purdue1015

Thank you!

No checked bags. All same PNR. Revenue ticket purchased through and ticketed by UA. Then UA suspended AKL IAH so they routed me this way (QF CHC SYD then UA SYD LAX IAH HOM). Will look at ETA I suppose just to play it safe.

We appear to be arriving to gate 54 at SYD and departing out of gate 60. Will plan for security check between arrival and departure at SYD. UA is posting 30 minute departure delay for crew rest so won’t go out of my way but if lounge near gate will pop in. Appreciate the help!

Mwenenzi

QF138 CHC SYD for 06 May looks to have departed 49 minutes late and expected to arrive 27 minutes late. Should make the connection OK
While Air NZ is a UA partner some/many flights across the Tasman to/from AU are economy only. No business class.

purdue1015

Hi All. Wanted to post a data point regarding my experience of international transfer at SYD.

Leg was CHC SYD on QF J then SYD LAX on UA J. Same PNR. No checked bags.

It didn't occur to me (duh!) until that morning that QF is OW and not *A. Fairly new to the frequent flyer world (a little over year now) and most of that is domestic US flights. Anyway, am 1K on UA, and booked this NZ - USA flight home as a revenue ticket issued by UA. Original routing was CHC AKL IAH HOM. CHC AKL on NZ but rest on UA. However, a few months back UA suspended AKL IAH for the season and they gave me the reroute on QF CHC SYD.

Do you have any idea...how common is it for UA to stick someone on a OW flight? Seems odd to me. I suspect I can't get an UA credit for that leg. Worth trying for AA/OW credit?

Regarding CHC checkin. We arrived at 0335. Scheduled departure time 0600, but posting 30 minute departure delay from night before. Y checkin line was miles long but no one in J checkin line. QF ops agent was super helpful, but checkin did take close to a half hour. We had no checked luggage (fortunately), but she struggled quite a bit to attach TSA Known Traveler Number and United MP number, and ultimately decided she could not do either. She was able to print 4 QF paper "operated by UA" boarding passes, though, and those paper boarding passes worked for both CHC SYD and SYD LAX legs without issue. Weird to see a OW BP with "operated by UA" on it; but maybe that is just my inexperience showing.

QF did have an operational delay leading to a 1.5 hour late arrival to SYD. The posted 30 minute delay from the night before, then understaffed on ground crew at CHC so late loading bags, then flow control going into SYD.

Connection was tight. QF FAs were super nice in flight but we had no internet and they couldn't tell me anything actionable but were super supportive but also were very professionally telling my wife and I "you have no chance of making your connection" lol. Sure enough, we were met by QF ops agent on air stairs who said we had been rebooked on AA flight to LA. At that point, we still had 10 minutes to boarding of the UA flight (thanks to UA posting 30 minute delay due to crew rest from late arriving flight the night before). I had received no notification from UA about a change to our reservation and this rebooking on AA just seemed a bit weird to me so I called UA 1K desk on the shuttle bus to terminal and asked them. They said they did not see any remarks regarding a change to our reservation. I said I would still like to try to make UA flight if we can and asked that they reach out internally to local UA ops and let them know we are coming.

Security took about 30 minutes. Standard comedy of errors...training a new security officer, then machine broke, then I got selected for a random full body swab, etc., etc. I will sheepishly admit wife and I more or less ran after that to gate...but we made it with 10 minutes to spare before door closing. UA had just started calling for "all groups all passengers" to board, etc.

So, all is well that ends well!

northinsouth

Hi everyone: Simple question for first time flyer from SYD. I have a 7 am flight from T2 on VA, SYD>HOB. We're going to need to check bags and get boarding passes (I used UA points to buy this flight, so alas, won't let me check-in online). How much time do I need to clear security and get to the gates? I was going to try to get to the terminal around 5:15 am, but not sure if we can push it a little later. Thanks for any help.

supine

A lot of the airlines have codeshare and other partnerships across alliance boundaries, nothing is really sacred.

UA using QF between New Zealand and Australia probably comes down to having more connection options and the lack of J inventory on NZ (not all of their flights are two class).

