qantas or united

[UofMGoBlue]

Which airline (qantas or united) would be better and more comfortable between ORD and SYD? It's a long trip.

[ab0si]

Assuming you are flying back-of-plane, United will usually give you an extra inch width. Distance between you and the set in front will just about the same.

 

I suggest massive amounts of drugs for whichever airline you use.

[Clay Clayton]

Do Whatever you have to, but do not fly in economy in either. When I went was lucky enough to fly biz on Q and it was fabulous....just flew to Frankfurt in biz on united and it was fine but no where near as nice as Qantas. I haven't had the opportunity to fly Qantas' premium economy on the A380 but it looks like a reasonable compromise between the back of the bus and biz....not sure if UA has premium economy on long hauls but on their domestic flights it makes it beaable for me and my six foot seven legs.

[UofMGoBlue]

Thanks! Sounds like both are about the same comfort wise for coach. I'll check out premium economy for a compromise.

 

Was it helpful to have your own on demand entertainment on Qantas? United doesn't offer that option in coach.

[fbgd]

Or pick United Economy Plus. Gives you a little extra legroom (about 4" but makes a lot of difference) but nothing else. It is only a small supplement though.

[Annecj]

We just returned from our trip to Aus./NZ. We flew Qantas from NY to Sydney and Air New Zealand back from Auckland to San Francisco. Both airlines were wonderful. Having your own on demand entertainment is a big plus. We did not meet anyone on our cruise that had flown United were not that pleased and wished they had the individual screen entertainment.

[MMDown Under]

Was it helpful to have your own on demand entertainment on Qantas? United doesn't offer that option in coach.

 

Yes, it is a big plus having your own individual entertainment choices on long haul flights. It makes the time go so much quicker.

[R&RFan]

We're ex-pats who have lived in OZ for 20+ years but still have family in US so we're back and forth 3-4 times a year. Believe me, if there's any way you can swing the pointy end of the plane - do it.

 

Here's a "trick" we use when it suits us, which you would obviously do in reverse. When we're flexible time-wise we take advantage of (relatively) cheap Business class fares to Honolulu from Sydney and then book a domestic economy on United and use FF to upgrade to First (it's easier to upgrade on UA then it is on Qantas). So, your itinerary would look like this:

ORD to HNL (UA - booked economy but upgraded with FF)

HNL to SYD (Jetstar Business Class)

 

You wouldn't fly on Qantas but its discount airline Jetsar for your trip from Honolulu to Sydney (I did a test booking on the Jetstar site, and for two people it looks like about $USD2500 - that's for both, not just one). Sometimes the Australia fare requires an overnight in Honolulu coming and going (but that's not exactly a horrible requirement).

 

At this point Jetstar doesn't head further east than Honolulu, so you can't book from LAX or SF. One good thing: Jetstar is relatively new (ie, new planes).

 

I did the calculations on the Jetstar Web site, and there may well be better prices through US TAs or online.

 

Good luck and you'll love Sydney and Australia. We came here for two years and are now semi dinky-di (Aussie citizens with septic accents).

[R&RFan]

Sorry - the Jetstar site didn't register my # of passengers as two, so the price is indeed per person, not for two people.

[jetwet1]

Just to note, you may want to check prices out of LAX as Delta and V-Australia have started/about to start service between SYD and LAX.

 

The prices of flights between those two cities has dropped a lot.

 

If it came down to it, take QF over UA if your flying in Y

[UofMGoBlue]

Thanks for all of the info and advice! I actually looked into Delta and V-Australia, but their schedules don't work well for me. I'm a teacher and my work schedule does not allow me to be very flexible. Qantas and United work best.

 

I'm leaning towards Qantas now since the fares have dropped considerable over the weekend and are now several hundred dollars cheaper than United. Every little bit helps these days!

[Toto2Kansas]

We have flown UA from Sydney to LA and also Sinapore to LA in the past. If you can, book with Qantas (we have also flown with Qantas and found them much nicer). UA used the same planes that you would fly on for any short flight in the U.S., no added space or comfort at all, not even a foot rest.

 

Of all the Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic flights we have ever taken, UA was the worst on both counts in economy. Now in first, UA is fine, the beds in the first suites are wonderful, but economy was one of the worst, from comfort to food it got a D- grade from us. :(

 

Good Luck, I hope you find a great flight! :)

[Globaliser]

Which airline (qantas or united) would be better and more comfortable between ORD and SYD?

I'm leaning towards Qantas now since the fares have dropped considerable over the weekend and are now several hundred dollars cheaper than United.

Definitely Qantas. You're talking chalk and cheese here, even in economy.