Fly to Australia for almost nothing!
Filed under: xn--cnq77f.com
The flights are on Estonian Air to LGW and from there connecting from LHR to Australia on QF flagship QF2 or BA flight. You should add to this fare the cost of a connecting flight from the US to Europe which is in the vicinity of $250-300 and you'll still get a bargain! A flight from US East Coast to Australia for a mere $600?!?!?! Seems impossible but true. I don't think it can get any better. Go for it people!! Visit Australia in peak time for nearly nothing!!
That could cost a lot more for the airline.
2. Does anyone have any hotel recc for Tallinn? I can't seem to find my notes for the one hotel I knew was good. Since the Air Estonia flight arrives in from Gatwick at around 10:30p, it is probably too late to overnight in Helsinki. It is possible to return from London itself.
3. Is it possible to use Stockholm as the fly-in point and take a boat to Tallinn instead of Helsinki. The fact that AA flies direct to Arlanda is a good reason to do Stockholm.
Anyone who knows this part of Europe really well, please help. My baltic cruise only gave me a day or two in each locale, so my knowledge remains limited.
Should Qantas refuse to honour the tickets and demand more money then they will be liable to massive litigation and huge fines from Australian regulatory authorities. I don't think they'll risk it.
As far as the fare being unrealistically priced then again it can be easily proven that some fares ex-Australia to Europe are in that price range.
I simply don't see any strong grounds for the airline to stand on. It's a simple contract between the buyer (passenger) and the seller (airline). If the seller wants to breach that contract then they'll be liable to damages.
US--Connect Europe--Estonia--London--Singapore--Australia (remember, the Qantas flights isn't nonstop).
At least this is what I have experienced when flying on full Y tickets.
Brj8826: Weather in Sydney from Feb-Apr is perfect. You can't possibly want anything better. Temp is about 80 during the day and 65-70 during the night. Water temp is 70 degrees.
Choosing between QF or BA flights is really a matter of taste but QF has more legroom in coach as posted earlier in this thread.
And for the million dollar question... Any way to upgrade these tickets with miles?
Josh
Upgrades:
Can BA US miles be used to upgrade these beauties?
[This message has been edited by FoxPro (edited 11-08-2000).]
If they also compensate you for all the other non-refundable travel arrangements you have made after their confirmations. This can easily go up to serious $$$.
I purchased two tickets from Travelocity for TLL-SYD, but the travel agency (Travelocity partner in Helsinki) refused to issue the tickets once they saw the price and checked this from QF... Bad luck. It seems that in countries where Travelocity is also issuing the tickets and sending them by mail you might have better luck.
Maybe I will need to use my friends address in England and make another reservation (if the price is still there).
JPH
You choose Travelup.net and then create a profile(which takes 1 minute) and then choose book a flight. I havent been able to book with stopovers in BKK but still its feels like free. Its Biz to London and then economy with Qantas to downunder. Did you try to book it at amadeus.net? If I book this trip it would be give me more then 14.000 EuroBonus points and 11.000 other miles(LHR-BKK) which I havent got a clue where to put.
I have daily contact with Estonian Airlines. I have talked to them over phone a couple of times and send them a few emails as well. Latest info is that they will clear the matter with Qantas and then contact me. My guess is that Qantas says no but I will not accept it. Since I am leaving for Vancouver tomorrow morning I cant tell you about what they said until monday. Estonian is still blaiming Qantas. They keep saying that the price was not available and I keep asking how I am able to book a price that its not available.
I got the same answer from Estonian now. I have mailed them back and told them I did print out the confirmation with the price and that I am expecting them to solve the problem.
It seems that QF have more seat pitch in coach. At least that's what a major weekend paper here said. I should still have the paper, so when I get back home I'll have a look and post the measurements here. Also, the service seems to be a tiny bit better on QF.
Ok, couldn't wait to get back home, so called instead and got someone to dig up that paper. BA-79cm, QF-86cm according to Sun-Herald on 29th October.
But now for the really important question:
WHAT'S THE BEST PRICE TO GET TO TALLINN FROM THE US??
I checked some fares and they seem pretty expensive. One way to TLL seems to cost 3 times more than roundtrip. What have you found?
[This message has been edited by Spider (edited 11-08-2000).]
It is possible to book tickets directly on the page but I couldnt get it to work. The fare is still valid in our computers at work but I am not able to book it.
Had originally booked it on Travelocity but my crack agent went in, laughed, and booked it for dates that I wanted. This is basically a full Y fare, fully changeable, fully refundable. The only risk you face is if you start playing with not doing the TLL leg.
Now to figure out the upgradable status of this...theoretically it should be able to, although nothing AA has will work.
Hang on as you have nothing to lose. I could kick myself for being so complacent and meek! I should have insisted on my ticket as it was a published fare and they did take my money.
Wait!
Travelocity has put a hold on my ticket due to airline refusal to honor!!
More later.
H is normally expensive, almost not restricted economy on OV.
