Best Business Class to Australia
Aug 20, 2013, 10:45 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 13
Best Business Class to Australia
I have enough Aeroplan points for my wife and I to go business class to Australia / NZ and probably a stop at one of the South Pacific islands (Fiji? Raratonga? Don't know). Which Star Alliance airline going these paces has the best business class? I've heard good things about Air NZ, but have never flown them. I have a Canadian's natural reticence to expect much of Air Canada, but people tell me they have improved. Open to suggestion, thanks.
JS
JS
Aug 20, 2013, 11:49 pm
#2
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 6,338
The best product is the one you can actually GET..
Availability of award seats (especially 2 at a time) may well be the toughest part of the "choice"..
Award availability in C on NZ for instance seems to be a very rare animal indeed...
I'd suggest starting with the ANA tool (and/or a paid Expertflyer subscription) and start checking what IS available...
Best of luck!
Availability of award seats (especially 2 at a time) may well be the toughest part of the "choice"..
Award availability in C on NZ for instance seems to be a very rare animal indeed...
I'd suggest starting with the ANA tool (and/or a paid Expertflyer subscription) and start checking what IS available...
Best of luck!
Aug 21, 2013, 12:34 am
#3
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Portland, Oregon (PDX)
Programs: UA 2MM/*A Gold, Alaska MVP Gold, WN A-List, Hertz Platinum, IHG Platinum
Posts: 276
I'm fond of UA's business class on the B744 Upper Deck. You can usually find pretty good award availability. Good service, good food, lie-flat (180°) bed, excellent IFE and in-seat power for your various electronics (USB/110V/220V and iPhone/iPad adapter to watch your own content on their 15" monitors). A friend of mine is a FA for NZ and she likes UA's C hard product too but says NZ's service and catering is light years ahead of UA.
Aug 21, 2013, 6:56 pm
#5
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I'm fond of UA's business class on the B744 Upper Deck. You can usually find pretty good award availability. Good service, good food, lie-flat (180°) bed, excellent IFE and in-seat power for your various electronics (USB/110V/220V and iPhone/iPad adapter to watch your own content on their 15" monitors). A friend of mine is a FA for NZ and she likes UA's C hard product too but says NZ's service and catering is light years ahead of UA.
Aug 24, 2013, 12:45 pm
#6
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: SoCal
Programs: AA EP, OZ Diamond, WS Plat, Avis CHM, Hertz PC, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 910
I've done all of those to Australia, and concur with the previous posters. NZ handily beats both UA and AC. If you're OK with conneting, OZ would be my second choice (via ICN). Otherwise, the UA nonstop from the west coast down to SYD is also a decent product. AC ... meh, not a fan of but if there was good availability I would be OK with it.
Aug 26, 2013, 6:20 am
#7
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Other *A options would involve connections on SQ (to various major cities in Australia nonstop from SIN) or ANA through NRT. You don't say where you're originating, but I assume that connecting through Europe would not be allowed or would cost more miles/points.
Aug 31, 2013, 5:45 am
#8
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Auckland NZ
Programs: NZ Gold Elite, AS, AC, QF
Posts: 748
NZ on 777 or 747 is excellent. On 767 it's not a full bed. LAX RAR operates once a week and is therefore difficult to score rewards seats on that route. FLights RAR AKL are usually A320s with no business class; some days are a 777, however.
AC YVR SYD is a good service; also can be difficult getting reward seats. You might do better with AC to HNL then NZ to AKL, But again, that's usually a 767 without the bed on the NZ sector.
UA is the weakest for sure.
AC YVR SYD is a good service; also can be difficult getting reward seats. You might do better with AC to HNL then NZ to AKL, But again, that's usually a 767 without the bed on the NZ sector.
UA is the weakest for sure.
Aug 31, 2013, 7:14 pm
#9
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It is but using miles/points, basically is impossible to get NZ C awards, I have looked for a very long time and couldn't even get 1 seat, not to mention there are 2 people on OP's PNR.