So, I won a trip to Australia on United...

 
Old Sep 19, 2008, 7:59 am
  #61  
 
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Don't certain planes and certain sides of aisle seats have armrests that rotate up and out of the way? I think I've noticed that on some planes and that may be worth checking into for your flights. An aisle seat with an armrest that rotates up might help your comfort level in E or E+.
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Old Sep 19, 2008, 8:53 am
  #62  
 
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Originally Posted by boiflyer
Don't certain planes and certain sides of aisle seats have armrests that rotate up and out of the way? I think I've noticed that on some planes and that may be worth checking into for your flights. An aisle seat with an armrest that rotates up might help your comfort level in E or E+.
Yes, those are the handicapped seats.
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Old Sep 19, 2008, 12:11 pm
  #63  
 
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Originally Posted by Monolith2
Ok, I know it's kinda corny, but I have to name each of you guys... tegwj, Ripper3785, bdeardorff, UnitedSkies, SWB, MarcWPhoto, flyerbjorn, Dan6681, and everyone else I embarrassingly missed, thanks for all the help, advice and info!

I'm gonna try to plan out exactly what I want to do most when I'm "down under" and see if I can squeeze in that Economy Plus Annual deal. If not, though, you guys had a ton of great tips on ways to make the flight in E- a little more manageable and even some ideas on how I might be able to snag a better seat at the airport.

Now I just have to think of a really awesome souvenir to get you all...

Cheers, mates!!
Monolith2, Congrats on winning. Go for it. I hope you get to Melbourne.
Virginblue has same fares for under $100.00. Sometimes QF is lower.
Between 9:00Pm-10:00PM Virginblue has a happy hour. With flights from SYD-MEL for $49.00. Similiarly to Brisbane.
www.virginblue.vom.au
If you cannot grab one of those. Countrylink has a train I think it is twice a day, when my son was a student living in Sydney he use to take it to visit his friends & my Melbourne office when he ran out of money If you book 3 days in advance, I think it was half price something like 40.00AUD.
That was 2 years ago
About seating on UA LAX-SYD/MEL in Y.
My company places personnel in Australia and typically,we have 2 or 3 travelling weekly on United to MEL/SYD . Having too much of UA lemonade,my TA has a standing order only to book UA for our personnel
Some tips:
1. Do not take Exit Row Window. No leg room, worst than any E- seat !!!!
2. 80% of the time not on peak travel times Christmas, Australian School Holidays, Australian Summer JAN/FEB, Row 46 Middle seat is available.
You are not travelling during Peak period.Victoria school holidays are almost over.
46 middle Exit row in E- section, personnel reporting back rave about it. According to them it is the best seat in Y. near the galley and once the meal service is over no noise no crowd. no gathering unlike the Exit Row in E+ section which is near the lavatories.
The chances of these seats ( there are 2 of these seats one on each side of the galley) being available for your travel date are good. Why, middle seat on UA are blocked for GS &1K & I think for PE. Typically if a 1K is waiting for UG, they have 46 Aisle. so the 46 middle stays blocked.
Like majority of my personnel you will be checkin from the east coast,First flight check-in ask for 46B or 46 the other middle seat, most likely you will get it. DO NOT TAKE WINDOW!!!!!
If you need info for some reasonable price accommodation ,especially in Melbourne PM me. Sometimes we have to put up our personnel in temporary accommodations until their apartments are ready.
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Old Sep 19, 2008, 12:23 pm
  #64  
 
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Originally Posted by yyzprincess
Why, middle seat on UA are blocked for GS &1K & I think for PE. Typically if a 1K is waiting for UG, they have 46 Aisle. so the 46 middle stays blocked.
Middle seat blocking is not an elite benefit anymore.
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Old Sep 19, 2008, 12:45 pm
  #65  
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Even more people to thank -- anthro, PhillyPhlyer40, SensFan, Derrico, 6rugrats, estnet, kcvt750, and boiflyer -- thanks for the congrats and the advice! Honestly, I still can't believe how friendly everyone here is... as strange as it sounds, just having you all to talk to has really psyched me up for the trip, no matter what kind of cubby-hole I have to squeeze myself into for the flight.

Originally Posted by BDLORD
I wish I had 3P status to gift but I stupidly gave it to my 4 year old before UA decided to let us 1K's bring our entire touring party to E+ as a perk.
Good Luck and ^ to the person who offered up a SWU.
Cheap B*******, giving you K class to SYD
Some cheap good eats on the street behind the Hilton in Sydney.
Good Luck and have fun
No problem, BDLORD; I still appreciate the thought! Besides, I'm sure you and most of the rest of the people on these forums got started by gutting it out in cruddy seats... maybe one of these days I'll be a 1K myself.