In places like Europe, Asia and Australia, most fares are consolidator fares and very little if not none at all use full fare tickets.
Even if the fare basis might show a "Y" or "YRT" fare, the booking code may be something completely different - in that one cannot even earn any miles.
I had a ticket issued once by Cathay Pacific in London to Sydney . The fare basis was "YRT to HKG and Y2 to SYD". But the booking code was W. (In 1998, W was the lowest of the low, before V came into existence) This fare permitted me to earn Canadian Plus points but only 50% on Asiamiles.
Many major travel agencies in Europe issues "1 year tickets" to long haul destinations like Australia, Asia, Africa and even to North America. There are hardly any restrictions other than a cancellation fee, but but the booking codes are very different - some are so 'special' that they don't even exist to earn miles. Chances are for this QF ticket, the booking class may be something like "O" class! Incidentally, that class also does not permit any waitlist!
Check before you buy a nonrefundable no changes ticket!
[This message has been edited by Guy Betsy (edited 11-07-2000).]
Kempis: I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. I booked tickets but received the following reply:
Hereby I'm sorry to inform that regarding your booking made via TravelUp.net Internet sight PNR: ******, there has been an error in reservation system, current fare from Tallinn to Sydney 7079,- EEK is inaccurate and not available in the market, error fault made by Quantas Airlines. We're working on to update the correct display.
Sorry for inconveniece it may cause you.
Looks like the party is really over. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
Conrad: Congrats on a great choice and on getting your tix! ... and disconnect the phone/s http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif
It is quite unlikely that your tix will be cancelled as that is serious breach of contract and when all fellow FT-ers combine all the print-outs re: this fare, then we have a rock solid legal case against Qantas, Sabre, Travelocity and whoever... which they are unlikely to risk. I can already see damages to my company exceeding 100K and then there's the parent company... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
In short, once you have the tix you are all set! Happy flying.
BTW, does anyone know what fare is "H" on OV?
Does a stopover have to be less than 24 hours?
My flight does this TLL-LHR-Bangkok-SYD then SYD-SIN-FRA-TLL
Could I stay the night in Singapore or Bangkok or anywhere else on the flight without paying extra?
Also, I can't seem to find a cheap fare from DFW to TLL. All of the fares below $1000 on travelocity are sold out and on AA.com it is quoting me a price of around $2000.
I apologize in advance for the rookie questions, just want to make sure I have all of the bases covered. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
[This message has been edited by brj8826 (edited 11-09-2000).]
I just got off the line with Travelocity after almost 90 minutes, and I am so pleased to confirm that the supercheap ticket we bought is NOT A JOKE, and it is fully refundable, fully endorsable (at no charge), and it is a full fare Y Class ticket, with zero restrictions. Surely, then, mileage accrual (tonnes of it) is not ruled out.
Enjoy the fact that you have unlimited free stopovers. For me, I am stopping over in SIN for a month before flying onwards to MEL.
If you are not yet an AA Elite member, like myself, then this should be a good mileage run to get it.
Anybody wants to meet up at Estonia for the long flight to the Far East? I depart in July 2001. Email to keep in contact! Frankly, that place sounds so "out of the world" to me that I fear venturing there all by myself!!! Anybody has anything good to say about Estonia? Like good experiences, nice touristy places to visit, etc? Visas required to enter Estonia? I will be studying in Italy in May-June, and plan to travel around Scandinavia and Russia before boarding the flight to SIN. Like-minded? Email me!!
Cheers, it's a great day.
Ryan
Kempis: What's your situation with Estonian Air? Have you received any further correspondence from them? Any news?
Davistev: What's your update? Is your ticket still valid or did they cancel it?
HK-UMICH: I believe that this fare is valid only for travel via Eastern Hemisphere and not via Americas. Since it is a full "Y" fare then it can be endorsed for travel via Western Hemisphere but instead of a usual cost of a few hunderd dollars it will more than likely cost thousands due to the price error.
Yonatan: They have called a number of people like this but my prospective passengers have told them that they don't know much about it and that travelocity should talk to their employer who bought the tickets. All calls have originated from travelocity's San Antonio office. If possible then try to get something from them in writing. I have received various written confirmations from their UK office. It seems like UK is not that much into big $ litigation. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
IMO Qantas, Estonian Air and travelocity will NOT win a court case based on the current facts. There is way too much conflicting and misleading evidence on their behalf. It might be a good idea to get all the FT-ers disgruntled with this situation to form an online action group in a lead-up to a possible class action in case the fares will be dishonoured. In the worst court scenario we'll get all our tix for the original price, at best... who knows http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
thanks for letting me know about your own experience dealing with them. what sort of written information should i request of Travelocity?
i finally got to speak with my mom about her conversation (previous report based on an e-mail from her last night), and was pretty impressed by her saaviness. the lady who called tried to convince her it had been an error with currency calculation and that qantas won´t honor the tickets. my mom retorted that to her knowledge, the ticket represented a contract and that she refused to believe the airline can simply refuse to honor it. the lady from travelocity said she will look into it further (she also mentioned that there was a large number of other customers in this situation and that travelocity, sabre, and qantas are ´talking a lot´ about the matter).
i told my mom that if she ever gets tired of living in california, she needs to move to new york and run for senate http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif. as travelocity found out, the lady obviously does not suffer from a shortage of chutzpah http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif.
