universitylad

I've booked DL flights 16 and 17 with Delta between SYD and LAX on their 777 plane.

Leaving LAX around 10 PM arriving SYD 6 AM with 15 hours of flight time.
Leaving SYD around 11 AM arriving LAX 8 AM with 14 hours of flight time.

For those of you who have traveled this route before, how have you divided your sleeping/awake time? They are apparently serving two meals and a snack on board? How far along into the flight do the meals get served?

So far, I've booked 44J and 44G for the seats which are bulk head exit rows in coach in the middle of coach. (Three across and I've booked the aisle and window). Seatguru mentions the exit slide cuts into leg room a bit on this 777 but I've enjoyed similar seats when flying to Europe and the US West Coast. They also say no window. Is this route typically full? For two people flying together, where would be the best place to bet on no one taking the middle seat? I'm thinking I might move us to an middle row and my friend and I would both have aisle seats.

AA_EXP09

If I were you, I would stay up until 1 or 2 AM LAX time and sleep for 8-9 hours to minimise jetlag.
The best way to think about the time difference (GMT-8 to GMT+11) is like going 5 hours back (just adding an extra day)
(admittedly I like to fly QF12 on N America-Australia flights or CX via HKG.)
Remember that you can also get a free ETA if you have a good travel agent that includes one in the price of your ticket

LoganFlyer

I just finished this flight yesterday. In both directions, the meals are served just after takeoff and just before landing; the snack is served at pretty much the exact halfway point (and they turn the lights and everything on to do so.) My strategy was simply to sleep as much as I could, so in both cases, I had the first meal, watched a movie, and then slept as much as I could. This worked well to SYD, where the flight leaves at 1 AM eastern time, but on the way back, which left at 12:15 SYD time, this didn't go so well. As for fullness, my flight to SYD was 80+% full, and the flight back to LAX was oversold. I'm not sure in general if I'd count on an empty middle seat; are any of the pairs of seats toward the very back available?

steveholt

Have only flown this route on VA in business, but similar timings and I would agree with AA_EXP09. Staying up for about five hours and then sleeping on the LAX-SYD leg is the way to go. On the return, I'd take a nap when my body allowed it and try to sleep for no more than 4-5 hours. That should hopefully have you awake when you arrive in LAX, and I would treat that day back like a long day and try to go to sleep early in the evening upon arrival.

Medeski

Last time I did this route I had good luck staying awake as long as possible on the first half of the flight and sleeping on the second half. I found it easy to stay up as late into the day on my arrival day that way. Previous try I slept on the first half and basically passed out once I got into the hotel.

My big gripe with the 44 row on the 777 is a ton of people come up there to stretch their legs with little regard for your feet. I was in the aisle and got stepped on more than a few times while I was trying to sleep

Travisaurus

I'm a huge fan of 44A and 44J on this flight (have done six legs in the last year) if you have to fly coach. Ignore Seat Guru's warning about the slide...yes, it protrudes but not enough to bug the average height person. There's not a window here, but but it's minimal sacrifice IMHO. You can lean up against the wall and sleep...and still get up to use the bathroom without bothering others in the row. And yes, the bathroom is right THERE in front of you and people will hang out in front of you while waiting; however, there's enough space in this area to host a small cocktail party so I've never had much issue with it.

Medeski is right that the aisle seats are challenging here due to the traffic around the bathroom area.

The middle seat has been unoccupied about a third of the time in my experience. I tend to agree that you've got a better chance of having an open middle seat if you have occupy the D and F seats.

Finally....44 D-E-F is a bassinet row so you may get an infant/toddler next to you...but this is why I always pack earplugs and/or noise cancelling headphones.

Hope that helps!
Travis