Qantas will halt all international flights by the end of March

It's understandable when you see Tasmania will implement mandatory 14-day quarantine for non-essential travelers. For SYD-MEL I'd rather drive.

I was wondering this too - refunding points and charging or not charging the 6000pt cxl fee. I have 2 pax on 2 sectors booked separately so would be 24,000pts all up.
My flight is to SFO in mid-April so I thought I'd just let the booking sit there and have them cancel it rather than me "requesting" to cancel. Any logic in that?

I wonder if it is possible that VA and QF may share services like Australian Airlines and Ansett did during the pilot strike.

Being blunt extending status is not the priority, stopping the spread of Covid-19 and levelling out the peaks is the priority. Most likely if you travel often you will make it back in a year. Plus your employer might and should restrict travel for a while until under control and review travel policies.

I disagree, this is a place to discuss travel, points and status credits. Everyone else can talk about how to control the spread of a virus elsewhere. We will get back to normal eventually and knowing our position is important to us here. Gut feeling, I think the airlines will extend or maintain the level already achieved for 12 more months. Fingers crossed.

Bingo! An email came through from Qantas last night extending my Gold status. Much appreciated, I will continue to fly Qantas later in the year with pleasure.

Thats unfair. Tommylove007, Qantas and Virgin cant stop Covid-19. Let's not turn on each other, he/she was asking for our support.

It would be good if they did that.

Trust me tommylove007, if you need to have your status extended due to Coronavirus you actually don't fly a lot.

Upupandaway your definition of flying a lot is very interesting (every week to the UK?) as qantas will be effectively grounded for the next six months if not a year. I will have to move three major bookings to Europe and the US back 12 months and maybe I don't fly a lot, but people with double that could say they flew a lot.

patrickk, It's all perception. To a person who takes one trip a year a person who flies twice a year flies a lot and so on all the way to the person who flies every day of the week. I have friend who flies every day even Saturday and Sunday and I think he is crazy for doing that. The point I was making from the first post of Tommylove007 is that worrying about status at an airline compared to what is happening globally to our way of life, loss of jobs, deaths etc etc etc should be at the bottom of of the list. This is a fight to make sure all our companies and employee have jobs and survive, I wouldn't give a crap about making sure I still have status at an airline, I would prefer to make sure I still had a plane to fly on.

Agreed. Half way through to Plat and would have achieved that within 2-3 months well within the anniversary falling in Nov but apart from status is just the whole disruption to business life.

They just have! 12 month extension which is great news.

These is no legal requirement under Australian Consumer Law for Qantas to give you a “cash refund” (Debit, credit card or the way that you paid) even under "Extraordinary" events, only legal guaranteed refund under certain circumstances (ie the airlines cannot or is not able to get you to your destination under certain circumstances)

You also agreed to the airline's conditions of carriage when you booked your ticket and it states the option you have in "Extraordinary" events. Qantas is giving out travel credits first as per there conditions of carriage. They have only recently started giving out “cash refunds” without fees as a good will gesture.

With respect, that appears to be incorrect. No need to look at general legislation like Australian Consumer Law given that the Contract of Carriage itself is clear on the issue and states as follows:

"Where we make a Significant Change to your flight due to an Event Beyond Our Control, whether you have checked in or not, we will:

- use reasonable endeavours to rebook you on the next available flight on our services at no additional cost to you

- alternatively, if we are unable to rebook you on services acceptable to you, we will refund the applicable fare."

[The same wording also applies for cancellations "Events Within Our Control", so regardless which term is applied given their contractual definitions in the CoC, a refund would apply.]

The wording leaves the option to the passenger, and likely safe to say that, "we will rebook you sometime in the future" is not an "acceptable" change to most passengers in the moment of decision.

The CoC also clearly states that any "refunds" paid are paid back using the same form of payment used to purchase the ticket.

Putting my day-job hat as a lawyer back on, I have a hard time seeing Qantas successfully denying cash/credit/debit refunds for flights they cancel / suspend per the contractual terms they themselves impose.

You can speak to Qantas again and I'm sure they will waive.

I cancelled flights yesterday and was not so lucky. domestic flight booked with a travel voucher was completely non refundable as past the expiry date of the original travel voucher. Also cancelled a FF booking for 5 tickets booked and was only offered a waiver of fees if I changed dates, to cancel cost me 6000 points each - so I'm 30000 points down for that one. I have another 5 person booking to Singapore in June which I'm likely to have to cancel and will be 300000 points down again for that! Of course travel insurance does not cover loss of FF points.

Actually, some travel insurance policies do cover for loss of FF. Check you pds.