Yonatan
You are probably right. You see, all over the website were declared stuff to the effect of "Price not guaranteed until tickets are fully paid"... well, all buyers in here have fully paid up with our Credit Cards (hopefully no one has used debit cards) so we must have out fare guaranteed.
I am inclined to assume, however, that QA might not let us go through extensive changes without imposing fees. But then again, the ticket is fully refundable, and fully non-restricted! Hah. Lawfully speaking, they can do nothing buy sit back and watch us do whatever we want with our full fare Y class ticket.
As for mileage and stuff like that, I would assume that it's possible because the key word is that this ticket is full fare, Y-class. If it was a non-Y class ticket, the site would have stated it, like in the other cases. eg. There are other options down the list of which the tickets are non-Y class.
I bought my ticket yesterday, for Summer 2001. The system is a little crazy so potential buyers out there must try and retry their desired dates of travel. Very likely it will go through, like in my case. But as I said, plan carefully, coz you don't really want to have to call them up to make any changes...
I travel to Singapore often, so I plan to make it a long stopover (LHR-SIN-MEL) since it is not Australia that I wish to go to. And why Melbourne? Hah... obviously it would get us the most mileage! With a soon-to-get AA Plat, that tranlates to amlost 40000 miles! What a way to go!
Anyone with further updates, post 'em here!
Maple of Montreal
I wonder what will happen to the tix that have been paid for but not yet issued? Any ideas?
I got my tickets from FedEx this evening. All's in order, my seats have been selected and reserved, and my stopovers have all been printed out. Plus it's a non restricted ticket.
One strange thing though. Some of you got cancellation reports late last week. But strangely, my ticket was sent out by Travelocity only on 13th November (Monday) although I had it booked on the 8th. Which means that up until then, the fare was still valid and not much noise was probably made by either airlines.
So, can I begin rejoicing, or what?
What should I do if I find out that Travelocity has refunded the fare by crediting my credit card account, as someone else has mentioned it done unto him. Isn't it a violation of consumer rights or something?
SPIDER: Anything strange happened to your passengers at LHR? Any serious problems at the Qantas check-in? Are they already frolicking in the Aussie sun down under?
Keep us posted! Cheers.
Maple
www.inyourpocket.com (http://www.inyourpocket.com)
alarming info that travelocity's US office is cancelling bookings that were even made through the UK office. They have also advised that even some of the tix that have been sent out as per website confirmation will be stopped as they are in the "process of being sent out". Sounds bad to me.
So if I already receiveD the PAPER ticket, am I save?
Also, I phoned QF this morning saying "if I have a full fare Y class from LHR-SYD (just not let them get any trace) can I have a route lhr-sin-hkg-syd-sin-lhr?". they said:
"Actually we don;t have a true Y fare and if you do any rerouting you need to show the ticket to our office, we need to look at the ticket and see what are printed on it"..
I sense the risk now... can I use my "december 2000" dated ticket in summer 2001.... no clude.
Thanks!
You are telling me that I could stay in Bangkok for 2 days if I wanted and not pay any extra?
Another of my passengers received a call from travelocity's US office and was told that they won't honour the bookings and that if the ticket was sent out then Qantas won't honour them and won't let people board the plane. Sounds like perfect stuff for legal action. They better not leave my guy stuck at LHR!
Forgive me for asking, but what is a stopover?
....
Does anyone know the AA miles needed to upgrade to business?
Hi,
A stopover for international travel is usually less than 24 hours.
I don't think you can upgrade QF/BA flights using AA miles. With CX, it's possible but not with other carriers.
"thats life!"
So is it advisable to buy two tickets doing
US-Europe-TLL-SYD-TLL-SYD-Europe-US?
about 23000 q-miles for $380, seems not bad...
------------------
AA EXP; HY DIAM
But let me keep my fingers crossed, for this one time I do hope that the package is not from any of my friends or family (maybe an early Christmas present?!).
If I have the physical ticket in my hands, can they still put a hold on it, or force a refund? Can't consumers do something about this? To me it seems to be a valid sales agreement the moment my card is accepted and charged, and the ticket physically ticketed.
Anybody has an other experiences to share?
Thanks!
Maple of Montreal
Does anyone know if this special fare (screwy fare?) is available from anyone where else other than TLL?
I played with the system for hours yesterday and TLL was the only one that produced this fare. The next best was from ARN at about $1000.
What is the best way to get from LGW to LHR to connect to QF flight at this time of the day? How long can it take to get through customs at LGW?
