losing my business class virginity on QF?

[Albert Hoffman]

first post. be gentle.

hi there, so i've decided to its about time i tried this business class thing for the first time and live it up. i have lots of confusing questions to you guys so please bear with me I usually fly AirAsia X between London and Oz so this whole Qantas freq flyer thing is new to me.
i've done a bit of research and as far as i can tell my options are thus.

OPTION 1
- Get an award bussines class ticket London - Melbs for 128k points.

OPTION 2
- Buy a return economy ticket and try and upgrade to business class with award points.
I have heard that there is only a 50 to 70% chance my request will be approved, is this true? When will they let me know if i can be upgraded, by email beforehand?
If my request is nixed can I turn up at the airport and ask to be upgraded with points or for free ? what are the chances of success? I will have 115k award points is that gold status and does gold status get you upgrades at checkin/boarding???
The qf site says that For International flights, classes B, G, H, K, L, M, S, V are not upgradable. Does that mean if i purchase a walkabout fare, i won't be able to upgrade it to business class..?

Obviously I want to experience the 'real' business class on the airbus 380.

Possible Option 3
- I have read on this site that if one buys a premium economy fare on the 747-400 , one flies the óld business class. Is this still true? If i buy a Prem Econ fare from London to Singarpore/Bangkok on the Boeing do i get to fly Business Class?

Thanks for your time, I've been lurking for a few years so its good to finally post a question. Live Long and Prosper

Flux

[drewbles]

first post. be gentle.

hi there, so i've decided to its about time i tried this business class thing for the first time and live it up. i have lots of confusing questions to you guys so please bear with me I usually fly AirAsia X between London and Oz so this whole Qantas freq flyer thing is new to me.
i've done a bit of research and as far as i can tell my options are thus.

Welcome to AFF!

OPTION 1
- Get an award bussines class ticket London - Melbs for 128k points.

OPTION 2
- Buy a return economy ticket and try and upgrade to business class with award points.
I have heard that there is only a 50 to 70% chance my request will be approved, is this true? When will they let me know if i can be upgraded, by email beforehand?

If you hold no elite status with the QF Frequent Flyer program, this sounds about correct. You will find out if your upgrade has been successful around 5-24 hours prior to boarding.

If my request is nixed can I turn up at the airport and ask to be upgraded with points or for free ? what are the chances of success? I will have 115k award points is that gold status and does gold status get you upgrades at checkin/boarding???

The only way you can upgrade if your upgrade request is declined is to pay the difference in fare from your original to a business class fare, plus any fees and tax changes. Note that you would also need to be booked on an economy class fare that allows changes within 24 hours of scheduled flight departure.

The qf site says that For International flights, classes B, G, H, K, L, M, S, V are not upgradable. Does that mean if i purchase a walkabout fare, i won't be able to upgrade it to business class..?

As I have no idea what a 'walkabout' fare books into, (I'm assuming Q class) I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it's not upgradeable. Upgradeable are usually substantially more expensive than the cheap cheap fares.

Obviously I want to experience the 'real' business class on the airbus 380.

Possible Option 3
- I have read on this site that if one buys a premium economy fare on the 747-400 , one flies the óld business class. Is this still true? If i buy a Prem Econ fare from London to Singarpore/Bangkok on the Boeing do i get to fly Business Class?

It depends on which flight you take and also when. The cabin re-definition is only temporary, and the more recent trend has been to re-define first class to business class, and leave economy and premium economy alone. That could mean though, that if you do use points to purchase a fare, or get upgraded, you may end up in a first class seat on a 747.

Thanks for your time, I've been lurking for a few years so its good to finally post a question. Live Long and Prosper

Flux

Once again, welcome

[harvyk]

Hi Albert Hoffman

Firstly, welcome to AFF...

Second I was in your position this time last year, I wanted to try J (business class) and thought points where going to be a good way about it.

If you do lots of flying on QF (esp between SYD - LHR) then simply put in an upgrade request if your able to, but don't do anything different otherwise you may be paying double or triple what you had too and you still end up in a Y (eccon) seat.

If you don't think you'll do much SYD - LHR flying on QF, purchase the return flight in J with points. (This is what I did to experience J for the first time). That way your guarenteed on getting a J seat.

I'm not sure if your asking if your gold or stating that you are, in either case remember that 115K points means nothing when it comes to status, it's the status credits (which can only be earnt by flying) which decides your status. SG (Gold Status) will certainly put you high in the food chain, but if they can sell a seat rather than giving it away free as an upgrade they will. So you can be WP (Platium status) and yet still miss out on an upgrade.

Either way, enjoy J, but remember there should be a warning attached with your first J flight, once you've experienced J you won't want to go back to Y.

[wizzy]

Either way, enjoy J, but remember there should be a warning attached with your first J flight, once you've experienced J you won't want to go back to Y.

Welcome Albert Hoffman! I am a newbie too so can't really help you unfortunately but I agree wholeheartedly with harvyk...It's very hard to go back to Y having experienced J.

[jakob]

Hi there,

from the sounds of it you are a bronze member as you say the frequent flyer thing is new to you. Points don't equal status credits. Then unfortunately you will be at the bottom of the upgrade que, and i reckon that gives much less than 50% chance of economy to business points upgrade. Thats option 2 from your list.

I think the only way to make it likely is to book a points (or paid but you haven't mentioned that option) J class fare up front, otherwise you are likely to be dissapointed. So thats your option 1.

i don't think option 3 is happening anymore but happy to be corrected if i'm wrong...

