Tips to make the most Oz trip from UK in J on QF - Lounges, seats etc
 

Hi All

Wondering if you can help a newbie make the most of my trip from LHR - PER - ADL (QF10) and SYD - LHR (QF1) later this month coming back at end of September (probably too early for the chance of a refurbished A380 :td:

Seating - So having taken advantage of the advice on the forum , I managed to secure 12K for the QF10 but on next leg of PER - ADL , no seat choice available - ...? :confused: Is there really no way to select a seat? In any case the more important is the return from SYD where there was limited choice and I have ended up in 19E - Very few other sets available. My question is whether there is a cheeky way to get in the front part of the cabin or will it always be full of QF high status?

Lounges - There seems to be a choice of lounges for travelling in QF J at LHR T3 - any views on which is best choice or are they all equally solid? In terms of the transit in PER, the dedicated transit lounge looks fantastic and a bit different so definitely going there but my biggest concern is the reviews of QF Int'l lounge in SYD which is consistently appalling- I will be flying back on Saturday afternoon so maybe not the busiest time but I want to know if other alternatives might be better - I have my 'dragonpass' that gets me into 'skyteam' lounge or I can pay $20 for access to 'The House' - what is the opinion of FT'ers on the best choice here?

Chauffeur Drive - Will get picked up in ADL and dropped off in SYD , so that looks good but I just had one question as to whether I can delay pick up at LHR to allow me to visit the AA arrivals lounge first or whether they insist on immediate pick up ?

Thanking everyone for their thoughts in advance - It has been a few years since I did much travel Long haul and have gotten quite excited about this one as may have to find my way back to flying on the big birds rather than day tripping around europe!

Of course, any other killer points on maximising the trip gratefully received!

Thanks easyFlyingKid

QF 10 is LHR-PER-MEL.
You may have another QF flight PER-ADL. That may be a B737 :)

You will not be able to use the Transit Lounge in PER.
This is only for continuing passengers on QF 10 PER to MEL, or those in the opposite direction on QF 9 PER to LHR.
At PER, you need to clear immigration, collect your bags and clear customs and then re-check in for the domestic sector to ADL.
You can use the Qantas Domestic Business lounge for the flight to ADL.
It has a nice pizza station in addition to the usual buffet items.

Thanks for the reply - that is really disappointing! I presume that bags are actually checked through to ADL right?

On the transfer through customs , does that mean there is no real 'transfer' facility in PER ? It sounds like you have to completely land yourself in Australia and then return through normal security - that does not feel like a great product in comparison with a transfer in somewhere like SIN!

Are you comparing like-with-like? What domestic equivalent flight would you be taking from SIN?

To the best of my knowledge most countries do customs formalities at the international port of arrival when connecting onto a domestic flight

the EU/schengen thing is obviously an exception

Your checked bags will be tagged to ADL.
However, since you are not continuing on QF 10 from PER to MEL, you need to clear immigration, then collect the checked bags and clear customs at PER.
Once out of the customs area, you can deposit the bag at one of the bag drop counters or the domestic business class check-in.
For QF Int to QF Dom at PER, everything is in the same building.
After that, clear domestic security and go to the Qantas Domestic Business Lounge.
Australian domestic security is less stringent that international security, e.g. no need to take liquids and gels out (no size restrictions too), no need to take shoes off unless they trigger the alarm.
You can also take your duty free wines and liquors (full bottles) through domestic security in your hand luggage.
The Qantas Domestic Business Lounge are PER is actually rather decent.
If you transfer at SIN, the security is at the gate and duty free purchases that are not purchased in Singapore will be confiscated if they do not fall into the size requirements for liquids and gels.