DXB2745

Just wanted some advice from FT if I may please.

very brief - planning a trip to SYD. Happy to go via SIN, DOH, HKG or DXB (have done this on QF codeshare with EK before) with a couple of days at the stopover location in either direction. Would prefer to be a different stop location in both directions to mix up the trip.

What is the best way to route this? Would ex-eu be generally cheaper? Happy to travel in Premium Economy.

BA Gold if it matters.

thanks in advance

stewaran

ex-eu is likely to save you a lot.
For me it was the difference between economy from London, or business from OSL.

The different stop in each direction will complicate, as most airlines that are a sensible choice will be stopping at their home base (QR, EK Singapore etc) you might be able to achieve it with a combo of Qantas and Emirates using Singapore and Dubai?

Diver Boy

One that might not work for you but one I have looked at for next year except in reverse (SYD-EU) is QF via Perth with a stop over in Perth. The SYD-PER leg on the A330 is 140 TP and the PER-LHR leg on the 787 is 160 TP so no difference in earning. Not sure how it would affect pricing for you but when I look originating from SYD the pricing is either cheaper or the same.

Also has the option of adding a leg via SIN which would give an additional 140 TP

dagohh

I've done two trips to SYD (being based in HAM), both in business class, both basically the same route out and in.
One was with EK (booked as QF) from FRA to get the A380, outbound with an extra stop in BKK. No long transit times, did not see much from any transit place.
The other one was with QR from ARN, where I did also stay overnight and had a bit of time to go to the center of Stockholm. I picked flights that left me more time for transit in Doha and besides making use of the lounges (paid for the upgrade to the first class lounge on the outbound), I did a transit tour that QR offered on both occasions. Desert monster bus tour on the outbound and Doha city tour on the inbound. Nice little extra "day-trips" when you would otherwise only sit in airports or lounges. Even with the overnight stays in Stockholm, the extra ticket cost to get there and the Doha activities, it was cheaper than booking straight from HAM.

Will100

Ahh Sydney in First, there’s a thought.

How lovely!

dnajockey

I have just done LHR HKG SYD and back in Cathay in PE. Don't - the hard product is tired (think WT+ 2010) and the cabin crew bored teenagers with Harry Potter invisibility cloaks. The connection at HKG is too short to enjoy (much) the excellent lounges.

Duck1981

My best buddy did recently a F return LHR-HKG and said the same.... the new hires cannot be bothered to do anything more than what needs to be done.

stuckatsilver

I have just booked my 3rd LHR-SYD trip for december, below have been my routings and how good/bad they were. Budget was not on my priority list as someone else way picking up the bill.

Feb 23. All on Qantas A380
LHR-SIN QF2 Business with 4 day layover. 160TP
SIN-SYD QF2 Business 140TP
SYD-LHR QF1 Business non-stop 240TP

June 23.
MAN-LHR - CE - 40TP
LHR-SIN BA11 Club Suites with 4 day layover. 160TP
SIN-SYD QF82 Business 140TP
SYD-SIN BA16 Old Club World.... 140TP - Then it all went wrong as the BA15 hit turbulance and we went back to Singapore.
Later rerouted Qatar Business via DOH back to Manchester which was a nice route. Leg 280TP

Dec 23 - Trying soemething differnet
BA15 LHR-SYD direct in Club Suites
Qatar SYD-DOH-LHR. Picked this one as it leaves SYD at 21:45 and gets into UK midday the next day. In the older Business on both flights.

Certinally worth looking at DOH routing and if you need to boost the Tier Points do a SYD-SIN-DOH-LHR route.

the-doctor

Great thread, I've been keeping an eye on PE/J fares for OW flights from LON for 2024, and the ever-increasing prices are brining tears to my eyes. Looks like a redemption to/from FRA or AMS might be a great way to save £1000+

I beg to differ on CX though. I did LHR-HKG-MEL return on CX in PE a couple of months ago and found the whole experience fairly painless. On board food was great, I got a personal greeting (even as an at-the-time-Silver...not that it means much, except that they were paying attention) As for the seat - well, I slept better than I did on my two transatlantic flights in PE on BA this month...leg rests broken on both, and the rest of the seat no more comfortable than CX.

Besides, the CX lounges made me promise myself I'd go the same way again...

cameramaker

Depends which aircraft operates the flights. B777 and A330s are tired whereas the A350 hard product is excellent.

dnajockey

True, 3 of the 4 legs were 777-300, the 350 was an improvement but the bulkhead is very close to the front row of PE.

FlightDetective

I do the route every year or so. You can often start in Europe and it's cheaper, though the €2,300 fares from ARN-SYD via DOH have yet to reappear on Qatar Airways. Doha is worth a look for a couple of days just once if you've not been there.

Next trip is DUB-DOH-SYD on Avios in QR J and F.

I like HKG, as there's plenty to do and good food, and I adore flying CX J. Plus their lounges in Hong Kong as a Gold are worth it on their own (ie: if connecting, leave five hours, if staying, get to the airport early).

SIN is always nice too, and I've also done BKK on the way.

You could go off piste and get a good fare on LHR-KUL-SYD with MH.

Another one I've wanted to try, especially as a Gold, which was ruined due to the disruption a year or so ago was LHR-HND-SYD on JL. I'm dying to try their J class and the first class lounge in HND looks amazing. Plus Tokyo, a worthwhile city to visit in anyone's book.

You could also perhaps do SriLankan via CMB if you can find a fare. Otherwise there's also AY, where you could do LHR-HEL-HND (on a JL codeshare) and then onwards to Sydney.

There are plenty of options, depending on where you want to stop and which first class lounges (HND and HKG, possibly also SIN now with the QF First and a good QR lounge so I hear). If price is no object, the world is your oyster. You can also go the long way around, such as LHR to LAX ot SFO and onwards on QF to SYD.

Good times ahead! Let us know what you do and how much it costs!

itsmeitisss

A few years ago I did via KUL and the first class international lounge was exceptional.

Modo

MAN - LHR - BA
LHR - ARN - BA
ARN - DOH - QR
DOH - HKG - QR
HKG - TPE - CX
TPE - KUL - MH
KUL - DPS - MH
DPS - SYD - QF

Interesting - LOL.

Al J for barely £2K

But we had a place in Macau to do a stop over for a few days to recover.

This year

LHR - DOH - QR
DOH - BKK - QR
BKK - KUL - MH

Then to PR via MNL to SYD.

Cheap but painful...

the-doctor

Wow. That looks intense! Assuming one had the time for such a routing, how do did you go about finding it? And how many tickets was it? Nothing with more than 2 stops appears on Kayak...