Commuting to the US

[spiggy_topes]

I am planning a new business venture that is going to involve a lot of travel between Queensland and the US (8-12 times a year) and need to work out how much to budget for airfares.

Sorry if this has been asked before, but can anybody tell me if there exist reasonably priced business class travel on this route? Are there alternatives to Qantas/United, for instance via Hawaii or NZ? Qantas quote $12800 return, United are about the same which is enough for a RTW fare, but Virgin appear to be launching a new service - will this affect fares?

Many thanks.

[StevePER]

Take a look on zuji... some options for BNE-LAX are American Airlines (ie QF - $5789), Hawaiian ($5800), Air Tahiti ($6573). There are also cheaper options via Asia.

[futaris]

Virgin fares will be cheaper, but it will be a number of months until they start up.

Business fares aren't cheap transpacific. Some people fly J* to HNL, and then use a Y-UP to fly to the states. But it's not really business class, like you get on QF or UA.

I think NZ's business class is about the same cost, but I've never checked.

Brisbane (BNE) to San Francisco (SFO) - Cheap Flights, Discount Airline Tickets and Low Airfares

should give you an idea of how much a BNE-SFO economy fare is on all the airlines. Not sure if there is something similar for Business.

[futaris]

Actually, try this:
Find the Lowest Airfare Prices, Discount Airline Tickets & Cheap Flights on FareCompare.com

[serfty]

There has been mention that by getting High status on UA, you can virtually Guarantee J seating trans-pacific when Flying United on economy fares.

[NM]

Most of the time, the cheapest between Aus and USA with OneWorld airlines is to use Circle Pacific DCIR22 fare. Not as cheap as some mentioned above, but a regular published fare and provides for multiple stopovers and travel beyond LAX if required.

[futaris]

And you can Fast Track status on United:

Santa arrives late: United offering 90-day fast-track to elite status » Upgrade: Travel Better
Details on Elite Fast-Track Challenge - MPP557 [Merged Threads] - FlyerTalk Forums

[spiggy_topes]

Thank you all very much for those suggestions - will follow them all up in detail.

I am currently platinum on QF, but perhaps it's time to change to United if the upgrade opportunities are better?

[serfty]

There's quite a good thread regarding UA from an Oz perspective on FT; originally written due to the November '04 QFF announcement of the May '05 'enhancements'.

Moving from QF to UA, a comprehensive guide

[dot]

Not sure if it is unique to some discount deal my company has - I have used the D OneWorld Explorer (DONE4) for trips to the US on four occasions and have found it to be about 30% cheaper than QF J trans-Pacific plus a few US internal hops and return. The discounted rate also only appies for QF, AA and BA - I cant use other OW members and still get the discount.

Pros: it allows me to catch up with my sister and other rellies in the UK either before or after my US business. It's also great for earning miles and status credits.

Cons: the extra travel time and the minimum intinerary duration of 10 days (no good if you only need to be in the US for a few days and need to get straight back).