Anyone flown Qantas direct to OZ?

nitram100 said:
Oh that would be amazing. She must be happy now that the rules have finally been relaxed! The 17 hr flight sounds like such a slog, but there's something appealing about getting on a plane in London and then waking up in OZ, but that's all dependent on whether I sleep or not!

I'm going one way as I am emigrating for good so I think I can bear a bad flight knowing it'll be me my last long one for a while.

Is your partner doing economy? I found a few seats at the back of the 787-9 that they use that appear to be decent! I read that the economy premium seats give you more leg room but reduced width.

Stopover in a country I've never been to before does sound really nice though. Going to have a big think today guys! Thanks very much for all the info!
Click to expand...

She's over the moon! Just hoping this new variant doesn't throw up any curveballs :(

Quite a new relationship and i've already told her if I do end visiting at some point in the future we'll be flying business as i'm 6'3" and just could not handle that length in economy haha.

As for flight length, I think i'd rather just bite the bullet and go for the longest possible leg, get settled in and binge something like Band of Brothers or something similar, then try sleep at the right times for Australia to avoid any jet lag.

When I went when I was younger the jet lag was awful, was wide awake at 4am and if I wasn't standing at 4pm i'd be asleep haha

Where abouts are you emigrating to?
 
I've done the Aus trip so often now I just don't find it that difficult. Modern planes make a HUGE difference - a380/dreamliners aren't anything like as exhausting. 777s are bloody awful comparatively. So cramped and noisy.

Megahurtz400 said:
Quite a new relationship and i've already told her if I do end visiting at some point in the future we'll be flying business as i'm 6'3" and just could not handle that length in economy haha.

As for flight length, I think i'd rather just bite the bullet and go for the longest possible leg, get settled in and binge something like Band of Brothers or something similar, then try sleep at the right times for Australia to avoid any jet lag.
Click to expand...

If budget is a consideration the bulkhead seats in the A380 are also really good on Emirates. Must admit I typically just want to get there rather than small hops. The 17 hours to/from Auckland though was difficult, even in business. I find jetlag far worse coming back to the UK than I do going East.
 
Last edited:
dLockers said:
ok
Click to expand...

Actually, I just checked my Ticket, it was an A380.

h6RIEFR.png
 
Raymond Lin said:
Actually, I just checked my Ticket, it was an A380.

h6RIEFR.png
Click to expand...
You said it has an upstairs. That already answered the q of type.

The reason I asked about the a350 specifically is because of its composite construction it can operate at a much higher cabin pressure which is a game changer when it comes to fatigue.
 
dLockers said:
You said it has an upstairs. That already answered the q of type.

The reason I asked about the a350 specifically is because of its composite construction it can operate at a much higher cabin pressure which is a game changer when it comes to fatigue.
Click to expand...

As I said, I am not a plane anorak...

You can tell me lots of things, I am not going to argue. I know what the ticket says now, I have a photo and i remember there was an upstairs.
 
dLockers said:
You said it has an upstairs. That already answered the q of type.

The reason I asked about the a350 specifically is because of its composite construction it can operate at a much higher cabin pressure which is a game changer when it comes to fatigue.
Click to expand...
A350 is very good to fly in, Cathay Pacific to HK about 3 years was awesome., the higher ceiling makes a big difference.
 
Jimbeam3678 said:
A350 is very good to fly in, Cathay Pacific to HK about 3 years was awesome., the higher ceiling makes a big difference.
Click to expand...

This, I flew HK - Melbourne on a Cathay A350 a few years ago in economy and it actually wasn't that bad. They even added a few nice touches like some notches in the tray table to stand your tablet up :p.

A380 (upstairs) -> A350 -> A380 (downstairs) -> 777 (9 across) -> 787 (garbage, cramped ****) -> 777 (10 across) for me. Yes I have lost far too much of my life sat in economy seats on long haul flights for work :eek:. Pretty convinced it had a long term impact on my health. PE or business every time now for personal long haul travel.
 
Finally some sensible responses! Thanks chaps. I will add it to my priority list.
 
MacRS4 said:
I've done the Aus trip so often now I just don't find it that difficult. Modern planes make a HUGE difference - a380/dreamliners aren't anything like as exhausting. 777s are bloody awful comparatively. So cramped and noisy.



If budget is a consideration the bulkhead seats in the A380 are also really good on Emirates. Must admit I typically just want to get there rather than small hops. The 17 hours to/from Auckland though was difficult, even in business. I find jetlag far worse coming back to the UK than I do going East.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up! Budget isn't too much of a concern as it wouldn't be that often, but also getting ahead of myself as only been dating a few months haha :cry:
 
My tip to beat jet lag when flying west is to get a late flight, like midnight. Then sleep, time it so it lands in UK mornings. Providing you can sleep of course.

Getting a good sleep on the way back, landing at 6am means I was pretty refreshed and awake for the day.

If you struggle to sleep then landing in late afternoon/early evening is probably better then go home and straight to bed.
 
Raymond Lin said:
My tip to beat jet lag when flying west is to get a late flight, like midnight. Then sleep, time it so it lands in UK mornings. Providing you can sleep of course.

Getting a good sleep on the way back, landing at 6am means I was pretty refreshed and awake for the day.

If you struggle to sleep then landing in late afternoon/early evening is probably better then go home and straight to bed.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot Raymond for the info and all of the photos mate, much appreciated.
 
Megahurtz400 said:
Quite a new relationship and i've already told her if I do end visiting at some point in the future we'll be flying business as i'm 6'3" and just could not handle that length in economy haha.


Where abouts are you emigrating to?
Click to expand...

