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Domestic upgrade request at the lounge

Domestic upgrade request at the lounge

Old Dec 2, 2015, 6:59 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: AirNZ silver; Qantas Platinum; Emirates Silver.
Posts: 71
Domestic upgrade request at the lounge

Hi all, just want to hear what your experiences are when requesting upgrade at the Qantas lounge for domestic flights.

i fly mostly from Cairns so I can only speak of my experience from here. I know that from experience, when I rock up to the lounge here and ask for a points upgrade to business, more than 9 out of 10 times there is an unwillingness to even look at the computer to check, and the default answer is just about always "oh that route is usually busy and business is always full". So over time I learn to look at the business seats availability before I show up, so I can tell them I know there are seats available, and only then they will begrudgingly look at the system for me.

so today I did the same, but the dragon lady behind the desk told me there are seats available (just by looking at a piece of paper next to her) but only if I pay for the upgrade and couldn't use points because they are different class tickets, which I never heard of before. Just wondering for people in the know, is there any truth to this? She was on a social call and I thought it was more a case of her wanting to get back to the call rather than do her job which was to help customer.

oh, before anyone asks, I usually try to request upgrade before I fly, but sometimes I only book the flights with less than 24hours before flight time so couldn't request it online.


Would love to hear your experience. Thank you.
soulighter is offline  
Old Dec 2, 2015, 11:07 pm
  #2  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Perth
Programs: QFF WP
Posts: 560
Originally Posted by soulighter
Hi all, just want to hear what your experiences are when requesting upgrade at the Qantas lounge for domestic flights.

i fly mostly from Cairns so I can only speak of my experience from here. I know that from experience, when I rock up to the lounge here and ask for a points upgrade to business, more than 9 out of 10 times there is an unwillingness to even look at the computer to check, and the default answer is just about always "oh that route is usually busy and business is always full". So over time I learn to look at the business seats availability before I show up, so I can tell them I know there are seats available, and only then they will begrudgingly look at the system for me.

so today I did the same, but the dragon lady behind the desk told me there are seats available (just by looking at a piece of paper next to her) but only if I pay for the upgrade and couldn't use points because they are different class tickets, which I never heard of before. Just wondering for people in the know, is there any truth to this? She was on a social call and I thought it was more a case of her wanting to get back to the call rather than do her job which was to help customer.

oh, before anyone asks, I usually try to request upgrade before I fly, but sometimes I only book the flights with less than 24hours before flight time so couldn't request it online.


Would love to hear your experience. Thank you.
If they have a chair available my success rate on requesting an upgrade is 100%. If they say they can not guarantee catering my selection of the upgrade drops back to 0%.

If they have no chair available my success rate is 0%.

While I have had 1 OP Up in the past 10 years on Qantas they are happy, willing and able to take my points to upgrade

(The above obviously relates to DOM only)
seat_4D is offline  
Old Dec 3, 2015, 12:56 am
  #3  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: New Zealand
Programs: NZ Elite, QF Platinum (LTS), VA Platinum
Posts: 1,671
I did an on departure upgrade in lounge from PER. The lady was super helpful and excited and we just got chatting about the new seats and Perth's new lounge. She's been the nicest QF lounge agent I've met.

Have to admit I was slightly confused about the process and was about to head to the gate to check the plane had the new seats and she was like "I can check that for you here!" And we just rolled from there.
NZbutterfly is offline  
Old Dec 3, 2015, 1:58 am
  #4  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Perth
Programs: QFF WP
Posts: 560
Originally Posted by NZbutterfly
I did an on departure upgrade in lounge from PER. The lady was super helpful and excited and we just got chatting about the new seats and Perth's new lounge. She's been the nicest QF lounge agent I've met.