Originally Posted by Converse34
Why not call the company running the promotion and see if they can get you E+? If they have a deal with United or if you won this trip in conjuction with a United or Tourist Board sponsored event, it might be possible. If the company has an account manager w UA, it can be done.
I tried that and the promotion isn't associated with United, UAL just happens to be the airline that their travel agent uses. I'm definitely going to try calling around a bit more though just in case. I don't want to be too persistent, though, because when it comes down to it it's still an almost free trip to Australia, and I definitely don't want to come across as ungrateful!


Originally Posted by yyzprincess
Monolith2, Congrats on winning. Go for it. I hope you get to Melbourne.
Virginblue has same fares for under $100.00. Sometimes QF is lower.
Between 9:00Pm-10:00PM Virginblue has a happy hour. With flights from SYD-MEL for $49.00. Similiarly to Brisbane.
www.virginblue.vom.au
If you cannot grab one of those. Countrylink has a train I think it is twice a day, when my son was a student living in Sydney he use to take it to visit his friends & my Melbourne office when he ran out of money If you book 3 days in advance, I think it was half price something like 40.00AUD.
That was 2 years ago
About seating on UA LAX-SYD/MEL in Y.
My company places personnel in Australia and typically,we have 2 or 3 travelling weekly on United to MEL/SYD . Having too much of UA lemonade,my TA has a standing order only to book UA for our personnel
Some tips:
1. Do not take Exit Row Window. No leg room, worst than any E- seat !!!!
2. 80% of the time not on peak travel times Christmas, Australian School Holidays, Australian Summer JAN/FEB, Row 46 Middle seat is available.
You are not travelling during Peak period.Victoria school holidays are almost over.
46 middle Exit row in E- section, personnel reporting back rave about it. According to them it is the best seat in Y. near the galley and once the meal service is over no noise no crowd. no gathering unlike the Exit Row in E+ section which is near the lavatories.
The chances of these seats ( there are 2 of these seats one on each side of the galley) being available for your travel date are good. Why, middle seat on UA are blocked for GS &1K & I think for PE. Typically if a 1K is waiting for UG, they have 46 Aisle. so the 46 middle stays blocked.
Like majority of my personnel you will be checkin from the east coast,First flight check-in ask for 46B or 46 the other middle seat, most likely you will get it. DO NOT TAKE WINDOW!!!!!
If you need info for some reasonable price accommodation ,especially in Melbourne PM me. Sometimes we have to put up our personnel in temporary accommodations until their apartments are ready.
Thanks!! Great info on seat selection, I'll definitely try for the middle seats in row 46. I'd love to get down to Melbourne, and those rates sound really good, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it. If I do get down there, though, I'd love a chance to buy you a beer and thank you in person.
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Old Sep 19, 2008, 1:48 pm
  #66  
 
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Originally Posted by Monolith2
Thanks!! Great info on seat selection, I'll definitely try for the middle seats in row 46. I'd love to get down to Melbourne, and those rates sound really good, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it. If I do get down there, though, I'd love a chance to buy you a beer and thank you in person.
I live in Toronto.My company has a office in Melbourne. I am there every 6-8 weeks. Unfortunately October I will be visiting my South African office. I will be in Australia in November if you decide to extend your trip

It would be a pity to go to Australia and not visit Melbourne. Melbourne is less expensive than Sydney. More to see and experience than Sydney IMHO.
It will be spring, Melbourne is lovely in Spring. PM if you need tips.
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Old Sep 19, 2008, 2:31 pm
  #67  
 
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Monolith2: I've read through this thread and you keep making me smile because of your enthusiasm about the whole thing. I don't think they could have found a better winner! Have a great time and when you get back, please let us know what you got up to while you were there. I think you are going to have a terrific time.

Cheers!

yrf
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Old Sep 19, 2008, 5:46 pm
  #68  
 
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How much is a UFC (Upgrade For Cash) going for on this route these days? I thought it was only $550 for this segment. Has this changed?

The reason I ask is that, in case the SWU doesn't work out, if the OP is interested in a UFC to sit in Business, and the E+ cabin remains wide open in the days leading up to the flight, he might want to consider holding off on the E+ buy up and use the money for a UFC instead (since the E+ buyup will NOT be refunded if the OP later upgrades to Business).
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Old Sep 19, 2008, 6:44 pm
  #69  
 
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Originally Posted by Monolith2
I tried that and the promotion isn't associated with United, UAL just happens to be the airline that their travel agent uses. I'm definitely going to try calling around a bit more though just in case. I don't want to be too persistent, though, because when it comes down to it it's still an almost free trip to Australia, and I definitely don't want to come across as ungrateful!
I would bet the agency that ticketed this promotion has an incentive with United. They have upgrades and E+ accounts to use as they see fit. You need to get the company running the contest to contact the agency and they should be able to do it for you. Be persistent, yes it is a "free" trip, but they should try to accommodate you.
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Old Sep 21, 2008, 10:31 am
  #70  
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Originally Posted by yyzprincess
I live in Toronto.My company has a office in Melbourne. I am there every 6-8 weeks. Unfortunately October I will be visiting my South African office. I will be in Australia in November if you decide to extend your trip

