Australia 2012 (UA Y+, UA Y+, DJ Y, JQ Y, QF J, UA Y+, UA Y+, UA Y+)
Sep 12, 2012, 12:48 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: YVR
Programs: OZ D*G, AS MVPG, AF G, GHA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 137
Australia 2012 (UA Y+, UA Y+, DJ Y, JQ Y, QF J, UA Y+, UA Y+, UA Y+)
Trip Introduction
Summer trips are a pain to plan, especially when you only book your tickets a month before you leave. Everything is so expensive! Somehow, I found myself a decent deal with an open-jaw to Sydney, leaving from Singapore, which would be at least 40% cheaper than purchasing a traditional round-trip ticket to Sydney/Melbourne at the time.
Even after telling myself to avoid flying with United after my last debacle with United resulting in a seven-hour layover at Washington Dulles, I decided to give them another chance after finding a cheap summer open-jaw flight to Sydney, leaving from Singapore. My other option at the time was a more expensive Air Canada/Singapore Airlines open-jaw ticket with a less exhausting routing. I was more than willing to pay more for it, but remembered Air Canada and their ridiculous transpacific tango fares, where one earns only 50 percent of the miles one travels. United also runs really old planes to Vancouver and to Australia, without any personal in-flight entertainment (AVOD), another reason I wanted to avoid it. But I really needed those miles to ensure I reach Star Gold, and I also happened to have a few United vouchers to use before the end of the year, so United it was.
When I purchased the fare on United’s website, I decided not to select any seats (for a reason). As a Star Silver not part of United’s frequent flyer program, United is not obligated to give complimentary Economy Plus upgrades. My tactic then is to not select seating in hopes for an upgrade, and sure enough, a few days later, I see that all my seats were in the Economy Plus cabin! This makes my selection of United a little easier to swallow.
I then needed to find a way to get from Australia to Singapore. I was hoping to explore other areas of Southeast Asia since I’ve been to Singapore already, but I decided to spend more time in Australasia since I don’t know when is the next time I will be back there. Australia is just really far from Vancouver. I considered a few options, but found Jetstar to be cheapest at ~$260.00. But then I found award availability onboard Qantas’ A380 on British Airways Executive Club from Melbourne. And not only in Economy, but in Business (at a cost of 40 000 miles versus 25 000)! It’s perhaps not the best use of miles, especially given the YQ of $228.15, but I really wanted to try a premium A380 product. Almost all of my miles earned were through credit card sign-up and program-to-program transfer bonuses, so why not...
Trip Contents
Summer trips are a pain to plan, especially when you only book your tickets a month before you leave. Everything is so expensive! Somehow, I found myself a decent deal with an open-jaw to Sydney, leaving from Singapore, which would be at least 40% cheaper than purchasing a traditional round-trip ticket to Sydney/Melbourne at the time.
Even after telling myself to avoid flying with United after my last debacle with United resulting in a seven-hour layover at Washington Dulles, I decided to give them another chance after finding a cheap summer open-jaw flight to Sydney, leaving from Singapore. My other option at the time was a more expensive Air Canada/Singapore Airlines open-jaw ticket with a less exhausting routing. I was more than willing to pay more for it, but remembered Air Canada and their ridiculous transpacific tango fares, where one earns only 50 percent of the miles one travels. United also runs really old planes to Vancouver and to Australia, without any personal in-flight entertainment (AVOD), another reason I wanted to avoid it. But I really needed those miles to ensure I reach Star Gold, and I also happened to have a few United vouchers to use before the end of the year, so United it was.
When I purchased the fare on United’s website, I decided not to select any seats (for a reason). As a Star Silver not part of United’s frequent flyer program, United is not obligated to give complimentary Economy Plus upgrades. My tactic then is to not select seating in hopes for an upgrade, and sure enough, a few days later, I see that all my seats were in the Economy Plus cabin! This makes my selection of United a little easier to swallow.
I then needed to find a way to get from Australia to Singapore. I was hoping to explore other areas of Southeast Asia since I’ve been to Singapore already, but I decided to spend more time in Australasia since I don’t know when is the next time I will be back there. Australia is just really far from Vancouver. I considered a few options, but found Jetstar to be cheapest at ~$260.00. But then I found award availability onboard Qantas’ A380 on British Airways Executive Club from Melbourne. And not only in Economy, but in Business (at a cost of 40 000 miles versus 25 000)! It’s perhaps not the best use of miles, especially given the YQ of $228.15, but I really wanted to try a premium A380 product. Almost all of my miles earned were through credit card sign-up and program-to-program transfer bonuses, so why not...
