This is a Qantas connecting flights guide.
In this guide, we cover everything that you need to know about Qantas connecting flights. This guide also contains information about baggage rules, air passenger rights and compensation regulations. Qantas is the flag carrier of Australia. It operates scheduled flights to a number of destinations in Oceania, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. Qantas is Australia’s largest airline by fleet size, and a member of Oneworld alliance.
Did you miss a connecting flight? File a compensation claim online.
1
Is It Protected?
Yes, it’s a protected connection.
Traditional airlines sell airline-protected connecting flights. It’s more convenient and more safe than self-transfer flights. You don’t need a visa for connecting flights like this.
Unless you book flights separately.
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2
Baggage Rules
Airline takes care of your baggage.
Mostly, you will check in baggage only once — you won’t have to recheck baggage for every flight. This is how it works with full-service airlines and airline-protected connecting flights.
Baggage allowance depends on the ticket, destination and occasionally some other factors.
3
Travel Insurance
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1. Qantas Connecting Flights
Qantas is a full-service traditional airline.
Just like other full-service traditional airlines, Qantas offers airline-protected connecting flights. Such flights are one of the main reasons why people prefer traditional airlines over budget airlines. Airline-protected connecting flights are better than self transfers (see the comparison).
Other most popular reasons are: free baggage allowance and free meals.
Airline-protected connecting flights are:
- More safe. Your airline takes care of flight problems.
- More convenient. Baggage transfer is automatic.
- Easier to book. You book several flights as a single journey.
Yes, Qantas sells airline-protected connecting flights.
1.1 Connecting Flights, One Airline
You’ve booked a connecting flight with Qantas.
There are situations when it will be operated fully by Qantas. You’ll be flying on a Qantas plane, manned by Qantas staff. But keep in mind that it’s not always the case with Qantas connecting flights.
1.2 Qantas Codeshare Partners
Sometimes airlines share their flights.
It is done in order to widen their flight network.
So that Qantas (and other airlines, for that matter) can offer more flights, to more destinations. Some of these flights are operated by another airline, even though it is sold by Qantas. Connecting flights with different airlines is a common practice. These kind of flights are called codeshare flights, and airlines collaborating on this flight — codeshare partners.
What you should know is that:
- If you miss a connecting flight through no fault of your own, it’s not your responsibility. Your first flight was late, and you didn’t make it in time for your next flight. In this case, you you should contact Qantas to ask for an alternative flight. As long as it’s a Qantas connection booked from Qantas (they are called marketing airline), they are responsible for finding solutions. Even if part of the flight was operated by Qantas’s partner.
- If your flight is heavily delayed, cancelled or overbooked, compensation is paid by airline operating this particular flight. If it’s operated by some other airline, not Qantas, then they are called operating airline — they have to pay compensation when it’s due.
See a list of Qantas codeshare partners here.
2. What If Qantas Cancels a Flight?
Why is Qantas cancelling flights?
This happens for a number of reasons. Staff shortage, technical problems, airport congestion, inclement weather, airport security risks. These are just some of the most popular reasons why airlines cancel flights.
2.1 One of Your Flights Is Cancelled
Qantas is an Australian airline.
According to the EU Regulation 261/2004, they must:
- Offer you a choice between a new flight and full refund.
- Offer you assistance at the airport (you have a right to care).
This applies to their flights departing from Europe.
If you are going to miss your connection because of that, it’s the airline’s responsibility to find you a new flight. Alternatively, you can ask for a full refund. However, you can ask for a refund only if your flight departs from the EU.
You may have a right to compensation (more on this below).
Did you miss a connecting flight? File a compensation claim online.
2.2 All Your Flights Are Cancelled
Overall, for you as a passenger, the options are the same.
According to the EU Regulation 261/2004, Qantas must:
- Offer you a choice between a new flight and full refund.
- Offer you assistance at the airport if it’s a last-minute cancellation and you are already at the airport (you have a right to care).
This applies to all their flights departing from Europe.
Refund must be paid within seven days.
In some situations, you can get EU flight cancellation compensation.
2.3 Qantas Refund for Cancellation
Yes, you have a right to ask for a refund.
If your Qantas flight departs from Europe, you are under protection of European regulations. If your flight is cancelled and you don’t want to take an alternative flight, you can choose a refund.
