Who are you all flying with??

[shan08]

Hi All
Havent been on here since our last trip in sept/oct 2010. Planning our next one back to the US sept/oct 2013, but still haven't booked flights. Last time we flew Air New Zealand and I was happy with them but we had nothing to compare it to. Not sure on itinerary yet but places to go are New York,Chicago, Vegas, WDW and San Fran dont really want to go back to LA but understand probably have to fly out of there. Need help!! Not much of a planner.

 

[Royal Consort]

Hi All
Havent been on here since our last trip in sept/oct 2010. Planning our next one back to the US sept/oct 2013, but still haven't booked flights. Last time we flew Air New Zealand and I was happy with them but we had nothing to compare it to. Not sure on itinerary yet but places to go are New York,Chicago, Vegas, WDW and San Fran dont really want to go back to LA but understand probably have to fly out of there. Need help!! Not much of a planner.

We flew last time with Virgin Australia. We did transfer at LAX (urgh, I know), but because they fly into terminal 5 and not Tom Bradley, immigration and customs didn't seem nearly as long. I found Virgin service to be phenomenal.

 

[Marlea98]

We flew VAustralia into LAX last Christmas. Hated LAX but loved VA

 

[ColinA]

Qantas via Dallas to WDW

 

[Melbourne5]

Hi All
Havent been on here since our last trip in sept/oct 2010. Planning our next one back to the US sept/oct 2013, but still haven't booked flights. Last time we flew Air New Zealand and I was happy with them but we had nothing to compare it to. Not sure on itinerary yet but places to go are New York,Chicago, Vegas, WDW and San Fran dont really want to go back to LA but understand probably have to fly out of there. Need help!! Not much of a planner.[/

Are you in any frequent flyer program's and / or have lounge access : extra luggage benefits.. That often helps decide between carriers!

 

[Caroline NZ]

Air NZ for us

 

[Saskiwi]

We just cancelled our VA booking - got a full refund '*** they changed our final leg (Bris-Chch) on us, leaving us with a 9 hour layover in Brisbane on our way home, which we were NOT thrilled about!
We flew them last time to LA and they were great, but who wants an extra 9 hours at the end of that trip....!
Have now rebooked on Qantas via Dallas/Ft Worth to Orlando and then will use them again to fly NYC-LA and then after our 3 day DL fix, will fly home with them too.

We are still sorting out our domestic carrier for Orlando-Washington DC. DC-NYC we are going by train which looks super easy

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Just wanted to add we did NYC-Washington by train-SO easy and comfy. We flew V our last trip to US and thought them very good apart from the dreaded LAX. Internal flights were with SouthWest which we thought were cheap and great (and they included a bag each unlike some other carriers).

 

[zanzibar138]

We flew V Australia to LAX - we loved it, thought they were great Also flew Virgin America internally and thought they were great too We had to fly Southwest on one section where Virgin didn't fly, and weren't that impressed. Not a fan of the whole no allocated seating thing, and our plane was really old.

I don't have anything to compare to either, but will be flying Qantas long-haul to Europe in 6 weeks - I'll be interested to see how they compare.

 

[jessiegirl84]

Last Christmas we flew to LA with AirNZ and they were really good, their safety video had us in stitches! The layover in Auckland sux though but the service was great & food pretty tasty! We actually upgrades to preminum economy for out return flight and that was amazing! Best flight i have taken actually managed about 8hours of sleep!

We also flew over again in September last yr and we flew direct from brisbane to LA then a 3 hr wait to connect with delta to Orlando! Couldnt fault Virgin at all, they were awesome, the food was good, comfy seats all the hosties all lovely!

I have also flown with Qantas in 2010 direct to LA from Bris and it was good, but it was my first ever flight so i was happy to make it there safely haha, but now after flying with Virgin & AirNZ they were alot better!

