Here's the deal: Going on a trip to Australia next month and right now I am booked to leave DFW on mon. the 11th (arriving in Perth on wed. the 13th) and leaving on the 26th all in economy class... I was looking at trying to upgrade and was told that there was business class availability (for no additional $$) but I'd be leaving one day later (departing on tues. the 12th and arriving on the thur. the 14th) and wouldn't be able to change my return date (would still be the 26th. So my question is, have you ever flown qantas economy? Do you think it would be worth it to fly business class and lose a day, or should I just stick with the current booking and fly economy? I've never done any long haul flights so I have no clue how to evaluate the options.

Economy is doable, especially if you get up and move around occasionally. If its the same price for business both ways, just losing one day I would definitely look at it. It all depends on how focused your itinerary is, as there will already likely be too much to see in the time you already have allotted. But in general terms, yes I would probably jump on that.

Having just got back from a long haul trip, business class all the way. You'll have a better chance to show up relaxed and refreshed which will more than make up for the lost day in the long run.

If business is an option, make your itenerary fit.

Economy is doable, but I would never choose it if I had options.

Note: I've done numerous Singspore trips and had to make one them in economy.

If you do choose economy I'd suggest getting on the Magellan website and buying one of those inflatable neck brace looking things and some high quality eye mask like Buckeye. Those two things plus headphones will greatly improve the odds of getting sleep.

I always fly economy on long haul and am 6'3. I just deal with it and arrive fine.

If I could get business for the same cost...of course I would. But I am not going to spend more for it.

I've flown Qantas from LAX to SDY and it wasn't a bad flight in economy. Business class will of course be more comfortable, but much more expensive too. I'd say it depends on how much you value sleep and the additional day in Australia.

[This message has been edited by Aggie71013 (edited 2/14/2013 9:42a).]

Xanax

I've flown to Asia twice, both times in economy and its not that bad but I'm getting happy pills next time.

I decided to take the business class tickets. I'm so excited for my trip! Thanks for all the input!

Business is a good choice. When we fly coach we generally try to get the side 2 seat row in the back of the plane. Close to bathrooms, seems to be less babies, and you can talk to the attendants to smoosh some booze. Sat next to a gay guy from Athens to Newark who flirted with the steward which entailed compliments from the first class section.

Practice sleeping with an eye mask for a couple of weeks before your trip.

Red Wine and Dramamine. Problem solved.

I don't have a lot of experience in business or first, but I do fly back and forth to Russia every couple months in economy. There is a direct relationship between how much rest I get the night before the flight and my in flight experience. Also, I adjust to the time difference much more smoothly, which is huge.

I'm in Austraila right now for the second time. I always fly into Adelaide and then fly out to Moomba later. I absolutely love Air New Zealand. Best customer service from the people on the phones, desk, and crews. Feed you well and plenty of on flight entertainment. Make sure you fly premium economy, especially in the Boeing 777-300. The spacesaver seats are incredible. Lets just say if ANZ flew domestically in the US, I would fly then exclusively.

Could y'all at least page me when topics like this come up?

I'm Qantas Gold and United Premier. I travel between SYD-SFO about 7 times/year and I've been to PER twice. And DFW - well, duh?

First of all, for the trip you're planning, you want to be on Qantas. You DO NOT want to be on United. The suggestion of Air New Zealand was nice and of course SQ is one of the best airlines going.

Here's the play-by-play for doing the trip you're doing.

• Leave DFW in the afternoon and have a few hour layover at LAX. Try to be as tired as possible before you start your trip.
• Get some food at LAX and pound 4 drinks (beer works for me).
• Crash out before takeoff and for the first hour of the 14 hour flight.
• About 90 minutes after takeoff, they'll come by and serve you dinner. Eat it unless you gorged yourself at LAX.

These days all the SYD flights leave from Tom Bradley International Terminal which doesn't have much to offer for food. That reminds me, when you're connecting on American via Terminal 4, there is a Chili's and I think a Baja Fresh there. So some decent eats on the secure side. To save yourself some time, don't leave the secured area, instead, take the shuttle from gate 44 over to the TBIT. When you go down the escalator, DO NOT head left towards baggage claim, head right into what looks like a little room. That's where the shuttle bus picks you up.

Now, it just occurred to me that since I don't know what flight you're on, I probably should have asked that. You've got 3 options from DFW.

• QF8 "direct" from DFW via BNE on a 747
• QF12 - nonstop on an Airbus A380
• QF108 - nonstop on a 747, continuing service from JFK

So... I've flown Premium Economy and Business Class on the QF 747s. I've only flown Economy on the A380 and obviously I've spent boatloads of time in Economy on the 747.

