Ms. Captain Starwood and I are expecting our first child in September. While we live in Sydney, she wants to give birth in United States in Washington DC.

We need to get from syd to Dc in early August, and my company will pay for reasonably priced J tickets, as long as we keep the total cost reasonable (these are one way tickets).

one option I’ve identified would be syd to hnl on Hawaiian or Qantas, spend a night in HNL in a nice hotel, then fly direct to washington on the United nonstop on a 767. This is roughly 4-5k per ticket. the major upside here is two flights of 9-10 hours with a short relaxing stop in Hawaii.

another alternative is Virgin J to LAX,with a less nice stopover and somewhat unpleasant arrival experience in LA. Hotel night and then connect to DC the next day.

air NZ would be a good option as well but it it involves two stops, which my wife isn’t into.

UA would’ve be my default but tickets one way are 7-8k each.

thoughts? My wife’s comfort is the most important factor here