"C.Nelson" wrote in message
news:04c87549-9d5f-4ab5-9306-f0957247c5bf@t11g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
On Oct 31, 9:23 pm, " A Mate" wrote:
> Australia is a long haul from the USA. When we fly this route we always
> overnight somewhere.
>
> Alternatives you may want to consider are flying Korean Air (which could,
> depending on the timeing) score you a free overnight in the Hilton Incheon
> at KAL's expense; or fling either Eva Air or China Airlines and scoring a
> free bunk at Taipei.
Which is better? I have heard of Korean Air of being good, but have
not anything good or bad about the rest.
> All three of those Asian airlines fly from various East and West Coast
> ports
> in the US - to Australia.
>
> The main carriers on routes to Australia are: QANTAS, Air NZ, V Australia,
> United and Delta - all of which fly to one or more of Brisbane, Sydney and
> Melbourne. Continental flies in via Guam to Cairns. Air Pacific and
> Hawaian
> Air also fly the route to the Australian East Coast.
>
> Fares on the route are low right now - because of intense competition;
> both
> Delta and V Australia having entered the route recently.
Delta is not a good option, as their return schedule gives me only 1
hour or so to connect in LAX. I have not flown internationally too
much, but that sounds too tight to me. Correct me if I am wrong.
Still looking for sites on the internet that offer good priced tickets
for this trip.
Cleda
_____________
International air fares to/from the USA often permit a stay of up to 24
hours at a connection point at no extra cost. In such cases the overnight
is at your expense. I've used that facility to spend a night in Chicago on
my way home from Denver to London.
Earlier this year I went from the UK to New Zealand and back flying Air New
Zealand all the way. We stopped in Hong Kong for 4 nights on the way out
and on the way back we flew Auckland/San Francisco and took 11 nights to
drive down to Los Angeles and then flew home from there. Those stops and
the break cost no more than flying both ways in one hit and made the whole
journey much more relaxed.
So, yes, I would certainly suggest stopping somewhere en route.
Now, when it comes to purchasing, the internet may not be your best friend.
The internet tends to assume you want to make a journey in one hit. The
idea of stopping over isn't always allowed for. Even where the website has
a multi stop option I've found that it doesn't always seem to permit what I
want to do (certainly, at the time I booked the Air New Zealand site
couldn't handle the idea that the San Francisco/Los Angeles leg wasn't going
to be flown so I had to phone them).
It's also the case here in the UK (and I think in the US as well) that there
are agencies known as "consolidators" who negotiate fares with airlines and
put together odd fare combinations that are not easily represented using a
web site but who can often offer good fares or interesting routings
depending on your needs. Here in the UK I'd look in the travel section of
weekend newspapers for ads and then make a few phone calls.
Quite apart from any issues relating to comfort etc there may be another
reason for stopping over. It is quite possible to buy a ticket for the
whole journey (that's what I did). However, it is also possible to buy
separate tickets for separate bits of your journey and this would probably
be required if you choose V Australia for the trans Pacific legs. With one
ticket if you miss a flight because the inbound is delayed the inbound
carrier is responsible for finding you a new flight. However, every time
you buy a new ticket you enter into a new contract. Part of that contract
requires you to present yourself for checkin at the correct time. If you
don't the fact that your inbound flight was delayed becaomes irrelevant -
the carrier you are trying to board has nothing to do with that inbound
flight so it will say "tough" and may even insist you buy a new ticket with
no refund on the unused ticket (they may take pity and charge a change fee
or if you're really lucky not charge you at all but don't count on it).
Allowing a stop where one ticket ends and the next begins allows you to
build padding into the schedule. It's rare for flights to be severely
delayed these days (but about once a week I notice at least one 24 hour
delay at Heathow) so an overnight then meets the rest idea as well as
padding between tickets.
This is probably a silly suggestion - the further east you live the more it
might be appropriate. Look at Round the World air fares. They can be
pretty good value and might compare with the reular fare from home to
Australia.
Lastly, if you fly Qantas you may find that add on legs in Australia come
cheaper than flying in one one airline and buying separate tickets to get
around (might also apply to V Australia added to Virgin Blue flights in Oz).
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