I agree TraceyW that Qantas should extend the life of the vouchers. I purchased tickets in August last year for flights in May, so will only be able to use the vouchers until August. Firstly, it is unclear whether anyone will be travelling then and secondly, I already have travel booked for August so couldn't use the vouchers before the end of the year at the earliest. Extending the life of the voucher allows people to leave their money with Qantas (who have had my money for 6 months already) and still receive some usable value for the unused tickets. I am not inclined, however, at this point to accept their offer, as I believe they will have to refund the purchase price of the ticket if they cancel the flights rather than me choosing not to fly.

I think this is early days. Qantas will announce tomorrow or Friday their new schedule probably for 6-months, then I will call (when it quite quietens down) about moving to bookings later next year when hopefully it is all over.

And ... they don't have to book the credit as negative revenue, but instead transfer to 'Deferred Revenue'. It's all about the P&L, and don't we QFF dare get in the way. I guess the only choice we have left is who to fly with when flights resume, the airline that operates like the public service ("computer syas No") or the private-sector airline that truly values your business.

If they had a bit more loyalty to their customers and actually offered more flexibility on their vouchers then I expect more people would consider them, I for one would, but if I were to accept a voucher now I would need to book AND fly by Christmas. That may sound great but as a loyal flyer I have already got all my international travel booked for this year. Perhaps if they offered 12/18 or even 24 month validity on the voucher then people would consider.

I also think Qantas are being very sneaky in not actually cancelling any flights. I have flights which they have said are no longer flying but they have yet to actually cancel them.

Call Q and speak to a person (but expect to wait).

Sorry ... to be perfectly clear, make sure you speak to an Australian based call centre operator, NOT EVER an offshore operator who's only discretion is when to take a coffee break.

I was lucky enough to get through to Qantas FF call centre this morning (10 min wait) because they changed my flights bookings to vouchers (originally asked for refunds through the ‘manage my bookings'.). The lovely lady changed the vouchers to a refund. We did this for 3 separate bookings (2x OS and 1x domestic) till July. Thumbs up from us to Qantas for making it easy.

Can I ask the important question, did they charge any cancellation fees?

No cancellation fees (even though I initially offered). VERY happy customer.

I called up this morning (wait time was about 10 minutes on the platinum line - surprisingly quick) and they refunded three international trips that were scheduled between 1 April-30 May, without any fees. The value of another upcoming trip that would have occurred prior to the cancellation of all international flights on 31 March was transferred onto a voucher. This seemed very fair to me.

Thems corporate weasel words.

Aren't flights leaving the EU covered by EU261 irrespective of the airline, so return flight may well be covered

It appears to be a game of chicken right now. Qantas won't formally cancel these flights in reservations yet (though I see they have - finally - stopped selling the same flights that otherwise still exist in my reservation). Until they do, you aren't "officially" entitled to a refund per the Conditions of Carriage.

Pretty obvious who has to blink first, however: they do. Just leave it until they have to cancel and then go for the refund. The entire blitz campaign at the moment is trying to push and even scare people into the voucher for fear of losing the ticket entirely (Qantas' recording on their service line uses wording like, "you must take action by 31 March to take advantage of this offer."). It's all a bit cheeky, of course, given these flights won't go ahead.

I understand the strategy from a financial and commercial standpoint. It's also likely to be fairly successful. It may not be great for goodwill, but it's debatable how relevant that is right now (people's memories are shorter than they say they are).

Legally, however, and setting aside the merits of the current strategy and all its bluster, you are entitled to a refund once these flights cancel, and we know they will. Some have reported success getting them already, but these are fairly limited anecdotes so far and nothing is concrete (Air NZ, for example, is publicly acknowledging the existence of the conditions of carriage they impose on their passengers and clearly stating those on cancelled flights can receive a refund. We don't see Qantas actively denying the same terms in their own contract, but they are certainly not proactively referring to and making you aware of your rights under it.)

The early bird doesn't always get the worm. Patience will prevail in this instance.

I totally agree with everything you have said, my concern though is the email which they sent out last night. I fear that there will be a long battle if they convert everyones flights into credit without their consent.

We are currently working through plans to ensure we have suitable options available for everyone, including providing new flight details where possible for impacted domestic customers and processing a flight credit for all other customers from early next week

Mickey I changed mine and one went for refund and the other two vouchers with no issues.

I wholeheartedly agree. This is what I suspect and trying to point out to all those that jump the gun and settle for travel credit due to FOMO.

Just wondering have you heard any updates from them yet? Would it be wise to all before or after the conversion into travel credits imo?

Qantas is so sneaky with this one and it definitely has make us not want to fly with them ever!

I have not. My flight is next week so I'm not able to call in and they have not responded to my Twitter DM I sent yesterday morning. Will advise as soon as I hear.

Even if they convert the ticket into a voucher before I can, however, they would still have to instead provide a refund if you insist. I am hoping this won't be a painful process for those who do insist on it but I'm not holding my breath. They don't want a news story or class action made out of this. Never a good look failing to abide by the same terms and conditions that they're usually so happy to throw at you like a brick when the issue is in their favour.

