
Aug 17, 2018, 11:37 am
#905
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 20
I appreciate that this might not be specific enough but I've noticed that Qatar fares loaded onto the BA website, thanks to their codeshare agreement, are often more than 50% cheaper. We just bagged ourselves some Qatar flights to Bali in business for £1,800 return. The exact same flights on the Qatar website are in excess of £4,500.
Aug 17, 2018, 11:48 am
#906
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: BA
Posts: 7
There is no skill to it, it's just a matter of (luck and) looking for a flight to a destination to which BA does not fly (but Qatar does) on the BA booking page.
An example of a flight from LGW to DPS (via Doha) on 5 March 2019 returns the following for business class on Qatar flights QR328 connecting to QR962:
BA website - cheapest £948
Qatar website - cheapest £2,235
As noted above, I appreciate they might be different fare classes but to the common traveller, this makes no difference as it is still a business class fare. What is clear is that BA may have on its website cheaper fares for the same QR flight class of travel than Qatar Airways on its own website.
I guess the point is to always check the prices of QR flights on the BA website too?
An example of a flight from LGW to DPS (via Doha) on 5 March 2019 returns the following for business class on Qatar flights QR328 connecting to QR962:
BA website - cheapest £948
Qatar website - cheapest £2,235
As noted above, I appreciate they might be different fare classes but to the common traveller, this makes no difference as it is still a business class fare. What is clear is that BA may have on its website cheaper fares for the same QR flight class of travel than Qatar Airways on its own website.
I guess the point is to always check the prices of QR flights on the BA website too?
Last edited by Cadmus; Aug 17, 2018 at 11:56 am
Aug 17, 2018, 12:01 pm
#907
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 71
Aug 17, 2018, 12:05 pm
#908
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: BA
Posts: 7
No, this is a genuine example (the example is of one leg of the journey only but the difference in price applies to a full return journey too).
BA fare
QR fare (same connecting flight)
BA fare
QR fare (same connecting flight)
Aug 17, 2018, 12:08 pm
#909
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Munich, Algarve, Sussex or S.F Bay Area
Programs: Mucci, BA Gold, A3*Gold, AA Plat, HH Gold, IHG Plat Amb, Marriott Plat
Posts: 4,164
The flights may be on the same aircraft but BA control inventory for the BA code and QR for their code. Each may have different attitudes to revenue management and control availability accordingly.
This is actually a good result as you get to ride the superior service but get the advantages of additional Avios for being a BA code.
This is actually a good result as you get to ride the superior service but get the advantages of additional Avios for being a BA code.
Aug 17, 2018, 12:12 pm
#910
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: BA
Posts: 7
Yes, I have flown QR before and appreciate this is a good deal. I was specifically looking for a QR flight this time and I am just sharing the revelation that sometimes it's worth looking for QR flights on the BA website...
Aug 17, 2018, 3:08 pm
#911
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Manila, Philippines (MNL)
Programs: BAEC Gold [>20k Lifetime TPs] | Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond [as is Mrs PtF] | Various Others
Posts: 6,156
An example of a flight from LGW to DPS (via Doha) on 5 March 2019 returns the following for business class on Qatar flights QR328 connecting to QR962:
BA website - cheapest £948
Qatar website - cheapest £2,235
As noted above, I appreciate they might be different fare classes but to the common traveller, this makes no difference as it is still a business class fare.
BA website - cheapest £948
Qatar website - cheapest £2,235
As noted above, I appreciate they might be different fare classes but to the common traveller, this makes no difference as it is still a business class fare.
Select ‘Flexible ticket’ instead of ‘Lowest Price’ at ‘Ticket type’ and see the impact it has on the BA fare. What your example does show is that - for this particular route at this particular time (next week could be different) - BA has I class availability on QR metal where QR does not. I congratulate you for making that discovery - and it is indeed a useful tip.
While you have secured some good, although by no means excellent, QR fares, it remains the case that the basis for your comparison, as described in your initial post, isn’t ‘apples to apples’; they are not the exact same flights.
Aug 17, 2018, 3:53 pm
#912
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: RTW
Posts: 677
When do two people seated next to each other at 30,000ft think they are not on the same flight? When one's a Flyertalker and he knows he's in a different bucket!
Anyway, thanks Cadmus for the sort of useful find that makes this forum so useful!
Anyway, thanks Cadmus for the sort of useful find that makes this forum so useful!
Aug 17, 2018, 4:51 pm
#913
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 3,190
I would say that they are the EXACT SAME FLIGHTS, however, the conditions of the tickets for those flights can be significantly different. I won't get different ground/air service (provided there aren't IROPS) based on what booking class was used. (And I know there are caveats on that statement, but in general, and in this case, I believe it to be true.)
rb211.
rb211.
Aug 17, 2018, 5:04 pm
#914
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: London
Posts: 17,007
I think we are probably not far apart in our views, but I see this come up over and over again, so I'll regurgitate some thoughts on the matter.1. If the passenger has no want of flexibility, as most in this thread don't, it is extraneous to the comparison. Suppose that the QR fares came with an extra helping of baked beans in the in flight meal, whereas the BA fares are in every respect equivalent but don't come with a second helping of baked beans, and are £2k cheaper. I don't like baked beans, so I can discard that element and continue with the price comparison. And that's totally reasonable for anyone else who doesn't need extra baked beans on board.
2. The fare buckets do not set the change conditions, they only manage availability. Categories 16 and 33 in the fare rules sets out the change conditions. It's perfectly possible for a BA I- fare to be more changeable than a QR C- fare on the same metal.
3. BA and QR do not file fares permitting travel on the same metal at the same level for vaguely comparable change conditions anyway.
4. BA and QR do not have identical change conditions. The fees for changes and the conditions under which changes can be made are quite different even at comparable price points. If we follow the logic of "we can only compare like fares", we would be unable to compare any prices at all, except fully refundable fares.
Last edited by Calchas; Aug 17, 2018 at 5:10 pm
Aug 17, 2018, 9:21 pm
#915
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: SFO, LON
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, Bonvoy Tit, Hilton Dia etc etc
Posts: 2,354
And with all that, I'd say 948 for LGW-DPS is not a terrible deal, regardless of what flight it really is 
There have been some really nice QR deals recently ex-UK, but DPS is a popular destination and I haven't seen this kind of price for it from the UK before with OneWorld.
There have been some really nice QR deals recently ex-UK, but DPS is a popular destination and I haven't seen this kind of price for it from the UK before with OneWorld.