TheWildHaggis

Folks,

Looking for some advice from the winsome of those more experienced than me. I am looking to book flights from Aberdeen to Brisbane flying around the 31 Jan 2018, this is for a work trip. I have been given a low budget and so looking at economy seats, I am a BA silver member. How can i make this trip as comfortable as possible giving that I will be flying in economy. Looking at flights between Aberdeen to Heathrow, then either flying into Singapore or Hong Kong then into Brisbane. Whats your thoughts?

cysyuen

Transit at HKG. Honestly your OWS status give you access to five lounges in HKG, including Cathay's The Pier and Qantas Business Lounge. They are among the best lounges you can find.

nei1c

I'd agree Hong Kong's better. If you go Cathay Pacific and transit through Manchester you should be able to get the A350 on both long haul legs

sxc

If you do go via singapore you will need to connect at SYD which means collecting your luggage and clearing immigration and then transiting to the domestic terminal. Connecting in HKG gets you on the CX direct flight to Brisbane.

However is one one cheaper than the other?

Globaliser

What's wrong with the non-stop from SIN to BNE? BA11 or BA15 --> BA7406 (ops QF52, if I've read it right).

The bigger problem, I suspect, is availability. This could be an expensive trip, even in economy, whichever route is taken.

rossmacd

Fly via Hong Kong for the lounges - which are some of the better in the world for Silver/OWS members.

That is a long way in economy.....

mec72

I remember some HKG-BNE flights used to go via CNS - I think all of them are direct now but worth double-checking.

Agree with previous posters - would go for CX.

charlesrhona

Have done ABZ to BNE in the past and always chose HKG. The Cathay Pacific flight from Manchester would be much better but unfortunately BA do not fly from ABZ to MAN so it would mean a Flybe flight add on if you wi
shed to take this route.

Stez

I fly NCL-BNE fairly often. I say via HKG is best for the reasons other posters stated above, plus timings are better.

However CX is generally not very competitive to BNE compared to BA via SYD. Occasionally it comes out roughly the same price but it's been rare for me, hence me flying via SIN more regularly.

To make it more comfortable, bulkhead seats or other seats with ample legroom to allow you to prop a bag/roller under your feet when in cruise. If flying LHR-SYD, there may be AUPs on offer, either to WTP or even to CW.

Last20

Not exactly on topic, but hello from the Qantas Lounge in Perth, on my way to BNE with QR via DOH. They have a pizza chef here so I couldn't be happier. You can't get much more comfortable than on-demand pizza.

Mapman

Google Flights is pricing a return from ABZ to BNE on 31 Jan (with a nominal return date of 9 Feb) at £1,356 in economy passing through LHR and then HKG (to take advantage of the top notch CX lounges):
Wed 31 Jan

16:55 – 18:30
Aberdeen (ABZ) – London (LHR)
British Airways 1313 · Economy Class · Airbus A320
Average legroom (76 cm)
1h 35m
No Wi-Fi
No in-seat power
Layover in London LHR
2h 20m

20:50 – 16:45+1
London (LHR) – Hong Kong (HKG)
British Airways 27 · Economy Class · Boeing 777
Average legroom (79 cm)
Overnight flight
11h 55m
In-seat & USB power
On-demand video
No Wi-Fi
Layover in Hong Kong HKG
4h 50m

21:35+1 – 08:30+2
Hong Kong (HKG) – Brisbane (BNE)
Cathay Pacific 155 · Economy Class · Airbus A330
Above average legroom (81 cm)
Overnight flight
8h 55m
In-seat & USB power
On-demand video
No Wi-Fi
Return flight
Fri 9 Feb

10:35 – 17:15
Brisbane (BNE) – Hong Kong (HKG)
Cathay Pacific 150 · Economy Class · Airbus A330
Above average legroom (81 cm)
Often delayed by 30+ min
8h 40m
In-seat & USB power
On-demand video
No Wi-Fi
Layover in Hong Kong HKG
6h 15m

23:30 – 04:45+1
Hong Kong (HKG) – London (LHR)
British Airways 32 · Economy Class · Airbus A380
Average legroom (79 cm)
Overnight flight
13h 15m
In-seat & USB power
On-demand video
No Wi-Fi
Layover in London LHR Overnight
2h 15m

07:00+1 – 08:30+1
London (LHR) – Aberdeen (ABZ)
British Airways 1304 · Economy Class · Airbus A319
Below average legroom (74 cm)
1h 30m
No Wi-Fi
No in-seat power

TheWildHaggis

Thanks for input guys, Hong Kong seems to be the connection of choice. flying into Manchester is a possible but I think i will stick with LHR, the flights I am looking at the same flights as what Mapman posted above, hope I can get an exit row or bulk head seat.

TheWildHaggis

As a side question, Is their any way I check which seats are available on any given flight?

Mapman

Expertflyer. Pop the details in a reply and I'll take a look for you. Need date, flight number and from/to.

neofung

If you hold any oneworld status (even ruby) it is free to choose seat on CX flight anytime, even the exit row.