The refund has to be paid by bank transfer within 7 days.
You don’t have to accept any coupons.
3. Qantas Missed Connecting Flight
Why do people miss connecting flights?
There are a number of reasons.
You could miss your connection if the previous flight was delayed or cancelled. You could miss your flight because of airport congestions and long queues. Or you could simply make a mistake and wait at the wrong gate or fall asleep while waiting for your next flight.
3.1 What Happens If You Miss Qantas Connection?
If it’s your fault that it happened — it’s your responsibility.
If it’s not your fault, then your airline has to take care of that. If you booked a flight from Qantas, it doesn’t even matter if the flight is operated by Qantas or not, you should contact Qantas. It’s their responsibility to find a solution. You missed a connecting flight, Qantas must offer you a solution.
According to the EU Regulation 261/2004, they must:
- Take you to your final destination as soon as possible.
- Offer you assistance at the airport (you have a right to care).
With Qantas, some of this apply only to flights from Europe.
Read more: Missed Connecting Flight Due to Delay
3.2 Right to Compensation from Qantas
Sometimes you have a right to compensation.
If your Qantas flight:
- Departs from the EU, EEA or UK,
- Arrives to destination 3 or more hours late,
- Is delayed or cancelled due to the fault of the airline
Then you might be entitled to flight compensation from Qantas.
Flight cancelled less than 2 weeks before the trip?
You might be entitled to flight cancellation compensation.
GET FLIGHT COMPENSATION
File a Claim Online
3.3 Right to Care from Qantas
On all Qantas flights from Europe you have a right to care.
According to the EU Regulation 261/2004 airline should provide:
- Free food and drinks in a reasonable relation to the waiting time.
- Free hotel accommodation if a stay of one or more nights is necessary.
- Free airport transfer to hotel and back.
- Plus, two telephone calls, telex or fax messages, or e-mails.
If you have booked a Qantas connecting flight, these regulations only apply to Qantas flights departing from European airports. With European airlines, like KLM, LOT Polish Airlines, Wizz Air and British Airways, it applies to all their flights, both departing from and arriving to the EU / EEA / UK.
When it comes to air passenger rights, unless otherwise stated, we talk about air passenger rights in the EU, EEA and UK. When we say Europe or European, we mean EU, EEA or UK. This is done for the simplicity, since the according laws in these countries are about the same.
4. How to Book Connecting Flights with Qantas?
You can do it directly from Qantas or via a third-party.
The best way is to book directly from Qantas. It’s the safest option, especially in situations when there are any problems. But there’s another popular option — to book using a third-party flight booking site such as kiwi.com.
How to Book?
Airline website (directly).
This is the easiest way to book a connecting flight. It’s also the safest way to book a connection. You make a single booking, have a single reservation code and the booking includes several flights. Sometimes they are all with one airline, other times – two or more. Anyway, in this case, you can be 100% sure that you have a proper connecting flight.
Other Option
Flight booking websites.
Few examples: skyscanner.net, expedia.com, momondo.com.
Pay attention to the details. Because some of these sites are only search engines, and sellers are other websites. Apart from that, they often sell both airline-protected connecting flights and self-transfer flights. If it’s a self-transfer, know that it comes with its own risks, and there are things you should take into account. Self-transfer is not the same thing as airline-protected transfer.
For extra protection, buy also a travel insurance covering flight disruptions, or book with sites like kiwi.com, who offer extra protection.
With kiwi.com you are more protected than normally.
Read more: How to Book Connecting Flights?
5. Qantas Connecting Flights: Baggage
Since Qantas is a traditional airline, everything’s very easy.
Baggage rules on connecting flights with Qantas are simple.
In short, Qantas takes care of your baggage. Check in your luggage when checking in for your Qantas connecting flight at your origin airport. In most cases, your luggage will be delivered to your final destination, unless you have separately booked flights. Or, you’re traveling through a country that requires everyone to collect and recheck their baggage (US is one such exception).
If you have questions about how baggage is handled, ask at the baggage drop or check-in counter. The staff will tell if you need to collect and recheck your luggage between the flights.
5.1 Baggage Transfer: Different Airlines
What happens if there are several airlines?