Trip Contents
- Flying to the Southern Hemisphere (UA Y+, UA Y+)
- 3 Sunny Days in Sydney
- Flying up to Queensland (DJ Y)
- 4 Days in Cairns/Port Douglas
- Flying down to Victoria (JQ Y)
- 4 Days in and around Melbourne
- Flying up to Singapore (QF J)
- Singapore Layover
- Flying back home (UA Y+, UA Y+, UA Y+)
Last edited by deasine; Sep 21, 2012 at 10:56 pm
Sep 12, 2012, 1:03 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: YVR
Programs: OZ D*G, AS MVPG, AF G, GHA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 137
Australia Trip: Flying to the Southern Hemisphere
For full review and photos, please take a look at the link here.
Review At A Glance
- Two United Flights: UA498 YVR-SFO on a A319; UA863 SFO-SYD on a 747
- Surprisingly nice experience on United with ample leg room in Economy Plus on both flights
- Mediocre United lounge at SFO
- No-frills service to SFO, pleasant crew bound to SYD
- Decent airplane food: enjoyable beef dish for a dinner entreé and a tasty french toast breakfast but an overly salty
- Lackluster entertainment: who flies long-haul without personal in-flight entertainment and AVOD nowadays?!
For full review and photos, please take a look at the link here.
Last edited by deasine; Sep 14, 2012 at 1:12 am
Sep 12, 2012, 6:11 am
#4
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: LAX
Programs: AA ExPlat, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 1,130
I am sure the same way everyone else who flies to Australia or NZ in economy does it. They make the best out of the situation, get up and move around when they can, and sleep if they can sleep. It's really not that terrible. You sit in the office for 8-10 hours a day. At least here, you can drink your brains off, watch movies (although not on UA it seems) and look out of the window. Not the best possible way to spend 15 hours, but you are in Australia by the end of it, and that in itself is worth it!
(people used to fly over the course of 7+ days not that long ago with a high probability of crashing and dying on some exotic island!)
(people used to fly over the course of 7+ days not that long ago with a high probability of crashing and dying on some exotic island!)
Sep 14, 2012, 1:12 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: YVR
Programs: OZ D*G, AS MVPG, AF G, GHA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 137
I am sure the same way everyone else who flies to Australia or NZ in economy does it. They make the best out of the situation, get up and move around when they can, and sleep if they can sleep. It's really not that terrible. You sit in the office for 8-10 hours a day. At least here, you can drink your brains off, watch movies (although not on UA it seems) and look out of the window. Not the best possible way to spend 15 hours, but you are in Australia by the end of it, and that in itself is worth it!
(people used to fly over the course of 7+ days not that long ago with a high probability of crashing and dying on some exotic island!)
(people used to fly over the course of 7+ days not that long ago with a high probability of crashing and dying on some exotic island!)
There are much fewer opportunities to earn miles in Canada as there are in States unfortunately. But I guess on the bright side then, because of that, I haven't been exposed to many premium cabin experiences. In fact my QF trip was technically my first full flight in a premium cabin (I had CX F when I was really young before, but that was for a short duration at the end of the flight because I was an UM and had to deplane first). Plus, being a student, even if there are opportunities to earn miles, one isn't exactly in the financial position to easily earn them anyway. So I also haven't really felt what it's like to travel in J...
Made it a bit smaller. Hope that's better now!
Sep 21, 2012, 10:57 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: YVR
Programs: OZ D*G, AS MVPG, AF G, GHA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 137
Just posted my three day summary in Sydney!
For full review and photos, please take a look at the link here.
Itinerary At A Glance
Day One: The Trek
Day Two: Conquering The Shores During The Day, Surrendering to Symphonic Tunes During The Night
Day Three: Here, There, Everywhere
Day One: The Trek
Day Two: Conquering The Shores During The Day, Surrendering to Symphonic Tunes During The Night
Day Three: Here, There, Everywhere
Sep 25, 2012, 12:00 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: YVR
Programs: OZ D*G, AS MVPG, AF G, GHA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 137
Read the full review here: http://www.adrianleung.me/?p=862
Australia 2012: Virgin of Virgin Australia
Posted on Monday/24/09/2012
Review At A Glance
Posted on Monday/24/09/2012
Review At A Glance
- Great check-in experience, reasonable on-board service
- Stingy on in-flight products
- Soft product does not compare to what is offered by Virgin America
