NYBanker

I've got to go down to Sydney next week for a few days. I've only been to Sydney via other Asian cities, and I've not tried directly out of NY previously.

I flew in QF's J on a 2-class 744ER SYD-SIN two weeks ago was a let down.

I'm debating between QF or BA for this next trip. SQ's schedule doesn't really work for me.

I have a few questions I'm hoping for some help with...

(1) Will I know for sure that there are the flat (or angled flat) beds out of JFK in J on particular QF flights?

(2) Any way to upgrade to F? I'll be in paid J. I'm BA Gold. Can I use miles? Any other means?

(3) Would you expect the service to be meaningfully better on a JFK-SYD run compared to the SYD-SIN service I experienced?

(4) Anything else I should know?

Appreciate any thoughts.

Dave Noble

"(1) Will I know for sure that there are the flat (or angled flat) beds out of JFK in J on particular QF flights? "

You can go onto somewhere like www.flyaow.com/classamex.htm and check the seat map for the specific flights. If it is a configuration with 50J seats then it is a skybed. 65 or 79 seats and it's a dreamtime configuration

"(2) Any way to upgrade to F? I'll be in paid J. I'm BA Gold. Can I use miles? Any other means?"

Yup. By paying the fare differential between business class fare paid and the first class fare, you will be able to upgrade to 1st class. Other than that, unless you have a friend with a lot of QF FF miles or 5 UCs , then no.

Dave

NM

In addition to Dave :-: :-: :-: :-: :-: Noble's response:
If it was 2-class, then it was not a 744-ER, but a standard 747-438. The -ER's are all 3-class configured.
Using BA will be three stops (JFK-LHR-SIN/BKK-SYD), while QF is one stop, same aircraft (JFK-LAX-SYD) from New York to Sydney and shorter travel time.
By late November, the chances of Skybed on QF108/107 is strong. I am booked on QF107 in a few weeks and it is scheduled to be skybeds. As Dave said, check out the on-line seat maps. Also note that QF are going to change their Pacific aircraft with 50 Skybeds to be 64 Skybeds at some point.
This is asked all the time. The only way to upgrade on QF is with QF FF points (55,000 points each way for zone 5), QF FF Upgrade Credits (5 UC's each way for zone 5), or pay the difference.

You may find you can buy a First Class OneWorld Explorer (AONE4) for the same or less cost of a return full J fare.
Depends on what you expect from the service? There is a good chance of a Skybed seat verses the Dreamtime seat on the 2-class aircraft. Food is similar standard on all QF longhaul flights, and generally considered to be better than BA's Club World catering. Cabin crew will be Australian, so expect an Aussie flavour of service - quite different to that from many Asian carriers, less formal and probably less VIP-type treatment than US and Asian airlines. But should be friendly and efficient. However, it all depends on the crew you get - some are good, some are not so good.
Make use of the lounges along the way. At JFK use the joint BA/QF lounge that will have free drinks and nibbles. At LAX use the T4 Admirals Club which doubles as a QF lounge. Be sure to collect your free drink vouchers on entry as a QF business class passenger. If you have OneWorld Emerald status, then you should get into the F lounges at these locations.

Again when leaving Sydney make sure you visit the QP and enjoy the open bar and nibbles.

AllyB

While its certainly not Cathay or Singapore, all of my experiences on the JFK-SYD route have been fine for the most part in terms of service. And actually I think the food is better on Qantas than on Cathay, Singapore or BA. Even if it's Dreamtime seats, I would opt for this route rather than flying via London on BA -- it's long enough going direct! As NM rightly points out - it's the same aircraft all the way so you know you won't miss any connections!

Have a nice trip.

number_6

BA still has the "buy J, fly F one way" offer, don't know if it includes JFK-SYD though. Also I presume the cost is quite a bit higher for routing JFK-LHR-SYD instead of JFK-LAX-SYD. QF service westbound tends to be quite a bit worse than eastbound trans-Pacific (the FAs have had their layover time in the US reduced and this is causing a service reduction for the return flight; I have no opinion whose fault that is, just reporting the observation). So if you didn't like SYD-SIN service, expect worse on JFK-SYD. As for getting a flat bed, odds are about 90% that it will be flat, but the non-flat have greater capacity so I suspect in an oversold situation there might be an aircraft substitution. However the Dreamtime seats are surprisingly comfortable (better than the cradle seats on BA even though it is the same design).

