FlyerGoldII

Arriving on AC 33 from YVR at 8:15 am, in business class.
Would like to depart on flight going to Melbourne, maybe on QF 429 at 423 at 10 am.

First ticket is a purchased AC issued ticket. Second ticket would be BA Avios issued ticket.

That Qantas flight would have business class; then next QF flight with business class (and lounge access) is QF 425 departing at 5 pm.

I would of course have checked luggage.

Would my wife and I make it, if flight did arrive on time?

I can go on other QF flights going between SYD and MEL between 10 am and 5 pm - but they are all in economy class. I do not carry about where I sit on the plane, esp for such a short flight - but after an red-eye flight from YVR to SYD - even in J class - I would prefer a lounge when departing from SYD after arriving there earlier on the same day.

Mwenenzi

So given up on the VA lounge option?

08:15 to 10:00 is 1:45hr between arrival & departure. The usual recommendation is 3hr when on separate tickets T1 to T2/T3.
1:45 may be OK if all goes well.
How long a time to get through immigration quarantine & customs is the gamble. Can be quick or slow.
Early morning there are many long haul wide body aircraft arriving into SYD T1.
Look at this link in 20 hours (~06:00 SYD time) : https://www.sydneyairport.com.au/fli...ascending=true

Airport info SYDNEY (SYD) - amenities, transfers, transport Click to open the wiki

Other threads by the OP on this trip and similar recent topics
Sydney Australia arrival on AC (J); lounge (or other) options?
Qantas domestic lounge access - no status with One World

Domestic Velocity Lounge Access for DL Platinum?
Sydney Lounge- Transferring Delta to Virgin Australia Domestic
Shower on arrival in SYD?

Edit
AC33 arrived 4 minutes early on 04 Feb 2018 https://www.sydneyairport.com.au/fli...ascending=true
AC33 arrived 56 minutes late on 03 Feb 2018 https://www.sydneyairport.com.au/fli...ascending=true

FlyerGoldII

I think taking the AC 423 would be risky, especially on 2 separate unlinked tickets.

So early afternoon on QF (in economy) using Avios, or on VA (in economy) with paid ticket. No lounge access with QF in that scenario - but (if lounge agent allows it) free access with Canadian AMEX Platinum card, or paid access.to VA agent.

Guvner067

With 1:45 T1 > T3 you wont have time to visit the QF lounge anyway. Maybe 15 minutes in the lounge if the stars align.
For a one hour flight is Business Class that important? Especially if it's a 737, there's not much difference.
An A330 might be worth it with the newer seats, but still, biz on short flight doesn't outweigh the stress of a T1>T3 transfer in 1 hr.
Last time I did that transfer (QF int > QF dom on one J ticket) it was nearly an hour to deplane, get through customs and get the bags rechecked. Then a 10 minute wait for the next bus. I'd guess it was 1:30 from opening the aircraft door to walking in to Dom lounge. I had a 3 hour transfer window.

Mwenenzi

I think Mr & Mrs FlyerGoldII are primarily wanting a shower after the long haul AC flight.

Bring a towel, use the public showers and discard the towel in another option.
But 100's, if not 1000's, of people fly long haul into SYD/BNE/MEL and then take a domestic flight (without a shower)

Guvner067

Yes, I understand that. My point is they most likely wont have time anyway.

FlyerGoldII

We want business class for lounge access; of course, no need for a business class seat on an 1 hour flight!
We want lounge access for more than shower access - want to relax (maybe even snooze) in a "relaxed, relatively secluded" environment, more than what we can get by waiting for the plane at the gate.

PS-I do have a Priority Pass card -allows free lounge access to myself and one companion - too bad no Priority Pass lounges at Sydney airport - although the Priority Pass card will get us discounted/free food at some Sydney airport restaurants.

FlyerGoldII

there is the option of the 5 pm flight - which has business class availability. But 5-6 hours in a lounge.....

Guvner067

For the one hour flight... I would book the 5pm and get lounge access, and then ask at the desk if you can get on an earlier flight. There's one every 30 minutes, every 15 during peak. I'd be pretty confident you'll get 2 seats in J on one of them.

Mwenenzi

From post 1 "would be BA Avios issued ticket." So technically would not have the same flexibility as a paid ticket.
But worth (politely) asking for an earlier flight. They can only say yes or no.

Guvner067

No, they won't have the flexibility for sure, but the odds are pretty good that the check-in agent will find them an earlier flight. At worst they'll have some extended lounge and Terminal wandering time.

number_6

Not sure if that is true for non-QFF issued awards ... the one time I tried to change it the agent made a point of saying it was against the rules for any changes but they did it for me due to my QFF/CIP status as a one-off, and they did have to phone someone for authorization. Very different from moving forward on a QF ticket, which is pretty easy to do and even encouraged. I'd guess that the OP would be flying at the ticketed time and not earlier in their circumstances. As for 105 min connection on separate tickets, it is iffy at SYD (would be fine in MEL) due to high volume of chinese flight arrivals around the AC arrival time. Plays havoc with the lines and often takes 30+ min to get a jetway to deplay these days if not first flight of the day.

Kiwi Flyer

You won't get what you want on that schedule. Most likely NO time to even visit the lounge.

I have a similar timed connection coming up, but QF-QF all on one ticket and with no checked bags. I don't expect to visit the lounge unless my inbound flight is late & QF rebooks me onto a later domestic flight.

Since you are on separate tickets you won't even have the option of being rebooked if your Air Canada flight is late or if you get held up at immigration, customs, or the transfer between terminals. Indeed with checked bags I'm not sure that QF will accept your bags at domestic transfer desk in the international terminal - by the time you get there it will probably be too late to check in with bags.

FlyerGoldII

At immigration and customs, is there a separate line (queue) for the business/first class passengers?

Kiwi Flyer

Business/first class passengers should be handed express arrival cards during the flight.

This works for immigration although smartgate is normally quicker if you can use that. For customs the express lane hasn't been useful for a long time.

In my view all of these ways to speed things up are already reflected in the advice given above.