Dave Noble

If you went with what Qantas had priovided, there would be no stress of making changes, no sitting on hold for 2.5 hours , trying to find award availability back

Considering how other cancellations of partner awards get handled, it seems that Qantas handled it very well - numerous reports from other carriers of just being without a flight ; rebooking passengers on flights with a 1 hour difference in departure for such a route seems very well handled

I suspect that if you had written in afterwards looking for mileage rebate , you would likely have been successful

Mwenenzi

While your [ F ] destination is SYD are also flights to BNE & MEL. Worth a try?
With QF only the A380 has F, but B787 may be best that you can get
The more changes you make/try the more risk that it goes pear shaped. Mixing airlines/ffp's makes it harder.
VA flight SYD to where leaving how many hours after arrival (= the risks of separate tickets)

Good luck !

cmtlatitudes

Wow, I am so sorry this happened to you. It sounds like QF is being pretty stand up in trying to help. Any F flight within a week is reasonable. Many airlines would just say 'sorry, it's a partner award - figure it out with AA' & wipe their hands of it.

Still, it's a big disappointment and hassle. Maybe the one good thing that can be said, is at least you're in So Cal already, dealing with this from there. Not having flown in on a positioning flight. I'm envisioning myself in your situation and would not be happy.

FWIW - I totally get why you'd postpone, with a partner F award ticket, until the A380's available at least one direction. Especially with 110 miles on the line. Let us know how it goes. Good Luck!

Mwenenzi

With very few flights and high passenger loads not a lot of options.
NSW, ACT & VIC currently have school holidays and start the new term 24 April----> more families travelling.

happiest_at_40000

It turns out 2 hours 58 min and nothing. Nothing was accomplished but I kept being told they would change me

Ultimately a supervisor came on and said QF controls the flight and I need to call them

I took a break and am now on hold w QF.

I have no interest in flying DL and as far as getting a mileage reimbursement how would they even do that because DL J isn’t something AA knows about or has a value for. No way I’d take the DL flight w out knowing what I get back.

If QF can get me on tomorrow I can still make it work but looking like for sure going to have to postpone. But it’s worth a shot to talk to QF I feel and see what they are willing to do.

Dave Noble

AA knows the redemption rate for an award from US-AU in Economy, Premium Economy, Business and 1st. If rebooked from 1st to a lower cabin, I cannot imagine that it would be hard to get reimbusement of miles to the lower cabin any more than if rebooked onto a partner of AA

It seems that an annoying change is being turned into something bigger than Ben Hur

Mwenenzi

Did AA offer/suggest/request to put you on the AA flight?
QF will know nothing about AA miles refund for another airline/class of travel. Not in QF's control.
Have you checked (paid) availability to BNE or MEL?

Good luck

happiest_at_40000

AA offered nothing but to cancel it. I mean for 3 hours they were trying and on with their help desk then the OW help desk. I mean looking back at it I dont understand any of it. I should have called QF first but everyone on here always says an award ticket has to be handled by calling the airline who you used miles with, which makes sense.

I am on with QF now and they are being very helpful (after I explained DL One is NOT first class) but ya they are rebooking me but its just 1 day later is the rule thats the max but since tomorrow is full he let me go 1 more day and I got a seat on Saturday. I am still so perplexed by all of this b/c how can QF make a change on an AA award ticket. Also, is it going to show in the AA app? I guess I will find out soon. The interesting thing is I had SYD-MEL leg on this original ticket and didnt even remember I had that because I later decided it made more sense to see SYD first and just go to MEL on VA. So right now on AA app the LAX-SYD QF 12 that was cancelled is not showing and just my SYD-MEL flight is showing for the 22nd, which obviously I dont need.

QF agent is finalizing the override and seems to be handling things. Just have to no change VA flights and hotels & figure out if I can make it home no issues for a decent price on a new date.

