Any suggestions for Air to Sydney.......

[Janan]

Hey

 

My wife and I will be traveling to Sydney Australia; and then back from Aukland, New Zealand. Right now we have gotten our air (so to speak) from the cruise line but I think we can do better.....does anybody have any suggestions? where to look? when to look? Know of any particularly niche based airlines for this trip? Any and all comments/suggestions are welcome.

 

Andy

[ab0si]

There are no magic answers here, I'm afraid. Airfare from North America to Oz and NZ is always rather high. On two occasions I found the least expensive way to get there and back (on business class) was an around-the-world ticket. You might also check into Circle Pacific tickets. Note that with either you might need to purcahse a point to point ticket from Aukland back to Sydney. You might not -- the rules are varied. The routing might become "interesting" also. <grin>

 

For "normal" tickets, try the usual suspects. I usually start with Kayak.

 

Paul

[AuzzieCruiser]

Air NZ or Qantas would be your best bet. United flies LAX/SFO to Sydney non-stop. United and Air NZ codesahre with each other on these routes too. Good if you are a member of a Star alliance Frequent Flyer program in the US (United and US Airways).

Qantas flies between LAX and AKL and V.V. Good if you want to earn points with AA.

I flew Air NZ last year, and they were great. Good Service, Good meals and a wonderful Entertainment System.:D

[Globaliser]

does anybody have any suggestions? where to look? when to look? Know of any particularly niche based airlines for this trip?

Two observations:

 

Of the three airlines that currently fly non-stop between the US west coast and Australia and New Zealand, United is a distinct and distant third.

 

From the second half of 2008, Virgin Blue's new subsidiary will become the fourth airline in this area. You don't say when you're planning to fly, but this is one to watch.

[Janan]

Globaliser,

 

I am not familiar with Virgin Blue...a new subsidiary.....wanting to break into the market= cheap prices. We plan to go on our cruise in January 2009. If you could give me the website or even the name of this subsidiary I would be very Grateful.

 

Thanks

Andy

[DougYWG]

In mid-December, Air Canada is starting a daily Vancouver - Sydney non-stop. Star Alliance.

[Globaliser]

I am not familiar with Virgin Blue...a new subsidiary.....wanting to break into the market= cheap prices. We plan to go on our cruise in January 2009. If you could give me the website or even the name of this subsidiary I would be very Grateful.

Virgin Blue is the number two airline within Australia. As its name suggests, it's a cousin airline to Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Nigeria and Virgin America. The airlines are each too different from one another to be siblings.

 

Virgin Blue was originally built on a low-fare model, but when the then-number two airline within Australia (Ansett Australia) flew off to the great airport in the sky shortly after Virgin Blue's launch, it found itself struggling to cope with the sudden demand imposed on it. It picked up far more business travel than it expected, and the demand has stayed - so it's a bit of a hybrid airline now.

 

It already has a subsidiary called Pacific Blue which operates to/from/within New Zealand and the near South Pacific (as the airline is not alllowed to use the Virgin name outside Australia).

 

Its diversification into long-haul to the US, as V Australia, is the next big strategic step. More information here (though not much at present), and the press release about the new subsidiary's name here.

 

You'll see that services are planned to start in November 2008.

 

However, there will be a lot of embedded local knowledge about this airline in Australia, so demand for the services may be greater than you'd expect with a start-up. Virgin Blue is a good airline, and has a loyal following - so it can expect to get quite a halo effect at first.

 

Thereafter, of course, it will have to prove itself in the marketplace, although it won't be difficult to claim at least third place in this four horse race.

[rwdtgb]

You might want to try Air Tahiti Nui they run sales all the time and also allow stops in Tahiti at no additional cost.

 

Tom

[greatam]

Air Pacific (the Fiji National carrier) flies out of LAX to Sydney/Auckland, with a stopover in Nadi Fiji. They have sale fares.

 

You would have to book a RT from you home to LAX. But easily doable and gives you a little break in LA. The flights leave late at night from LAX, arrive Fiji about 5:30AM. After a change of planes in Fiji (very, very small airport), leave about 9:00AM and arrive Sydney at noon. Currently, the fare from LAX is about $1225.00 all in RT to/from either SYD or AUK.

 

Air Pacific has decent service-free booze, amenity kit, FA's with a great attitude, and individual entertainment. The plane is 5 across seating in the middle. IF you book the two aisle seats in the middle section, especially toward the back of the plane, you may luck out and get the entire row to yourself. It is pretty easy to sleep all the way to Fiji-toe to toe, stretched out. AND if space is available, you can buy an upgrade to business class at the gate for $500.00.

[fbgd]

Hey

 

My wife and I will be traveling to Sydney Australia; and then back from Aukland, New Zealand. Right now we have gotten our air (so to speak) from the cruise line but I think we can do better.....does anybody have any suggestions? where to look? when to look? Know of any particularly niche based airlines for this trip? Any and all comments/suggestions are welcome.

 

You might want to consider Qantas on the outbound. They have a flight from JFK-SYD which has a stop at LAX. You'd have to make a short flight up to JFK first (probably on DL from ATL) but you'll get a decent enough product for the majority of your journey.

 

I'd go for Air New Zealand on the return. I believe they have 34" pitch in economy (equates to about 3" more legroom) which would make a longer flight more comfortable. You'd only get to LAX with them though.

 

If you are flying business class both these airlines offer a very good product, only Qantas offer First Class, Air NZ dropped it a while ago.

[Globaliser]

You might want to consider Qantas on the outbound. They have a flight from JFK-SYD which has a stop at LAX.

QF's flight from JFK to LAX is probably the best way of flying that route. You only have to do it once to understand why US airlines will fight to the death to prevent competition from non-US airlines on US domestic routes.

[Bruton Branch]

Janan

 

If you are leaving from the ATL area take a look at going the long way on KLM. ATL to AMS to SYD. Guess they still do that routing, We got a cheaper business class ticket than a coach fare from the west coast.

Your second ticket from SYD to Auk.

 

Good luck -if you have air miles look for an upgrade-long flight

 

Bruton Branch:)

[allbackfull]

I have used travel packages from go-today.com for airfare, these include various number of hotel nights. I arrive early, and spend a few extra days in the departure city sightseeing, and extend the return flight departure to fit cruise, or not use the return at all. Depends where I get off of the boat. Not sure if leaving from NZ would be possible, you would have to ask go-today, or fly back to Sydney. I know there is a Sydney/Aukland package on the site, 5 days in each city you might want to check.

[tuffyiscruisin']

Hi

 

Just thought I would chip in..I booked my fares yesterday and Air NZ have a sale on for the AKL - SFO route (Direct Flight) I Saved NZ$2100 ($US 1600) on what the fare was last week for 2 adults and 2 children. so worth considering as another option, also I believe SFO airport is much less crowded and immigration/customs is not as busy(?)