Qantas Frequent Flyer - Transfer JFK or LAX

Hello and Merry Xmas everyone.
On Feb 7 next year I will be in Boston and heading home to Sydney and im not sure whether to fly to NY and catch QF 108 or head straight to LAX on AA and catch 108 there .Which will be the easier airport to transfer at?
Also I am WP and travelling in J class so what lounges can i use?
I earnt WP with interstate and NZ trips so its all new to me
Cheers

For convenience I'd fly to LAX, as you will land and depart on QF108 in T4, and that would only require 2 flight segments (instead of 3 by going BOS-JFK-LAX-SYD). There is a joint Admirals Club/Qantas Club at LAX (and you'll also be able to use the ACs in BOS and JFK)

Not knowing JFK personally but by reputation, I can't imagine it being easier than LAX.

Do the Qantas flights at JFK go out of T7? That would mean a terminal change there, and also going through security again. Factor in some rain or snow in February, and LAX may be the better alternative.

Hello and Merry Xmas everyone.
On Feb 7 next year I will be in Boston and heading home to Sydney and im not sure whether to fly to NY and catch QF 108 or head straight to LAX on AA and catch 108 there .Which will be the easier airport to transfer at?
Also I am WP and what lounges can i use?
I earnt WP with interstate and NZ trips so its all new to me
Cheers


Hi AB

You don't say what class you will be flying, but if in economy (coach) then QF 108 will offer a full meal and drinks service, plus a more comfortable aircraft with (most likely) AVOD for the trans-con.

QF108 departs from the BA terminal in JFK and as a WP you get to use the BA First Class lounge, plus the dedicated First check-in desks (with their own security line, but when I was there on 8 December the regular lines were moving pretty quick anyways). The BA first lounge is very small however, so you can always go next door to the Biz Lounge where they have more room (take your champagne with you!).

QF108 is also called QF one-oh-late - because is usually so. My flight was a good two hours behind schedule and I think that is pretty usual (heavy congestion out of JFK at that time of night). It does make up some time however on the LAX-SYD sector.

With it being late, the duty free shops were closed in LAX when we got there. You can't buy DF in JFK (domestic flight they said), which means you have to buy on arrival in oz (and drink was expensive compared to the US).

In LAX as a WP you can use the Flagship Lounge, they will give you a card on entry to the AC that allows you entry.

Flying out of BOS will cut out the delays via JFK (swap them for BOS!!), but no food and limited entertainment etc. Probably weighing it up, out of BOS means only one set of delays (but then again, if your BOS flight is delayed/canx, make sure it is all one the one ticket with the 108 connection to protect yourself!)

Regards

WG

Sorry WG
I forgot to mention im in J class so I assume this is a better option trans-con with Qantas than with AA?

Sorry WG
I forgot to mention im in J class so I assume this is a better option trans-con with Qantas than with AA?

Well, now the question is what's more important, comfort or convenience?

I forgot to mention im in J class so I assume this is a better option trans-con with Qantas than with AA?

Yes, as AA runs two class 757's on BOS-LAX, while the Qantas Skybed in business will put them to shame.

I have done SYD-BOS over a dozen times on AA and QF. It all comes down to the operating aircraft of AA as to whether it is worth transiting down to JFK or not.

The difference is that the AA flight will get you in to connect with QF12 (just) which is more reliable in departure time than 108 or 150.

Looking at the timetable the BOS-LAX flight in your case is a 757 which is the worst possible plane for J PAX. The seats are old, with no footrest or decent headrest and very tight pitch for a transcon flight.

My suggestion would be to trade off the double transit and fly the ERJ down to JFK and pick up 108 there or depending on what time you can leave BOS, take QF3112 from JFK which is a 762 for the additional status credits and ability to connect with QF12 out of LAX.

In answer to your questions:

In BOS you can use the Flagship Lounge which is a small lounge but well catered and the afternoon lounge supervisor loves QF WP's and will take excellent care of you. The Flagship Lounge entrance is a door marked Private at the back of the AA club.

While the ERJ's depart from the commuter terminal which I dont think even has bathrooms, you should have enough time to use the FL in BOS before hopping down to JFK.

In JFK if you depart on QF108 you will need to change terminals to what is essentially the BA terminal. This involves a short walk and being rescreened through security. For QF 108 you can use the BA FIRST lounge (but not the concord room). The BA first lounge is actually pretty average but will do the job while you wait.

In LAX you will also be able to use the AA Flagship Lounge which is a shared AA/ QF lounge

Don't forget that you can't take duty free bottles past security in the LOTFAP. They will be confiscated and thrown out (do you really believe that they are disposed of?). Save the duty free purchases for the arrivals at SYD unless you are absolutely certain that you won't have to do a security "baggie" show at a connection.

