ChadDa3mon

So I just hit gold status with Delta for 2018 and my company is sending me to Sydney, Australia for several weeks starting at the end of this year. I'd like to get out to SG to visit friends while I'm in AU (8 hour flight is better than 22 hours)

I have been having a heck of a time finding any flights on Delta's site. I tried using their flight tracker web page which shows a route between SYD and DSP (Bali, Indonesia) but I can't find record of it on Delta's site either.

Basically I'm trying to figure out the best way to book travel from SYD to either Bali, Manila, or SG itself.

I tried the skyteam.com website, and they list several options, but when I try to follow through any of the options, they fall apart. For example, skyteam.com lists flights through both KLM and Air France (I'd like to stick with names I know and trust if possible) but when I try to book, there is no flight found.

I tried to call Delta, but with the ATL power outage, their phones are impossible, and my issue isn't really a priority, so I don't want to waste one of their agents precious time.

Delta seems to have really poor coverage in AU, no major hubs like I'm used to (Detroit based). I get that I'll likely have to rely on some other airline, just trying to figure out the best option to utilize my Gold status, and still acquire MQMs.

Thank you in advance for your time in reading this,
Chad

TTT

WElcome to FT. Delta’s only AUS route is to SYD. They do also fly NRT-SIN but that doesn’t help you.

that said, took at Virgin Australia to any of those destinations. Be sure to check the mileage earning info for specifics.

MSPeconomist

Look at DL's nonSkyTeam partners, namely VS and VA. VA = Virgin Australia is based in Australia (and IIRC has SYD as its hub), has service to Singapore, which is what I assume you mean by SG rather than Saigon. VA and VS give some benefits to DL elites, but look carefully at their rules (including lounge access) for GM versus PM.

Have you tried calling DL to see whether they can book these flights?

BTW, Vietnam Airlines is a SkyTeam member in this part of the world, but might not be a name you know and trust. Also, KE = Korean (a founding member of SkyTeam like DL, AF, and KLM) could work with connections through ICN to Manila. Finally, the KLM flight from SIN to DPS does indeed exist but KLM might not currently serve Australia, so you might be looking at some sort of codeshare and connection for the route between SYD and DPS; the SIN-DPS segment might also be operated as a partnership with Singapore Airlines.

ChadDa3mon

Thanks for the information. I didn't see Virgin Australia listed on the skyteam site, so I assumed there was no sharing at all. Apparently there's something I'm missing here.

Delta is part of Skyteam, VA is not. So what 'thing' allows VA and Delta to still share miles/benefits? It feels like there is some untapped resource I'm not aware of.

manacit

Delta (like a lot of other airlines) has partnerships directly with other airlines outside of SkyTeam - chief among them are Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia. This means that you can earn/redeem miles/MQMs and what have you on them from Delta, but outside of the world of the negotiated and standardized SkyTeam Elite/Elite Plus benefits.

In this case, you can find more information on the Virgin Australia partnership here: https://www.delta.com/content/www/en...-partners.html

In this case, the biggest deal is that you'll get access to various Virgin Australia flights as DL codeshares where you can earn miles and MQMs, or earn directly based on Virgin Australia tickets, at the rules posted here: https://www.delta.com/content/www/en...-partners.html

Note that not all Virgin Australia flights are eligible, as documented on the above site: "Other Exclusions: Accrual is not eligible for the following VA-marketed flight ranges: VA3000-6399, VA7000-9499 and VA9560-9999"

vbjd1111

FWIW, I flew VA from SYD to DPS in 2016 on a DL award.

EDDMflyer

Have you tried looking at Korean Air via Seoul? Or is it not possible for you to fly that route?

pgh234

It seems like you might not understand that you cannot book international flights that do not touch US soil on delta.com. You need to book through other avenues (or by calling DL). I suggest using skyscanner or google/flights.

Don't forget to look at GA (Garuda) from SYD-DPS. GA has the best business class I have ever flown hands-down. They used to have great Skymile award availability too (even up front). That may have changed recently however.

TTT

MSPeconomist

Traveling between SYD and SIN via ICN is rather out of the way, which is why I mentioned KE but did not emphasize it in my post.

However, I should have mentioned Garuda as well as Vietnam Airlines.

EDDMflyer

That was burried so deep in your post, I must have missed it. I blame my vision

barracuda93

It's somewhat unclear for me what you imply by "the best". Given typical quality of Skyteam lounges (only Taipei has decent from what I saw in APAC), I wouldn't bother sticking to Skyteam for that purpose. Price/quality-wise you'd probably be better off flying a LCC: Scoot, Cebu Pacific, JetStar, AirAsia or Tiger, depending on destination choice.

ChadDa3mon

UGH - THAT is one big piece I was missing. I kept on wondering why those non-us flights didn't show up in Delta.com - THANK YOU!!!

mot29

Virgin OZ code shares with lot of airlines -- some ST, some not. Do read the details for SM earning. A VA purchased flight on VA or DL metal will earn, but not a VA marketed flight on another airlines metal. (1) Partner-marketed flights will earn miles based on a percentage of distance flown* as determined by the fare class paid. Unless otherwise noted, mileage credit is only applicable to Delta partner flights that are marketed and operated by that partner or Delta. And VA has lots of code shares, for example, the early morning CHC-SYD flight is VA metal 3 or 4 days a week and code share NZ metal the others.

I got a really good fare last summer LHR-OZ on Vietnam in business class and the service was excellent -- 787s from SGN-OZ. And Vietnam Air has some TWOV tours in SGN and HAN linked to their service to OZ. Not sure which connections they apply to, but might be worth checking. And VN is a SkyTeam member; service and comfort were quite good. https://www.vietnamairlines.com/sk/e...w/transit-tour

MSPeconomist

IIRC there's an AirAsia carrier (they seem to operate as X-AirAsia) that goes down to Australia, but be aware that LCCs aren't set up for connections. Typically you must clear immigration, claim any checked bags, and report to the landside check in counter for each segment. There can be major schedule changes and they won't help to change other segments which typically have been purchased as separate tickets.