Qantas or Cathay in J
Jan 3, 2014, 4:34 pm
#33
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: CX Green, QF Platinum, BAEC Silver, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 10,780
Jan 16, 2014, 8:30 am
#34
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 286
Thanks for all your comments and advice. We never fly without anecdotal opinions from Tripadvisor and FT so appreciate it.
For our trip to Canada and first white Christmas we managed to get J award seats Per-HKG-YVR and return J awards via LAX-MEL-PER.
Not ideal in terms of return options as we wanted to come home via YVR however it's a good end result considering it's between Christmas and NY.
We have a nine hour layover in Hong Kong on the way there as it wasn't possible to break the segments.
Return flights are good in that there is only 2hr transit in MEL.
We will fly from Calgary to LAX and stay overnight, spend the the full day in LA (suggestions welcome - perhaps a day tour) and also where to stay hotel wise.
Any advice re seats, etc much appreciated. Have pre selected 18A and B on A380 back to MEL.
Re the award seats, there was literally nothing from YVR-HKG-PER - it gets quite confusing at times as the J awards from LAX were avail for Cathay a week before QF awards released, seems to be the case on a lot of routes.
The QF options were hit and miss - were not released on the dates assumed according to website and info - however a week later they did release the desired dates - so it's worth continually checking even though the release date is well passed and does not indicate availability.
Also often there were Y only options avail on the calendar but when you clicked on the Y option there were also J awards available for that day.
Happy to say 534,000 points later and three weeks of checking constantly - we have our flights sorted!
For our trip to Canada and first white Christmas we managed to get J award seats Per-HKG-YVR and return J awards via LAX-MEL-PER.
Not ideal in terms of return options as we wanted to come home via YVR however it's a good end result considering it's between Christmas and NY.
We have a nine hour layover in Hong Kong on the way there as it wasn't possible to break the segments.
Return flights are good in that there is only 2hr transit in MEL.
We will fly from Calgary to LAX and stay overnight, spend the the full day in LA (suggestions welcome - perhaps a day tour) and also where to stay hotel wise.
Any advice re seats, etc much appreciated. Have pre selected 18A and B on A380 back to MEL.
Re the award seats, there was literally nothing from YVR-HKG-PER - it gets quite confusing at times as the J awards from LAX were avail for Cathay a week before QF awards released, seems to be the case on a lot of routes.
The QF options were hit and miss - were not released on the dates assumed according to website and info - however a week later they did release the desired dates - so it's worth continually checking even though the release date is well passed and does not indicate availability.
Also often there were Y only options avail on the calendar but when you clicked on the Y option there were also J awards available for that day.
Happy to say 534,000 points later and three weeks of checking constantly - we have our flights sorted!
Jan 16, 2014, 11:17 pm
#36
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 284
Thanks for all your comments and advice. We never fly without anecdotal opinions from Tripadvisor and FT so appreciate it.
For our trip to Canada and first white Christmas we managed to get J award seats Per-HKG-YVR and return J awards via LAX-MEL-PER.
Not ideal in terms of return options as we wanted to come home via YVR however it's a good end result considering it's between Christmas and NY.
We have a nine hour layover in Hong Kong on the way there as it wasn't possible to break the segments.
Return flights are good in that there is only 2hr transit in MEL.
We will fly from Calgary to LAX and stay overnight, spend the the full day in LA (suggestions welcome - perhaps a day tour) and also where to stay hotel wise.
Any advice re seats, etc much appreciated. Have pre selected 18A and B on A380 back to MEL.
Re the award seats, there was literally nothing from YVR-HKG-PER - it gets quite confusing at times as the J awards from LAX were avail for Cathay a week before QF awards released, seems to be the case on a lot of routes.
The QF options were hit and miss - were not released on the dates assumed according to website and info - however a week later they did release the desired dates - so it's worth continually checking even though the release date is well passed and does not indicate availability.
Also often there were Y only options avail on the calendar but when you clicked on the Y option there were also J awards available for that day.
Happy to say 534,000 points later and three weeks of checking constantly - we have our flights sorted!
For our trip to Canada and first white Christmas we managed to get J award seats Per-HKG-YVR and return J awards via LAX-MEL-PER.
Not ideal in terms of return options as we wanted to come home via YVR however it's a good end result considering it's between Christmas and NY.
We have a nine hour layover in Hong Kong on the way there as it wasn't possible to break the segments.
Return flights are good in that there is only 2hr transit in MEL.
We will fly from Calgary to LAX and stay overnight, spend the the full day in LA (suggestions welcome - perhaps a day tour) and also where to stay hotel wise.
Any advice re seats, etc much appreciated. Have pre selected 18A and B on A380 back to MEL.
Re the award seats, there was literally nothing from YVR-HKG-PER - it gets quite confusing at times as the J awards from LAX were avail for Cathay a week before QF awards released, seems to be the case on a lot of routes.
The QF options were hit and miss - were not released on the dates assumed according to website and info - however a week later they did release the desired dates - so it's worth continually checking even though the release date is well passed and does not indicate availability.
Also often there were Y only options avail on the calendar but when you clicked on the Y option there were also J awards available for that day.
Happy to say 534,000 points later and three weeks of checking constantly - we have our flights sorted!
Glad you mentioned YVR as I've spent 14 years there before moving to HK!
Jan 16, 2014, 11:49 pm
#37
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP/LTG | UA P
Posts: 13,530
... I dont know' whether it's workable but when you check in, try to ask the counter staff to see if they can move you up to rows 11-13. If airline can charge you for exit rows then I don't see why they don't do the same for the mini cabin. It really has the added privacy and is more quiet.
Jan 17, 2014, 12:39 am
#38
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 284
I was just saying that the extra comfort in the mini cabin is worth as much as the extra few inches in exit rows.
Jan 17, 2014, 5:14 am
#39
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Perth Aust
Programs: LifeQP LTS, Avis
Posts: 307
The TA LA travel forum will offer lots of advice, but sometimes they tend to forget that "first-timers" to LA just want to see the "normal" sights. So presuming this is what you want to do, may I suggest staying in Hollywood close to the Kodak Theatre, where most of the tourist buses depart from. You can do the usual star's homes tour, perhaps including Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier and Rodeo Drive. A long way between these spots, so it's an all-day tour. Try Starline as a tour company. And of course there's always Disneyland for the young-at-heart... Universal Studios is a good bet also. I've stayed up there a couple of times, because of the eateries at Universal City Walk.
Jan 17, 2014, 7:02 am
#40
In Memoriam
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Katoomba (Blue Mountains)
Programs: Mucci
Posts: 8,083
Dave