Upgrade hack: Why you should always choose an Qantas A330

Whether you’ve got a sneaky stash of points or you’re just praying it’s your lucky day, there’s a good reason to choose your aircraft carefully.

Follow these tips to ensure your frequent flyer points get you to business class.

Every traveller that spends significant time soaring across the sky has a strategy for using frequent flyer points accumulated from gallivanting around the globe.

For some it’s shopping sprees promised by a healthy points balance, for others it’s securing free holiday flights for the family, but for me the credits in my Qantas and Singapore Airlines accounts go towards upgrading to a seat in the front end of the aircraft.

A few years ago an upgrade on a long-haul flight meant jumping from a squashy economy seat to the bliss of a business-class berth, but since the introduction of premium economy in international cabins a step forward now doesn’t automatically mean a lie-flat bed and pair of PJs.

Don’t get me wrong, premium economy is an improvement on cattle class, but I prefer using my frequent flyers to reach business and that’s still possible by following these tips when plane shopping.

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Premium economy is the class between economy and business presenting extra space and a few more service perks that’s now available to international travellers with Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines some brands serving Australia that offer the option.

But certain carriers still configure selected aircraft without the intermediate category – for Qantas it’s the A330, some A330s and 777s at Cathay, and in Singapore’s fleet it’s the A330 as well as designated A350s and 777s – which means those successful at upgrading with points will move to business class.

But it means spending time plane shopping and not only checking which aircraft run on different routes but looking at the seat plan on a website like SeatGuru to determine a particular plane’s cabin configuration.

It sounds complicated, and it does take a bit of time, but all the information is available online and means those selecting a plane without premium will get more benefit when using their points.

As an example, I like flying Qantas from Melbourne to Asia and with the Flying Kangaroo typically allocating A330s to the destinations like Tokyo and Hong Kong it’s a good bet to apply for an upgrade on the overnight flight home and spend aloft hours stretched out in business-class pod.

Business class on the A330 ... yes please! Picture: Qantas

UPGRADE ON DOMESTIC RUNS

The other option for snagging a business-class seat is saving points to upgrade on domestic flights with Qantas relying on its 737-800 fleet, the narrow-body jet only offering two-class cabins, to carry customers around the country.

I often take this option but don’t use Qantas points to upgrade on short hops between east-coast cities that spend less than two hours in the sky and instead use my allowance on longer journeys like those crossing the country from one coast to another.

FLY WHEN BUSINESS IS SLOW

Date and time shopping also increases the chance of snagging a business-class promotion with a move forward more likely during the hours corporate customers are on the ground.

On domestic runs the morning and evening rush during the week see business-class seats filled with passengers paying full fare while places in the front end of international flights are more likely to be vacant on weekends.

It’s essential to keep in mind, whether flying international or domestic, that airlines can make last-minute changes on the aircraft running a particular route so all the plotting and scheming might go out the window if a plane with premium is suddenly sent to the departure gate.

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Originally published as Upgrade hack: Why you should always choose an Qantas A330