SJWarrior

rsydney

Was anyone able to book ORD - BNE on Qantas new flight? It seems like it is not bookable as yet. I also call AA and they said the flight not loaded in their system as yet. Let me know guys.

aau

I would like to book a first class O/W from CDG or LHR to BNE, traveling mostly on Etihad, I'm only interested in the A380, which only flies to Sydney. Brisbane gets a 77W I believe, which doesn't have the First Apartments. I've found availability from CDG/LHR-AUH-SYD all on A380, for 115k miles. I would like to tag on a single QF flight in Biz from SYD to BNE, but this does not come up in a straight one-way search. I get nonstop AUH-BNE instead. I can book as multi-city, but then the award prices as two awards for a total of 135K. There are no layovers longer than 24hrs in the itinerary. My question is can I book Europe-AUH-SYD-BNE as a single 115K award, and if so, how do I book it? If I call, will the phone ticketing fee be waived since it wasn't showing up online? TIA

Mwenenzi

Better to look in the dedicated AA-EY & AA- QF threads.
This thread is more about USA to Aust-NZ

EY----> Booking AA Award travel on Etihad / EY (master thread July 2017 onwards)

QF---> AA miles awards: using / redeeming AA miles on Qantas (QF) & related (consolidated)

JJeffrey

Using multi-city will automatically price out every leg separately. Put the CDG/LHR-AUH-SYD on hold at aa.com. Then call AA and tell them you want to add a segment onto the end of your award, and feed them the QF SYD-BNE flight.

* One of the advanced rules of AA partner awards is that there must be a published fare for the routing you want, so as long as EY publishes a CDG/LHR-BNE fare that allows a connection in SYD then the extra segment can be added to the same 115k award. If not, then when the agent puts it together, it will most likely still price the SYD-BNE separately. Do not worry about this now though, just call AA to see what it prices out as.

JetAway

What's happened to availability of First awards on QF's A380 service from DFW/LAX to SYD/MEL? I haven't seen any for months. It's not even available on the A380 service MEL to SIN. With a little flexibility it used to be possible to find First on all of these routes. Is QF withholding First awards from AA? I've noticed Business availability is beginning to come back after a similar drought. Hopefully we'll begin to see First available again in a few months, or sooner.

cmtlatitudes

I have a Qantas Award, LAX-MEL, in February. Initially a couple days in Melbourne was planned, but scheduling is shaping up better to take a Qantas flight to Hobart (HBA) directly following arrival at MEL. (or possibly a Qantas flight operated by Jetstar - not sure this makes a difference in any scenario, but pointing it out as a possibility.)

I have the usual tickets/customs/luggage questions:

1. Is there any way to buy the MEL-HBA ticket and have it linked to the LAX-HBA ticket, to avoid dealing with luggage until reaching HBA? I'd rather just buy the cheap ticket MEL-HBA, but using 10K/20K Award miles via American is an option also on arrival day at MEL. How relevant is this? (#2)

2. Is #1 a relevant question with Australian customs & immigration procedures? i.e., will I need to retrieve luggage in MEL prior to connecting onward with Australia, similar I as I would in the U.S.? If the luggage can be connected all the way through, is it then a "drag & drop" following customs, similar to US? or If not, do I have to get the (heavy) luggage from an international arrival terminal to a domestic terminal, re-check, go back through security, etc.

Mwenenzi

2. No. As MEL is your port of entry to Australia you have to clear immigration, customs & bio-security with all your checked and carry-on luggage.
No airside drag & drop. In Australia international arrivals & domestic departures/arrivals are not connected.

At MEL transfer is easy. {SYD I<-->D is a PITA} Exiting MEL customs to the left and up 1 level to domestic (kiosk) check-in / bag drop area. Time to walk : 3 or 4 minutes. Then security and into domestic airside departures. Compared to USA, Australian security is quick and simple.

However at ~08:30 both international arrivals & domestic departures are very busy (by MEL standards). So allow plenty of time for possible flight delay, processing the Au formalities and getting to your next flight.

Airport info MELBOURNE (MEL) - amenities, transfers, transport Click to open the wiki

If buying MEL HBA with cash select "Australia" in top right of web site, to you get a local price. Avoid JQ if you can, even though its a short flight

JJeffrey

1. If the MEL-HBA flight is available as an award, then just call AA and ask to add it onto your exiting LAX-MEL flight. A good agent will be able to do this without affecting your existing LAX-MEL flight. You would be charged the $150 fee for changing destinations (if not EXP), but no extra miles would be required, and everything would be on the same PNR. Other than that, there is no way to combine or link separate PNR's.

2. Entering Australia is very similar to entering the US with regards to customs/immigration, you will be required to pick up any baggage at MEL and clear customs, then drop it off again before your flight to HBA. Can't speak of the specific logistics of this at MEL (long walk or changing terminals, etc.)

cmtlatitudes

Mwenenzi, Thanks for info and link. My flight arrives to MEL around 10am, with the first viable HBA connection is 12:45pm, so that should be OK. (There's an 11:20 Jetstar flight, but would that be a little tight?)

How is the Qantas lounge at MEL? I I ended up there longer, would I be able to use? (Flying LAX-MEL in F, but MEL-HBA would be at best Business. More likely Coach. It seems over the top to purchase a Business ticket at $825 compared to $175 for coach, for a 1.5 hour flight. I do have OW sapphire status also (if they ever send my card)).

Mwenenzi

There is a QF lounge at MEL domestic is you have OW Sapphire/Emerald status or flying business class when flying MEL-HBA on QF.
No lounge access for you if flying JQ with AA status. JQ is all economy.
I would do 2:45hr between separate QF MEL flights if landing at 10:00 (after the peak).
I would not take a 11:20 (or 12:45) JQ flight. Far longer walk to the JQ T4 terminal (~15 maybe 20 minutes).
Separate flights are always a risk.

1. A MEL HBA could/should be less than US$150/Au$218 one way. For a random date in February I see Au$125 on JQ & Au$140 on QF. All QF tickets include checked luggage. JQ headline fare does not include checked bags (or food & water).

2.Simple at MEL. T2 to T1 is few minutes walk and up 1 level

cmtlatitudes

[QUOTE=JJeffrey;31651556]1. If the MEL-HBA flight is available as an award, then just call AA and ask to add it onto your exiting LAX-MEL flight. A good agent will be able to do this without affecting your existing LAX-MEL flight. You would be charged the $150 fee for changing destinations (if not EXP), but no extra miles would be required, and everything would be on the same PNR. Other than that, there is no way to combine or link separate PNR's.

JJeffrey, this would be great, if it is possible. It's the same number of miles to either MEL or HBA, but no award availability showed up mapped all the way through LAX-HBA for my current departure date. Nervous AA would muck this up. My LAX-MEL F Award appears to be a unicorn I'll never see again in this lifetime!

cmtlatitudes

You know, I was carelessly thinking (or not thinking) I was looking at USD $$$. I might not have been. Checking..... THANKS!

Mwenenzi

Check what screen QF is showing you, You want(need) /au/
https://www. qantas.com/au/en.html

cmtlatitudes

Just confirmed, the prices are AU. Looking specifically at February 20-22. On the 1245pm flight, 2/20 is $175 coach, and 2/21 is $252 coach. There are some lower $140 coach flights, but $35 isn't worth waiting longer for a flight if I connect at the airport, or picking a less desirable flight time for. Every business ticket over the 3 day period is $826 though. Which I'd much rather fly. But trying to keep costs for an expensive trip in perspective, it's only a 1.5 hour flight.