Hello and Merry Xmas everyone.
On Feb 7 next year I will be in Boston and heading home to Sydney and im not sure whether to fly to NY and catch QF 108 or head straight to LAX on AA and catch 108 there .Which will be the easier airport to transfer at?
Also I am WP and travelling in J class so what lounges can i use?
I earnt WP with interstate and NZ trips so its all new to me
Cheers

We've done BOS-SYD often, and at that time of year I would always do BOS-LAX. Doing 6 hours in the 757 J is not purgatory, and you avoid the possibility of delays into JFK (and missed 108) if the weather is bad. Plus the whole AE thing is a great hassle in both BOS and JFK.

3 segments does generally equate to more SCs so if your a status or points whore it might be the best way to go. ;)

In BOS you can use the Flagship Lounge which is a small lounge but well catered and the afternoon lounge supervisor loves QF WP's and will take excellent care of you. The Flagship Lounge entrance is a door marked Private at the back of the AA club.


Unfortuantely the FL in BOS was close more than 12 months ago! Last year I went there the FL sign is there but inside it is just an additional area with more seats. No more nice food and drinks and nice attendants there!

However if u want to use the AC I heard they created a passage way to connect through to the AE terminal so no need to clear security twice.

I wish JFK still has the Oneworld Connection shuttle Bus (Airside). Used to be so easy to connect there from T8/9 to T7.

I would strongly encourage you to take QF 108 from JFK rather than endure the 757 service from BOS-LAX!

It is no contest for travel in Feb, you would be insane to route BOS-JFK-LAX given the potential for weather problems and the near certainty of a walk on the tarmac at JFK (when Eagle has problems). Particularly wonderful in high wind, snow and rain. JFK is a nightmare for Eagle operations and doesn't currently have a terminal for Eagle to use (the new terminal is not quite finished and the old terminal had to be torn down). If you were doing this next Feb, you would only have the flight delays to contend with. Now you would be deliberately going into harsh conditions. F on AA BOS-LAX is not bad even on a 757 (food is roughly comparable to QF J, wine not as good, seat a lot worse). But it is pretty reliable and once in LA you have a lot more connecting options to get you to Australia. Overall it makes for a much more pleasant trip. Traveling with QF you don't get the JSA with BA out of JFK, thus don't get to see or use the nicer parts of the excellent BA JFK facilities. If you must go via JFK, plan on having a day to kill, fly down to JFK in the morning, but don't try to do a normal afternoon connection.

Thx everyone for their replies,but checking my FF site this morning it looks like work has booked me on QF108 all the way home anyway.
Will have 2.45 hours to transfer in NY so I hope i will have time to check out the BA F lounge ?? and drink and some Champagne!





Flight 1
Wed 31 Jan 07 18:05 Sydney 06:25 (Thu) London QF001
Terminal 1

Status: Confirmed
Class: Business (D)
Flight Duration: 23h 20m


Flight 2:
Mon 05 Feb 07 18:55 London 21:35 New York BA173
Terminal 4
Status: Confirmed
Flight Duration: 7h 40m

Flight 3:
Wed 07 Feb 07 19:55 New York 21:15 Boston AA4616
Terminal 9
Flight Duration: 1h 20m


Flight 4:
Fri 09 Feb 07 14:45 Boston 15:55 New York AA4662
Terminal B
Status: Confirmed
Flight Duration: 1h 10m


Fri 09 Feb 07 18:40 New York 09:15 (Sun) Sydney QF108
Terminal 7

Thx everyone for their replies,but checking my FF site this morning it looks like work has booked me on QF108 all the way home anyway.
Will have 2.45 hours to transfer in NY so I hope i will have time to check out the BA F lounge ?? and drink and some Champagne!
You'll barely make it. AA 4662 is in the lowest rated category for on-time performance, with average delay of over an hour (and it is that good only because that number includes the good weather times of the year). Expect 2 to 3 hour delays in Feb (the plane shuttles between BOS and JFK so the delays accumulate during the day). I'd say you have a 50% chance of over-nighting at JFK and cathing QF108 a day later. You really need an earlier flight if you want to go this way. Sorry to be so pessimistic, but I have lots of experience with JFK in Feb and this is the only advice that I can give you. The only reason your odds of making QF108 are at all good is that it too is usually delayed (which works to your advantage in this case).

Don't get your hopes up about drinking good champagne in the BA F lounge. At JFK BA doesn't use the F lounge (the real BA F lounge is called the Concorde Room), thus the F lounge is for non-BA people and BA stocks it with trash. Monopole Blue Top, for example.

Don't get your hopes up about drinking good champagne in the BA F lounge. At JFK BA doesn't use the F lounge (the real BA F lounge is called the Concorde Room), thus the F lounge is for non-BA people and BA stocks it with trash. Monopole Blue Top, for example.

Fully agreed. Our recent run through JFK was on the exact same flights as you mentioned (BOS-JFK-SYD). 108 was late by 2 hrs. The BA lounge was rubbish with minimal low quality snacks / drinks. Very disappointing. After discovering that 108 was one-oh-late (and only through persistent pestering to the lounge dragons - who neglected to do a PA announcement - just sending someone around to "talk personally" with SLF (and accordingly missed most people :rolleyes: ), we exitted the terminal and walked around the loop road between the terminals and rode the elevated railway. I wouldn't do this in winter, but it was more interesting than the crappy BA lounge.