UA earning for tickets on their stock is based on how much you paid, not what you flew. If they try to deduct some PQP because of the QF segment(s), ask them for "original routing credit" which should get you all the PQP you are entitled to.

Mwenenzi

offish topic
Until recently UA did not have an AU domestic airline partner. So UA would regularly sell QF AU domestic flights as tag on's to USA-AU flights. Just UA being a travel agent to get a long haul sale. So nothing unusual . Since April 2022 Virgin Australia has been a UA partner in UA. Since 2001 has not been a Star Alliance AU domestic airline in AU ( RIP Ansett)
From CHC to Australia Air NZ (Star Alliance) only has all economy aircraft to AU. As you were in business class and no Air NZ CHC-SYD at a suitable time you were put on QF. For some reason UA decided CHC to AU was better than CHC AKL to another USA airport served by UA.

You should be able to claim the QF flight to a Oneworld airline ffp, like AS or AA. If you are not a signed up member, retro credit is subject to the ffp t&c's. Having the physical boarding pass can help a lot.
You can also try for "original routing credit" with UA ffp for the flights as booked.

Mwenenzi

07:00 ~ 08:00 is a *very* busy time for SYD domestic flights. Are gazillion's of pax doing day trips to MEL, BNE and other places. Weekends a lot less busy. Security will be faster than USA airports, but will take time. Check-in by self service kiosk and then bag drop.

purdue1015

Great information, thank you both!

docbert

This isn't at all a case of UA "just being a travel agent". UA has always (for some definition of always that includes at least the past 20 years, probably far more) sold UA-issued tickets that include travel on QF. The distinction here is that they aren't selling you a QF ticket (as a travel agent could do), but issuing a ticket that includes travel on both airlines.

Even today with their VA partnership, they will still happily sell you a ticket on QF just as readily as they will sell you one on VA or on one of their VA codeshare flights, or even on JQ.

Qantas do exactly the same in reverse - for US domestic flights they will just as readily offer a ticket including UA as they will AA, AS or QF codeshare.

shipsmail

I will book HBA-SYD-SIN as part of an international ticket. So I guess, I will have to transfer from T3 to T1 in SYD. What is the best transfer option? Can I check luggage through from HBA to SIN? HBA-SYD is QF, SYD-SIN is SQ.

Mwenenzi

Is HBA-SYD-SIN on 1 PNR/ticket? Or separate HBA-SYD and SYD-SIN? SQ is a partner of VA Virgin Australia, so QF is a little unusual.

• If the same QF will (should?) interline bags to SQ for SIN. Unsure if you would be able to use the free QF airside bus T3 to T1
• If separate tickets QF will not interline checked bags. So you need to them up pick up at T3 and take them to T1. The free airport terminal bus will be the easiest. Or pay $$$ for the short train ride.

shipsmail

Yes, it is on one ticket. The whole ticket is issued by LX (SWISS), which cooperates for domestic flights with QF and not VA unfortunately.

Mwenenzi

OK. But be prepared to pick-up bags at T3 if QF HBA do not interline. A full hard copy print of the itinerary may help.

Apollosmom

Flying tonight LAX to SYD on UA, scheduled 0655 arrival Wednesday ..T1. Connecting to VA at T2 for 0915 flight to PER. “Assume” if LAX-SYD is on time, I will have sufficient time at T1 for immigration and then shuttle bus to T2, security then to gate to make 0915 departure? Only hand carry, so no baggage. Or do I need to make sure my running shoes are ready?

docbert

I'd have your running shoes ready, but you should be fine - especially without checked bags. That's absolutely peak period for SYD international arrivals, and it's school holidays in some states which can make things worse. For the most part, it all comes down to what lands before you as to how long it'll take to get through immigration/customs. Presuming it's all one ticket then UA will have given you your VA boarding passes, so once you arrive in the domestic terminal it'll be straight to security (normally fast) and to the gate.

Catching the free T-Bus should be fine, but if you're looking like it's going to be tight you'll probably be better heading for the train. You'll need to pay (something like A$5. No need to buy a ticket, just use a contactless credit card), but it'll be faster than the T-bus.