The calculation of points required for a QF Classic Award booking seems to have been changed to lead to big increases for routes with more than one flight sector! Previously based on the point to point distances, but now apparently calculated as the sum of the sector distances...
...I assume this is a change slipped in with the new booking engine!!!
I don't recall ever being advised by QF about such a change.
This leads to significant increases in point cost of multi sector routes.
It puts a big hole in status run opportunities where you access Classic Award inventory via Any Seat Awards.
Example - Adelaide to Kalgoorlie in business was 24,000 pts irrespective of routing, now is 36,000 via Perth, 50,000 pts via Melbourne, etc.
What have I missed?! Is this an unintentional consequence of the new booking engine or a deliberate "service enhancement", quietly rolled out under the cover of the new system...???
Classic Awards have always been calculated based on the distance between each hop/airport in the routing, instead of the direct distance between the origin and destination. This has not changed.
What has changed is Any Seat Award (which are calculated based on the distance between the origin and destination) in the way they can be booked. Only Any Seat Awards booked in Economy can still be booked online, with reservations for Business and First class bookable now only through the call center.
In my opinion, it is your latter suggestion in regard to overnight "enhancements" with the website/booking engine.
I have personally found the website a little more difficult to navigate, with far less opportunity to gain reward seats. As far as 'any seat' award seats, at similar 'reward' rates, I believe they are phasing it out as they really want loyal flyers to continue using $$$$ to earn status, rather than points. From an airline management stand point it is the $$$$ that really count for them. Unfortunately like most companies that increase charges or decrease value of a product/service, they hide the announcement in the fine print, or whisper it in a sock - while any real/actual improvements they yell it from the roof tops!
In regards to per sector charges for reward seats, they are obviously copying Virgins lead when they switched to Sabre earlier in the year.
I'm sure from the perspective of Qantas management (and the financial bottom line)...is until Qantas see a significant reduction of Gold, Platinum or Platinum One level frequent flyers, I'm afraid these 'enhancements' will continue.
I wonder what the logic is to limit ASA bookings for Business and First bookings via call centres?
Would people be less inclinced to make such a bookings if they had to spend the time on the phone?
Or is this a bid by Qantas to reduce transparency?
I can't imagine it's a technology problem given that ASA bookings are available online for Economy inventory.
I suppose the key is to understand how the $ value of "pay" is calculated for a "points + pay" booking. Presumably Pay = Market Price of a booking minus $ value equivelant of points. Since we can obtain Market Price from expertflyer (adjust for tax), we need to work out the $ value equivelent of points. This is on the assumption that a) Points are static for any given sector, and b) $ value of points is held constant or increases at a constant rate the higher the booking inventory. If we can work out the math around it, we should be able to obtain an approximate cost of "pay" for points and pay. This would shed some light on pricing without having to spend time on the phone to call centres.
My feeling is that ASA will be phased out all together in the near future, hence they limited the functionality in their online booking engine to eco, raising the "treshold" to book ASA as now one has to call and obviously the transparency is gone.
It is strange though as QF controls the capacity of ASA and if they feel they can sell a particular seat on a particular flight for a higher revenue fare, they could just put the ASA up to be a million points, it is not that they are missing out on revenue, on the contrary, especially with ASA the revenue component is very much there as opposed to classic awards.
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Covert increases to QF Award point redemptions!!!
PLATY
PLATY
Member since 19 Jan 2012
Total posts 138
The calculation of points required for a QF Classic Award booking seems to have been changed to lead to big increases for routes with more than one flight sector! Previously based on the point to point distances, but now apparently calculated as the sum of the sector distances...
...I assume this is a change slipped in with the new booking engine!!!
I don't recall ever being advised by QF about such a change.
This leads to significant increases in point cost of multi sector routes.
It puts a big hole in status run opportunities where you access Classic Award inventory via Any Seat Awards.
Example - Adelaide to Kalgoorlie in business was 24,000 pts irrespective of routing, now is 36,000 via Perth, 50,000 pts via Melbourne, etc.
What have I missed?! Is this an unintentional consequence of the new booking engine or a deliberate "service enhancement", quietly rolled out under the cover of the new system...???
PeterLoh
PeterLoh
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 25 May 2012
Total posts 356
Classic Awards have always been calculated based on the distance between each hop/airport in the routing, instead of the direct distance between the origin and destination. This has not changed.
What has changed is Any Seat Award (which are calculated based on the distance between the origin and destination) in the way they can be booked. Only Any Seat Awards booked in Economy can still be booked online, with reservations for Business and First class bookable now only through the call center.
PLATY
PLATY
Member since 19 Jan 2012
Total posts 138
Thanks, but I beg to differ based on my own personal experience and the bookings I have personally made in the past.
Serg
Serg
QFF
Member since 12 Apr 2013
Total posts 923
I have the same impression - in the past they count distance between A and B irrepective of route. And I do not know when it get changed.
Skipp
Skipp
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 20 Aug 2012
Total posts 36
In my opinion, it is your latter suggestion in regard to overnight "enhancements" with the website/booking engine.
I have personally found the website a little more difficult to navigate, with far less opportunity to gain reward seats. As far as 'any seat' award seats, at similar 'reward' rates, I believe they are phasing it out as they really want loyal flyers to continue using $$$$ to earn status, rather than points. From an airline management stand point it is the $$$$ that really count for them. Unfortunately like most companies that increase charges or decrease value of a product/service, they hide the announcement in the fine print, or whisper it in a sock - while any real/actual improvements they yell it from the roof tops!
In regards to per sector charges for reward seats, they are obviously copying Virgins lead when they switched to Sabre earlier in the year.
I'm sure from the perspective of Qantas management (and the financial bottom line)...is until Qantas see a significant reduction of Gold, Platinum or Platinum One level frequent flyers, I'm afraid these 'enhancements' will continue.
TheRealBabushka
TheRealBabushka
Member since 21 Apr 2012
Total posts 2,058
I wonder what the logic is to limit ASA bookings for Business and First bookings via call centres?
Would people be less inclinced to make such a bookings if they had to spend the time on the phone?
Or is this a bid by Qantas to reduce transparency?
I can't imagine it's a technology problem given that ASA bookings are available online for Economy inventory.
I suppose the key is to understand how the $ value of "pay" is calculated for a "points + pay" booking. Presumably Pay = Market Price of a booking minus $ value equivelant of points. Since we can obtain Market Price from expertflyer (adjust for tax), we need to work out the $ value equivelent of points. This is on the assumption that a) Points are static for any given sector, and b) $ value of points is held constant or increases at a constant rate the higher the booking inventory. If we can work out the math around it, we should be able to obtain an approximate cost of "pay" for points and pay. This would shed some light on pricing without having to spend time on the phone to call centres.
KG
KG
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 10 May 2011
Total posts 249
My feeling is that ASA will be phased out all together in the near future, hence they limited the functionality in their online booking engine to eco, raising the "treshold" to book ASA as now one has to call and obviously the transparency is gone.
It is strange though as QF controls the capacity of ASA and if they feel they can sell a particular seat on a particular flight for a higher revenue fare, they could just put the ASA up to be a million points, it is not that they are missing out on revenue, on the contrary, especially with ASA the revenue component is very much there as opposed to classic awards.