How to reserve the best seats on Qantas flights with the ‘T-80’ and ‘T-24’ rules

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 can 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’s a way to gain access to the front of the plane? As long as other people haven’t already booked those seats before you, it’s simple. Just wait until 80 hours before the flight, and your options begin to broaden.

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:

1. Check your flight seat map starting 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. However, Qantas now charges fees to sit here, for passengers playing the T-80 game. You have to wait until online check-in opens to do a fee-free swap. Online check-in usually begins 24 hours before departure, thus, T-24.

Wherever and whenever you play switcheroo, 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 most 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.

• 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. This includes row 4 on Boeing 737 flights. If available before online check-in, these attract a fee unless you’re Platinum One or Chairman’s Lounge – or travelling on the same booking as one of these flyers.

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. The fee waiver for Platinum One and Chairman’s Lounge members in terms of extra legroom applies at any time – not just 80 hours before departure.

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). However, Economy X extra-legroom seats generally remain chargeable, except for Velocity Platinum and Virgin Australia Beyond.