I just purchased the Qantas AussiePass for my family of five for August. While the Qantas agent assigned seats for the LA-Australia flight (and the return flight), he said that seats on the intra-Australia flights could not be assigned in advance. Has anyone been able to have seats assigned on their intra-Australia Qantas flights?

Yes.

lizF, you have been able to get a specific seat assigned in advance for an Australian domestic flight, as opposed to just requesting window or aisle? I just called Qantas (in the USA) and asked again and they told me that no one gets assigned specific seats in advance on Qantas domestic flights, no matter what class of service. I then went onto the Qantas website and read the Q&A on the topic, which referred me to a way for me to bring up my booking and enter special requests. However, that only allowed for a window/aisle general request, not a seat map with specific seats.

I don't know how, when or where this happened by my best friend is a Travel Agent and when I used to put things through her ( pre-Internet) I always got the seat allocation I wanted. However if you are a member with a One World member your request will always be applied. It could be different if you are in another country tho'. Of course if your flights are with Jetstar ( the bargain basement service of Qantas no one gets a seat allocation and that includes at the time of getting on the place as well so that could be a factor. Why is it so important to have assigned seats though for domestic flights? You will all be together and most of the domestic flights have 3 across each side anyway, with the exception of the Airbus services which have a different configuration. You will have meals or snacks on Qantas and seat allocation can be arranged easily if you get to the airport early if it is really important for something specific. However as I said before if you are arriving into Australia with Qantas or BA then make your request either with them before you leave or in the Club Lounge if you are a Club member of one of the One World group.

Hey there:

Just confirmed mine today. One word of advice: book your inter-country legs as soon as possible. Only a certain number of seats on each flight are designated as AussiePass seats---regardless of how many other seats are actually available. Also, unlike many American airlines, you can actually make the reservation without paying for it on the spot---they give you a couple of days to think it over while they hold the reservation for you.

Hope that helps!

Actually, you have to book your intra-Australia flights when you purchase your Aussiepass and they cannot be changed. Were you able to reserve specific seats on the intra-Australia flights?

Europewithkids--I double-checked my itinerary from last August when we used the AussiePass and found (as I had remembered) that we did not have confirmed seats for the intra-country flights. We were a family of 4 and as we generally sit 2-and-2, it was not a problem for us to get seats assigned together once we checked in for the various flights at the airport. I, too, like to have all my seat assignments before I leave on a trip, but this did not turn out to be a problem for us after all. I can only suggest that you check with the Qantas rep when you get to the airport in LA and, if you are not successful there, with the Qantas rep when you actually get to Australia. Good luck and enjoy your trip!

Thanks, longhorn55. That is consistent with what Qantas is telling me. If that is what it is, there isn't anything I can do about it. I just want to make sure I am getting the correct information.

By the way, I have appreciated the advice you have offered on other postings. Your insights helped get me interested in adding Darwin to our itinerary. I hope you will continue to share your knowledge and opinions on postings I am sure I will have between now and August.