Who to fly in Oz?

[PhotoJim]

Hi,

My wife and I will be spending a month in Australia in late 2013. We're really looking forward to it.

We will either be flying into SYD or MEL (in the latter case with a stop in SYD first, on UA). We'll be flying UA or AC into Australia because we're *A flyers.

Since I have essentially no *A options within Australia, and I'm not likely to get status I'm open-minded about who to fly. We're used to the 23 kg bag allotment we get in North America, and it seems not all Australian domestic flights have that. We'll likely fly at the back of the bus, and we're used to flying regional jets since we're based in YQR in Canada. I'm far more worried about service and price and baggage allotment than I am about whether I'm on an Embraer or an Airbus.

Very tentative intra-Australian routings:

SYD-MEL (maybe, depending on whether we use UA or not)
MEL-HBA
HBA-PER (I know we have to connect)
PER-SYD or PER-MEL depending on how our tickets work out

PER is still somewhat tentative. We might decide to do BNE instead, but my wife is a softie when it comes to hot weather, and Western Australia sounds beautiful. I've never seen the Indian Ocean, either, which gives a point to Perth.

Obviously you can't tell me who'll be cheapest in October or November, but some suggestions as to what airline to favour would be greatly appreciated. I'm only vaguely aware of the options (I know Qantas obviously, and I have heard of Skywest - ironically we often fly on the North American Skywest, which flies regional flights for UA and DL out of YQR).

Thanks much.

Jim

[Mwenenzi]

Main carriers are
Qantas. Very large network
Jetstar Low cost subsidiary of Qantas
Virgin Large network. Recently bought Skywest & shareholding in Tiger
Tiger Ultra low cost carrier with limited network. To be avoided

Qantas & Virgin closest. Qantas is part of OneWorld - AA partner so may get some AA miles on eligible QF flights.

For me just go who has the best fare & schedule for your flights.
In Australia flights are sold as one ways. A return is just 2 one ways.
All carrier's are strict, by North American standards, on baggage & carry on weight-size: read the rules

And if you want to see outback Oz the Great Southern Rail (GSR) runs the Indian Pacific train twice each week from Sydney to Perth via Adelaide.
http://www.railmaps.com.au/journey_r...?Origin=Sydney

[PhotoJim]

Thanks much. No inherent advantages to any of them with respect to baggage, e.g.?

[jozdemir]

Qantas will have 23kg of baggage included - so bear that in mind when you compare the prices of fares.

Virgin charge $15 for 1 x 23kg bag, or $45 for 2 x 23kg bags.

Jetstar and Tiger have similar baggage charges - you'll clearly see those when you go to book your fare.

I try and fly Virgin first (but I'm a gold member so free luggage) and Qantas thereafter, but as stated earlier it's really up to your preference and schedule. With regard to points though, QF leaves the possibility with the right fare of crediting to AA and Virgin gives the possibility of crediting to Delta or Virgin America.

Oh and Skywest in Australia isn't related to the North American Skywest at all :-)

On a side note, Perth is a beautiful place - but depending on how long you plan to be there/what you want to see, a rental car is sometimes a good option. If you've got any other questions feel free to PM me or just post it in the thread :-)

[number_6]

Be aware that there is a tourism scheme for air passes to encourage tourists to see more of Oz. You must purchase the air pass outside of Australia and at the same time as your ticket into Australia. I think both Virgin and QF offer it, and this ticket has the huge advantage of being changable, including same baggage allowance as your international leg, and decent price (often not the very lowest, but chances are cheaper than tickets you get for specific dates). See for example http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/air-pass/us/en (may not apply to you, but there are lots of other air passes -- see your travel agent as it gets very complicated).

[PhotoJim]

Thanks, everyone, for your help and advice.

number_6, I'll research this pass option - it sounds great. It sounds like I'd have to fly Qantas or Virgin to SYD to make it work? Unfortunately neither have codeshares to YQR but I'll still check them out, because the flexibility would be nice.