Does it earn FF miles in the various programs that partner with QF?
(well, somebody was bound to ask!)
Yonatan
[This message has been edited by Guy Betsy (edited 11-13-2000).]
I managed to book the fare on travelocity.co.uk on the 8th of November, for travel next year. I received confirmation from travelocity, my credit card was charged on the 10th, by Qantas. I received the tickets in the mail this morning (13th).
Seat assignment requests are recorded, the serevation is still showing as confirmed on Sabre and it shows up on the Qantas site under my QF FF details.
Hopefully that's that.... but I'm still expecting a phone call.
Conrad
2. Which is better in coach, assuming one can't upgrade on either: BA or QF?
This is exactly the same thing as jAAck said, but since great minds think alike, I'm re-prompting the question hoping for answers.
Where exactly did you go on Estonian Air's page to get that price? I seem to be going around in circles. If I press "bookings" then I get taken to "discover the world" and from there I can again get back to "bookings". Or do you go to travelUp.net which gives me a very different price to what you have just like amadeus.net ?
Ok, no worries, I got it to work. Went to travelUp.net button and used the "segment by segment" booking option. It worked fine. And TLL-LGW and back is in biz!! Another few special tix!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Thanks for the great Estonian Air tip Kempis!!
[This message has been edited by Spider (edited 11-12-2000).]
I can't seem to find a cheap fare from DFW to TLL. All of the fares below $1000 on travelocity are sold out and on AA.com it is quoting me a price of around $2000.
Why don't you try to search from NYC? As far as I know LOT which seems to be the cheapest has fares for about $350 round trip or Finnair which has fares from $390. One way fares cost $290 on LOT. You also earn AAdvantage miles when flying LOT and they're not too bad.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif :~
Spider
Still no answer from OV.
It would be intresting to know how many people booked these tickets?
1. Can anyone detail transportation options from Helsinki to Tallinn?
You can either fly Finnair, take a helicopter (it's pretty cheap) www.copterline.com (http://www.copterline.com) , or take various ferries or jetcats from Helsinki www.tallink.fi (http://www.tallink.fi) , www.njl.fi (http://www.njl.fi) , www.silja.fi (http://www.silja.fi) .
2. Does anyone have any hotel recc for Tallinn? I can't seem to find my notes for the one hotel I knew was good. Since the Air Estonia flight arrives in from Gatwick at around 10:30p, it is probably too late to overnight in Helsinki. It is possible to return from London itself.
Top hotels are VIRU, OLYMPIA, PALACE, METROPOL amongst others. They are expensive but there are also cheaper ones available with similar standard to the top ones.
3. Is it possible to use Stockholm as the fly-in point and take a boat to Tallinn instead of Helsinki. The fact that AA flies direct to Arlanda is a good reason to do Stockholm.
AA flight arrives at ARN early in the morning. The only boat to Tallinn leaves around 6pm, so you have a whole day in Stockholm. www.estline.ee (http://www.estline.ee) ARN is about 40 mins by express bus to the city. Buses are very frequent and inexpensive. The bus will take you to the central bus terminal in Stockholm from where you can either wait for Estlink buses which start after 3pm and depart from the upper level or take city bus #1 from outside the terminal. In any case you'll more than likely be at the bus terminal by 10am, so have fun sightseeing.
If you need further info then mail me.
Davistev: Aussies don't need visas for Estonia.
Somehow, I posted a longer message but it wasn't posted, so I have to repeat myself!
Well, I managed to jump aboard this absurdly absurd fare and purchased the ticket before the system started returning "sold out" status on all new requests.
I paid only CAD565 for this 24000 miles trip! Plus if you are AA EP/P, that's like 48000 miles, so many free tickets within North America!
Eternally thanks to SPIDER for posting this big "little" tip!
Anyone who has no printer (I forgot your nick, but you're from Michigan), I can send you a photocopy of the "evidence". Just email me. Guys, good luck with this splendid fare!
Anybody who has updates on this, let us know! Also, if you know how one might get to TTL from YUL/JFK, let me know please! I guess we would all like to fly Finnair, for "ONE" obvious reason!
Enjoy the fact that we paid next to nothing for a full fare Y-class ticket, fully refundable, full FF mileage accrual, plus free unlimited stopovers! Just plan carefully, coz I don't think that they will be so kind as to allow changes without forcing you to upgrade to the full fare. Or maybe slap on some grand fee.
Enjoy!
Maple of Montreal
------------------
AA EXP; HY DIAM
i have intention to visit Australia this possibily next year. IS that OK for me to buy it first and since it is "Y" fare than that means I can change it, or even refund (back to my credit card if it is a
credit card purchase)?
Since it is Y, so it is a question:
Assume the ticket is March2001, and my traveldate is say Nov2001. then Can I call QF and change Date of Travel? (Even if at that time they notice the "error" and changed the price to $3xxx?
BUT a problem is.. flight from US to TLL is not in 300-400 range but nearly $700!!!
