Flights to Oz

phil_2405 · 26 Mar 2006 at 22:41

I'm thinking of going down-under later this year (prob Nov/Dec time), do any of the airlines stand out as being the best or are they all much the same and probably best to go on price/personal choice? With it being such a long flight, I would prefer to be as comfy and entertained as possible!

Currently thinking of going via Hong Kong with Virgin Atlantic.

Zip · 26 Mar 2006 at 22:45

phil_2405 said:
I'm thinking of going down-under later this year (prob Nov/Dec time), do any of the airlines stand out as being the best or are they all much the same and probably best to go on price/personal choice? With it being such a long flight, I would prefer to be as comfy and entertained as possible!

Currently thinking of going via Hong Kong with Virgin Atlantic.

Qantas is the safest Airline in the world

You might want to have a look at them because they are Australia's biggest airline company.
Other Airlines you could try are Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines.

Where abouts in Australia are you planning on going?

phil_2405 · 26 Mar 2006 at 22:47

Currently thinking of visiting Sydney and Melbourne.

Rachel · 26 Mar 2006 at 22:49

Qantas, BA or Cathay Pacific are probably your best bets.

Zip · 26 Mar 2006 at 22:53

phil_2405 said:
Currently thinking of visiting Sydney and Melbourne.

Melbourne

Try Brisbane The Gold coast and Adelaide.
From what ive heard Melbourne doesnt have all that much to offer and is poorly planned. You will see a lot of Greeks though

Edit: When are you going? Because some parts of Queensland have just been blown away buy a hurricane(i think its around Cains)

iSam · 26 Mar 2006 at 23:11

When my family and I went to Cairns last year, we went out on a BA flight and came back with Qantas, but I have to admit, the Qantas flight was much better! The films and games were much better and all the air-hostesses were seriously hot, the BA ones were a bit munting really!

Clipsey · 26 Mar 2006 at 23:20

Easily the best - maybe in the world
Emirates!! Flew there with them, so decided to come back with them!

jhmaeng · 27 Mar 2006 at 00:04

Unless you're particularly tall, you can't go wrong with Singapore Airlines. Take my word on this.

If you're very tall, I would suggest going via Malaysia Airlines or Thai Airways for their class-leading 34-inch seat pitch. Air New Zealand is also very pleasant with a good seat pitch.

But otherwise, Singapore Airlines can't be beat for their huge entertainment options (>50 films and >200 audio CDs) and good meals (as far as Economy foods go, anyway), very pleasant flight attendants in impossibly tight uniforms, and opportunity to earn enough air miles for a free European flight with just one roundtrip.

Fox · 27 Mar 2006 at 00:32

jhmaeng said:
Unless you're particularly tall, you can't go wrong with Singapore Airlines. Take my word on this.

Seconded. I have travelled on a number of different airlines - Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada etc - SA own the lot. Know ppl who have flown BA/Qantas and were distinctly unimpressed. SA is sooooooooooo comfortable and even in economy you feel like your getting first class service its amazing.

And I agree, the flight attendants are well fit

homerio · 27 Mar 2006 at 00:41

Try searching with www.austravel.com

weeble · 27 Mar 2006 at 09:20

jhmaeng said:
Unless you're particularly tall, you can't go wrong with Singapore Airlines. Take my word on this.

If you're very tall, I would suggest going via Malaysia Airlines or Thai Airways for their class-leading 34-inch seat pitch. Air New Zealand is also very pleasant with a good seat pitch.

But otherwise, Singapore Airlines can't be beat for their huge entertainment options (>50 films and >200 audio CDs) and good meals (as far as Economy foods go, anyway), very pleasant flight attendants in impossibly tight uniforms, and opportunity to earn enough air miles for a free European flight with just one roundtrip.

Agreed, been there 4 times and Singapore is my favourite, followed by Malaysain for the leg room. Emirates stops twice, which I don't like, and the airport in Singapore is cool with the fish ponds.

JudgeC · 27 Mar 2006 at 09:30

A vote for Malaysian Airlines, they are excellent. Not only do you get the 34" pitch in economy, they actually turn the air processing up to full (Unlike nearly all western airlines). I have not flown with Singapore Airlines, but they may well do the same.
The upside is that you get off of the flight without feeling like death warmed up.

