Any Lie Flat/Angle Business Class options to Hawaii from Australia?-

[Timtammi]

Now looking at Air Australia as an option as I'm in MEL and could fly direct from there but now can't find any pics of their business cabin on their website?
BTW, one of the WORST websites I've ever seen. Did somebody's kid do this? It sure looks like it.

Cheers

Timmi

 

[eastwest101]

http://www.seatplans.com/airlines/strategic-airlines/seatplan-classes/A330-200-Business-2

I am not 100% sure that this is actually the interior of Air Australia's A330 J class but appears to be from the Strategic web site - others have confirmed as 2-2-2 in J class. Incredibly difficult to find actual current pictures of seating on some airlines. If you do decide to go with them bring your camera - I'm sure a lot of people here would be interested to see. By the way - awesomely bad website that dosen't show one of their best products.

 

[Spizz]

Now looking at Air Australia as an option as I'm in MEL and could fly direct from there but now can't find any pics of their business cabin on their website?
BTW, one of the WORST websites I've ever seen. Did somebody's kid do this? It sure looks like it.

Cheers

Timmi

All I can say Tiimmi is dont do it. Even if Air australia offerred you the ticket for free. Maybe a bit alarmist However if the possbility of having seats that dont work (ie recline), toilets that are out of order, leaving 1 left for the entire cabin to use leaving no toilet paper and the sink blocked, reading lights that don't work, and service that is non exitant tickle your fancy then go for it.

Some reviews-

Hi, we have just returned from Hawaii. We flew Air Australia so I can tell you first hand. I have also posted a review on Airlikes.
Firstly we were on the 2nd ever flight to Hawaii so I am going to be a little on the soft side with my review. If you intend to go Air Australia be prepared.......

Tips:
TAKE WATER, we nearly died of thirst on our flight over. Passengers were not offered enough water and you could not purchase a bottle. Staff only handed out small cups on our trip over. Bottles were available on the way back at $3.50
TAKE FOOD, the choice or lack thereof is terrible and costly. Especially if you have kids, take a whatever you can carry. I am not kidding. Even people next to us who had purchased the meal package were starving.
WEAR SUMMER CLOTHING, the temperature in the cabin I think is set to 40 deg. Several times on both legs we along with other passengers asked for the a/c to be turned up. It was seriously hot. Most airlines you need a jumper and socks. Everyone arrived with nice rosy cheeks from the heat.
TAKE TISSUES/ BABY WIPES, along with some toilets out of order, a few times there was no toilet paper......can you believe it! Oh and I would also suggest some hand sanitiser, the toilets were filthy.
TAKE TOILETRIES, nothing is supplied, not like the good old days. You even have to purchase a blanket, headsets, pillow, everything.

In saying all that the staff were fine but the plane was OLD!!!! My arm rest was broken, my tv didn't work (along with loads of others)and my daughters seat didn't recline at all. If you are going to start up an airline I would have thought you would make sure things worked first. Am I wrong?
I really hope they sort things out or they will be out of business. I know it is a budget airline but you still expect things like toilets to work. We arrived home in one piece so that's a bonus!

and

We have just flow Brisbane - Honolulu.
I wrote to Air Australia t2 days ago - and still await a response.
Here is my communication:
"Sent: Monday, 9 January 2012 2:23 PM
To: '[email protected]'
Subject: VC002 Honolulu to Brisbane Sat 7th jan 2012
I posted the following on your Facebook book page and it was immediately removed:
“VC002 Honolulu to Brisbane Sat 7th - Worst flight ever. Old plane, broken seats, broken arm rest, no music, no movies, no reading lights, out-of-order toilet, blocked basin, poor service. NEVER EVER AGAIN! “
These are 100% correct facts - does the public not have a right to know what they are buying into?
I do not know how you can put such a plane in the air and take money for advertised services you plain and simple cannot deliver.

I will explain:
Our flight on 23 Dec, Brisbane to Honolulu was barely acceptable.
After about a 1hr delay sitting in the departure lounge, it took over 2 hrs of flying time to eventually get a drink.
Thereafter we were offered drinks, snacks and meals off the menu, and then we never saw your staff again. Very tatty.
Entertainment did work properly and was not as advertised. Half the shows were missing.
Seating was very cramped for a 10hr flight.

Flight back on Sat 7th, as described above was an utter disgrace.

• Our seats and those in front of us had no ‘upright position ’ or “lean-back” lock position – you just pulled them up and pushed them back as you saw fit to do. This made the already cramped seating even more uncomfortable and cramped, as the seats in front of us just eased backwards naturally. If you reclined your seat by leaning backwards, the only way you could put it back into an upright position is to do it manually.
• Our arm rest was broken – see attached picture – and no offer was made by any of your on-board staff to cover this with a small pillow, cloth etc. We were merely told “this plane needs a few things done to it”
• We were handed ‘complimentary ear-plugs” - What for I do not know as there was no sound to listen to, no movies to watch, we were not even able to turn on the reading light – in fact the controller hand set was ‘dead’ – no power! We were offer a glass of wine for the inconvenience!!!!
• One toilet was out-of-order. On-board staff advised this had been the case for over a week now, and as this was a French plane, parts had to come from France, and as Air Australia was a small customer, these part would take some time longer to arrive in Australia. What a yarn....
• The operable toilet soon ran out of paper-towels and tissues – not one on-board staff member saw fit to check for this and replenish these items. With 1/2hr from Honolulu, this basin was blocked and was soon full of water and impossible to drain for the remainder of the flight.
• We witnessed no less than 4 or 5 situations where customers were expressing serious concerns with staff members.
The flight departure time from Honolulu is still listed on your web site in your timetable as 10.a15am (it is actually 12:15pm)
The night before our flight (Fri 6th) we logged onto Honolulu Airport web page and they still had the flight listed as 10:15 departure.
I emailed yourselves that same night (Fri before our flight) – and am still awaiting an answer to my email. Pretty poor service I would say.
On arrived here in Brisbane last night, our pickup person also claimed that Brisbane Airport had arrival time as 4pm and not 6pm, (I am not able to verify that) so they sat around for 2hrs waiting.....
I have to say this was our worse flying experience ever.
In the past 12 months this was our 3rd overseas trip, and first with Air Australia.
It is also our last with Air Australia.
I do not believe you have the right to treat customers like this.
Nor do I believe you have the right to advertise products and services you knowingly are unable to deliver.
I will endeavour to inform the correct persons/organisation of these facts.
Thank you"
Make of it what you may, but I will never use these guys gain.

