SYD - JFK Business Class
 

Looking to book a return business class ticket from Sydney to New York in August.

I plan on flying Virgin Australia to LAX but then I'm trying to decide whether to use Delta for the connecting flight to New York or take Virgin America.

Having not flown either Delta or Virgin America before, I'm just wondering what the general consensus is from others that have done this journey. As mentioned above I'm proposing to fly Business Class but I would think the class of travel may determine people's opinions.

(an ex-UA traveller):p

P.S. it would be interesting to set up a poll on this subject

Virgin America...all the way!

I'm from Detroit and Delta has a hub there, hence the fact I always fly them, but if I had a choice, I would fly Virgin America every single time. They are incredible!

If you like Virgin Australia, you will love Virgin America.

i've never flown virgin america, but pretty much any time i fly with virgin australia, i'm flying into lax and connecting with delta. not sure if this sways anything one way or the other, but since they've partnered with delta now, they fly into the delta terminal when flying into lax. it's nice to not have to go through security, pick up my luggage...boy how things have changes since the first time i flew with them. so if you do go with delta, your luggage will be checked through to jfk.

that being said though, if you care more about the flight than the layover, i'd go with virgin america. i've heard they're an outstanding airline.

Delta uses its Business Elite product on the LAX - JFK route, it's also much more frequent than Virgin America. Virgin America has some nifty modern features but the Business Elite is really good. It's basically international business class. You will also get access to the Skyclub in both LAX and JFK as well as priority security clearance.

also the fact that on arrival into LAX they arrive into T5 now, same as where Delta will depart so will mean no terminal change.

So less hassle

Well, actually, you DO have to pick up your luggage on arrival at LAX, clear US Customs, hand your checked luggage back to DL for the connecting flight and then, since you have had access to your checked luggage, you need to re-clear security before being admitted to the terminal for your connecting flight. But at least it is all at the same LAX terminal.

There is, however, the Level 1 security checkpoint rather than having to hike all the way back up to the mezzanine.

I believe the seats on the VX and DL aircraft are in fact identical (or very similar), made by the same manufacturer. I have taste-tested both premium cabins and would have to give DL a slight edge on meal quality. Entertainment is similar on both (AVOD). Given the option I'd probably go with DL on this one for all of the other reasons given here (terminal convenience and schedules in particular).

Recognise you're travelling business, but from an economy perspective, i have had no troubles with Delta so far. Did a short hop on the CRJ900 which was much more comfortable than DJs E190. Delta's trans-con con 757 is comfortable too, seat back video has free satellite tv, plus extras on demand for a fee. Complimentary soft drinks and bar snacks are included, although baggage is US$25/bag for domestic sectors that aren't part of an international ticket.

The T5 process is smooth for arrival and connecting on to US domestic legs. Plus you get SkyClub access (includes showers if you want to freshen up between flights). You wont get lounge access on Virgin America in LAX (plus you'll have to pay for it at JFK if you want to use it there). As noted above, this could be an important considerations when weighing up the two.

My experience with Delta's Economy product, on the ground and in the air, has been fine so far. I imagine it would be even better in First.

Doing a bit more research it would appear that at LAX there is a Delta Sky Club (with showers) which can be accessed if travelling business class (correct?) but not a Virgin America lounge. Given the transit time at LAX this might sway the decision as to which connecting airline to use.

At JFK the Delta lounge appear to be after security compared to the Virgin America lounge being located before security.

Yes there are showers at the SkyClub but it gets pretty busy. If you want to have a shower I would leave at least a couple of hours as you could be waiting for an hour or so before you get to use them. If you are taking the DL flight from Sydney it will be less of a problem as it gets in pretty early.

At JFK there are actually three Skyclubs and they are all located after security, which is a good thing.

Flew DL to LAX in December (the flight arrives into LAX an hour ahead of VA form Sydney), and was able use the showers within 10 minutes of getting to the SkyClub. Maybe this was an aberration but at that time of the day (around 8AM) it didn't seem like there was a mad rush for the showers.

Gotta make a decision as to what to do.

Given the lay-over time at LAX and that there are no Virgin America lounges at LAX my thinking is that I should probably do LAX-JFK with DL.

For the return flight I'll do Virgin America to LAX and then I can use the lounge for Virgin Australia to hang out in before my flight to Sydney.

A final point on this, when doing the return segment of my booking on the web site, it only offered either Delta all the way or Virgin America to LAX with Virgin Australia to SYD.

When I queried Virgin Australia as to why there wasn't the Delta/Virgin Australia option for JFK-SYD, they said it was because they have a 2hr connection window at LAX and even though the Delta flight only left 5 minutes after the Virgin America flight, it arrived in LAX 20 minutes after the Virgin America flight landed and didn't meet the 2hr minimum connection window:confused: