Originally Posted by
boat stuck
The best plan B, without an overnight, is probably the 1:45 am SFO-HND on UA's JV partner ANA, and then HND-SYD with a three-and-a-half hour layover in HND. Gets you to SYD on the same day, half a day late. (But this is only if you miss the connection--beats having to leave half a day early regardless.) Not sure how much you'll have to work to get UA to rebook you on NH in this situation though.
Didn't have Japan on my bingo card for this trip, but....hey, everything is on the table at this point.
Originally Posted by
narvik
Recent flights out of SFO might show up as unusually late because of
catering issues.
Depending on when your flights are, at least those reasons for delays might be resolved by then.
My concern is more about incoming flights to SFO....not the outbound. Actually if the outbound flight was delayed, that would help me a little bit.
I did see that flights were delayed there for a few days, but over the last couple of days, it does seem to be closer to leaving on time, if not early.
Originally Posted by
aussieinsf
A couple of additional thoughts:
SYD departures sometimes delay to avoid landing in SYD prior to 6am local as SYD has a curfew. Often find they will close the doors a bit late for this reason.
If you are just a few mins late go to the gate for BNE which usually leaves 25/30 mins later. MEL another option. That’s a much better Plan B as you still get to Australia and Virgin can take you down the coast to SYD on the 1 hour domestic flight with lots of frequency. Note - BNE domestic terminal is in a separate building so transfer is a bit of a pain.
I actually thought of the same....I had read about people having to wait on the tarmac to leave, because of the curfew. So, I thought maybe that would buy me some time. Unfortunately, it looks like the TP fight leaves the gate on time, if not a couple minutes early. (Not great news for me) But, then they taxi for like 30 minutes before taking off. I think it would just about kill me if my flight is just sitting out on the tarmac, but I can't get on it.
It didn't occur to me to think of other cities....great idea. I think the Melbourne flight *might* be my Plan B.
The only problem is I have a flight once I land in Australia, on to another location. However, it is not a part of this ticket, it's on a separate flight. That flight is about 3-4 hours after I am scheduled to land which....once again, seemed like plenty of time. But, I don't think they can get me from Melbourne to Sydney in time for me to catch that flight. Now, there IS a Virgin flight from Melbourne on to my intended destination. Not sure if United would play ball with that or not. And also, my luggage would still be back in Sydney.
Ok, so Plan B isn't ideal but....at least I have a general Plan B.