Air to Australia

[duquephart]

We have quite a bit of voucher credit to use up and the Australia/New Zealand cruise is one we are thinking about. We wonder about the flight however and would appreciate those who have made it chiming in. It looks like 12+ hours out of LAX and that much time in sardine class would be out of the question for us. Thanks.

[CDNPolar]

I have not flown LAX to AU or NZ but have flown Toronto to Cape Town SA and Japan and China many times.  I have had flying times up to 19 hours on some of these destinations.  China / Japan direct from Toronto is 13-14 hours.

 

We will suffer "Sardine Class" on a 7-8 hour flight but above that we book either Premium Economy or Business.

 

We also spend a great deal of time looking at not only the schedule, but the type of aircraft and the configuration.  Sometimes you can luck out and get a 2 3 2 configuration in economy (rare but possible) and if that is available then we will consider forgoing the premium/business and booking economy.  If it is just the two of us in a row, that is ok and not as uncomfortable.  Note however that this can be risky as if they change the aircraft you could lose that 2 configuration on the side.

 

Premium is often enough for us in that many of the airlines that we choose to fly always have a 2 configuration in premium economy on the side and this eliminates that troublesome fear of who will be the third traveller beside you.  Additionally some airlines have very comfortable premium seats with leg rests and extended recline, pre-boarding, and better food service.

 

Many aircraft that are 3 4 3 configuration narrow down to 2 seats on the side for the last few rows, BUT then you are always with people beside you waiting for the lavatory.

 

Go Premium Economy or Business if you can.  

Edited November 1, 2022 by CDNPolar

[flare3192]

I have been to Australia twice and Africa on those flights for up to 18 hours, We will not do that trip unless we can find a way to pay for business class. I have done both routes in sardine class when I was younger and it was difficult then. Business class gives you lay flat seats and lounges at the airport. When you arrive you feel better and will have less difficulty catching up to the time change. Also less aches and pains to get over. It is expensive -- possibly unreasonably so -- but you will probably do that trip only once and it is really nice to do.

If you have the platinum card from AMEX they have deals with some airlines and you may find a discount going through them. I did that the first time I had to pay for business class (we had used ff points before but the cost is unreachable to us now) However make sure to look at restrictions on any trip you book. On our last flight to Europe and the next flight in 2023 I opted for refundable tickets directly with Delta and that added 550 each to the price we got but gave a lot of peace of mind. They could be changed or refunded.

[broker1217]

LAX to Sydney is over 15 hours and an overnight flight. Very difficult to sleep sitting up and I worry about DVT.

I know people who have flown to Honolulu and spent some time there, then flown Honolulu to Sydney.

HNL-SYD is 10+ hours but is daytime flight so somewhat easier, plus a couple days in HNL gets you partially through the time change and jet lag.

You could fly LAX to Nadi, Fiji but that is longer and overnight flight---but then less than 5 hours to Sydney.

Air Tahiti Nui has some good specials and it's about 8 hours LAX to Papeete. They route through Aukland I believe, so it might be better suited if you start/end up in Aukland.

Obviously doing a stopover adds time and $$ to the trip, but may be better than paying for Business/First if you can add time to your trip.

 

 

[MSEm]

We were booked on New Zealand to Sydney in March 2020.  We flew in early to New Zealand for 3 nights. Stayed at the Hilton. At that time you could walk out of the Hilton "back doors" to the Viking Ship.

We did 2 days for touring in the Auckland area. It gave us time to adjust to the time change and to enjoy the Auckland area.

Unfortunately are cruise was stopped by Covid. We docked at Melbourne and were allowed to bus directly from the ship to airport to fly home. Viking did an excellent job getting everyone home.

We are planning on Sydney to Bali in Feb/March 2024. We plan to fly into Melbourne before going to Sydney for the cruise.

[Jim Avery]

Duquephart, we are also in the Biz Class camp.  Just can't sit cramped in Sardine Class anymore.  We believe in "Fly first class.  If you don't your kids will"....🍸

[rljan]

We flew from LAX to SYD on Qantas in coach (14.5 hours) in coach and it was miserable.  The next time, we flew to Honolulu on Hawaiian and spent the night there before flying on to Sydney the next day on Hawaiian.  both flights were premium economy and it was a much better experience.

[The Other Tom]

We used frequent flyer miles and flew business class LAX to Brisbane.  That's not as popular a route as LAX to SYD so maybe you could get a deal.

You might investigate consolidator tickets.  There are pros and cons so do your homework if you go that route.

Other than that, I would do what @rljan said above...fly to Hawaii, spend a few days there, and then on to SYD.

