DO NOT FLY QANTAS HERE IS WHY ....
 

This from First Class Traveller Newsletter:

Dark Skies Ahead on Qantas…and Others?
A good example of bad business
We know the airlines have a certain, shall we say, flocking instinct.
When any of the majors floats a ridiculous idea to drain customers of
a few more bucks, the rest fall in line quickly… unless the idea
receives such a swarm of negative press that it’s impossible to
continue and save face (or customers). Qantas has come up with an
outrageous adaptation of the “anytime award” that, should it catch on,
could adversely affect frequent-flyer awards forever.
For an idea of what you’re up against with the Qantas Any Seat Award,
here’s a passage from their website:
“How Many Points Do You Need? The points required for a Qantas Any
Seat Award will vary for each booking (even for the same itinerary).
Flights with higher demand may require more points, the points
required for Any Seat Awards are determined by Qantas Frequent Flyer
and there is no fixed relationship between the price charged by Qantas
for a seat and the points to redeem a Qantas Any Seat Award.”
If that description gives you the impression that Qantas has plans to
charge astronomical rates for any routes it sees fit, the research
below should validate your suspicion.
Mileage examples with the new “Any Seat Award”:
Los Angeles to Sydney, Aug. 15-30, 2008 - Qantas “Classic Award”
Business Class: 192,000 points.
Most carriers’ anytime awards would be double that amount, or 384,000
miles. But Qantas’ new Any Seats Award rate for the same route, same
dates, is 1,906,957 points.
In a press release introducing the new plan, Qantas Frequent Flyer
Chief Executive Simon Hickey offers this chilling vision of the
futu
“These changes will establish the program as a world leader among
loyalty programs in terms of the value it offers members and the
breadth of product choices.”
Let’s hope he’s wrong.