Air Travel Advice: USA to Australia?

[jspqld]

My first choice would be a stopover in Hawaii if you can get direct flight there from your home airport

2nd would be fly to LA and then to SYD or BNE or MEL. You could also stopover in Hawaii, Fiji, Tahiti or NZ if you wish.

3rd would be direct Fortworth to syd. That's a very long time in a plane.

Of course price would have a lot to do with which one of the above I'd actually end up choosing!

[Docker123]

I have flown the Pacific many times. Prefer to get it over with in one (loooong) go.

 

I prefer the 380 to others. Have been on 777, 747, even 707.

 

Has anyone been on a 787 flight? Comparison?

[Tranquility Base]

Has anyone been on a 787 flight? Comparison?

I far prefer the 787 compared to the noisy ol' 777.

Great in all 3 classes I have found.

[Wellard]

The Q A380 premium economy seats, even with a sale price, seem to be half again more expensive than comparable ANZ or US airline regular price seats for flights between LAX and SYD.

 

 

 

What is it about the Q experience that's worth the extra cost ? Thanks for any insight you might have !

 

 

NOTHING.

I've had dreadful experiences, let alone the ££££££££££

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[In Retirement]

Greetings,

What a wonderful response!

I am basically trying to accommodate a wife prone to worry. The alternatives are Israel + Italy or a repeat of our Norway RT Amsterdam (wonderful). Latest concern is two days of significant bad sea weather and a missed port reported by friends now sailing Australia/New Zealand?

 

Current ideas include, for an Auckland to Sydney February 2018 cruise (including stop in Tasmania and Melbourne) is a 2- or 3-day stop in Hawaii, arrival in Auckland for a short (2- or 3-day?) guided tour from this departure, and a comparable tour from Sydney. It seems that tourism is very well developed in New Zealand and Australia and would love some February possibilities. The cruise takes up 13 days and my goal would be to stay within 4 weeks.

 

My very best and with much thanks,

DJ:)

[mr walker]

I have flown the Pacific many times. Prefer to get it over with in one (loooong) go.

 

My thinking as well. As painful as such a long flight is, one leg is much preferable to another airport experience:)

 

I depart on Sunday on a trip to Texas - one flight, 16 1/2 hrs Syd to DFW direct on Q A380 :eek:

[kazbar]

my suggestion might be a little out of the box but is something to consider as an alternative to Hawaii.

Why not fly to LA for a couple of days, then on to Fiji for a few more, then to Sydney?

 

We've done it in reverse, with little children, and it all much more pleasant.

[ausethanol]

Greetings,

Am starting our planning by considering ways in which USA (Houston)/Australia (Sydney) flights can be made more tolerable (17 hours). Saving vacation days are not an issue, in that we are retired and can manage a 3-4 week vacation. Would consider breaking up flight (stop in Hawaii or elsewhere?), fly on an airplane that has been configured to promote tolerance of long flight (we are pretty use to a direct flight from Houston to London or Amsterdam, for example). Really would rather use money elsewhere than business class?

DJ:)

 

We are travelling on Queen Victoria from Sydney to Los Angeles in March/April and were looking at one way flights back from Los Angeles. While we have purchased a non-stop LAX to Brisbane flight with Qantas, there were many other interesting potential stopovers being offered. At the time we were looking the cheapest deal on offer was to fly Taipai Taiwan. Others include stops in Manila in the Philippines or in Guangzhou or Shanghai in China. When we looked at the flights we found that a return trip with Qantas i.e. LAX – BNE – LAX was only around $50 more than the one-way flight so we have taken a punt on the date and are now planning to return to the US in November!! Lots of possibilities with airfares if you are in the flexible frame of mind !!

[The_Big_M]

The 777 is much more comfortable than a 380 and really is the preferred plane. Choose Air NZ via and you wont go wrong. Second choice is Qantas but definitely forget any USA airlines

 

I think you'd be the only one saying the 777 is more comfortable than an A380. Wha???

 

A380 has more space, better noise protection, newer and better facilities. And as for a Qantas A380 vs AirNZ 777 - no contest! Way more comfort on the Q version there, since AirNZ has narrower than usual seat spacing and aisles.

 

As for forgetting US airlines, that may have been the case 5 years ago, but as they've now upgraded, the international experience is much better.

[lucymorgan]

If time is not a problem for you, consider a round the world (RTW) or circle pacific business class airfare.

 

At least in Oz these can be significantly better value than point to point and there are TAs who specialise.

 

I have a friend who regularly flys to the us to visit her daughter and grandchildren in San Francisco. She always flies through Hawaii and takes a short break.

[NSWP]

I think you'd be the only one saying the 777 is more comfortable than an A380. Wha???

 

A380 has more space, better noise protection, newer and better facilities. And as for a Qantas A380 vs AirNZ 777 - no contest! Way more comfort on the Q version there, since AirNZ has narrower than usual seat spacing and aisles.

 

As for forgetting US airlines, that may have been the case 5 years ago, but as they've now upgraded, the international experience is much better.

Agree, recently travelled Syd-LAX-Syd on Air NZ Boeing 777-200 and 777-300. Don't like them much too small, even in business class, herring bone layout seats, ugh. Much prefer a A380 or 747.

Edited January 30, 2017 by NSWP

[OzKiwiJJ]

A380 has more space, better noise protection, newer and better facilities. And as for a Qantas A380 vs AirNZ 777 - no contest! Way more comfort on the Q version there, since AirNZ has narrower than usual seat spacing and aisles.

 

 

We flew on a Singapore Airlines A380 from Singapore to Sydney last year, after a flight from Hong Kong to Singapore on an older plane (I forget exactly which type). I actually found the A380 seats less comfortable and the cabin was far noisier. The back of the A380 seats are harder, more shaped and have wider gaps at the top between adjacent seats so they don't seem to absorb noise as well as the older plane seats. I have now invested in noise cancelling headphones for future long distance travel.

[The_Big_M]

Seat shaping and design varies by individual airline. Also comparing two individual flights can get a different result as you may be just behind the engines on one, and quite a bit away on another, and that's just relating to noise. Maybe there was even an exceptional issue with a specific flight. Even personal specifics can influence an individual's experience, such as getting a cold or some other local issue.

 

However, the A380 engines, and cabin, were designed after the 777, and are much quieter than the 777 design overall. Here's a specific comparison that came up in a quick search, but you're welcome to do further searching to read up on the differences.

 

http://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/28014/how-do-the-cabin-noise-levels-of-the-a380-and-the-777-300-er-compare

[kayceedee]

Inretirement,

I did this same trip in 2016. I stopped 2 days in Hawaii on each end to do time zone adjustments. Nothing like having a glass of wine on Waikiki Beach to overcome jet lag. I spent three days in Auckand prior to the cruise and could have used one or two more days. I spent a week in Sydney after the cruise. Their public transportation is excellent which made getting around super easy. Each city has a website where you can enter a starting address and ending address and it gives you options on how to get there and how much walking is involved. The Australians and New Zealanders were most helpful and kind. Fun items - besides driving on the opposite side of the road they also walk on the opposite side of the sidewalk. It took me a couple of days to quit being the salmon swimming upstream. I also loved the intersections in Sydney and Auckland where the pedestrians get a turn and you can cross diagonally!

 

Karen