SQ Routing Controlled Award seats - Very frustrating

[edison]

I have been looking at Y Saver SYD-SIN-KIX for 2 pax at Krisflyer redemption engine online, and have experienced the following difficulties:

- SQ618 SIN-KIX is available for booking, if SYD-SIN flight is SQ220 (ie 08:05am), even though SQ220 is NOT available.
- SQ618 SIN-KIX is NOT available, if SYD-SIN flight is SQ234 (the flight I wanted), even though SQ234 is available.
- If booking MEL-SIN-KIX then SQ618 SIN-KIX is always available.

After speaking with the customer service, they said that there are quotas for seats depending on routing, and said that SYD-SIN-KIX is "full", and MEL-SIN-KIX is available. She suggested that I book MEL-SIN-KIX instead. I said that SIN-KIX should be available for ALL routings rather than selective routings, and I should not have to go to MEL to go to KIX given that the seats are available for SIN-KIX. However they won't budge. I lodged a complaint about this and voiced my disappointment. I don't know how it will come at the end, given my cynical view about management not doing anything about it as I am not like high valued customer.

How can this be? Also, I don't think it is mentioned in T&Cs. I understand that seats are capacity controlled, but not routing controlled. This really frustrates me because I just think it is unfair.

[a340-313x]

- SQ618 SIN-KIX is available for booking, if SYD-SIN flight is SQ220 (ie 08:05am), even though SQ220 is NOT available.
- SQ618 SIN-KIX is NOT available, if SYD-SIN flight is SQ234 (the flight I wanted), even though SQ234 is available.
- If booking MEL-SIN-KIX then SQ618 SIN-KIX is always available.

It appears you have been hampered by the married-segment logic... basically, the airline controls the number of seats between each city-pair even if it may be more than one segment. In your case, the SYD-SIN and SIN-KIX segments are "married", but it could very well be that the quota SQ has allocated for SYD-KIX has been exhausted (at least on the SQ234-SQ618 combinations, which is why, from what you have written, SQ220-SQ618 is available).

It will be the same case for commercial paid bookings as well, unless you buy two separate tickets between SYD-SIN and SIN-KIX, simply because to ferry one pax from SYD-SIN and another one from SIN-KIX earns higher revenue for the airline. Might seem a little unfair to us, but that is how the industry works... I don't think this is unique to SQ (unfortunately).

[spw21]

In this case, I think you will have to book seperate tickets for both sectors. This may require more miles too.. I don't think ANA flies to SYD, do they?

[edison]

Even booking separately won't work given that if I tried to book SIN-KIX alone, it is still on waitlist only. However MEL-SIN-KIX works.

NH does not fly direct to SYD. I wish they were. Currently it is dominated by QF/JL and in a way JQ, and unfortunately I don't have QF points as I have been concentrating to earn on SQ. Also QF availability on awards is always very low (they have plenty of JQ availability on awards though ).

[TerryK]

Booking class allocations are by O/D, not by flight. This is pretty standard across all major airlines for both commercial and award bookings. It may not work for you this time, but that's the way system is designed.