I usually come home to Sydney on a Friday night after a work week in The Bay Area. That flight is usually chockers (FULL). Once or twice, I've been able to fly home to SYD on a Sunday night or a Tuesday night. Those flights are usually only 2/3rds full. If you're picking economy seats, here's what you need to know.

On the 747s, sometimes the screens will be smaller but most of the ones used on the LAX-SYD run have been retrofitted with the same seats as the A380. The A380 has nice seats with a really big screen. On all the Qantas International flights, you've got personal entertainment with plenty of movie options, music options, TV options, etc.

Also, on the A380 and the retrofitted 747s, you've got snack bars halfway down the aircraft and at the rear of the aircraft. I think it was defroach that alluded to picking the seats near the rear of the aircraft where it's only 2-4-2 instead of 3-4-3. There are about 3 rows of the 2 seats on the outside. Whatever you do DO NOT pick a bulkhead seat. There's nowhere to store your stuff.

Now that reminds me, another thing to consider is Aisle or Window. Since I was a little kid, I have always been a Window seat guy. This is a 14 hour flight with 13:45 over featureless water and clouds. I strongly recommend the Aisle. About 18 months ago, I got stuck in a Window seat for 9 1/2 hours before I could get up and go to the toilet. This was after I pounded 4 beers at LAX so I was dying by the time I got there. I've been an Aisle seat guy ever since.

OK, so we're in the air, and we've eaten dinner at 1 am LA time. Now, try to watch a couple of movies. You don't have to do four but watch 2 or 3. You have enough time if you want to watch all 3 Godfather movies back-to-back-to-back, you can. But, when you get there, all you'll think about is Eye-Talians killing each other. I recommend you check out some of the Australiana content like "Housos versus Authority" (That's Un-Australian Mate!). That reminds me of another warning, Qantas will have movies with topless ladies uncensored. When I was watching Housos and there was a bedroom scene, I was like - whoa. Might have to get that one on DVD.

So by now, you've watched a movie or two, it's OK to go ahead and crash now. Try to sleep for 2-3-4 hours or so. 6 hours is nice if you can do it. You did spring for the $300 BOSE headphones with the 14 hour battery life right? I've gotten as much as 25 hours out of the battery on my BOSE headphones before. That reminds me, for sleeping, I like to turn on some music like "Reelin' in the Years" (a countdown of hit music from each year starting with 1950 or so). I usually plug in anything between 1980 and 1995 and crash. The background noise is better than nothing.

So, now you've slept a little bit and you're semi-awake. Look at the Flight Path and see how much longer before you get there. They'll serve breakfast about 90 minutes out from SYD. I like to start a movie with about 2:30 left in the flight and then read a book after the movie ends until we get there. Also, don't forget to bring your Passport and a pen when you get to your seat. You'll want to take that time to fill out the customs declaration.

You land in SYD and have to clear Immigration, Claim your bag and clear Customs before heading over to PER.

Depending what time you arrive, it can be pandemonium at Immigration. There are lots of flights from the US and Asia that arrive about the same time in the morning.

Now Perth is a 4 hour flight and you'll have to change Terminals to get there. That flight will usually be on a 737 or better. I've flown it on an A330, a 767 and a 747. So, your entertainment options will vary. 767s still have the screen at the front of the cabin and the Domestic 747s have small screens in the seat.

Here's the deal, there's a 2 hour time difference between SYD and PER. My normal recommendation is that for people staying in SYD, you MUST stay awake until at least 9pm in order to help get over the jetlag. For going to W.A., you're going to want to stay away until 9pm as well but... you'll probably want to sleep an hour or two on the flight across from SYD.

Now that you know more than you ever wanted to know, back to part of your original question.

Making that trip in Business Class versus Economy is a no brainer. Really. I don't know if this is an option for you but on Qantas, Premium Economy is about as good as Business Class on other airlines like United for example.

Let me know if you need recommendations for the return trip.

While you're in Perth, I recommend heading down to "Freo" (Freemantle) and going to the Little Creatures Brewery.

Good Luck!

[This message has been edited by HollywoodBQ (edited 2/18/2013 6:55a).]

Great description Hollywood. This thread will permanently be a great resource for anyone traveling on Qantas.

Enjoyed that Anaylsis Hollywood. I have flown Quantas domestically in Australia and it was a great experience as well. Lets just say Quantas and ANZ know how to treat you. Never realized how much United sucked before those two airlines.

You're welcome. No "u" in Qantas

Queensland
And
Northern
Territory
Air
Service

And yes, it's not until you fly airlines in Asia that you realize how poorly Americans allow AA, UA, etc. to treat them.

If you like Qantas, wait until you get to Cathay or Singapore And I can only dream about Emirates but I do have a long-term goal to go to Dubai.