[Heidi13]

Have flown to/from Sydney a number of times over the years, with the latest being Sydney/DFW/YVR.

 

As a teenager and early 20's it was nothing to sit in economy for 14 to 24 hr flights, drinking the plane dry, but now it isn't so easy. We don't fly over 5 hrs in anything but Business/First. In addition to comfort during the flight, we also consider the expedited check-in & security clearance available in many airports and the comfortable lounges prior to the flight, and during any connections.

[zalusky]

We did a Celebrity cruise in 2016 from Sydney to Auckland.   We flew business class from SFO to Sydney via Auckland.  The first leg was 14 hours plus the 2+ hour connection to Sydney.

 

It was worth it.  First we are CPAP users and we weee able to use our machines on the flight.

 

We have another cruise booked this winter to Australia and will book business class again.  I paid for the return flights with points on United’s Polaris class.

[CDNPolar]

18 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

"Fly first class.  If you don't your kids will"....🍸

Love this....

[FlyerTalker]

The distance from LAX to SYD is 7488 miles.  Let's just start with the fact - it's a long way away.  And there is no way to get around the fact that there aren't that many ways to easily "break up" that stretch.

 

The first thing you need to do is to prioritize your goals for this trip.  For some, it's the most economical way.  For others, it's the fastest.  Or the most comfortable.  Or getting the most bang for the investment (both time and money).

 

Some facts:  The LAX-SYD route is a money-maker because it's the most direct route to/from down under.  So non-stops will command the highest price premium.  LAX-BNE or LAX-MEL don't have the same demand, so you may find better pricing.

 

Fiji is directly on the great circle route from LAX to SYD, so routing via NAN adds nothing in terms of distance.  In addition, Fiji Airways (FJ) offers a free stopover, so you can spend a few days without an increase in airfare.

 

If you have the time, there are a number of other airline options where you can get a free stopover along the way.  They involve longer overall flight times, but might be attractive, as you can get in another place to visit during your travels.  These include:

 

JAL in Tokyo or Osaka

Asiana in Seoul

Singapore Airlines in Singapore

Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong

Emirates in Dubai

Etihad in Abu Dhabi

Turkish in Istanbul

 

Finally, you might want to check out flying from other gateways instead of LAX.  There are flights from Dallas and Vancouver, with San Francisco and New York slated to start in 2023.

 

 

[The Other Tom]

4 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

Fiji is directly on the great circle route from LAX to SYD, so routing via NAN adds nothing in terms of distance.  In addition, Fiji Airways (FJ) offers a free stopover, so you can spend a few days without an increase in airfare.

Thanks!  I hadn't considered that.

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

We flew out of SF on Air New Zealand on business class. SF was a breeze and their Polaris lounge was beautiful and very relaxing before we boarded the flight. Could not see doing it without business class. We flew overnight as most do. Air New Zealand had no hitches and great business class. Our return flight was Virgin Australia business class to LAX. There were hitches in that flight and although it was not a terrible experience, it did not have the class or go as smoothly as Air New Zealand. (My seat was broken, I had to stand for something like 45 min- 1 hour while they tried to accuse me of sticking one of my shoes in the seat to break it. I pointed to both shoes on my feet and they dropped it being my fault. My husband actually had me sit in his seat and he stood part of the time.) LAX was a zoo going through customs and a very long process pre COVID. 

 

We'd fly Air New Zealand again and consider it a vacation on it's own....

[FlyerTalker]

40 minutes ago, The Other Tom said:

Thanks!  I hadn't considered that.

 

You need to do that booking directly with FJ by phone - IIRC, you can't do it with an online ticket purchase.  And it needs to be setup at the time of ticket purchase - it's not something you can do afterwards.

 

[Catlover54]

1 hour ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

We flew out of SF on Air New Zealand on business class. SF was a breeze and their Polaris lounge was beautiful and very relaxing before we boarded the flight. Could not see doing it without business class. We flew overnight as most do. Air New Zealand had no hitches and great business class. Our return flight was Virgin Australia business class to LAX. There were hitches in that flight and although it was not a terrible experience, it did not have the class or go as smoothly as Air New Zealand. (My seat was broken, I had to stand for something like 45 min- 1 hour while they tried to accuse me of sticking one of my shoes in the seat to break it. I pointed to both shoes on my feet and they dropped it being my fault. My husband actually had me sit in his seat and he stood part of the time.) LAX was a zoo going through customs and a very long process pre COVID. 

 

We'd fly Air New Zealand again and consider it a vacation on it's own....

 

Why on earth would FAs accuse a passenger complaining about a broken seat of deliberately breaking her seat with a shoe?  It makes no sense (unless the FA doing the accusing was mentally disturbed, or if pax on Virgin are awarded huge numbers of compensatory FF miles if their seat is broken).

