tm84

Hi all - any seasoned ex-London travellers...do you think it is more likely to get an upgrade on QF1 to Sydney 14/12 or QF10 to Perth 15/12? I haven't renewed my expertflyer subscription but can see the seat map on the QF1 in business has only two blocked seats but the QF10 on 15/12 has 6 blocked seats and 7 free seats on the seat map. I know they aren't that reliable but I'm looking for the best chance of an upgrade...I'll be on economy flex fare as a platinum. Thanks!

Dave Noble

Looking at availability, I wouldn't be holding much hope of a mileage upgrade on either.

If I wa trying either, I would go for QF2 since the A380 has a lot more business class seats and more premium economy seats than the B787 - plus potential that someone might decide to try wasting miles to upgrade to 1st

With availability for sale being zero in 1st on !F2 and zero on both flights in buisiness and premium economy, if you are booking an economy ticket, I would be expecting to travel in economy

tm84

Another question…if anyone doesn’t mind answering…

If I took say QF81 from SYD to SIN then hopped out to have a quick drink with friends then jumped on QF1 to LHR would I be disadvantaged with upgrades? I was wondering if you took QF1 the whole way and requested upgrades from SYD that you’re more likely to get them? Or I suppose some people may just upgrade SYD to SIN and then those seats become available.

Thanks again!

og

(Deleted - wrong thread)

Dave Noble

You will be either disadvanteged, advantaged or not affected depending on whta the loads are
If you book QF1 SYD-LHR, then you will be in queue for upgrade from SYD-LHR which you will either get or not get
if you book QF81/QF1 , then you will need availability for upgrade SIN-LHR which is a different queue
If you do decide to take 81/1 , then you are adding the unnecesary risk of misconnect if there is a problem with 81 plus you need 2 upgrades to clear

To upgrade SYD-LHR requires an insane 71,900 friom flexible economy or 130,800 from economy
SYD-SIN is 29,900 or 54,500 plus SIN-LHR is 42000 or 76300

Considering that a business award ticket is 144,600 , the upgrade costs from discount economy look terrible anyway.

Koru Flyer

If on QF1 (or any flight with a transit), you can also request that if the upgrade does not go through for the first leg, that you can upgrade on the second leg. So you will also be in the same queue as those whose upgrade did not clear.

I do not believe that QF will though upgrade someone on the first leg if the second leg cannot be upgraded at that time. i.e. upgrade SYD/SIN but leave SINLHR leg in economy. I do not believe they will do that unless you are on separate flight numbers. So you will have that benefit - happy to be corrected there.

I echo Dave's comment that the upgrade costs are terrible, but if you are points rich and cannot get an award seat then it is a good use of points. Or the other way to look at it is that awards are so cheap being just over the upgrade cost ;-)

KF

Dave Noble

I wouldn't say that Qantas's award costs are cheap either - the rates are terrible compared to say AA awards which would be 87,500 for Australia to Europe - plus no fares disguised as taxes either

Upgrading from the full economy fare at 71,000 points is the only upgrade that I would consder - from discount it is just too overproced

If booked on SYD-LHR as a single coupon, I didn;t think that it allowed requesting an award for part of the journey

Koru Flyer

Dave,

You missed the ;-) I think we agree that QF is a terrible programme. That said, I am not sure of another mainstream program for AU residents where you can spend a few months cycling credit cards, buying some wine and walking a few steps and end up with an easy 500k

I would not personally stump up the cost of a full economy ticket to save 70k miles or whatever, and I would be curious about my employer if they did that.

There is a check box when you book an upgrade on a flight with a transit stop whether you agree to waitlist for an upgrade on the second leg (e.g. SIN/LHR) if your request for the full flight on the same flight number (e.g. SYD/LHR) was not successful. You cannot to my knowledge only request the second segment by itself as this is more of a fall back. And they will not upgrade SYD/SIN if they cannot confirm SIN/LHR at the same time. So you run a risk of loosing both upgrades.

KF

Dave Noble

The difference in fare between K and H can be quite small. for LHR-SYD r/t the difference between K and H classes r/t if GBP150. Depending on the lowest class available at time of booking, it may be worth paying the extra

From the lowest base economy fare of GBP700 there is a fair difference between it and the GBP1463 for H class ( in March for example ) , but even there, is it worth paying GBP370 to save 59,000 points - but of course it is a gamble on getting the upgrade

I think that I will stick to 87,500 and be able to get the actual business ticket from AA on a decent carrier such as QR or EY

Koru Flyer

I cannot see the value in paying extra on the chance of an upgrade, esp. now. Might as well go to Crown, I think the odds would better. As you rightly say, ignoring the QF lottery and going straight for the full award ticket is best.