Sorry for this question but Australia just too expensive to visit in a normal way.
Thanks!
[This message has been edited by HK-UMICH (edited 11-07-2000).]
All fares are not guaranteed unless ticketed.
The first set of tickets went out there already and for the others the confirmed booking is still in place.
From what I have understood Sabre has droped the price but its still valid in Amadeus....
[This message has been edited by kempis (edited 11-12-2000).]
What if one does not actually fly the return from LGW to TLL but rather lands in LHR and then makes their way home? Penalties? Coming in at 6:25 am and departing LHR at 6:00 pm doesn't thrill me.
Also, I am unclear if a stopover is permitted eventhough I've read this post several times. Can I stay over in BKK? If so, can I do this on the travelocity website or do I buy the ticket first and then call it in? I haven't had success in using the multiple city feature since there are too many legs on this flight.
Possible starvation on a 20 hour flight? Some flights have meals and some don't. This is definitely strange.
Any assistance in answering my questions would be appreciated.
[This message has been edited by Guy Betsy (edited 11-08-2000).]
QANTAS has sent out a memo to all travel agencies who have issued this
My experience thus far mirrors HKG_Flyer's. I didn't hang up today, though, and stayed on hold for about 40 minutes while they tried to figure out what was going on. "Ticketing" is apparently going to call me in the next 24 hours to explain what's going on. It sounded as though there's quite a book of comments attached to my reservation record. The agent was reading and reading (silently) to understand what had happened thus far. Claimed that the initial hold-up had to do with the lack of baggage agreements between the two carriers. I agreed earlier to hand carry bags between LGW & LHR to solve this. Next, they said the tickets had to be hand processed because it's a two-airline international ticket. Then, they screwed up the name of one of the airlines on the tickets. Now, ticketing needs time to sort out what's going on.
Can't wait to hear how this gets resolved. I booked a total of 12 tickets.
Apparently it is a computer error on Qantas' part. But basically as long as Travelocity or any computer reservation system prices it, you are guaranteed the ticket.
Incidentally I managed to even book the Estonia to Europe portion return in Business Class ! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Also, the YRT fare rule you can travel via Europe or Pacific, but QF don't have flight trans-alt. How can they do that?
Also.. about MPM calcualtion:
I asked QF can I go LHR-SIN-HKG-SYD, they said HKG is not a "valid" routing for SYD, but as long as MPM concerned, don't means I can fly whatever I want as long as within the MPM?
THANKS!! and wish all passengers with this great ticket get their travel honored by QF!
Thanks!
Frankly, that place sounds so "out of the world" to me that I fear venturing there all by myself!!! Anybody has anything good to say about Estonia?
Nothing to worry about! It's a pretty decent place. No visa needed for most Western citizens for upto 3 months. The city itself is not very dissimilar to Helsinki or Stockholm or Copenhagen. The centre of town is pretty touristy. There is even an area between the port and the city centre which is called Little Finland as it's full of Finns who live there and shop there. It may not be such a good idea to venture alone into remote parks where there are no people. Keep away from gypsies and other street peddlers who sell cheap watches and clothes. The odds of a tourist being mugged or robbed are fairly remote but if it happens then don't expect any help from police. Tallinn is a shoppers paradise. There are markets which are pretty much for foreigners only. The main one being Kadaka Turg (Kadaka market) where "official" language is Finnish. There you can buy latest CD's for $3-5, brand name clothes for $15-25 etc...
Special (for tourists only) buses from the port and the city go to Kadaka about every 15mins. I wouldn't recommend public transport as it's not very clean and not cheap either. Cabs (Tulika (white latest Opel Omega-s), Tallinna Taksopark (black late model Mercedes) and ESRA (late Mercedes)) are good and cost 40cents per kilometer (65cents per mile). Cabbies accept foreign currency but it's better to have local money and pay by the meter. Tipping is not expected but appreciated.
If someone wants some specific info then don't hesitate to ask.
Fortunately, after reading your comments in this forum I had made sure to call her and let her know about our rights, viz. they are likely breaching contract if they refuse to honor an issued ticket, which she dilligently threw back in their face. Travelocity meekly said it will stay in contact and try to resolve this issue.
Any lawyers around to issue a legal opinion http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif?
I believe that even if they could win a legal case, they could easily have a consumer affairs/public relations nightmare on their hands. I assume they would want to avoid that.
With the ticket purchased over the site of a U.S. agency (travelocity) and sent to a U.S. address, I assume this falls under U.S. jurisdiction? Can a small claims court in CA handle this case?
Yonatan
What happens then, if QA indeed leaves your passenger in the lurch at LHR? What do you think consumers can do about this?
I am expecting my ticket in the mail tomorrow, but don't know if I should now be feeling happy, anxious or worried. Thanks.
Maple
I plan to cjange my plans to add stopovers later within the MPM rule.
I have no intention to travel coming Dec but Summer 2001, but I can only Book Dec2000 since other dates all marked sold-out.