It would be a pity to go to Australia and not visit Melbourne. Melbourne is less expensive than Sydney. More to see and experience than Sydney IMHO.
It will be spring, Melbourne is lovely in Spring. PM if you need tips.
Ahh, darn! I'd totally LOVE to extend my trip through November, but I think I'd need to sign up for a few more credit cards to make it happen... lol.

I'll definitely try to get down to Melbourne, you make it sound really nice. Google maps says it's about 10 hours away by car, so I can probably catch a bus down. One more thing to add to my "to-do" list!


Originally Posted by youreadyfreddie
Monolith2: I've read through this thread and you keep making me smile because of your enthusiasm about the whole thing. I don't think they could have found a better winner! Have a great time and when you get back, please let us know what you got up to while you were there. I think you are going to have a terrific time.

Cheers!

yrf
haha, thanks! I'm definitely excited about going.

I'll be sure to take a lot of pics and post them up when I get back.


------

John26 and Converse34, purchasing an upgrade isn't really an option for me, and since it's only 2 days until I leave (omg!!! ), I don't think I'd have much luck scoring better seats through the travel agency or the promoter at this point. Thanks for tryin' to help, though! I'm sure I'll manage... I'll just keep a picture of Sydney harbor in my carry-on bag to remind me that it'll be worth it.
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Old Sep 21, 2008, 12:17 pm
  #71  
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Originally Posted by Monolith2
I'll definitely try to get down to Melbourne, you make it sound really nice. Google maps says it's about 10 hours away by car, so I can probably catch a bus down. One more thing to add to my "to-do" list!
You can also do it by train. If you want to save time, and a nights accommodations, you can do the overnight bus with Firefly Express that leaves at 7pm. Personally, having done this by both bus and train, I'd find a cheap fare and fly.
http://www.fireflyexpress.com.au/FFWebBooking/index.asp
http://www.countrylink.info/
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Old Sep 22, 2008, 2:36 am
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Originally Posted by tom911
You can also do it by train. If you want to save time, and a nights accommodations, you can do the overnight bus with Firefly Express that leaves at 7pm. Personally, having done this by both bus and train, I'd find a cheap fare and fly.
+1
Bus trip is 12+ hours, long and tiring. If you were concerned about crossing the pond in Y, then adding two more trips of similar length in similarly cramped seats is not ideal...
Including costs of getting to and from the airports, flying may cost you $100 more each way, but IMHO it is well worth the spend...
Have a fabulous time in Sydney. Melbourne is raining today but a beautiful week is forecast
Also our football final is on next Saturday, so there is a great buzz in Melbourne this week!

pm me if you need any Melbourne tips
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Old Sep 24, 2008, 5:43 pm
  #73  
 
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As an Australian, I thought I'd through in a few tips:

Get 3P or Buy E+ access. It is well worth it. Try trading something on Coupon Connection.

If you want to go to MEL from SYD, go to CBR on a coach (3-4 hrs).

Then get a flight on Tiger Airways. It is a real LCC. AU$20 each way for flights between 21 Oct 08 to 11 Dec 08.

If you want, visit some other cities on Tiger. At $20/flight you can't really go wrong and you'll probably find that getting to/from the airport will cost about that anyway.

If you're very lucky you might be able to open-jaw your free ticket, so that you do something like:

LAX-SYD
MEL-SYD-LAX

United fly MEL-SYD but only for passengers connecting to the USA.
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Old Sep 24, 2008, 5:52 pm
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Originally Posted by futaris
... Try trading something on Coupon Connection.
...
OP has 9 posts and 2 weeks on FT.
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Old Sep 24, 2008, 6:09 pm
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Originally Posted by futaris
As an Australian, I thought I'd through in a few tips:

Get 3P or Buy E+ access. It is well worth it. Try trading something on Coupon Connection.

If you want to go to MEL from SYD, go to CBR on a coach (3-4 hrs).

Then get a flight on Tiger Airways. It is a real LCC. AU$20 each way for flights between 21 Oct 08 to 11 Dec 08.

If you want, visit some other cities on Tiger. At $20/flight you can't really go wrong and you'll probably find that getting to/from the airport will cost about that anyway.


If you're very lucky you might be able to open-jaw your free ticket, so that you do something like:

LAX-SYD
MEL-SYD-LAX

United fly MEL-SYD but only for passengers connecting to the USA.
OP left for his flights already.
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