Unless you’re a Platinum One or Chairman’s Lounge member, you’ll probably notice that a few rows of seats at the front of every Qantas flight are greyed out. This happens in just about every cabin class – even in Business. In Economy, more than a third of the seat map can be unavailable for selection initially.
Now, it doesn’t usually mean those seats are occupied (though sometimes they are). Instead, those seats are reserved for Qantas’ elite frequent flyers – those with Silver, Gold, Platinum status or higher. The better your status, the more seats you are able to see when booking.
Take a look at the difference a Qantas Platinum frequent flyer can see on the seat map for the same flight, compared to a standard passenger booking above.
But what if we told you there is an easy and reliable way to gain access to the front of the plane? As long as other people haven’t already booked the seats first, it’s simple. Just wait until 80 hours before the flight.
What is the Qantas ‘T-80 rule’?
It’s not an official rule as such, but Qantas Frequent Flyers have affectionately named it the ‘T-80 rule’ – in reference to how seats become available 80 hours prior to departure. Here’s how it works:
- Check your flight seat map starting from 80 hours before the scheduled departure
That’s it! Although it’s not guaranteed, in the vast majority of cases, any unoccupied blocked seats in the cabin will become available for everyone. This includes the coveted ‘Row 4’ on Qantas Boeing 737s – this front row of Economy offers excellent legroom as the seats are directly behind Business Class.
If available, simple re-select your new seats and confirm your choices. Note that Qantas does reserve the right to re-seat passengers depending on operational demands, but at least you gave it your best shot.
How do I work out what time the T-80 seats open up?
To work out when those seats become released, simply subtract 80 hours from your departure time. In practice, you should minus three whole days (72 hrs), plus take away another 8 hours.
So if your flight departure is 12:35 pm on a Saturday:
- Minus three days to reach 12:35 pm on Wednesday.
- Minus another eight hours to reach 4:35 am on Wednesday.
Back in 2021, when I was initially writing up this article, I had an upcoming flight that departed at 12:35 pm on a Saturday. In the name of research, I roused myself at 4:35 am the previous Wednesday to confirm the T-80 rule was still being applied. Good news: it was.
Why should I choose seats at T-80?
There are many reasons why you might want to use the T-80 rule to snag some better seats at the front of the plane.
- Often, the very first row of Economy and Premium Economy has extra legroom but doesn’t cost more to book. Instead, it’s blocked for elite frequent flyers.
- In light of COVID-19, you might want to disembark earlier to get through airport arrivals processes faster.
- Anecdotally, some standard Economy seats in the front half of the plane sometimes have a little bit more legroom than the back half of the plane.
- You get faster service at the front of the plane and reduce the risk of missing out on your preferred meal.
What about extra-legroom seats?
Fancy stretching out those legs on the flight, but perhaps you’re not quite willing to pay? Unfortunately, paid extra-legroom seats don’t become free at T-80.
If you want to try your luck, the green extra-legroom seats instead become free to select from 24 hours before flight departure.
You will need to go through Qantas’ online check-in for the best chance. You can also ask at the airport, but usually, the seats are taken by then. Platinum One and Chairman’s Lounge members can choose extra legroom seats for free at any time.
Summing up
Airlines have quirks and Qantas is no exception. The ‘T-80 rule’ is good to keep in the back of your mind if you want a better shot at nabbing seats usually reserved for elite frequent flyers. It’s not a guaranteed or published rule by any means, but we’ve found it applies on most of the Qantas flights we’ve been on.
Wondering about Virgin Australia? The remaining seats get unblocked 48 hours before departure (when online check-in opens), but the Economy X extra-legroom seats remain chargeable.
Thanks.
I could only reserve seats 39J. Today I logged in not aware of the T-80 hack and could see those new seats available. However, when I went to.check out if those seats were any good, SeatGuru have some advice they weren’t. I called qantas, went through to call centre and they “googled’ and couldn’t find anything else but from the ‘look’ of them, the seats ‘appeared’ to have more legroom. How can I find out for sure if I’ve made a good decision?
I’m flying YVR-SYD-ADL. For the domestic portion (SYD-ADL) I dont have to pay to select a specific economy seat. But for the international segment I do : $45 (though it does show “window” which is my preference. Should I just leave it as is??).
Should I pay now for a seat so I’m “mostly” guaranteed to get a window, then at T-80 check for a better seat, or should I hold off, then at T-80 choose a seat…and will I have to pay to select a non-preferred seat, or is it free within 80hrs?
Thanks for any feedback!
Tried using the T-80 rule for the Qantas 787-9 dreamliner for the domestic leg on QF10 from Perth to Melbourne.
Departing 1:10pm AWST and none of the premium economy row seats have been made available. Only can see rows 40 and beyond with seat selection.
Any ideas?
Thanks for your reply. Flight QF10 departing Perth on Fri 7th Oct at 13:10.
What I can see available are only rows 40 to 59. I am booked on an economy commercial fare.
Nothing in premium economy (rows 20-23) that opens up as I thought it would as per the T-80 rule.
Many thanks. Sorry to go via this forum.
Emma
Emma
This is why we can’t have nice things.