I think I am currently betting on the rules since I intent to change "date of travel" but the worse case I can imagine is lose $10 Fedex charge and get full fare credited back to my Credit card.
BTW, do I need to phone QF BEFORE Dec to cancel my reservation in order to retain the value of the ticket? (i.e. will no-show kill the value of a "Y" ticket) ?
Thanks!
On Nov. 12, I received another e-mail confirming the issuance of tickets and I double-checked with their web site, which also stated that my tickets had been issued (I printed a copy of the confirmation) and that they would be delivered by FedEx.
When I just called to check on delivery, they said there was "a problem with your ticket" and began to transfer me to another department, at which point I hung up.
Any ideas?
[This message has been edited by Eugene (edited 11-20-2000).]
I am platinum on AA but don't do much international travel.
I have never been to Australia and am using this as a cheaper method for getting there while also earning my way toward EXP for next year.
Also, what is the weather like in Sydney for Feb, March and April?
Should I take an actual Qantas flight or Qantas that is operated by BA?
Does anyone know the AA miles needed to upgrade to business?
Thanks in advance.
[This message has been edited by brj8826 (edited 11-08-2000).]
Those of you hanging around here must have been so pleasantly surprised by this great "little" fare!
I managed to get on the system and confirmed my purchase before it started returning "sold out" status on all new requests.
To the one who messaged one before me (I can't recall your nick, sorry, but I remember you to be from Michigan), I have printed out all "evidence", so if you like I could snail mail you a photocopy. I am in Montreal; just email me your snail mail address!
For TLL-MEL-TLL, I paid a mere CAD$565. Such an astoundingly astounding steal! And the mileage works out to be about 24000 miles! If you have an AAdvantage PL/EP, that's like 48000 miles! So many free tickets within North America!
Anybody who has updates, please let us know! You know what, the best thing about this is the ticket is a full-fare Y ticket, with zero restrictions. And unlimited free stopovers and it's also fully refundable! Plus full FF mileage accrual! But plan well, because I believe that if you request for any changes, you might have to upgrade to the full fare. Good luck!
Maple of Montreal
Qantas can change the dates, but they sometimes need to refer to the issuing office - ie whoever issued the ticket, for verification. This sometimes can take up to 48 hours while they send telex messages to and fro. Qantas may or may not have the different rules regarding your fare. Even though it may say YRT or Y on your ticket, any other code or endorsement attached to your ticket that indicates that it is a 'special' fare ticket, will prompt QF to take the above action. QF will not look at the fare or the fare basis when they immediately see "NonEndorsable/Nonroutable/RefIssueOfc" and TourCodeQFXXXXX (I'm only giving an example). There are thousands of fares out there and they know that it's a cheap ticket irrespective of what you said you paid for it.
QF will almost always insist that you bring your ticket in for changes instead of doing it on the phone as they usually want to see the ticket. Unless your booking code is F, J or Y, they need to 'view' the restrictions.
It was not my intention to bite at you or be not nice in any way. I'm sorry if it came across as such. I was merely expressing my views about the important issues that you had raised. And I don't think that I accused you of being QF either.
As far as suing QF is concerned then that can be easily done by Dept. of Fair Trading in Australia which is like BBB in the States. And they do bite. There are also things called class actions where litigants pay nothing at all. Costs are subtracted from the compensation awarded after the case is over.
Again, the issues that you pointed out are very important and need to be kept in mind.
Why don't you try to search from NYC? As far as I know LOT which seems to be the cheapest has fares for about $350 round trip or Finnair which has fares from $390. One way fares cost $290 on LOT. You also earn AAdvantage miles when flying LOT and they're not too bad.
The only way to earn AAdvantage miles on LOT is to be ticketed on a codeshare with AA on your flight number. Otherwise, LOT flights would earn you Qualiflyer miles.
I think I will pick up a second ticket for an Easter Trip home to Australia.
What is the Visa situation like for Aussies in Estonia?
As some of you pointed out that a zero is probably missing, it is quite obvious that this was a simple clerical error made when updating the data base. It will be a challenge to prove that this fare is NOT a miss priced item, as it does not have any comparables arround it's current price range. (The next closest Y fare TLL-SYD is ten times the price.) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
I'm not sure what the implication is with ex-Esthonia fares, but common sense refrains me from considering this an offer up for grabs.
My guess is that, should the fare be reviewed before ticketing, Qantas fare calculation desk will not permit the tickets to be issued. Even if successfully ticketed, there is risk that you may be asked to pay the differences between a correct fare at the check in counter on the day of your flight. (And you know that that's a lot of $$$s, right?)
Now of course, QF may not be so strict about fare checking so there is a high probability that many of you will travel successfully without being questioned. But I sure do wish that you would not be questioned throughout your whole journey! I'd hate to imagine the panick situation being declared that your return ticket is invalid 10,000+ miles away from home! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif (Well I'm darn sure QF won't do such an inhumane act, but you never know...)
