Sorry, my apologies if I posted in the wrong place. My concern is about whether or not the connection from ZQN-SYD-DFW is doable. Never flown that long with or without kids and never had more than one connection (so both the SYD airport and an INT-INT connection will be a new experience). After a nightmarish travel day back from Italy when my oldest was 2, we scaled back our travel plans and are finally ready to take them on a big trip.

The original plan was to fly in and out of CHC but if we can avoid having to make a circle and can arrive or depart in Queenstown, it would give us more options for our stay.

Yes, I can book those flights all on one ticket. AirNZ/UA doesn't fly from our closest airport and their flight schedules and prices are more than QF.

FF miles are not a priority. I'm not sure what I have but it's not enough to qualify and I'm pretty much starting from scratch for this trip.