CX or JL for long haul J?

[Captain Halliday]

I’m looking at options for a One World Classic Award in J and planning the Europe - Australia bit.

Option 1
CDGxLHR on BA then LHR-HND with JL, connecting to JL HND-SYD and QF SYD-BNE.
Pros: LHR-HND is a 788, LHR BA F lounge, one Long sector more comfortable than a HKG connection?
Cons: ~AUD600* more in taxes, 1000 ex LHR means either o/n LHR or very early start in Paris;

Option 2
BRUxHKG-HND, connecting to the same onwards as option 1
Pros: Avoids LHR, A359 BRU-HKG, ~AUD600* cheaper in taxes, convenient BRU departure time of 1300
Cons: BRU lounge looks basic, 772 or 773 HKG-HND, extra ~1,000 miles, 2hr layover, two shorter sectors seems less body clock friendly

I’m inclined to option two for the saving. I’m also not a fan of LHR. But I wonder if that’s outweighed by 12 hour sector being easier than 9hr/transit/4hr?

I have plenty of miles and sectors to spare on the Award, but I’m after your just views on the best experience.
*$200 per pax for three

 

[LadyC]

Has QR been ruled out? They fly from a lot of European ports also and their CDG Lounge is quite good.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Has QR been ruled out? They fly from a lot of European ports also and their CDG Lounge is quite good.

Yes.

Taxes and carrier charges are $1,600 more than the CX option.

Plus on two previous QR sectors Mrs H had bad service experiences. She was virtually ignored by cabin crew on both flights.

While she’s prepared to give them one more chance, that won’t be when they’re ~$400 per person more expensive.

 

[vetrade]

4 sectors is a real drag especially if you're contemplating landing in SYD and then switching to a Dom leg to BNE.
Haven't checked departure or transit times but maybe BRU or CDG - HEL (AY) then HEL - HND (JL or AY).
Then if you're up for a cross town from HND to NRT to stretch your legs, you could fly NRT to BNE direct with QF and bypass SYD.

 

[Captain Halliday]

4 sectors is a real drag especially if you're contemplating landing in SYD and then switching to a Dom leg to BNE.
Haven't checked departure or transit times but maybe BRU or CDG - HEL (AY) then HEL - HND (JL or AY).
Then if you're up for a cross town from HND to NRT to stretch your legs, you could fly NRT to BNE direct with QF and bypass SYD.

The whole family likes AY and it would be a leading contender.

However, I’m not finding any AY availability for 3 pax across a range of dates.

I’m also not finding any award seats (x3 pax) into BNE on any OW airlines across our range of dates.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Here's all my options in full. This might give more context. What would you do?

We had basically shortlisted to option 1 &2.

Note these are each on different days as we're trying to be flexible. Taxes and carrier charges are for 3 pax:

Option 1

1605-0640(+1)

CX734 | CX271

SINxHKG-AMS

773 | 351

Own arrangements in Europe

1630-1645	BA319	CDG-LHR	32N
0940-0525(+1)	JL42	LHR-HND	789
1920-1335 (+1)	JL051 | QF528	HNDxSYD-BNE	789 | 738

Charges: $3,007.45

Option 2:

1605-0640(+1)

CX734 | CX271

SINxHKG-AMS

773 | 351

Own arrangements in Europe

1325-1355(+1)	CX338 | CX548	BRUxHKG-HND	359 | 773
1920-1335 (+1)	JL051 | QF528	HNDxSYD-BNE	789 | 738

Charges: $2,417.59

Option 3:

1605-0640(+1)

CX734 | CX271

SINxHKG-AMS

773 | 351

Own arrangements in Europe

1720-1635(+1)	QR194 | QR932	BRUxDOH-MNL	773 | 773
2000-0935(+1)	QF020 | QF514	MNLxSYD-BNE	332 | 738

Charges: $4,023.40

Option 4:

1045-1940(+1)

QR943 | QR207

SINxDOH-ATH

351 | 332

Own arrangements in Europe

1325-1355(+1)	CX338 | CX548	BRUxHKG-HND	359 | 773
1920-1335 (+1)	JL051 | QF528	HNDxSYD-BNE	789 | 738

Charges: $4,088.88

Option 5:

2315-1250(+1)

BA12 | BA638

SINxLHR-ATH

388 | 32N

Own arrangements in Europe

1325-1355(+1)	CX338 | CX548	BRUxHKG-HND	359 | 773
1920-1335 (+1)	JL051 | QF528	HNDxSYD-BNE	789 | 738

Charges: $3,057.35

 

[vetrade]

I'd also cut it down to either option 1 or 2. There's cheap close-by accommodation at LHR so the over-nighter and the extra $600 wouldn't be a deal breaker but the 14 hr transit in HND after a long haul from LHR sure would. Hanging around in airports is the absolute pits for me so I'd go option 2

 

[LadyC]

I'd probably go with option 2 or 5 as:
1) early afternoon departure from Europe means you have a slightly better chance of sleeping on the plane; and
2) shorter layover in HKG than in option 1 at HND.

Having literally just flown FCO-FRA-SIN-DPS and struggling to sleep the whole journey, the idea of having to do a day trip in the middle of a journey on little sleep is not pleasant. Of course YMMV.

Both AMS and ATH are lovely cities but which one you fly in to probably depends upon which suits the rest of your journey best.

 

[offshore171]

Easy decision - Option 2

 

[odysseus]

Agreed, option 2. The key difference in 2 and 5 is the outward leg and destination of either London or Athens, but the fact they are on BA, and ~$200/person extra as cons outweigh any other considerations (assuming destinations are equally suitable, as they seem to be).

 

[jase05]

Haven’t flown with JL and I’m a unashamed CX fan so I would go with option 2. The long transit in HND probably would put me off option 1 plus only having to go through BRU rather than CDG and LHR can never be a bad idea

 

[NM]

I too would choose option 2 if it was me traveling. The $$$ savings more than compensate for missing the LHR F lounge and you have a nice selection of lounges during HKG transit anyway.

 

[vetrade]

Hey Capt H, I read in the QF OWA thread last night that AY aren't releasing J seats to airline partners until 60 days before dep. Since you like AY, you could book option 2 now but still keep an eye out for AY J options closer to your departure and swap over if availability came up.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Hey Capt H, I read in the QF OWA thread last night that AY aren't releasing J seats to airline partners until 60 days before dep. Since you like AY, you could book option 2 now but still keep an eye out for AY J options closer to your departure and swap over if availability came up.

I saw that too... but option 2 is gone . I should have known better than to delay booking.

But your suggested strategy seems to be the way we'll go. We will need to make changes anyway as the Jan/Feb 2021 parts of the trip aren't yet available to book.

I'm also slightly wary of recent posts in the OWA thread that the call centre is refusing to add sectors >12 months from the date of first ticketing. If those posts are accurate, my Jan/Feb 2021 sectors will be impossible to add anyway.