Anyway, if you happened to take the risk and were successfull with the flights, do us one favour, will ya? Please post your trip report! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif
I received my tickets today (booked on Nov. 8th - I think). Note:
- The issuer is Qantas
- The fare basis is Y
- The restrictions/endorsements box is blank i.e. no restrictions. The fare is originally calculated in Estonian currency and then converted to Cdn $'s
I finally do it at .com instead of .co.uk and used Dec2000 ... it works!
I noticed that some date I can select before dinner is "sold out" after dinner, so
ACT FAST !!
But after I purchase I cannot find the fare code of the ticket purchased, is that normal?
I don't have a printer at my dorm-room. Would kindly FTers purchased the fare kindly printout one page of fare and rules so that it is the evidence of the "YRT" fare ?
THANKS!!
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
A friend received its yesterday as well.
They were booked through www.travelocity.de (http://www.travelocity.de)
Six down, four to go.
Fares back to normal. New price on AA's website a mere USD 4788.00. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif
If I book this trip it would be give me more then 14.000 EuroBonus points and 11.000 other miles(LHR-BKK) which I havent got a clue where to put.
Maybe you can use Qantas FF scheme as it earns miles for SAS flights but apart from that it really depends on your flying pattern. For inter-continetals AAdvantage seems to be the most generous with all its bonuses and extras. BTW, with this flight alone you'd be PLT on AA.
On another note, has anyone actually received the tickets? I have received some alarming info that travelocity's US office is cancelling bookings that were even made through the UK office. They have also advised that even some of the tix that have been sent out as per website confirmation will be stopped as they are in the "process of being sent out". Sounds bad to me.
[This message has been edited by Spider (edited 11-10-2000).]
Something weird happened this morning. After one whole week, Travelocity finally emailed me this morning confirming my reservation of the ticket, and even confirmed that it has been ticketed. But why only now? To me it seems that I have even more solid ground for legal action should they dishonor the ticket, since, despite all these talk about cancellation, I received another dated confirmation nevertheless.
FedEx has not yet arrived thoday with my ticket (which they tried to deliver yesterday but I was not at home), so I shall keep you guys updated later. Maybe Travelocity cancelled delivery at the last minute?! (haha)
Cheers,
Maple
But let me keep my fingers crossed, for this one time I do hope that the package is not from any of my friends or family (maybe an early Christmas present?!).
If I have the physical ticket in my hands, can they still put a hold on it, or force a refund? Can't consumers do something about this? To me it seems to be a valid sales agreement the moment my card is accepted and charged, and the ticket physically ticketed.
Anybody has any other experiences to share?
Thanks!
Maple of Montreal
Does anyone know if this special fare (screwy fare?) is available from anyone where else other than TLL?
Did you book more tickets on Estonians page? If so how did you pay for those tickets? Will they send them to you or?
HKG FLYER
I would suggest you contact Estonian Airlines and ask them if its possible to fly on a E-ticket
Monday Dec 4
Finnair 6 5:55p-8:50a(+1) JFK-HEL M11
Finnair 111 9:50a-10:30a HEL-TLL ATR
Tuesday Dec 5
Estonian Air 101 4:20p-5:15p TLL-LGW 735
QF302 OP BY BA 9:20p-6:20a LHR-BKK-SYD 744
(This flight can also be on QF 2 departing LHR at 10:00p for the same price)
Sunday Dec 10
QF1 6:15p-6:25a (+1) SYD-BKK-LHR 744
Estonia Air 102 6:00p-10:55p LGW-TLL 735
Tuesday Dec 12
Finnair 112 11:05a-11:40a TLL-HEL ATR
Finnair 5 2:15p-3:55p HEL-JFK M11
TLL-SYD-TLL is priced as $374.90 roundtrip.
JFK-TLL-JFK is priced as $573.40 roundtrip. There are lowfares on other non-OW airlines, but since this is looking for AA/OW miles, I jumped to Finnair. Additionally, I used random dates for TLL-SYD-TLL and used dates for NYC-TLL-NYC to match those dates. If you choose different dates or depart out of another US city, the fare to TLL will likely drop quite a bit.
In this possibility, total fare is $9,483.30 (plus 1 night hotel in Tallinn...a beautiful city...and as many nights as you choose in SYD). Total miles in my itinerary is 31,744 in your preferred oneworld partner.
That's pretty good value at rougly 30 miles per dollar, but that skyrockets when you add in hotels.
The airframe will probably come down again if you tinker with the dates and departure point for your flight to Europe.
If you've always wanted to see Oz, Estonia, and get 30K miles to cement a oneworld account, this is a good deal. And get it fast, for surely someone will soon notice the mistake!
Tallinn is again a beautiful city. I was there for a day two summers ago. I have a hotel recc, but I can't seem to find it at the moment.