Shark bait's experience in getting vouchers converted to full refunds, above (https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/coronavirus-qantas-cancels-all-international-flights#comments-18549) seems promising.

OK EVERYBODY I HAVE Successfully got a full refund! It went through just before my phone died after waiting for 2hours! I called because one of my flights just disappeared and presumably gone into credit. The refund was processed by offshore centre.

MY TIPS would be - be nice and polite, explain why it's not possible to take travel credit AND call them early morning. Eg 1-3am and be on hold for “50mins-1hour” which translates to 1.5-2 hours hold.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!!

I just had an email through to advise my flight was cancelled and converted to a voucher.

I noticed at the bottom of the voucher was a link to request a refund. There was no other option once I clicked so beware it you see it and you don't want a refund don't click it. It doesn't ask you to confirm yes or no. The only thing I'll say is they don't refund credit card charges. I'm about $80 short but I'm happy as I didn't need to speak to anyone and it gave me a confirmation that it had been accepted.

I'd be keen to see other people's experiences. This was for a flight departing 14th May. My partner hasn't received one yet for a 16th May departure. International travel.

I received an email yesterday from QF saying my flight was cancelled and therefore would be converted to a voucher which came through this morning (really quickly for sure), although I am missing $7 NZD which I assume it is the CC fees that they don't give you, no clue though. I also notice a refund button at the bottom of the booking page on the voucher.

My question to you mickey27 is that you went for the refund, what were the ticket conditions that you originally purchased? Was your ticket a refundable one or? Example, I bought a QF sale fare which is non-refundable. Would I get any refund on this or no?

It sadly doesn't explain on the QF page anywhere especially if I hit refund, I don't want to lose my money that I could keep on a voucher if that makes sense.

mrkerr7474 - It was a business sale fare which had a $800 cancellation fee per person if I were to cancel. I was waiting out for them to cancel the flight so I didn't have to pay this

mickey27 - And just to confirm you got everything back from QF apart from the CC fees? Just don't want to take the risk and lose everything or that's going to be a nightmare

mrkerr7474 - Well the confirmation page after I clicked refund was for the same value as the voucher, which was for the cost of the ticket (excluding CC fee).

I got an email overnight from Qantas with a booking reference no. but no flight details, saying that my booking has been created into a voucher, which is only valid until 21 Aug 2020 and is short the $140.00 credit card fees. The booking is for flights leaving Melb to London on 29 May (like others it was a business sale fare). I had not contacted Qantas about the booking but had been waiting for some communication from them about the cancellation. My email from them does not contain a button or link to convert the voucher into a refund. So I phoned the platinum call centre and was initially told that as Qantas hasn't cancelled the flight and I had chosen a credit voucher I couldn't have a refund. After some time and careful explaining I was able to make it clear that I had not initiated the credit voucher and would not be in a position to use it by 21/8/20, so as Qantas had cancelled the flight, I would like a refund instead. Eventually, I was told that I could have a refund, but that it would take 6-8 weeks to be processed, but that I would receive an email 'shortly' confiming it. Three hours later, no email and I am worried that the refund won't come through and I won't be able to use the credit by the expiry date. I don't understand why some bookings are being treated differently by Qantas.

Just to confirm 'Travelbugsbitten', my refund button was on the bottom of the voucher and not in the email. From the email I clicked the 'View your booking' button at the bottom of the email and it took me to my voucher. It was at the bottom of this page that the refund button appeared

They aren't making it easy for people and I think this is deliberate

Thanks mickey27. I went into the voucher and hit the refund button. The refund is not immediate however. The message from Qantas is

Your refund request is currently being processed for XXXXX (AUD).

Due to a high volume of refunds, were currently experiencing longer processing times. Thank you for your patience while we work through these.

Have you seen the refund on your credit card yet, or like me just had notification that the refund is being processed?

Same here Travelbugsbitten, just confirmation that it will be processed. Will keep checking the credit card to see when it posts but I'm not expecting it soon.

I'm just more worried if I hit refund and they don't give me the refund or they keep part of it or what

Mkerr7474 the voucher is a no cost voucher so better to hold it and then book when you know there will be flights. This may go on to next year.

Only reason I was looking to just change the dates is that I booked during the Feb double SC promotion and if I change dates only, this promotion is still valid after confirming with QF. If I cancel to get a voucher, of course then the promotion is no longer valid which is what I'm trying to avoid and I'll need as many offers like the double SC for me to have a chance to retain for the following year. Yes first world problems but still trying to keep my booking valid to show I'll fly as soon as possibly allowed / available

This is normal sanj747

Staff & duty travel on domestic are given business seats if available. I'm guessing its because the cabin is empty that you are seeing more crew in the business section. Pilots will have a higher priority to crew

Got it Mickey27. Just have never seen cabin crew up there on any of my travels. I suspect that given they are working after they get to Sydney keeping them in the midst of smaller groups is safer too.