mattack4000

It appears Qantas is dropping the 747 and moving to the 787. With that announcement, I guess I need to plan for new seats. Does anyone know when it will be reflected so I can seat my family together?

Thanks

Mwenenzi

What route & what dates?
Just look at the "manage my booking" from time to time.
The B747's will not disappear over night. Do not over think this long announced change. B747's are being retired, over time, by many airlines

https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/me...r-destination/

nsx

Ouch. Less than 24 hours ago I paid $120 RT for a window+aisle pair of seats near the rear of the 747 for next February, on a ticket I bought 11 days ago during the flash sale specifically because I loved the QF 747 seat comfort I experienced in 2018. (Quicker, cheaper flights to NZ were available on competitors using 2-engine aircraft.)

How screwed am I? The 787 appears not to have a window-aisle pair other than the last row, which has limited recline and will probably be blocked out anyway. The only window-aisle pairs are in premium economy. Short of that there is no way Qantas can provide me with what I bought: a window and aisle seat next to each other.

What should I ask Qantas to do for me in this situation? Their response could keep me loving Qantas or it could create the opposite feeling.

Mwenenzi

What route? Link-->Best window-aisle pair at rear of QF 747?
Just look at the "manage my booking" from time to time.
No airline guarantees specific seats or aircraft

Dave Noble

Is your flight definitely on a route that will no longer be operated using a 747?

If so, if you cannot get seats that you like, perhaps ask for the seat fee to be refunded

If you purchased in USA and it is < 24 hours, you can cancel for a full refund without penalty

nsx

It's SFO-SYD which apparently (and which I did not know) is the last transpac route still using the 747. I know that tickets are refundable up to 24 hours, but I've never heard that about ancillary fees. Are you sure?

The terms say that I have to wait until after the flight to ask for a refund. (I don't mind the wait if there's a chance for, say, window and aisle seats with a blocked middle.) No refund if they upgrade us to Premium Economy, which is more than fair. It seems that I will have to wait at least until the seat map changes from the current 747 to 787. As of now, customers are still being encouraged to purchase 747 seats which will not fly in 2020.

Mwenenzi

You have a zero chance of a free upgrade to PE (a separate class 2, 3 or X times the cost of economy)
Airlines are not selling seats on a specific aircraft . They sell transport from AAA to BBB.
You have to do a few clicks to see the aircraft type. And most people would not know or care if they are flying a B747 or B707 or A380

Dave Noble

There is zero chance of getting an upgrade to premium economy just because there are no seat groups with just 2 seats. There is also zero chance of getting window+aisle and a 3rd seat blocked

If you cancel within 24 hours, my understanding was that it would have to give a full refund including fees , but I could be wrong

You have a short time to address it if thr aeroplane type is not to your satisfaction, but after the 24 hours is past, you will just have to accept whatever seats that you can get in economy when it changes to a 787

looking at the seat map for Qantas's 787 configuration , it appears that the very last row has 2 seats by window rather than 3 ; seatguru suggests that these seats have limited recline though

People aren't being encouraged to buy 747 seats, they are being sold seats on a flight to/from Australia ; Qantas doesn't commit to an aeroplane type

nsx

Yes I know all that. I'm not the typical customer.

They have every right to screw me. After the flight I can get a refund of the $120 ancillary fee for seating they didn't deliver.

But think about it. I paid an extra $200 per person in fare for the 747 (rather than another airline's 787 flight through AKL) and $60 per person in seat fees. That's $500 more I paid, meaning that the QF trip was worth MORE than the extra $500 to me. A refund of $120 will leave me upset. QF is within their rights to refund me $120 and wash their hands of me and anyone who takes my advice on travel. I believe that would not be good business if other reasonable options are available.

A company can win a customer for life by solving a tough problem. I understand that QF needs to change equipment to reduce costs, and that for whatever reason they did not figure this out before offering seats for sale. Stuff happens. I just hope they are willing to go beyond their legal obligations in order to mitigate the damage to my plans.

Incidentally to the person who wrote that QF can't fill the 747, I can report that my March 2018 SFO-SYD flights on the 747 were 100% full. They were nevertheless very comfortable, which I why I chose exactly the same flights for 2020.

Dave Noble

There is nothing for it to mitigate - if is providing non stop transportation from USA to Australa - it is not charging a premium for travel on an old 747

If it takes you from SFO-SYD , whether on a 747 or 787 or anything else, it has done what it committed to

if you expect more , you will be disappointed

If you don't want to travel on that service, you are in luck that you have the right to cancel without penalty ; if you had booked a day earlier or found out a day later, this option wouldn't be available to you

nsx

I know they aren't charging more for the 747. I said that I paid more for the 747. I know that they are allowed to change to a 727 island hopper if they want to, but it's reasonable to expect no change.

I bought the fare 11 days ago. That's not refundable. I paid for specific seats yesterday. That's refundable only after the trip if the terms are accurate.

Read what I wrote. You and I agree that QF is not required to do anything more for me than refund my seat fee afterwards.

I believe that QF should do more as good customer service. I'm open to what that might be. Their performance on this will determine my opinion of their suitability for my future trip purchases. It seems you believe that NO airline would do anything for me and that most would refuse to refund the seat fee as well. You may be correct, but I would like to believe otherwise. I hope for better result. I will report here after the flight.

Dave Noble

I didn't state what other airlines would do - it also doesn't matter that you chose that flight because of the aeroplane type since it never contracted based on that reason

AA, for example, in its international conditions of carriage allows for penalty free cancellation should the type of aeroplane be changed

Qantas details in its seat selection terms at Advance Seat Selection Terms and Conditions | Qantas

for a booking on Qantas, I woud expect that you will get exactly what the terms detail that you are entitled to in term 13; if you are hoping for a free upgrade or a free extra seat, I cannot see that your hopes will be realised

you could get in quickly and book one of the 2 pairs offered on the 787

nsx

The website just changed the seat map to 787. My $30 aisles became middles. The last row is blocked. I will call Qantas and see what they say.

Edited to add: I changed them to window+aisle in a 3-seat row. The middle is not blocked, but I will politely explain and ask for that at the airport. If the middle is occupied I will request a refund of the seat fees because I didn't receive the 2-seat section that I paid for. If the middle goes out empty, I will have gotten what I paid for and more.

If only I had procrastinated one day on the seating purchase I would have skipped it entirely and saved a lot of bother.

Mwenenzi

I doubt if that will succeed as you have selected seats, even if not what you originally wanted.
Do you have screen shots or emails of the B747 window aisle seats as first selected?

While not for situation , [email protected] is an email that does get a real QF person answering,

nsx

I gave up and asked for a refund of my $120. I did not have to wait until after the flight. With 3-3-3 and no 2-seat options, random seats will be good enough.