Some (actually quite a few) questions:
1. To change the ticket, does one go directly through Qantas? Is there a ticket reissue fee even if it is a fully changable ticket? Also, under "refund procedures", it just stated "normal refund procedures apply" - does this translate into fully refundable?
2. For purposes of refunds, is the amount pegged in USD or the Estonian currency?
3. It has been mentioned by some that QF can later impose "high season surcharges" - can they really do it if in the fare rules it states that there are no season rules?
4. I seem to recall reading that if you stop over at an intermediate point, even if stopovers are allowed, the fare will shoot up if flights to the stopover point are more expensive. Does this make stopovers on the way impossible since any point on the way would be more expensive? How about a stopover in OZ at one of the other cities bookable with this fare (if such a stopover in OZ would work, would it no longer be possible to add it once the price goes back up?).
5. I was only able to force this fare with Best Fare Finder on travelocity. Has anyone been able to use a booking tool with more options (e.g. stopovers) to force this fare?
6. Looking at the fare rules, I would not have known that travel on another carrier to LON is permitted (or have I missed something) - for future reference, what´s the key word(s) to look for in such cases?
7. Re: the claim that they may not need to honor the fare if this was found to be a mistake - does this apply if the ticket was bought in the U.S. (well I bought it on .com, with my US-based credit card and shipped it to the billing address)?
8. For a Y fare, why was there no availability on certain days?
9. I could not find the MPM in the Travelocity rules - anyone care to let me know?
10. What´s the validity period of the ticket? Is it a year from purchase? A year from date of o/b? If the latter, does that mean it can not be changed to a date earlier than the original o/b?
Thanks for any and all help!
Yonatan
It was good that I was referred to the American office because while on the phone with them, I was able to incorporate my stopovers on the printed ticket itself. This way, Qantas will not be able to say "no" to any additional stopovers requested for on a ticket which initially had no stopovers listed on it.
I will tell you guys what I receive from FedEx when I get hold of it tomorrow! Stay tuned!
Maple
Silver: I don't think that QF can argue easily that a zero was missing from the price. While it can be argued in case of US and GB currency it cannot be substantiated in case of German or Australian currency. No one will ever believe that this fare can cost in excess of 8000DEM or AU$7600.
Should Qantas refuse to honour the tickets and demand more money then they will be liable to massive litigation and huge fines from Australian regulatory authorities. I don't think they'll risk it.
As far as the fare being unrealistically priced then again it can be easily proven that some fares ex-Australia to Europe are in that price range.
I simply don't see any strong grounds for the airline to stand on. It's a simple contract between the buyer (passenger) and the seller (airline). If the seller wants to breach that contract then they'll be liable to damages.
Wow Spider, don't bite on me! I'm not saying you're doing something wrong, I'm just trying to let you know that there are risks to think of... And I'm not QF!
I just wanted to let people know that there are some uncertainties about this ticket that each individual must consider the risks on their own. Damage is limited should QF doubt the ticket validity before departure, but possibly disastrous if occured during the course of the journey. And what alerts me is that some people are buying these tickets for their families... If it is for yourself and your savvy traveler companion, then fine, you should be well seasoned to fight off the battle at the airport or local QF office. But not with your kids and aunt Marry...
If the seller wants to breach that contract then they'll be liable to damagesYes, correct! But the point is, there are some EXCEPTIONS, including the "scriverner's error" case.
Should Qantas refuse to honour the tickets and demand more money then they will be liable to massive litigation and huge fines from Australian regulatory authorities. I don't think they'll risk it.Who's gonna pay for the massive litigation cost, and who's gonna impose the huge fines? I am definitely not going to sue QF for a 240 pound ticket, unless I have a personal "thing" with them! And common sense tells me that QF has done nothing ethically wrong, they just made a typo. Who can you blame for a typo?
As far as the fare being unrealistically priced then again it can be easily proven that some fares ex-Australia to Europe are in that price range.Oh c'mon, you know better! You can't compare apples to peanuts, right? Is there any other Europe to Australia fully reinbursable, date and route changeable, unlimitted stop over and valid for one year published fare flight ticket around the 200-300 pound range in the world?
Folks, seriously, it's all at your own risk. I do believe that once you are ticketed, chances are high that you will complete your journey hassle free. However, this is a multi-segment marathon flight to foreign land; you might want seriously think of the "what if?"s...
I am at Gatwick Internet Kiosk right now and I have just found out that travelocity has pulled this fare. My hope now is that when I get back to Atlanta there will be a ticket waiting for me.
Otherwise "Normal refund procedures apply"!!!!
Lets Hope.
Dave
P.S. My booking still shows ticketed and confirmed by travelocity.com
[This message has been edited by Eugene (edited 11-20-2000).]
Yonatan: I don't see a reason why a full "Y" QF fare won't earn you miles.
HK-UMICH: There is no reason why you can't change dates on a full fare but it might be worth remembering that when they'll eventually discover their mistake then they might add on seasonal surcharges i.e. if you buy your tix for a low season flight and then decide to fly in high season you pay the difference.
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