[jozdemir]

Originally Posted by PhotoJim

It sounds like I'd have to fly Qantas or Virgin to SYD to make it work? Unfortunately neither have codeshares to YQR but I'll still check them out, because the flexibility would be nice.

The flight from MEL-SYD is only an hour, so the choice of carrier really doesn't matter in this case besides price and I guess you can throw on time performance into the mix - you just have to be careful if you book Jetstar as they also fly from Melbourne's secondary airport, Avalon which isn't a preferable option at all unless you live out that way.

EDIT: Ah wait a minute you were talking about the airpass - I should really read closer shouldn't I! But yes I think you're right, the way it's read kinda hints towards flying Qantas or Virgin to Australia

[jpatokal]

You're already gotten the scoop on the airlines, so a few words about the flights themselves:

Originally Posted by PhotoJim

SYD-MEL (maybe, depending on whether we use UA or not)
MEL-HBA

These are both very short flights (SYD-MEL just over an hour, MEL-HBA just under), so I'd simply go with the cheapest option.

Also, it's worth noting that Melbourne has two airports. Jetstar's cheapest fares are usually to Avalon, the "wrong" airport, and any fare advantage will be negated by the long and costly taxi ride to get to/from there.

HBA-PER (I know we have to connect)
PER-SYD or PER-MEL depending on how our tickets work out

Perth to anywhere else is four hours plus, so it's worth paying a bit extra for Qantas or Virgin, which will get you a smidge more leg room and some sort of meal on board.

Also, all the flights you list here are major routes, so you're very likely to end up on a 737/A320 regardless of who you fly with. (Some Perth flights are on even bigger birds.) In Australia, regional jets are devoted pretty much exclusively to flying to smaller destinations.

[FN-GM]

Who are your *A miles with? If they are with SQ you can get the miles flying Virgin Australia.

[Dredgy]

Also, it's worth noting that Melbourne has two airports. Jetstar's cheapest fares are usually to Avalon, the "wrong" airport, and any fare advantage will be negated by the long and costly taxi ride to get to/from there

True, you have to double check to get Tullamarine, but there is usually no fare difference between the airports (flying from BNE or OOL at any rate). Sometimes Avalon is more expensive, sometimes Tullamarine is. And Jetstar is a pretty decent airline by LCC standards.

Between SYD and MEL though, planes run like buses, only more frequently and on time. So you can pick and choose. No airlines (with the possible exception of Tiger, who I've never flown) are bad.

[PhotoJim]

Originally Posted by FN-GM

Who are your *A miles with? If they are with SQ you can get the miles flying Virgin Australia.

Air Canada, but it's possible I might switch to UA Mileage Plus if I don't think I'll get the minimum segments/miles on Air Canada in 2013 to keep my status. I rarely fly overseas; all my flights since October 2007 have been between airports in Canada/US and Canada/US.

[PhotoJim]

Again, thanks for all the advice. It sounds like sticking with Qantas might make sense to be on larger aircraft and to get a more acceptable baggage allowance. It's too bad I can't use my *A status on the domestic Australian flights, but il n'y a rien que l'on peut faire.

[CPMaverick]

If you are comfortable using Coupon Connection, QF flights are relatively easy to find award tickets on, and you can get 1 way tickets for 10k AA miles each intra-Australia. A very good deal.

[Vidic15]

I'd personally only look at either Virgin Australia or Qantas.

Especially for their levels of service and reliability.

Tiger I'd not go near, regardless of how cheap the fares are.

At the end of the day it depends on what you value most - service/quality or price.

[PhotoJim]

We'll pay a little more (but not crazily more) to get better service and quality. The baggage fees form part of the cost to me.

If it helps you put things into perspective, we flew BA intra-Europe in 2007 (before I had status) rather than the flying bus named Ryanair. BA was quite a bit more, but it was a lot more civilized experience and still cheap compared to intra-Canadian flights.

If I can do the flights between Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Perth (and back to SYD/MEL depending on from where we depart for home) for a few hundred dollars total each, I'd be pretty happy.