Just had a co-worker fly Emirates. He said it was ok...he thought some of the other carriers had better business class cabins

Wow thanks so much for all the info. I'm booked for departure on QF8 and have seat 3A. Great point regarding the window seat accessibility... I'll definitely be switching to an aisle seat.

So if you're in 3A does that mean you're in First Class?

Because Business Class starts at seat 11A.

No I think I'm on this kind of plane... http://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/flying/inTheAir/ourAircraft/744RR-58J36W270Y.pdf

Interesting. So you're in Business Class on a 3-Class aircraft with no FIrst Class Cabin. I didn't know they flew those Internationally.

and for whatever it's worth, since you're on QF8, all my guidance about changing planes at LAX is moot. Good Luck with your trip.

If you don't spring for the high dollar Bose headphones, I'd also recommend springing for an airline adapter for your favourite Ipod/mp3 player headphones. The headphones the airline passes out are substandard and uncomfortable. Just my opinion...

Chapstick or lip balm is a good thing to bring for the plane trip to keep your lips from drying out.

Enjoy your trip. Be sure to get a meat pie with sauce.

Tip on the Bose...I bought mine for $175 off of Amazon's used section. They were missing the iPhong specific cord but worked great.

HollywoodBQ

quote:

---

Interesting. So you're in Business Class on a 3-Class aircraft with no FIrst Class Cabin. I didn't know they flew those Internationally.

---

HollywoodBQ:
Yeah there are 5 different 747-400 seating configurations and the one I'm on is setup with:

Business: 58 seats
Premium Economy: 36 seats
Economy: 270 seats
So yeah... 3 classes, no First class... I found that odd too, but it's a midweek flight. Maybe less demand.

So next step... I'm looking at the seat selection page (going to switch my 3A window seat to an aisle) and here are the available aisle seats remaining:

Upper Deck: 15J, 16J
Lower Deck: 3E, 5F, 6F, & all of the aisle seats on rows 7 and 8.

Based on what you've encountered and the map I posted before, which seat would you suggest I take?

I'd fly in the upper deck if you can. It's a lot quieter up there. Of course where your seat is in the nose could be quieter too. But, I haven't flown in the nose of a 747 in almost 30 years (First Class on Alitalia) so I've forgotten what that ride is like.

I flew upstairs in Business Class on the way back from Tokyo to Sydney last week. Even if you're in a window seat, there's still plenty of room to get past the person in the aisle. And the seats do fold down to lie flat but it's at a slight angle. maybe 20-30 degrees from being completely horizontal.

Thanks so much! A business-class seat opened up for a flight leaving on the 10th, two days earlier than I planned. So now I have an extra day in Australia and an upper deck business-class seat thanks for all your help. I'm so looking forward to this trip!

quote:

---

Thanks so much! A business-class seat opened up for a flight leaving on the 10th, two days earlier than I planned. So now I have an extra day in Australia and an upper deck business-class seat thanks for all your help. I'm so looking forward to this trip!

---

/jealous

Lucky you, though!

Sitting at LAX waiting for my flight to Houston. I just got off my 12 hour flight from Auckland to LA. On a side note, I flew through customs which was a pleasant surprise. Anyway, I was originally in Premium Economy on a flight for Tuesday but ended up having to move it up to Saturday. They didn't have any premium economy seats left but I did get a skycouch which is in economy. I must say that might have been nicer than PE. Same food, service, tv screen, etc except I had a whole row to myself. They give you two big pillows and a comforter. The seats have foot rests that lock even with your seat so it's a makeshift bed. I'm short, only 5'7", so I didn't have to worry about my legs hanging over, just my feet lol. In PE, you do not have the option to lay down.

Anyway, hope you have a great trip.

Hollywood, I could hear the cars racing in the clipsol 500 in Adelaide. That is all anyway was talking about. They were excited about the Nissan and Mercedes Benz making their debuts.

[This message has been edited by 05ag (edited 3/2/2013 6:14p).]

I always do whatever I can to upgrade overseas. It is worth it.

For those of you who mentioned the Bose headphones, which model specifically do you recommend getting?

quote:

---

For those of you who mentioned the Bose headphones, which model specifically do you recommend getting?

---

I would recommend saving the money and getting some good ear buds. They offer terrific passive noise cancellation and are much easier to pack.

[This message has been edited by Vernada (edited 3/3/2013 7:04p).]

Quantas will make you dread flying any american carrier. Economy is much better on quantas, especially if you're on an A380, which you won't be out of Dallas (747s only). I've flown on both and they aren't bad, but business is much better. I flew Tokyo to SF recently on Japan Airlines and was luckily upgraded to premium economy. It made all the difference in the world.

https://instagr.am/p/CxX12yUuJ38