What if one of your flights is operated by different airline, not Qantas? As we already talked, you may experience this, because Qantas does share some of its flights with its codeshare partners. In this situation the rules are the same — your baggage is being taken care of by an airline.
In most situations you won’t have to worry about it at all. You’ll just check in your baggage once, and receive it at the end of your journey.
Read more:
- Connecting Flight Baggage Transfer: Different Airlines
- Lost Baggage on Connecting Flights
- Delayed Baggage on Connecting Flights
- What is Checked Baggage?
5.2 Qantas Free Baggage Allowance
Baggage allowance varies — it’s not the same on all flights.
It depends on travel class, destination, and, of course, the airline.
To see your Qantas baggage allowance, check your booking confirmation. When you are booking a flight, you can see the baggage allowance when you are choosing a travel class. Don’t forget to pay attention to these details!
5.3 Economy Light
This is the cheapest option for long-haul flights.
Economy Light comes without free baggage allowance.
We see this all across the industry. Full-service traditional airlines are offering also tickets without free checked baggage allowance. The wording is also often the same — Economy Light. So, if you see this, most likely it’s without checked baggage (carry on baggage only).
Qantas doesn’t have an “Economy Light” travel class (for now). All passengers get free baggage allowance on flights operated by Qantas. However, airline baggage policy can change. So, make sure you check what is included in the fare when you are making a booking.
6. Connecting Flight Examples
Here are two connecting flight examples with Qantas.
6.1 Protected Connecting Flights with Qantas (Most Common)
For this example, I’ll be using the website of Qantas.
Let’s say, you want to fly from Los Angeles to Brisbane (Australia).
You’ve searched for flights for August 29, and these are some of the options:
On their website Qantas sells only protected connecting flights. However, as you can see, there are also direct flights available. Those are a bit more expensive than the connecting flights. Let’s look at the cheapest option, Los Angeles — Brisbane flight, with a stop in Sydney. It’s fully operated by Qantas, and it takes 18 hours 40 minutes.
As you might already know, not all connecting flights are always operated by the marketing airline (in this case, Qantas). Most of the connecting flights on the list are operated by Qantas. However there are a couple of options when one of the flights are operated by American Airlines. See the example below.
If this matters to you, and if you want to travel only with Qantas, pay attention to details like these. Keep in mind that total flight duration, number of stops and price vary, too.
6.2 Self-Transfer Flights with Qantas
Here’s the second example.
Brisbane is not your final destination. After spending a couple of days in Brisbane, you will head to Gold Coast to explore its beaches.
How can you get there?
- You can book a connecting flight to Brisbane, like in the example above. For example, you’re taking one of the cheapest options, the third one, which arrives in Brisbane at 10:30 am.
- And then you go to kiwi.com, or some other flight search engine, and book a flight from Brisbane to Gold Coast. Leaving yourself, let’s say, 2 days in Brisbane (you’ll have a stopover in Brisbane). You can also book flights directly from the airline, which is often more safe.
Until Brisbane you have an airline-protected connecting flight. If your first flight is delayed or cancelled, Qantas will put you on another flight for free. However, the last leg, Brisbane – Gold Coast is a separate flight. It comes with a layover (a stopover, more precisely). You have to check in for this flight separately.
When you are booking a connecting flight like this, don’t forget about this. Leave yourself plenty of time. Don’t risk with short layovers. 45-minute layovers are a bad choice with self transfer flights.
As you can see, Brisbane — Gold Coast flight is a connecting flight too. This means, that the connection is protected by the airline operating this flight (Virgin Australia). Just like with the Los Angeles — Brisbane flight, if your first flight is delayed or cancelled, the airline will put you on another flight for free. But your layover/stopover in Brisbane is not protected by any of these airlines.
What is your experience with Qantas? Have you ever missed a connecting flight with Qantas? How did the airline solve this problem? Did you receive compensation from Qantas?
Featured photo by Soly Moses
About the author:
Una is an organized globetrotter and foodie who’s been living a digital nomad lifestyle since 2013. She always starts her day early with a good book before diving into work. Apart from traveling and aviation, her other passions include gym, hiking and cycling. Una is also a strong proponent of AI technology. She firmly believes in its potential to simplify life and has often advocated for its wider adoption in our day-to-day activities. Her favorite airlines are Qatar Airways, Emirates, and KLM.
