First flight to Australia ever... need some help finding the right flight!

[jrm27]

Hello Travel Gurus:

I am brand new hear, so please excuse me if I have breached the rules of common ettiquete and asked a question that is often discussed. I'm hoping you can help point me in the right direction. I apologize if this is long winded

Myself and another gentleman, will be traveling to Sydney in early July (July 5th - 13th). We both work at a church and will be attending a conference being held in Sydney. We're in the process of looking for flights right now but are kind of stymied. Can you help me find the right flight/plane for us?

So far, it looks like the cheapest flights are on United. However, we've been told by friends who have travled this route before to hold out for a good rate on Qantas. Qantas (at the moment) is aboout double for LAX to SYD. Add to that the fact that we need to tack on another flight as we are leaving from Denver, Colorado and the price keeps creeping up! So, is Qantas worth it? I've got some United miles, but it looks l like they are changing their upgrade policies in regards to points over the dates we'll travel.

The big "rub" is that we both have quite a bit of work to accomplish during the flight. We'll have laptops, so a plane that offers laptop power in the economy cabin would be excellent. Looks like Qantas has that on the A380, and I can't tell if V Australia has it at all. Doesn't look like United has it except for in the upgraded cabins.

Even though our budget is tight, we're willing to try and scratch up some more cash if we can work on the flight, as well as have a little more comfort. We're selling lots of stuff to afford this trip, just might have to sell a little more! 18-20 hours is a long time to be in the air and the little extra comfort might be worth it.

Can you recommend an airline that we should consider? Kind of a best-bang-for-the-buck situation? Qantas? United? V Australia? Thanks so much for any info you can throw our way!

-jon

[dajop]

Can you recommend an airline that we should consider? Kind of a best-bang-for-the-buck situation? Qantas? United? V Australia? Thanks so much for any info you can throw our way!

I cannot advise on laptop power or otherwise, but by the time you travel Delta will also be flying to Sydney, and may also be worth investigating.

[Dave Noble]

I would be wary about holding out for cheaper flights coming up; you might just as likely find that the fares will be higher closer to the date

If you want laptop power in economy,most QF flights will be bad for you since only the A380 has it. United does not have it in economy either

Delta has power in seats in front half of economy

Alternatively, if you fly AA as far as Honolulu and then connect to QF , you will have power options on AA plus using laptop batteries should be able to last a few hours towards Sydney but you wont have power the whole way

Dave

[NM]

Note that for LAX-SYD, even though it is a 14 hour flight and hence you want laptop power, look at it in perspective. Most flights depart LAX late at night, well after midnight CO time. So by the time you get airborne (30 mins) and served supper (1 hour), its time for sleep. So if you can get 8 hours sleep, you are now 9.5 hours into the 14 hour flight. About 2.5 hours before landing they will start serving breakfast and once that is cleared there is not much time before all electronics have to be switched off. So you are realistically looking at about 2-3 hours of laptop time, which most laptops can manage on a charged battery.

Of course this is different if you don't plan to sleep or want to use the laptop as your own personal in-flight entertainment centre to watch movies etc.

As for fares, also check pricing from AA who will use Qantas as the carrier for LAX-SYD but may offer different fares. And if using AA flight numbers even on the Qantas operated aircraft, you could take the AA Platinum Challenge and have AA status for a while afterwards.

[Flashware]

Note that these does the AA Plat Challenge does cost extra to do, I think it's $150 USD per person?

To answer one of your other original questions, V Australia does not provide in-seat power in economy either.

[Fifa]

To answer one of your other original questions, V Australia does not provide in-seat power in economy either.

But the flight attendants will charge your laptop for you (as detailed on the info screen of the IFE - great idea while you sleep)

[Flashware]

But the flight attendants will charge your laptop for you (as detailed on the info screen of the IFE - great idea while you sleep)

I have heard that ... but still no good for people like me who generally can't sleep (even in J!!) even if an overnight flight

[docjames]

Werent there also good fares with AA via Japan (flying AA and JL)?

Adit: I was also going to add - if you're already UA Mileage Plus members, and they have best pricing, best go with them as then your points will add and you may have enough to do something with them at a later date.

[Blackadder]

May be worth looking at a routing via Japan or NZ to bring the price down a bit.
Sure it is not a direct flight, but if it manages to save you some $$$$

Alternativly you could look at Air Canada via Vancouver to Sydney

[jrm27]

Thank you very much for the info everyone.

Yeah, my trouble is that I have issues sleeping on planes. It's okay, I'm used to it! With that in mind, being able to keep my laptop going for long periods of time is more and more attractive.

Either way, all this info is very helpful and is much apprecaited. The new Qantas A380 looks awesome, but I'm having a heck of a time finding flights on it! Most everything I'm seeing is the A330 out of LA.

Guess, I'll just keep my eyes open to all the airlines and see what works the best! Any other input is more than welcome.

___

I just called V Australia with a couple questions. The agent I spoke with stated that all exonomy cabin seats have power outlets. Not sure if that is accurate or not, but that is what she said. Hmmm...