[The Other Tom]

3 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

You need to do that booking directly with FJ by phone - IIRC, you can't do it with an online ticket purchase.  And it needs to be setup at the time of ticket purchase - it's not something you can do afterwards.

 

Thanks again!

[Mich3554]

4 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

You need to do that booking directly with FJ by phone - IIRC, you can't do it with an online ticket purchase.  And it needs to be setup at the time of ticket purchase - it's not something you can do afterwards.

 

Is this something new?  I booked Fiji Air flights and flew them in Sept to Fiji.  I would consider flying Fiji Air to get to Australia, but NAN as a connection isn’t really a great way to see Fiji.  
I can tell you that Fiji Air does have one of the better business class lounges in NAN, better than Emirates and head and shoulders above any US carrier’s lounge.

[zalusky]

6 hours ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

We flew out of SF on Air New Zealand on business class. SF was a breeze and their Polaris lounge was beautiful and very relaxing before we boarded the flight. Could not see doing it without business class. We flew overnight as most do. Air New Zealand had no hitches and great business class. Our return flight was Virgin Australia business class to LAX. There were hitches in that flight and although it was not a terrible experience, it did not have the class or go as smoothly as Air New Zealand. (My seat was broken, I had to stand for something like 45 min- 1 hour while they tried to accuse me of sticking one of my shoes in the seat to break it. I pointed to both shoes on my feet and they dropped it being my fault. My husband actually had me sit in his seat and he stood part of the time.) LAX was a zoo going through customs and a very long process pre COVID. 

 

We'd fly Air New Zealand again and consider it a vacation on it's own....

So question about this!  I thought you only had access to the Polaris lounge if you were in a Polaris seat or you had the Amex Platinum card.  Do Star Alliance people have access to the Polaris lounge such as Singapore Business Class?

[Aussie lost in space]

I've done the Melb to LAX, Melb - Auckland-LAX, Melb- HNL (Honolulu) - LAX, Melb-Syd-LAX, Melb - DFW-FLL, Melb-Syd-DFW-FLL too many times to mention.  It is a looong journey, especially in (what we refer to it in Oz) cattle class.  In my younger years economy was bearable.  However now, to complete the 13hrs, 45 minutes (based on Syd -LAX direct) premium economy or business definitely makes it more comfortable, especially if it is an overnight flight departure from LAX, or anywhere in USA.  I am no ambassador, or linked in anyway, but have found Qantas' premium economy is a comfortable 'product', business more so, with access to lounges with their affiliated partners in USA (where there is no Qantas lounge).  IMHO worth the upgrade if you are considering flying 'across the pond'.  

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

10 hours ago, zalusky said:

So question about this!  I thought you only had access to the Polaris lounge if you were in a Polaris seat or you had the Amex Platinum card.  Do Star Alliance people have access to the Polaris lounge such as Singapore Business Class?

Good question....We booked through Viking Air and our domestic flight was United, and my understanding was that it was all booked through United, but United used Viking Air to NZ. So business class was able to use the Polaris lounge. 

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

15 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

 

Why on earth would FAs accuse a passenger complaining about a broken seat of deliberately breaking her seat with a shoe?  It makes no sense (unless the FA doing the accusing was mentally disturbed, or if pax on Virgin are awarded huge numbers of compensatory FF miles if their seat is broken).

I questioned the same thing, and was really shocked when they started accusing me of the shoe thing, especially when they could have taken a look to see I had both my shoes on! I was also surprised that they didn't try to accommodate  me during the lengthy time they expected me to stand while they worked on my seat. 

[gowilk]

american pulled the same thing on me about 5 years ago and couldn’t fix the seat so i wound moving myself to premium economy as all the other business were full….disgusting way to start a trip.

[duquephart]

I'm beginning to think Australia is just too far away given other other options. Even though I can afford it I'm not sure flights costing as much as cruise is the wisest choice.

[FlyerTalker]

4 hours ago, duquephart said:

I'm beginning to think Australia is just too far away given other other options. Even though I can afford it I'm not sure flights costing as much as cruise is the wisest choice.

 

So....buy a more expensive cruise.  🙂

 

In all seriousness, although flight costs are part of the overall cruise vacation cost, there should never be any kind of linkage between the two.  Just like you wouldn't make a linkage between an airline ticket and a hotel stay, or any other two disparate purchases, don't think that of air and cruise.

 

Accept that if you want to vacation in a spot more than 5000 miles away or longer, it's going to be a significant cost to get there.  And if you want lower cost flights, then you'll be cruising from NY, Florida or Texas.  No way around that.