Bearing in mind that I am only 5 foot 7 , maybe the 787 won't be too bad? Leg room has never really been an issue for me haha.

Going to Brisbane mate, it's been a long time coming and got Nursing position lined up just need to get over by 13th Feb to activate my 189 visa.

Will be staying with cousin initially to get things sorted! Was supposed to be going with girlfriend, but we broke up a few months ago after 6 years together, long story! Oz has been my dream since I was 11 years old, she was getting cold feet and wanting to eventually move back to her home in Valencia whereas I see OZ as a more permanent move and I'm not going to live in Spain, so I had to end it unfortunately. It'll be a sad trip as it was supposed to be together but such is life!
 
nitram100 said:
Thanks a lot Raymond for the info and all of the photos mate, much appreciated.
Click to expand...

I am about the same height, I don't find legroom to be a problem...up to 14 hours. I have flown on 777, 747, 787 and the A380 on Cathay, BA, ANA and Singapore Airlines. The WORST would be when you are allocated a seat and the footwell has some metal box taken up 1/3rd of the space. Still....I got over it, I think of the money saved to spend on a nicer hotel to be better value. Just remember to get an aisle seat and then you can get up and walk around often as you like. Though don't stick your elbows out or risk getting a smack from the trolleys.
 
We did one way economy and the return flight as premium economy to Sydney via Hong Kong and that was pretty decent - with Cathay Pacific.

Also did San Fran with Virgin Atlantic in Premium Economy and that was good too - much more seat room and the extra choice of food and drink was nice although with Cathay even in economy you still got a decent menu to choose from!

As much as it hurts the wallet for those longer flights I'd much prefer the Premium Economy ticket!
 
I think in a lot of circumstances premium economy is a really good option especially if you're traveling as a couple as they're always 2-3-2 or 2-4-2 layouts.

We did Lufthansa PE to Singapore and it was great, really comfortable, the extra room, less people around you is worth it over economy imo. But since I'm not a Tudor I do find it very hard to go to sleep when I'm sitting upright(ish), so did business on the way back from Hong Kong. That's always been the choice since, who doesn't want to be able to lie flat with a duvet?
 
I've not done that far but I think coming back from Singapore was about 13 hours or something like that.

My attitude has always been that planes are generally uncomfortable no matter how good the seating (I find it very hard to sleep, maybe doze for an hour or two) and hence I'd rather save the money on flights and spend it on activities at my destination / better hotel / better location etc. Last time I looked it was £500 return to fly economy to Australia but £2k for business class, so that's £1500 extra to still be uncomfortable / surrounded by people. And that's just if travelling alone, as a couple / family it is even more astronomical.

Don't get me wrong, for work I flew business class a couple of times on the A380 and it was obviously a lot better, you can sit in the bar and almost forget you are on a plane, but still no chance of sleeping and that's in spite of the A380 felt a LOT smoother than other planes I've been on including the Dreamliner. Ultimately no plane is going to be like a hotel room. I just sit and watch movies apart from the odd period where I close my eyes for an hour and then give up.
 
Megahurtz400 said:
get settled in and binge something like Band of Brothers or something similar, then try sleep at the right times for Australia to avoid any jet lag.

When I went when I was younger the jet lag was awful, was wide awake at 4am and if I wasn't standing at 4pm i'd be asleep haha
Click to expand...
It wasn't until I went to Australia that I really understood jet lag. Obviously Europe is pretty close to UK and I didn't find the 5hr difference to New York too bad.
I thought it was simply a case of needing to stay up to near bedtime local time, have a long sleep to catch up on a bit of missed sleep and then you'd be set largely in sync with the local timezone. What I hadn't banked on with Australia was waking up in the early hours feeling very hungry, going for an early 6am breakfast, going back to the room and then kind of zonking out and sleeping until the afternoon. It was that kind of metabolism schedule around eating that caught me out. I think the first two days in Sydney we kind of wasted by spending half of the daytime in the hotel. To be fair, maybe we could have done the itinerary better, we arrived in the morning of the first day, although the fact it was too early to check in at least made us go and explore a bit.
 
HangTime said:
I've not done that far but I think coming back from Singapore was about 13 hours or something like that.

My attitude has always been that planes are generally uncomfortable no matter how good the seating (I find it very hard to sleep, maybe doze for an hour or two) and hence I'd rather save the money on flights and spend it on activities at my destination / better hotel / better location etc. Last time I looked it was £500 return to fly economy to Australia but £2k for business class, so that's £1500 extra to still be uncomfortable / surrounded by people. And that's just if travelling alone, as a couple / family it is even more astronomical.

Don't get me wrong, for work I flew business class a couple of times on the A380 and it was obviously a lot better, you can sit in the bar and almost forget you are on a plane, but still no chance of sleeping and that's in spite of the A380 felt a LOT smoother than other planes I've been on including the Dreamliner. Ultimately no plane is going to be like a hotel room. I just sit and watch movies apart from the odd period where I close my eyes for an hour and then give up.
Click to expand...

Same thinking, I am too right to pay for Business and only once I paid for Pre Eco to Japan (because the difference from Eco was £200 upgrade). On the flight back from Singapore I asked the lady on the check in desk if there were any complimentary upgrades available (you don't ask, you don't get), and the upgrade price was £2k+. My mind immediately thought.....I could come back 2 more times on the same flight and hotel with that money!

Or £2k sleeping and eating in much nicer places for a week. So I tend to suck it up in economy for the savings when it's my own money. If work wants to pay however...I won't say no.

Besides, I ended up sleeping flat anyway due to the empty plane!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom