jaas

How many of you have had reasonable success on using your dividend miles for a trip to Australia on Quantas? Any pointers or tips that you would care to share? I'm planning a trip for later this year and would like to fly on Quantas in biz or possibly in first. When is the least busy time to go?
Thanks a bunch for the help everyone.
P.S. This doesn't have anything to do with the rant that I have posted below...not yet anyways...

geo1005

Qantas has no "U" in it.

I have used US miles to book QF Business Class to Australia. It was pretty easy. Those seats do go pretty quick so try and book as far as possible ahead of time. Remember that July is winter down under so generally that's the easier time to find seats. December and January can be the toughest. Call, ask, be flexible, try for mid-week flights. And don't forget that UA flies there as well and offer business and first class too.

PHL

I love gloating about how I scored two F tickets PHL-LAX-MEL-BNE then SYD-MEL-LAX-PHL. Words can't describe the F experience, especially on the brand new 747-400ER (we flew the first serial number of this 747 variant it on it's 11th revenue flight! Qantas was the launch customer.).

My advice:
Book 330 days in advance. I booked in Dec 2001 for Nov 2002 travel. Grab whatever's available that gives you a reasonable length trip. Then plan on it. You really have to work with the limited availability. I spent a long time with the US Dividend Miles rep, who was extremely helpful checking dates.

lt1GM

I had success for a trip in Qantas business PHL-LAX-SYD-CHC and AKL-LAX-PHL in April 03. I booked October 02 and was able to find dates and times easily with some flexibility. My advice: book early, first class is much more difficult to find than business. Consider United, but they only fly to MEL and SYD, I believe. That's why their business is only 90k, vs. Qantas' 105k.

Qantas allows you many more destinations and a side trip to New Zealand, which is where we spent the most of our time. It's amazing, please consider it.

In any case, definitely get seats on the upper deck, it's much more relaxed and private than the main deck on 747s. Enjoy!

TravelScholar

I managed to book Biz Tickets to Australia on QF for August 2004 back in September 2003. ERI-PIT-LAX-SYD-CNS-BNE-AKL-LAX-PIT-ERI. Had no problems finding the exact dates and times I wanted, but I was booking 330 days out...or close to it.

MikeLaw

I've been trying half-heartedly to arrange two F tix without luck. There appear to be extremely limited F seats available. I have been able to find days with one seat on a regular basis, but two is difficult. It appears I could have had J seats most anytime I wanted (assuming I wanted something 300+ days away).

jaas

Thanks for all of the feedback.
I stand corrected...no "u" in Qantas.
How does it work if I wanted to mix United with Qantas? For example: United to Sydney, and then Qantas from Sydney to Aukland, from Aukland to America.
I was originally considering Qantas for the first class trip, assuming they had a better first class product than United. What are your opinions on this? I rarely get to partake in first class so I figured if I were going to spend all of those points, I might as well get the best bang for buck ratio.
Thanks again.

geo1005

You can't mix Qantas and United flights on one award.

Also note that it requires fewer miles to fly UA to/from Australia than it does on QF. The UA Biz award is 90k vs. the QF Biz award at 110k.

kv99

I've been able to book Qantas award tickets in Business four times quite easily with anywhere from 2 to 4 months notice, for travel at various times of the spring and fall (I've never tried December/January...). Sadly, something's always come up and I've never actually used my bookings. I second geo1005's suggestion to look into UA as well (esp. if you're only going to SYD/MEL). I think UA's business class product is just fine across the Pacific.

TravelScholar

And, for what it's worth, geo1005 Qantas DOES have an "S" at the end of it.

If you're going to correct one spelling mistake, then you might as well get them all!

[This message has been edited by TravelScholar (edited Jan 16, 2004).]

lt1GM

That is true, however, Qantas Business is only 105K. The incremental 15K miles on Qantas over United get you many more destinations (from usairways.com):

Australia: Adelaide, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Goldcoast, Gove, Hobart, Mackay, Maroochydore, Melbourne, Perth, Proserpine, Rockhampton, Sydney, Townsville

Papua New Guinea: Port Moresby

New Zealand: Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington

Only caveat is you can only cross the Tasman Sea once. Other than that, you can go to all those places above. On United it's only SYD and MEL.

In terms of comfort, currently I prefer UA business to QF's, but next year QF will have 180 degree sleepers in business. And we'll hopefully still be able to book QF tickets with Dividend Miles...

lt1GM

I flew in QF's first cabin AKL-LAX and was very impressed. The service was very good, although it was sold as business. I was surprised that both cabin stewards were male and middle aged. I have not flown UA in first but UA regulars frequently complain about surly older matrons in UA premium cabins.

First is definitely worth the premium over business in miles IMHO. In terms of QF vs. UA first class, I would guess the service is the main difference - I can't imagine there'd be a big difference in the comfort of the sleeper pods.

The main difficulty will be finding QF first class award availability. Good luck!

steve-o

Yes, flew QA (business) on USAIR miles. Note that the award actually allows a stop and an open jaw, so that's why you see some confusing routes in the other messages. Actually flew QA from MEL to LAX and then US (First) from LAX to home here in states.

QA also sells a "See Australia" or some such pass (see their web page) that allows for point-to-point travel in Australia at a discounted price.

Also note that a stop in New Zealand can be done on the award ticket, but only one crossing each way of the Tasmanian Sea is allowed.

You need to book the award ticket through US. Should start looking about 330 days out for business class especially during peak season, and be flexible in dates. Get a QA frequent flyer no. and then can use their web site to check on availability before you call US.

geo1005

Qantas = QF

Good advice on the QF "See Australia" or "Boomarang Pass" or whatever they are calling it now. I used US miles to get to/from Australia on QF Business. Before leaving the USA I bought 3 one-way flights within Australia on QF (miles credited to US of course) for less than $400 all together. Those flights took me from SYD-MEL, MEL-CNS, and then CNS-SYD.

jaas

--STEVE-O WROTE:Get a QA frequent flyer no. and then can use their web site to check on availability before you call US. --

So if I get a QF Frequent Flyer Number, then I will be able to check for available award seats, but are Quantas and US Air award seats the same? Does Qantas have so many available for their members and only so many for US Air members?
Thanks