QANTAS: T-80 rule now becomes T-24 – to find the best domestic seats with more leg room

Recently, well, in the second half of 2024, Qantas changed the T-80 rule to T-24. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Let me explain. T-24, formally T-80 is the number of hours before your flight that Qantas releases seats normally reserved for their most premium customers.

Qantas changed the T-80 rule to T-24 last year for reasons best known to them. This was possibly because the T-80 rule was well advertised and may have been cutting into the revenue they earn from people paying for priority seat selection.

Booking seats – the 80 hour 24-hour rule – ‘T-80’ ‘T-24

The first two rows in economy on a Qantas Boeing 737-800, (rows 4 & 5) are reserved for Premium flyers. That’s Chairman’s Club and Platinum One members to select. About 3 days out, or 80 hours to be exact, those seats used to become available to all passengers. This has become so well known amongst frequent flyers that someone even produced a little T-80 online calculator. You just plug in the dates and times, and it calculates what time 80 hours is before your flight time.

There is no need to use that calculator anymore. It’s much easier now, although you have to act much later. You can now gain access to any seat formerly reserved for premium passengers 24 hours before your flight.

Exit rows and the advantage of row 4

The T-24-hour rule also means you can access extra legroom seats, which include the exit rows (usually Row 13 and 14) on a Qantas Boeing 737-800.

Rows 4 and 5 have the advantage of being at the front of the Economy Cabin. Cabin staff are aware that premium passengers travel in those two rows, so you may get some extra service/attention.

In the past, I’ve received a glass of business-class wine or champagne.

Premium frequent flyers in these rows can be granted a ‘shadow’ seat if they have Platinum status or above and the flight is not full. That is where Qantas will leave the middle seat free if passenger loadings will allow. If the plane is full, then these empty ‘shadow’ seats will disappear.

Row 4 is also desirable as it has more legroom than other economy rows. The extra pitch also makes it much easier to complete work on your computer. Normal economy seats barely have sufficient pitch for you to open your laptop with the screen at an acceptable angle. Forget it if the passenger in front decides to recline their seat.

The downside is that Row 4 seats are less wide since the tray tables are stored in the solid armrests. You also don’t get seatback entertainment, but then this is not offered in all domestic configurations anyway.

2PAXfly Takeout

Small touches of recognition can go a long way to ensure loyalty. It is the unexpected small acts of kindness—like a word of recognition, offering to hang your suit bag or coat, or gesturing for you to head through to the business class toilet when you are heading for the economy toilets at the back of the plane—that induce loyalty.

They also bring back a bit of humanity to that isolating life of travel.

On the other hand, it is the incidental discourtesies such as that exhibited by the Qantas Mean Girl, that can destroy that loyalty in one act.

Being able to grab an extra legroom seat, or one at the front of the bus, is a small luxury that premium flyers appreciate.