Alan in CBR

NYBanker stated in the original post that he is BA Gold, so it's Flagship Lounge at LAX T4 for him and no need for drink vouchers.

number_6

And the LAX FL still has JW Gold -- while the brand new CX F lounge at LHR is proudly serving JW Black.

NM

Personally, I prefer the BA Cradle Seats for sleeping. On the QF Dreamtimes, the section you sit on (between the nether region and your knees) remains horozontal throughout the recline. On the BA Cradle seats, the front of that section (the knees) raises slightly as the seat reclines, creating the "cradle".

I find the slightly raised knees more comfortable for sleeping than the horozontal hip-knee section. So it is very much a personal thing. I don't sleep well on my back anyway, so I will look for flat beds if at all possible.

under the clocks

I've flown SYD-JFK-SYD on QF 107/108 five times in the past six months and have had 100% Dreamtime, as late as two weeks ago.

NM is right, the chances are improving. I think there are now 2 Skybed equipped aircraft regularly on this route. The only time ITN showed 50 skybeds on my flight it went US at JFK, I legged it to LAX on AA, and it was back to Dreamtime for the run to MEL.

NYBanker

Thanks for all the color. I really appreciate it. Based on all this feedback, I have a few new questions:

(1) Do all the JFK-SYD QF flights operate westbound (ie: JFK-LAX-SYD)?

(2) Will the JFK-LAX segment be on QF metal (I think so, but am not sure).

(3) Does BA offer the flat seats to SYD (ie: New Club World) at all, or are they the old cradle seats?

NM

All Qantas flights from JFK-SYD operate westbound via LAX.
Depends on the day of the week and the flight time you chose. Qantas operates its own flight, QF108, on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Other days it will be an AA operated fligth with a number other than QF108.
BA has NCW for all JFK-LHR flights (both 777 and 744 aircraft), and for all LHR-SYD flights (all 744, via SIN or BKK). No cradle seats on either of those routes.

GibSpmuh

Here's some answers for you:

(1) Yes, all QF flights operate westbound for JFK-SYD, there's none via LHR (once upon a time, many many years ago you might have had that chance ).

(2) If you're booked on QF108 for the JFK-LAX segment then it will be on QF metal. Any other code for the JFK-LAX segment (ie QF3xxx ) will indicate it's a codeshare on AA - there's about 13 of these a day, so at least there's plenty of options!

(3) BA offers flat seats on all flights to SYD from LHR, via BKK or SIN

If you're really tied to the option of going via LHR, keep in mind all QF flights from LHR to Australia are fitted with Skybeds now as well, so you don't have to play the guessing game, unlike going via LAX. I'd echo the sentiments listed earlier about investigating an AONE4 fare as well if this is the case, and have the pleasure of First Class instead for about the same price of a return business class fare from JFK-SYD.

NM

Or for even less money, how about a ACIR22 fare JFK-NRT-SYD-FJK. You get First class on QF SYD-JFK (via LAX), First Class on AA JFK-NRT, and business class with dreamtime seats NRT-SYD. And the fare is probably less than the standard business class JFK-SYD return fare. The ACIR22 fare ex-Australia is only A$9,149, while the standard business class return fare is $12,483! Pricing will be different for purhcase in USA.

Dave Noble

A DONE4 ex US is USD7400 and an AONE4 is USD9100

A straight return from the Qantas website in business class comes out at over $10000.

Of course, with the DONE/AONE fares, there is the requirement to have 3 stopovers so cannot be used as a straight out n back trip

Dave

NM

I am unaware of any restriction on the minimum number of stopovers on OneWorld Explorer fares.

But for purchase from the USA, there is a minimum 10 day stay, which may not suite the OP.

The ACIR22 from USA is US$7100, which is first class for way less than the business class fare. This fare has a min 5 day stay and also no minimum stopover requirement.