I am going to lose my perfect 4A seat though... I am in row 5 in the middle but 5A is showing open but not avail til check in for some reason. He said he will put a request in so I can get it but I mean if anyone buys a ticket then they will get that seat unless their system knows to move my me/my request to A and them to the middle, which I highly doubt. Was hoping to have the A side since everyone says its the best. And 4A with 5A open could have meant sit in 4, sleep in 5. But still all in all this turned out Ok. Now onto VA and hotels and changing the return.

Dont understand why AA wasted 3 hours of my time. AA/OW, someone there keeping me on all that time for absolute nothing.

cmtlatitudes

F in a 3-class A380, to a Premium Economy seat, isn't a minor difference. At least not to me. Huge difference in what the OP purchased and expected. I don't think the OP is overreacting.

If my trip was discretionary, (like anything other than a family funeral), I'd postpone in this situation and sort out other alternatives also. Or cancel outright & wait for the next opportunity, if it came to that.

Dave Noble

In a case of disruption , there is no problem at all with the airline that caused the disruption performing a reissue to another carrier or revalidating to another flight of its own - this is regardless of whether it is an award or revenie ticket
From Europe, the airline has a legal obligation to rebook

It still seems odd to lose 2 days of a trip rather than downgrade to business class

Based on post 53, it seems like the passenger was rebooked into business class given the description of Delta One https://www.delta.com/apac/en/onboar...business-class

Conversely, I would class the 15 hours of travel less important than the 10 days planned of holiday and would suffer in business class

JClasstraveller

Because judging from the OP’s post 33, QF rebooked him into PE and not even D1.

happiest_at_40000

They did you are right... maybe b/c P class is what QF calls their F. I dont even know. I was able to alert them to that or somehow the AA person/OW person did fix that . I will say I was eventually put in DL One. However, thats Business class not First. And I can fly DL any time I want.

Sorry if I caused any confusion on PE Vs. J with DL. It was PE then moved to J but again just not what I paid for, not what I wanted. This is likely a one and only chance to go to Australia. I want to fly QF one of the ways.

happiest_at_40000

I know I am not making some Ben Hurr deal out of this or whatever. 3 diff AA agents were non stop thanking me for how nice & patient I was and couldnt believe I stayed on 3 hours to in the end no avail. Its been a crappy day no doubt. I've done nothing but be on with AA, QF or here on FT.

Dave I know you are one of the long term folks on here and you've suggested stuff that has helped me in the past but sometimes you come off very close minded, only seeing things one way. I also think part of it is maybe b/c you have flown a ton of flights so losing one QF F chance to keep the trip on track is not really a big deal. However, I've never flown QF F, let alone QF at all, let alone gone to Australia. I've spent countless hours on AA trying to get a QF F award. So for me this is a HUGE deal and something that needed to be fixed (flying DL One is not the fix). I'd rather cancel if that was my only option.

cmtlatitudes

All in all, it sounds like a good resolution and an A+ for effort by QF. Just took a bit of time & frustration to get there, as this stuff usually does.

Two days isn't so bad in the scheme of things & you may be able to make it up on the other end, since you're replanning now. The seat is disappointing -- I'm very attached to the window seat -- but you may still get lucky.

happiest_at_40000

Thanks.. I agree. Just cant believe I wasted 3 hours for ZERO with AA. Thats not normal though for the other airline to handle it when it was an AA ticket no? I agree QF was great. Wish I knew to call them sooner.

I am not sure its as much the window as how the A side is so private. 4A was perfect to me. Towards the back for privacy and the option that 5A stayed open for sleeping.

The rep said 5A is open and he noted for me to be put it in it once check in opens. I would imagine everyone in the middle or right side aisle will also want to grab this last A side seat. The window would be cool too.

I have to now fix VA & align hotels right but my larger issue will be what if there is no web special home 2 days later on AA. I have a 65K J ticket on AA. I could fly to HND on QF A330J for 40K and get home on JL for 60K in J it looks open . All in all this wouldnt too bad of a fix and losing out on flying AA is no issue at all lol

If I keep my existing return it would mean having so little time in Melbourne.