WP = Platinum Frequent Flyer!

Many of us Platinums aren't in the habit of flying first to Europe! In fact a careful itinerary using AA upgrade fares can secure Platinum for around $3,000-$5,000 annual travel (since the scheme is based on credits, not miles). Many are simply flying in economy domestically.

Access to exit rows was a significant (unpublished) benefit of being Platinum. Along with certain other "lost" benefits (such as a huge reduction in luggage allowance and posibly the upcoming changes to seat pre-booking), it appears as this is yet another dilution in customer service standards for Qantas frequent flyers.

Clearly, in the Joyce dynasty, short term (possibly short sighted) accounting outweighs considerations of securing customer loyalty, which is just what some of us expected given his background in LCC mentality, which is totally dollar driven rather than customer driven.

Sorry is it a written benefit that WP have free access to the exit row seats? If so where is it written?
I have spoken to many an agent who stated that exit row seats are only available allocation at the time of check in, admittedly to a QFNZ call centre person.
I have also been told that the seat request is not a guarantee seat placement so a WP could be chucked out if a punter was willing to pay for the seat.

To me it seems to make perfect sense and could be good at encouraging travellers to use QF. If flying a route such as SYD-LHR, being able to guarantee a decent legroom is a good encouragement to use QF

I would suggest waiting till details of the implementation are revealed before shouting that the sky is falling in

Dave

I used to be one of those. In fact, I was an almost-exclusively-discount-economy flying WP who self-funded all of my travelling.

I'm now a self-funded WP who does a mixture of classes. My main problem is that QF Y+ seats do not suit my body and I find it painful (literally), so Y+ is not an option. When I don't want to pay for a J seat, exit row in Y was a really good option.

Interesting that after years of spouting the same old rhetoric about being able to sit in exit rows (ie. physical ability to assist in an emergency etc.) QF now see it as a money spinner.

Depending on the details of any such plan, anyone should be able to access the exit rows, and with the advent of online check-in there won't be a CIA able to assess the eligibility of anyone having booked a seat of this type.

But remember:

At Qantas, your safety is our priority

So, I suppose the most relevant question is: if you can't get exit Y, don't like QF's Y+ and don't want to pay for J - what will you do? What do you do now - do you check availability before you purchase a Y fare?

(Not having a go, am genuinely interested as to what you'd consider from here...)

BD

Yes there will; when they check the boarding pass. They can easily do the same as AA does and when someone presents a BP, the reader bleeps if it is for an exit seat with a display to indicate that it is a exit row pass and agent then has to confirm that the passenger is ok to sit there

Dave

I have never had any recent situation of not being able to get an exit row seat on QF long haul when I requested it (I'm a WP), so I can't comment on what I have done.

However, this is what I would do once the new system is introduced and if I do decide to fly Qantas long haul (which is doubtful considering that I am rather annoyed about the Platinum benefit erosion - I've voted with my feet from SIA due to unsatisfactory customer services, and I'd also do so with Qantas if I am unhappy about something substantial enough, which is the case for me with this situation):

1. I'd check the exit row seat availability where possible before booking.
2. If available, I'd book the ticket right away and pay whatever to get the exit row.
3. If not available, I'd book another carrier (perhaps BA), probably premium economy or J, unless BA WT exit row is available, in which case I'll take that, if I am feeling like travelling in Y.
4. If I cannot establish the exit row seat availability, then I would do 3.

There have been some rather complicated situations as a result of unsuitable pay-for-exit-row passengers on some LCCs (e.g. check-in and gate agents letting them through, and cabin crew needing to deal with the situation which resulted in quite a carry-on).

But then again, I've also seen unsuitable high status pax being seated in exit row and cabin crew appeared not to dare do anything about it, so it is not a unique situation with paid exit row, I guess.

On the odd occasion I have to jump on a DJ flight I also will sit in the QP instead (and I have a Gold DJ card).

Paying for Exit Rows, I wonder if that is just for people that want extra leg room... what about people that are literally 6' 6"+ who really "need" the extra room, as opposed to some of us that just "like" the extra leg room.

I alike this to past threads about a "fat tax"...

Quite a contrast with NZ who have been busy making more seats with more legroom available, for free to elites and koru club on short and mediumhaul.

Thanks for that, LTN Phobia.

Interesting .... I'm guessing QF have enough research to suggest that premium pax will pay for exit over going to another carrier and this is precisely what will happen.

BD

That is not the case with me. It is likely that if Qantas introduces 'we'll sell exit row to anyone, at the time of booking, regardless of status', they will lose my long haul business completely.

Given that many WPs don't book so well in advance (myself included) and therefore it is quite likely that they are gone by the time they book their ticket, it is quite likely that the outcome is I won't be flying QF anyway.

Besides, I do not really want to remain loyal to a company that penny pinch rather than reward loyalty, because I will then wonder where-else they are penny pinching. General trend towards short-termism will well and truly put me off an airline.

$160 AUD for what QF is touting is a hell of a lot more than $50 SGD (i.e. $44 AUD) than for what SQ charge.





When will the penny pinching stop? Even UA only charges for E+ access which to be fair to them provides a hell of a lot more than QF or other airlines do, and most importantly that is access for a whole year (and is free to UA elites).

I'd like it to be 'a lot' enough to put most people off buying it, to be honest, though, but I'd like extra frequent flyer points and SCs for it.

I don't think $160 would be enough to put quite a lot of people off. Since I dislike QF PE, I'd be better off paying $300 each way more to get economy class exit row (aisle, not middle though - I wouldn't pay $250 extra for the middle exit row seat) - $300 each way should be enough to put quite a lot of people off, meaning less competition for me