I would appreciate any advice when it comes to taking several long flights in first class. I've never flown anything but coach internationally. I'm trying to get to New Zealand via Sydney in First Class:

IAH-PEK (12 hour layover) PEK-BKK (overnight in Bangkok) BKK-SYD the next day. All flights are first class (Air China then Thai).

Is that an exhausting trip? This trips for my honeymoon, and it sounds fun to me but my fiance isn't convinced. Another alternative would be:
IAD-LAX in first then LAX-SYD in business. Is this route a better option even though it is business?

I'm going to buy a coach ticket to New Zealand from Sydney because there is no awards available when I'm going.

In F with lie flat, no its not too long. Once she gets her 1 hour First class massage at the TG lounge in BKK, she will get over it. Although she will never able to fly business class in the future after this so on second thought go with J

The UA F product to SYD is not as good as the CA or TG, I am doing a routing like that in December LAX-ICN OZ F ICN-BKK TG C BKK-SYD F and SYD-CHC NZ C.
You will love the flights and the attention enjoy

The most exhausting part of that journey is likely to be the 12 hour layover in PEK. I'd suggest keeping this for now but continuing to look for other better options to BKK, and pick up the rest of the journey from there. This may be worthwhile even if it adds an extra leg. NH from ORD or the west coast could be a good option, with an onward connection to BKK from NRT.

If you can't get around the PEK layover, and want to stay around the airport area, check out the PEK Hilton. It's a pretty nice hotel for a layover.

Agreed. I've done overnight connections in PEK to domestic Chinese cities several times now, but even on the int'l side, IIRC the CA F lounge is not 24H, so the most logical choice is to stay at a hotel near the airport. Besides the Hilton, the choices for the Western traveler are pretty slim.

It is possible, if you do some planning with transport options, to go into town for a quick circuit of sightseeing, like Wangfujing-Tiananmen Square-Qianmen, and maybe have a lamb hotpot or Peking duck for dinner at either end before coming back to the airport.

When traveling by myself there is no such thing as to long a routing. But if traveling with a new spouse who is skeptical I would bow to her wishes, at least for this trip.

Besides, there are activities that are associated with being a honeymoon that are more more fun than hanging around airports for 12 hours.

Thanks for all the good advice. I'm leaning towards the all first class route via PEK and BKK. My layover in PEK is from 5am to 5pm, so I don't have to worry about staying there overnight, but thank you for the hotel suggestions. Never know what could happen. I read about the 72 hour no visa pass, so I hope to get out of the airport and see some sights, having never been to China, or anywhere in Asia.

Any recommendations for hotels in BKK? Should I stay near the airport? We would arrive at 9:20pm and our flight to Sydney would be at 5:00pm the next day.

:-:

This is excellent advice.

With that schedule definitely head in to town rather than staying out at the airport.

The Langham is another great option as well. Rooms are absurdly big and the breakfast is outstanding. Both are directly across from the airport.

I agree with you. We are spending the remainder of the trip in Fiji, on the beach for a week. She is in for the adventure of making all those connections along the way, she just is worried that it will be exhausting. Just wanted to get some advice from folks who have flown international first class. It's something I've always wanted to try but never felt inclined to spend the miles, however, for my honeymoon I wanted to go all out!

Given that you're in F, I don't think you'll have a problem. I recently did IAD-PEK in C with 2 small children, and it was quite comfortable and didn't feel nearly as long as I expected.

If your 12 hour layover is during daylight hours, I would highly recommend that you consider using the layover for a quick trip to the Great Wall. You can easily book a car to take you from the airport to the wall and back (see the Flyertalk China forum for many discussions on this), and it is well worth seeing. Plus, it will get you out of enclosed spaces for a bit and give you a chance to walk around, before embarking on the next leg of the trip.

Try to sleep as much as you can on the plane. This is the real advantage of flying in F. Taking Melatonin right at departure helps me falling asleep. Then stay active in PEK. You could either do the Great Wall tour as suggested or just go into the city to the usual sights (Forbidden City etc). Just stay active, no naps. You will be exhausted when arriving in Bangkok. If you are on the early SYD flight next day just stay close to the airport (the Novotel is good, inside the airport but pricey, some other hotels are close by), other hotels in the area provide free shuttles. Go to the airport early for the massage in the F lounge.
If you are on the late flight to SYD my recommendation is staying in the Sukumvit/Ploenchit area. Lots of good hotels there. Traffic is light in the evening. A Taxi will be around 300 bath and will take less than 30min. ust make sure you go to the official Taxi stand. Depending on your budget you could arrange for a guide and a car (thru the hotel) for some sightseeing and have the car drop you off at the airport at the end.

Why don't you look at an Air NZ award. Either book your international section from either LAX/SFO or YVR to AKL, Air NZ J class (Highest class) is actually very good indeed with lie flat beds. Rewards can be a challenge from LAX but they do come up from SFO and YVR. Or to really please your new wife why not try a J class award from LAX to RAR and then on to AKL. J class awards for this route is on the 772, again fully lie flat, herringbone style seats. By doing this route, treat yourself to a pacific island holiday on the way

This definitely doesn't seem like a bad trip if you've not been to China and Thailand before. I think the longish breaks on the way actually make the trip less exhausting rather than more. F on the CA 773 is supposed to be very good, though if you see NH to Japan combined with TG to BKK open up later I think that would be more attractive to me and I'd pay the change fee (if applicable). (Note, NH does not have F to BKK, so TG is your target on that segment)

For Bangkok, I wouldn't stay around the airport since you'll be there all afternoon. There's nothing at the airport to see and higher end places in the city can be had very cheaply. Several of the upper end hotels have nightclubs in basement if you want to dance the night away and there's a lot that you can see in the morning/early afternoon in Bangkok, but learn and avoid the tuk-tuk shopping scam to save yourself a lot of time and possibly money.