astrohip

Some questions related to tickets, luggage & lounges. In about a week, my wife, daughter & I are flying Continental from Houston to LAX, about five hours layover, then QF12 to Sydney (J class, upstairs). First time on Qantas, first time to Australia. We are meeting our son who has been at the Univ of Sydney this past semester (he tells us he's trying to find a way to stay, he loves it so much there ). Ok, back to questions... The tickets are eTickets, and were booked thru Cont.

1) Can we (should we) book our luggage in Houston all the way to Sydney?

2) I've read that we should recheck-in with Qantas upon arrival in LAX, regardless of whether Cont has "checked us in". Legit? And where does one do this? Will we have access to a lounge that enables check-in? Does recheck-in require going in & out of security in LAX? Does getting from Cont to Qantas require going thru security again?

3) I've been trying to keep up with lounge info thru this forum, but I'm still confused. What terminal will we fly out of (QF12 on a Tues evening), and what lounges will be available to us as J pax? With a five hour layover, this is critical!


On the return (QF11 on a Monday), same questions:

1) Luggage booked thru to Houston, or does customs in LAX affect this?

2) Recheck-in with Cont in LAX? We only have a 2.5 hour layover on the return.

3) Lounges?

BTW, on our return trip, our son & daughter will be in coach (he has a student/group fare that could not be upgraded, and our daughter volunteered to sit with him on the return so he wouldn't be by himself). Any problems going back to visit once or twice? I assume they won't let them come see us? Can we sneak 'em some J-snacks? <jk>

BTW2--while there, we are flying Sydney-Cairns on Qantas. How early do they like you to get to the airport in Australia for domestic flights? Security line delays ever?

Thanks in advance!

DownUnderFlyer

I will try to anwer, others may correct me if my information is not up to date anymore.

1. Yes you can and you should. Make sure that you have something to show to CO which proves that you are going to SYD.
2. You will be arriving in terminal 6 and you need to go to terminal 4. At terminal 4 you will have to get your boarding pass for QF since CO in Houston will not be able to give you that (MAYBE AA in Houston can give you boarding passes). Go to the business check-in counter. After that, you will have to go through security again (up the stairs on the left hand side when you enter the terminal).
3. After secutiry just walk a few meters and you will fnd the AA/QF lounge (Admirals Club) on the right hand side. It is a nice lounge with lots of space. They have a business centre and other amenities.

Return:
1. Yes, booked through to Houston, BUT, you need to take your bags in LAX, go through customs and check the bags back in (there is a luggage re-reck on the left hand side after you have cleared customs).
2. You need to change terminals and check-in with Continental.
3. You should be able to use the Presidents Club near gate 62 (but not if you have no status or if you are not a member or if you do not get access through other means. A domestic J ticket will not be enough).

Australian domestic check-in closes 30 minutes before departure with checked bags. I would be at the airport 1.5 hours before the flight. The issue is more the traffic to the airport than the security lines.

Enjoy Sydney. It is the wettest June since 1975.

number_6

Even if CO in IAH gives you BPs for LAX-SYD, you will need to get new QF issued BPs at LAX (this can be done in the J lounge, however). As a QF J pax you are entitled to drink vouchers (free alcoholic drinks in the lounge, which otherwise charges the AC members). On the return, there is no QF lounge you can use at LAX; if you had been continuing to IAH on AA then you could have used the same lounge as on your way to SYD.

Is this an award J ticket? I ask because you are on QF11, and nominally it is blacked out for awards (per the FF rules in QF and OW plans), but I have heard that CO is able to issue awards on QF11 -- an interesting situation (QF treats CO better than QF pax; a legacy of the settlement with CO, when QF paid CO off to pull out of Australia).

DownUnderFlyer

Any idea why that is the case? Or is this part of the CO legacy as well? BTW, CO still flies from the US to Australia but not such an attractive route.

littl_flier

Mmm, Cairns and Guam, not my ideal routing.

Astrohip, you are definitely able to visit you're sun and daughter in coach on the way back. As a J class passenger, you have roam of the plane (not F though) and if you ask you're FA nicely (despite what they say about QF FA's) they might even look after them with a few extra treats. You may even be able to sneak some J food to them but this is never guaranteed.

Enjoy you're trip down under. PS. Uni of Sydney is a great uni. Glad your son enjoyed it.

astrohip

Thank you all for your replies. I feel better now.

Our tickets are full fare, no awards. . I've got miles of miles (over 700,000 Cont miles), and was looking forward to using them for these flights. I was unable to find *any* seats on the flights we wanted using rewards. The only reward seats were on days we couldn't fly (we had to time our trip to match our son's finishing Uni).

Here's to clear skies!

astrohip

1) How do we get to the J lounge to get new boarding passes, without a boarding pass? Or can we use the ones Continental issues in Houston, even though they will be re-issued?

2) Does it make any difference, getting the new BP at the business check-in counter, or the J-lounge? Easier, quicker, either way?

3) Is the J-lounge you refer to part of the Admiral's Club that DUF mentioned?

DownUnderFlyer

1. There is an IF in number_6's sentence. If CO gives you a boarding pass you can use it to go the J lounge. But most probably they can not give you one.

2. No. It is obviously a bit quicker to get it at the lounge but it is onlz a small difference.

3. The J Lounge and the Admiral's Club are the same thing.

Happy flying!

astrohip

Thanks again for the info. Your patience with us newbs is refreshing ^

I guess I should bring my own magazines for the flight . . .

DownUnderFlyer

No, you are flying a real Airline and QF has plenty of reading material. This only happend to me at UA. Almost as good as the AA FAs who claimed they didn't have any black tea on board, only Darjeeling and Earl Grey...