And also enjoy.... but as has been said it will spoil you for life....

jakob

[ejb]

Hi,

As others have said, with no status I would be using points to get a J ticket. Booking Y and hoping for an upgrade is a risky business even for WP's let alone a NB.

However you go about it I am sure you will enjoy the J ride, although it is hard to go back to whY.

ejb

[Andyzx]

Hi and welcome. As you have been lurking around you will see many of the great responses, try searching for a few different things to see what others have found.

My 2 penny's worth
Option 1. QF J class return is 256k points so I guess you are going one way and air Asia on the other. Otherwise it’s a very expensive one way tkt.
Option 2. Good luck, let us know how you get on. I tried this on silver status last year may-June and got the SYD HKG leg and that was all but hey better than nothing .

Option 3 Premium econ tkt, if you go on the A380 fat boy, then you will probably enjoy the experience (see other posts) but its still not J. Also generally an expensive option compared with below.

Option (mine) look at J or F class points to HKG there are usually a few options via Sydney, Melb etc and see recent comments on CX J class. This can be either a one way or return. Then via an online or airline website look at your options for buying a J class HKG-LHR return or what I did HKG-LHR and MAN-SYD on a multi city flight. Return is approx $4-5k and multi city around $6k. BA was the cheapest but Air NZ and CX seem to be cheaper at the moment both have excellent J class and like BA have flat beds. I tried the exit Oz on points and paying from SIN and BKK but didn’t seem to make a lot of difference in cost to paying ex Oz

Have fun looking and enjoy the experience.

PS sear AFF for how to enjoy J. There are lots of great tips

[Albert Hoffman]

Thanks very much guys for the kind welcome and advice...!

Looks like i have to go with option 2 and buy a one way ticket london-singapore with award points, and then I will sample the new lie-flat seats on airasia x to melbourne.

Unfortunately there are no qf award flights avaible on the airbus380 ... grrrrr!!!! that means i get the crap business class, looks like my first time won't be that memorable... I have some more questions...

Is the BA business class superior? I understand i can also book this with my QF points...
Do you guys have any information on which flight numbers qantas is upgrading people to first class if they have a business class ticket?
I'm a last minute kind of guy, can a person reschedule award tickets to another award flight at a later date? Or is it locked in?

I read here, that there are sites you can go to where you check how many seats are still avaible on a paticular given flight, (flightcounter or something.. ?), Can i use this to increase my chances of getting a first class upgrade?

Once again thanks for the welcome and advice guys!

[jamesatfish]

Unfortunately there are no qf award flights avaible on the airbus380 ... grrrrr!!!! that means i get the crap business class, looks like my first time won't be that memorable...

If you're flying QF J for the first time, then even the 747s will be enjoyable compared to the same trip in Y. Although the 747 seats don't lie completely flat they do fold to 180º (or close enough) - just not parallel with the floor. I didn't have too much trouble sleeping in those seats, especially if you enjoy the food & booze service beforehand.

The bubble in a 747 (which is one of two Business sections) is also a special experience - a great mini-cabin which is a nicer environment than the larger J cabin in the A380.

Is the BA business class superior? I understand i can also book this with my QF points...

Some people don't like the rear-facing seats in BA business class, but they do offer improved privacy if you're travelling alone. If you get an aisle seat, especially on the upper deck of a 747, then it's almost like having an individual suite if you raise the seat divider.

Do you guys have any information on which flight numbers qantas is upgrading people to first class if they have a business class ticket?

Note that it's not an 'upgrade' as such - they're just not selling First on some flights so people with Business tickets can be allocated seats in the F cabin. This means you'll get the bigger seat & lie-flat bed, but J service (so the same food & booze as in the regular J cabin, J amenities, no doona service etc).

Flying from LHR I believe it's the routes to & from MEL that saw the F cutbacks, with selected 747 services until June receiving the changes. The A380s aren't affected, nor are any of the service to & from SYD.

I'm a last minute kind of guy, can a person reschedule award tickets to another award flight at a later date? Or is it locked in?

Award tickets can be rescheduled (with a 2500 point booking fee) at any time prior to departure (not sure about T-24), but award availability (or lack thereof) makes this less useful in the real world. You'll have very little chance of finding a last-minute award ticket, especially in J, if you change your plans. If you want a flexible Business fare, you'll have to pay cash.

I read here, that there are sites you can go to where you check how many seats are still avaible on a paticular given flight, (flightcounter or something.. ?), Can i use this to increase my chances of getting a first class upgrade?

ExpertFlyer is the main site I use for this purpose. You can use that site to see flight loads in different classes - for points upgrades you want a high D or J number (indicating a large number of free Business seats), and preferably low Y numbers (indicating a full Economy cabin).

If you see a 747 service with A0F0 that might be a sign that no First cabin is being sold on that flight - in which case check the Seat Map and you should see the First cabin appear under the Business seat map.

[harvyk]

Unfortunately there are no qf award flights avaible on the airbus380 ... grrrrr!!!! that means i get the crap business class, looks like my first time won't be that memorable... I have some more questions...

I'd hardly call the B747 J crap. The main difference is that the seat lies flat, but at a slight angle to the floor.

The AFAIK service is the same between both the B747's and A380's.

I'd try to go for the upstairs cabin. It's IMHO a nicer experience than down on the main deck.

Enjoy your first J experience, but as I said once you have experience J, you'll never want to fly Y again...