Mwenenzi

But not all Aussie airports with international flights are like that. Just BNE SYD & PER.
And the 2 BNE terminals are relativity new, which makes it ever stranger [QLD'ers are **&* ?]
MEL & ADL are OK

woodje12

Thanks for the heads up on VA Club access even for domestic flights for GM/SkyPriority.

I'm actually flying to Australia on a United award ticket (only 64K miles per person after they did a 20% off sale plus using the Excursionist perk to New Zealand plus an open jaw) but with that open jaw I bought a VA one way from Sydney to Melbourne. Looking forward to using their lounge.

I guess it's helpful for some that Delta is having more flash award sales but the short term visibility and blackout dates (going for the Australian Open) make it hard for a planner like me. Of course, I'm in ATL so my flights are invariably DL but credit card spend/points now go to UA/SW...

flyerCO

Correct. Everything is based off mileage and what fare class you book into. Thus if 10% would get $1600 if flew 16000 miles on a VA coded flight.

CPMaverick

Yes, really the lounges are the only sticking point. And somewhat made up for with the domestic lounge access (which you usually won't get flying a Skyteam domestic flight).

I don't think there is any chance you can access a lounge in TBIT (assuming Y travel), as that is pretty well proven out, but I am interested to hear your experience in MEL international. The new lounge 'The House' is promoted as a joint VA/EY lounge, so not sure if it counts as an 'official' VA lounge or not. Definitely let us know.

In MEL the domestic terminal is adjacent to the international terminal, and the domestic lounge is outside security. So you can access that before you enter the international airside, if you have lots of time. That's a sure thing while once you get airside on international, you're stuck there.

ab2013

Time to pull out a calculator and figure out how to milk the proverbial cow.

ab2013

Hmmm I might take that into account when I look at AU-NZ tickets, though I originally planned on redeeming Avios rewards for a flight on QF through Chase and swiping my Priority Pass card for comp lounge access and/or food+drink (after all, have to live up to my reputation as a millennial). Will be sure to report my experience!

Mwenenzi

off topic

Using ff miles/points for an economy TT fare can be poor value compared to cash. There is a lot of competition Australia - New Zealand on the trans Tasman route. Trans Tasman pricing is very competitive. Fares are often ~AU/NZ$225-$275 one way in economy/coach, but can be more or less. Both economy & business fares can be low to very low. Or at peak times can be very high (double or triple the lowest). Air NZ often has sales. China Airlines were usually cheapest in the (southern hemisphere) summers of 2015-16, 2016-17 & 2017-18. Often best to buy on the com.au or co.nz web sites and/or select NZ or Australia in the upper part of web site as point of sale (POS).

Flights, east coast Australia BNE SYD MEL, to NZ are scheduled to take about 3:15hr to 3:45hr. East bound is a little faster due to prevailing winds. The flight schedules are padded so they often arrive early.

There is no advantage in buying a Aust-NZ return ticket. All air fares in Australia and New Zealand are sold as one ways. Effectively no such thing as a “return” with or without conditions. A “return” is just 2 one ways in a single PNR/ticket. It is often better to buy one ways, including on different carriers. Purchasing in NZ is often cheaper than purchasing the same NZ to Australia flight as the second leg of a “return” purchased in Australia.

For trans Tasman flights carefully check what is included in the price. Depending on the airline and/or fare booking class frequent flyer miles, water, food, checked baggage, seat selection and/or in flight entertainment can all be extra to the base fare.

Airlines that fly trans Tasman routes Australia (CNS* MCY* BNE OOL NCL SYD CBR MEL ADL PER) to/from New Zealand (AKL WLG CHC DUD ZQN) (not from all airports to all airports).

• Air Asia D7 (OOL - AKL)
• Air New Zealand NZ [Star Alliance] {* winter seasonal}
• China Airlines CI (BNE-AKL) [Skyteam Alliance]
• Emirates EK (SYD – CHC) Codeshares with QF.
• Jetstar JQ (low cost carrier owned by QF)
• LAN LA (SYD AKL) [Oneworld Alliance]
• Qantas QF Codeshares TT with EK. [Oneworld Alliance]
• Singapore SQ (MEL- WLG) [Star Alliance]
• Virgin Australia VA Codeshares AC*. (Delta & AC** partner) [*= some routes in 2017?, ** ffp late 2017?][NCL-AKL from 22 Nov 2018].

on topic

NOLAnwGOLD

FYI, no lounge at LAX (they proactively told me this). I did use the Delta SC in T3 which worked due to my Delta DM status, so that was sufficient.

For MEL, "the House" is not for partner elites, and AUD$65 to go in. Again, they were proactive in telling me this.

ab2013

Touching back on my experience as a GM:

SEA-LAX-SYD on DL metal, SYD-AKL on VA same day:

SEA: Got to the airport late (dropped off bags 31 mins before departure) so didn't drop by SkyClub. Whoops. Hats off to the agents who got my bags checked through to AKL.
LAX: SkyClub access in T2.
SYD: Rejected by SkyTeam lounge. Didn't bother going to VA's lounge.

SYD-LAX on VA, LAX-SEA on DL same day:

SYD: VA check-in counter told me I would not be allowed into their lounge but SkyTeam lounge took me in. Was surprised.
LAX: SkyClub T3 let me in.
SEA: SkyClub in A concourse let me in and I had a nice feast.

CPMaverick

That's a shame. I've fought the Skyteam SYD lounge on this before and won. Skyteam rules say you can access the Skyteam lounge if you are arriving OR departing on a Skyteam flight. Arrival on DL metal counts. Please complain to DL about this, because these lounge agents seem to not follow the rules unless pressed hard.

ab2013

Yeah it's a shame the policies are not upheld - looking forward to DL's response a month from now. I did fight them and emphasized that I had just gotten off a DL flight from LAX that same day and they insisted that they couldn't let me in unless I departed from SYD on DL metal or paid a ludicrous fee of $79 (give or take a couple dollars). That's why I was surprised that they let me in on my way back to LAX on VA metal in PE.

flyerCO

No STE+ isn't an arrival lounge benefit. You need an onward flight to use it.

pvn

He had an onward flight, just not one on SkyTeam (SYD-AKL). But it doesn't matter, any onward flight will do.

https://www.skyteam.com/en/about/faq/lounge-access/

CPMaverick

Indeed, but it doesn't have to be an onward Skyteam flight. As long as you are connecting from a Skyteam flight you are entitled to lounge access. Read the rules.

Especially in the case of a single ticket, the rules are clear on this. Unfortunately the agents especially in SYD don't know the rules.

woodje12

Just confirming that my wife and I received access to the VA SYD domestic lounge on a SYD-MEL 1 way on VA even as a lowly GM. I was afraid I might have to convince the lounge rep but she reviewed my DL GM card in my Apple Wallet and boarding pass and I was good to go.

Now the SkyMiles for this flight never posted (even though my # was in the VA system) so I just submitted those...via FAX, really DL??!!