BrightonBelle · 27 Mar 2006 at 09:35

Singapore are the best then Malaysian.

Good luck looking for flights in December - I wanted to go back over Christmas to see my Nephew.

The bloody Ashes are on so there were hardly any flights left when I checked in January. :mad:

Not sure now.

BB x

Rotty · 27 Mar 2006 at 10:11

BrightonBelle said:
Singapore are the best then Malaysian.

I would go along with this ( and add Cathay Pacific too ) , if you want comfortable then Virgin is not what you are looking for ( and not BA either )

Rotty · 27 Mar 2006 at 10:15

Clipsey said:
Easily the best - maybe in the world
Emirates!! Flew there with them, so decided to come back with them!

I did 5 flights with Emirates last year and were average at best

peter_hutson · 27 Mar 2006 at 10:16

Done a fair bit of travelling from the Uk to Asia. Singapore airlines are without a doubt the best, in both economy and business. Fantastic service and nice planes (the stewardesses are also well hot). But you tend to pay for it, last time I checked Singapore were quite pricey. Unless you can pick up some sort of special offer.

You might want to consider Royal Brunei Airlines (www.bruneiair.com). This airline certainly has it's faults, but they do very good deals to OZ. They fly from London to Brunei and then onto OZ (can also stopover in Dubai if you like as it lands to refuel). If you take a short stopover in Brunei, you can get excellent deals for the OZ leg. For example, I just booked a ticket from London to Auckland (via OZ). Because it included a stopover in Brunei, the Brunei to Auckland leg only cost an extra 100 quid!

The London -> Brunei leg plane is quite nice. Everyone in economy has a mini tv and the seats are about average. The downside, it's a dry airline. No booze served, though oddly enough you can bring your own and they will open it and give you a glass. You will certainly not get service with a smile. The prayer before taking off is also slightly disconcerting! Ive just done a quick check for you and a London to Brisbane RTN will set you back around 650 quid including all taxes. I'm sure you could optimise this a bit better, as I chose random dates over the summer.

Good luck

phil_2405 · 27 Mar 2006 at 22:43

Thanks for all the replies, looks like Singapore Airlines is a good one to go for although just looked at prices and they are easily twice the price of Virgin, Qantas etc!! Ouch!!

Best price I've found is with Qantas (about £640) for London to Melbourne returning from Sydney to London with a stopover in Hong Kong.

Andy100 · 28 Mar 2006 at 00:10

JAL (Japan Airlines) Cheap and reliable.

jhmaeng · 28 Mar 2006 at 01:09

The price also sometimes depends on which travel agent you ask. If you're a student, STA Travel is an obvious port of call. Also, your local travel agent might surprise you too (unlikely, but still a possibility

)

Most of the European airlines are decidedly average at best, both from a seat comfort, food and service quality point of view and (on a good number of planes) entertainment options too. If you are willing to forgo the personal TV (or at least accept somewhat a step down from Singapore Airlines extravaganza) then Korean Air is also a good option, with a good seat pitch, good service and opportunity to stop over in Seoul. I don't think they fly to Melbourne, however. Current around £740 all-in to Sydney return.

Air New Zealand is reputedly very good as well (in fact, I would say one of the next best from Singapore Airlines), and currently around £800 all-in to Sydney return. You can stop over in Auckland as well, which might be worth a trip to. If you are feeling very adventurous, you can also stop over at the pacific islands destinations such as Fiji, Papeete, Rarotonga, Apia etc for just £75 extra, which normally cost a lot to travel to.

jamoor · 28 Mar 2006 at 02:55

Looking for a flight airline first is foolish really. You should search around to see which airline is cheapest at that time and fly with them, this could save you 00's of pounds.

Ask yourself this question :-
would you suffer for say 20 odd hours and then spend the money you've saved at your destination or spend extra on getting there?

Also most airlines that do such long haul flights (provided there are no stops in the middle) wont give you a package holiday type seat.
And yes, going on virgin will be a good idea, you may be allowed to stay in hk for a couple of days, and you could get a low cost asian airline to another place in the region, not much point going that far if you're not going to see much.

Flights to Oz

Woman of Honour