Siskey

Hey Everyone,

I'm going to be traveling to Sydney in April and I'm looking to book my flights today/ soon. I'm curious which airlines / routes you guys would recommend. I've seen choices for Delta, Qantas, Virgin, Australia, and United.

Details for the trip. I'll be leaving out of NYC on April 10th and coming home on May 3rd. I'll be flying economy. Which airlines have the best seats, offer the most comfort, best planes on the routes? I did see that one of the Qantas options that I found on google flights had a 747 going and an A380 coming home. Not sure what your guys' opinion on those planes are but I've read good things about the A380. Also, I have the Platinum Amex and the Priority Pass Select membership with it. I've haven't gotten to try any of the Centurion Lounges yet.

I'm grateful for any help you guys can give me! I've never been to Australia and I really want to make this trip great!
Please let me know if you guys need anything else or if you have any cool tips/ words of wisdom about things to definitely do while in Australia.

Thanks,
Siskey

Mwenenzi

Siskey Welcome to FT

What is your criteria of "best"? It will be different to mine
Is price, schedule, or freq flyer miles a consideration?

QF only fly the A380 to LAX. LAX-JFK is a B747.

Airlines that fly USA/Canada to Australia (most from LAX) are
- United [Star Alliance] (LAX SFO – SYD MEL)
- Qantas [OneWorld Alliance] (AS partner) (LAX JFK DFW HNL – SYD BNE MEL)
- Jetstar (HNL – SYD BNE)
- Delta [Skyteam Alliance] (VA & AS partner) (LAX – SYD)
- Virgin Australia (DL partner) (LAX – SYD BNE)
- Hawaiian, via Hawaii (AA & VA partner) (HNL – SYD)
- Air NZ, via AKL [Star Alliance]
- Fiji Airways, via Fiji (AA & AS partner)
- Air Tahiti Nui (last segments on codeshares) (AA & DL partner)
- Air Canada [Star Alliance]
And others via Asia & Middle East

beckoa

Welcome to Flyertalk Siskey^

It seems Mwenenzi has a good outline for the start of your quest. We've relocated your post to the forum encompassing Australia for additional support.

Cheers!

~beckoa, co-moderator Information Desk

Adam1222

slight correction of the above: Qantas does still fly 747s from LAX to SYD on its later flight. (QF 18)

Mwenenzi

True. That's why I wrote "QF only fly the A380 to LAX." A380 only goes to LAX and not JFK. However QF7 SYD-DFW is an A380
But all airlines can change aircraft type

Efrem

Depending on your budget, it might matter that Virgin Australia offers a Premium Economy class that most of the others don't. In my opinion, not being able to buy business-class tickets (and not having anonymous stockholders to buy them for me), it's an excellent trade-off: a lot more comfort than economy on that long flight for relatively little additional money.

nux

.

Qantas also offers Y+ and is arguably better than Virgin.

Efrem

Quite possibly; I haven't tried it. However, it should be pointed out that Premium Economy among non-U.S. carriers is not nearly the same beast as Economy Plus, Economy Comfort, or similar offerings from U.S. carriers. The U.S. version is economy class with a bit more legroom, perhaps a bit more recline to go along with that, and a relatively modest price premium - or free if one is at the right elite level. Premium Economy is a separate class with wider seats than economy (though not as wide as business), different meals, and a separate cabin. Don't confuse them.

(And welcome to FT!)

Adam1222

I guess there's a syntactical misunderstanding there, as I read your post as the only aircraft Qantas flies from LAX is the A380, not Qantas only flies the A380 as far as LAX.

jackohara

Are you being paid by the airlines? Seems always support some of the worst airlines.

nux

No.

Have you travelled on Qantas in the last few years in any class? I have in Premium Economy, Business and First so speak from first hand experience. Their PE product is one of the best in the world and many other reviews/trip reports would agree. Perhaps if you are a 'common customer' with no actual experience travelling on Qantas you wouldn't know and shouldn't comment.

debracey

Having flown to AU several times -- here's what I can tell you. You want to arrive as early as possible into AU, before 7AM if possible. 7AM hits and it is a madhouse getting through immigration. Although the AU immigration works are bright and cheerful, it does not necessarily make up for the crush of people coming in right about 7 AM. For example, one time I arrived at 6:20 or so and was in a cab < 20 minutes later (from a Y seat) -- one time I arrived at 7:05 AM and was stuck until about 8:45 AM.

As far as which carrier, you have many choices, especially if you want to connect through NZ (which may be cheaper). I'll assume you don't want to do that, in which case...

1- Do not fly United. The service has declined severely in recent years/months, and although the 777 and 787 are an improvement (for Y anyway), they are outdone by the other carriers. Business class on UA is OK, but is still outdone by everyone else.

2- If you want to stick with a US flag carrier, DL is well... the only other option. They have a direct NYC-LAX-SYD flight that is reasonably well timed. Y+ will offer you more legroom than regular Y, but if you're not too tall it doesn't matter all that much. The Y meals are passable on DL.

3- The problem with flying DL (and UA) is that the limited number of flights means you're sunk if there's a MX issue. By the time the plane is pulled for MX, it'll be too late and you'll be stuck on either side for an additional day.

4- QF is always good, but is usually much more expensive than DL/UA. Now, you do get more amenities in their premium economy (bar service, better meal...).

5- DL will arrive to T5 immigration on return to LAX. It's a long walk to the CBP station, but it's 100x smoother than going through TBIT. UA will usually use T6/T7 (though lately they have used TBIT occasionally), which is a toss up. If you get through fast T6/T7 is fine, but otherwise it is arguably the worst entry point in the country.

Honestly, if I were you, I'd plan a long connection in LAX for you get a good meal ahead of the flight, and just bring snacks on board. Y+ on DL will give you decent legroom and a reasonably comfortable seat for the lowest price. Make sure you throw away absolutely everything that is edible before arriving in AU, you don't want to have to declare any food.

You should also be able to get access to the DL lounge with your Amex platinum, they have decent snacks in there and showers (which are nice for the early arrival back in LAX).

That's what I'd do.

docbert

From all accounts, LAX has gotten significantly better of late. In part, this is due to the roll-out of automated terminals which reduce the wait time - especially now that these can also be used by people on VWP presuming it's not the first entry into the US in the past ~7 years.

Personally I'd still recommend going via SFO though...