[Maca44]

A friend wishes to take his wife and son to Disneyland etc (LAX) for about 4 days and then intends to book a 14 day Trafalgar Tour through California. (I guess he doesn't like being independent) He then wants to travel to New York and on the return trip wants to stop off at Hawaii for a few days. Overall, he will be away for about a month.

They will travel Y class, and he is more concerned with cost rather than ff points. Is he best to book a return flight SYD JFK with a stop over in LAX, and then hopefully on the return trip see if the routing can be changed to go LAX-HNL-SYD.

I am extremely impressed with the knowledge and experience of regular contributors to this board and now check it daily. I enjoy reading the detailed accounts of peoples travel and the tips they share (Lindsay, NM, Kiwi Flyer & others), and for readers who wish to contradict some of the articles there are other discussion boards to visit without being malicious.

[BlacKnox]

Originally Posted by Maca44

A friend wishes to take his wife and son to Disneyland etc (LAX) for about 4 days and then ...

Was in Disneyland last month. Make sure your friend checks priceline for hotel bookings, as many have reported great deals there. Also check for Disneyland packages. For example, I know a CA travel agent was offering 4 nights at the Hilton with 4 day pass for about US$500. Just search google.

[odoherty]

I am travelling to NYC with Cathay later this year. CX fly to NYC via HKG and YVR - it's longer than travelling via LAX, but if you are interested in stopping in VYR, it's worthwhile.

I suggest you refer your friend to bestflights.com.au - I am amazed by some of the cheap North Ameria deals they have. American Airlines offer great deals and often you will still be travelling with Qantas for the flights between Australia and the US.

[NM]

Originally Posted by odoherty

I am travelling to NYC with Cathay later this year. CX fly to NYC via HKG and YVR - it's longer than travelling via LAX, but if you are interested in stopping in VYR, it's worthwhile.

I suggest you refer your friend to bestflights.com.au - I am amazed by some of the cheap North Ameria deals they have. American Airlines offer great deals and often you will still be travelling with Qantas for the flights between Australia and the US.

CX is not the best option for the OP's requests of getting to LA, new York and Honolulu. The best option will be a QF/AA fare. Many fares to the USA re zone-based, permitting a number of stopovers and travel to specific geographic zones. For travel as far as New York, they will need to the full USA zone coverage. The last time I looked at such a fare it included up to 5 stopovers. The main variation in the fare price will be seasonality and validity period (ie a 30 day, 60 day, 90 day fare will be cheaper than a 6 month or 12 month fare).

Any decent travel agent should be able to provide them details on such fares. Of as someone else suggest, have a look on sites like BestFlights.com.au.

If the only US destinations wanted are LAX, JFK and HNL, then they can look to use the QF107/108 flight for the LAX-JFK segments, getting them personal video screens and half-decent food. In my opinion that would be a better option than the AA flights. But the QF flights only operate 3 times a week, so they may need to be flexible.

Returning to HNL should not be a problem on those fares.

But if they want cheapest fares and are willing to skip HNL, there are some good deals using QF to Tokyo and the AA on to LA and NY.

[Maca44]

Thanks very much for you assistance and will let my mate know. Sorry for the delay in replying, but been away for past week.