 

[AussieNSW]

We used Qantas to fly to NY and used a number of different airlines to fly around the states. I didnot like southwest because of the lack of allocated seating when we got on the plane there was one row of 3 seats left the very back row and the other back row had 2 seAts next to one another left. The other seats were in the middle of groups of 3. We were lucky as I did not want my children sitting in between 2 strangers. They had a family policy of allowing them to enter early but we feel that the age was extremely young 5. Much better experience flying JetBlue who also allow you one free piece of baggage. Beware that domestic flights require you to pay for baggage which also means that carry on space is at a premium and people can get very annoyed about it.

 

[Andona]

I don't have anything to compare to either, but will be flying Qantas long-haul to Europe in 6 weeks - I'll be interested to see how they compare.

Are you flying on one of their 747's or the A380? - they're like chalk and cheese in terms of comfort but the service is basically the same on both.

Andona

 

[zanzibar138]

Are you flying on one of their 747's or the A380? - they're like chalk and cheese in terms of comfort but the service is basically the same on both.

Andona

Apparently I'll be flying on an A330 Perth to Hong Kong, and DH is pretty sure it will be an A380 from there to Paris, but that flight is operated by Air France (but still a Qantas code). And on the way home I'll be flying back on British Airways coded flights, then Qantas again from HK. So there'll be a few different planes in there, but I will definitely report back after my trip

 

[Snickals]

I've flown international with United (okay solo but would not attempt it with a child due to lack of entertainment etc.), VAustralia and Delta (booked through VAustralia but was put on a Delta plane returning to Aus - not overly impressed). VAustralia is my fav choice by far!

 

[Luisa]

I've flown international with United (okay solo but would not attempt it with a child due to lack of entertainment etc.), VAustralia and Delta (booked through VAustralia but was put on a Delta plane returning to Aus - not overly impressed). VAustralia is my fav choice by far!

And I have the opposite view, I did the V/Delta code share and just loved Delta! I avoid qantas simply because I don't like the A380, the seats are just so uncomfortable and zero legroom for me. Just goes to show how different our flight experiences are!

 

[Kristin5]

Air NZ - cheaper than Virgin (at the moment anyway) and direct flight to San Fran (don't have to go via LAX). I think though that there may be slightly less legroom (can anyone confirm if this is right?) and less baggage allowance (only 1 suitcase per person compared to 2 each with Virgin). But we went with Air NZ in 2011 and had a great experience - fantastic food and very friendly staff.

 

[BecBennett]

Air NZ - cheaper than Virgin (at the moment anyway) and direct flight to San Fran (don't have to go via LAX).

Direct direct? Or Direct via NZ?

 

[Kristin5]

Direct direct? Or Direct via NZ?

Direct via NZ (advantage is that it doesn't have to go via LAX - I have missed connecting flights because of the madness that is LAX!)

 

[shan08]

Thanks everyone for your input! I did like Air NZ and the baggage allowance was 2 bags each. We flew Delta within the states and found them not too bad, very accommodating when we missed our flight from JFK.
For something totally different we are thinking of flying Emirates (i know call me stupid) but have always dreamed of seeing Dubai. Wouldn't go there for a 2 week holiday but a few nights would be great just to experience. Flights are reasonably priced. Adelaide to NY, then depart San Fran for 4 nights in Dubai then home. I know its around 26hrs each way, probably even stop over on the way for one night of decent sleep (cant sleep on plane).
What are your thoughts???

 

[gogo65]

Shan, all airlines flying to the US, have a two bag luggage allowance, it is a requirement of some type.
The problem is if you are buying other flights separately, then you are limited to the usual domestics limits, however if you book it all on the same ticket then the two bags allowance will be for all of your flights

We have flown air pacific to lax (via Fiji) on qantas points, an absolute nightmare, qantas and virgin. Virgin is by far my favourite airline and we will be flying them again in a few weeks to LA.
I have also flown emirates to Europe and they were fantastic, I'm not sure I would fly to the states via Dubai, as it would be a massive flight. A lot of the emirate flights to Dubai stop in Bangkok, it is a nightmare, we were on the Tarmac for 2hours without aircon, while some passengers got off and others got on.
I would seriously reconsider unless it is a bargain flight!