Have to admit I was slightly confused about the process and was about to head to the gate to check the plane had the new seats and she was like "I can check that for you here!" And we just rolled from there.
Perth's J lounge staff have been particularly delightful since it opened. See how long the new car smell lasts, but so far it appears they cant do enough to help.
seat_4D is offline  
Old Dec 5, 2015, 9:35 am
  #5  
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Join Date: May 2001
Location: Katoomba (Blue Mountains)
Programs: Mucci
Posts: 8,083
Originally Posted by seat_4D
Perth's J lounge staff have been particularly delightful since it opened. See how long the new car smell lasts, but so far it appears they cant do enough to help.
I've always found that with PER, about six years ago I rocked up with my Sydney Swans member cap on, and one of the dragons looked at me and said "You're not coming in here". Her colleague laughed and said "Ignore her, she's a West Coast member" (Sydney had beaten West Coast the previous evening).

Wouldn't get such friendly banter anywhere else I regularly fly (with the possible exception of ADL).

Dave
thadocta is offline  
Old Dec 5, 2015, 9:38 pm
  #6  
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Cairns, Australia
Posts: 924
Originally Posted by soulighter
Hi all, just want to hear what your experiences are when requesting upgrade at the Qantas lounge for domestic flights.

i fly mostly from Cairns so I can only speak of my experience from here. .
I have extensive experience travelling out of Cairns over the last 14 years, notably to SYD and BNE, with emphasis on BNE in more recent times, almost entirely as a Platinum and for one year as a Platinum One.

There was a period when there would be multiple empty seats in business class despite requesting an upgrade. Eventually, the truth came out - QF were disinclined to load catering to cover the possibility of an upgrading customer, so basically f--k off customer: we're QF and we're gonna save a few measly dollars by not risking over catering a flight whilst totally pissing you off and denying you op[portunity to use up your points...(bear in mind that the liability of those QF points only shows on the books when you actually redeem the points so QF has little incentive to let you redeem).

More recently, I've watched the loads carefully up to flight and have paid the $500 for business class anyway CNS-BNE just to avoid the stupidity of it all...(CNS has enjoyed healthy competition with the aggressive pricing of VA bringing a CNS-BNE fare down from an arrogant QF rip off $1000 odd to around $500 one way business! Thank you VA.).

...now the pattern is that when there are empty seats they are invariably taken by staff...


...when I was P1 I would book into the front row and was pretty sure they'd keep an empty seat free next to me in row 1: more often than not a staff member would end up sitting next to me - typically half the cabin is staff....(this is a mental practice by QF - why oh why not price the seats to fill the cabin with paying passengers?!)

...so, here's your twofold problem...(1) the airline caters to the minimum spec sand would rather travel with a seat not going to an upgrading passenger to avoid a few dollars of meal cost, and (2) lets staff on before upgrading customers on many occasions...

...the system was supposed to have changed a few years ago...others can claim or counter claim...but I have personally observed staff being checked onto flights well in advance of the time that they were supposed to be (thus denying customers first access)...

...for a while, being such as regular traveller, I "befriended" one or two of the more established lounge staff and they were most excellent in using their magical powers to solicit complimentary upgrades, so I put their names forward for customer service awards.

...bottom line...depending on your sector, certainly the CNS-BNE is very well priced in business anyway (just pay for business anyway) and obviously if QF ain't meeting your expectations, VA also has a very respectable lounge in CNS and equivalent timetable.

..and sometimes giving the lounge "dragons" the benefit of the doubt can pay off (not that I'm suggesting you are anything other than politely professional) - the local staff I have spoken to are usually on the side of the customer in the face of the asinine management policies of the airline which are far from customer friendly and a certain CEO doesn't win any favours with his dismissive and rude attitude towards the local staff at CNS from what I've been told.

Note all my comments refer to Cairns per the OP's specific situation - I make no comment about PER, etc...and before the QF sycophants get their self righteous noses out of joint in a rush to defend the airline, I know the difference between duty and non duty staff

Last edited by Platy; Dec 5, 2015 at 9:53 pm
Platy is offline  
Old Dec 6, 2015, 2:04 pm
  #7  
og
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP/LTG | UA P
Posts: 13,518
Not just staff filling seats, but also ID family/friends who enjoy QFs generosity in the front end seats (one inparticular who is not quiet on "buying" an ID ticket for peanuts and expecting the airport staff to do the upgrade.
og is offline  

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