and just in case you are thinking oh this just is some unlucky few, we continue-

Hi, we flew Brisbane-Honolulu last week Fri 6th Jan. We went with low expectations too. We fly budget carriers always, as it is the only way we can afford to travel with kids. We had transferred from a Virgin flight from Sydney to Brisbane.
Well, where to begin.....no entertainment units working (that's ok, night flight, we can read), no reading lights working (no reading!), no call buttons working, seats seem broken....the guy in front of me seemed to think all his christmas's had come at once with a full recline!. We bought meals, to be honest, they were pretty good. We were offered free drinks to compensate for the lack of entertainment. No problems with toilets that we were aware of. We were offered water once. The flight was smooth, and despite a 30min delay at departure, we arrived on time.
I am keen to support a newcomer to the market, more competition means better fares for all.
BUT.....would I book to fly with them again?. No. Bear in mind we transferred from Sydney. We saved about $1000 doing this. But the inconveniences of transitting to Brisbane coupled with this very uncomfortable flight. Forget it. The planes they are operating on this flight need serious cosmetic and comfort maintenance. The previous forum post that attached a reply about their commitment to safety is reassuring, but it also is somewhat Irritating to think they don't value comfort what-so-ever. Sure lack on entertainment systems we could deal with (highly recommend you take an iPad or itouch), but lack of lighting and having a stranger virtually sleeping in my lap for 9hr, not on!.
Well, we still have to get back!...wish us luck...going by what a couple people are saying, we are very thankful we booked a 4hr window for our return flight to Sydney!

and one more for kicks and giggles, but strangely this person would use them again after the aforementioned issues and a few new ones. Go Figure-

Just back from Honolulu. We flew out from Melbourne 12/1 and returned 26/1. We chose Air Australia for the convenience of a direct flight, as we booked quite late we missed the really cheap fares, so the fare was similar to Jetstar via Sydney.
Outward we left 45 mins late but got there on time, and returning also 45 mins late and arrived early so no complaints there.
The plane was in the Strategic colours, and whilst I'm no expert it seemed old and worn.

Outbound we where allocated seats 24a and b by our travel agent.The lady at check in advised us that these seats had broken video units, so changed us to seats 10a and b. Completely happy with the flight, staff seemed eager to please, food was like Jetstar, and toilets in front of us worked fine.
Returning, we could not change from row 24, and sure enough video units still not working. Also not working in seats 23ab, 22ab. The crew went through the pretence that this was a new problem and tried to fix it several times. When we confronted the head guy with our knowledge that they were broken 2 weeks ago (at least) he said he would provide an email address to maintenance for us to complain to, which never appeared. We accepted the free soft drink, what else could we do.
The man across from me had a broken seat, and the toliet behind us was broken.
On the plus side the crew (apart from the deception) were very good, and the food was fine. Tea and coffe was free and water was offered regularly, but I would always take on a bottle of water with me on any airline.
Overall, if Jetstar flew direct, I would go with them, but they don't so I would go Air Australia again.
For those of you worrying as I was reading this thread before we left, I say don't, it will be ok. We had a great time in Honolulu and also visited the other islands via a Pride of America cruise. Truly a great holiday!

You can read more on Tripadvisor over the 10 page thread including a couple of postives as well-

Air Australia - Honolulu flight - Honolulu Message Board - TripAdvisor

However I would rather take my chance with Hawaiian, Qantas and Jetstar.

 

[Timtammi]

Thanks for the link Spizz. Have read through the 10 pages and overall it doesn't seem too bad, especially MEL-HNL which is what we would be doing. Almost all of these review were for their Y product and I'm certainly not considering that. If the J seats are at least comfortable with some leg room then for the price I think its ok. Looks to be cheaper than Jetstar *class and seats seem to be comparable. I've done Jetstar "business" lots of times but I've got the pips with them now that you have to pay extra for the SC and points. As I wouldnt do that I may as well consider a "non-earning" airline.

Cheers

Timmi

 

[Spizz]

No problems and best of luck

 

[lovestotravel]

But the good news is that (at least I'm betting) the NZ J class product on those 787's will be a ripper

Maybe.. But then again their whole long-haul business is under review.....

I suspect that the 787's may come with a "low cost" fitout

 

[Spizz]

Thanks for the link Spizz. Have read through the 10 pages and overall it doesn't seem too bad, especially MEL-HNL which is what we would be doing. Almost all of these review were for their Y product and I'm certainly not considering that. If the J seats are at least comfortable with some leg room then for the price I think its ok. Looks to be cheaper than Jetstar *class and seats seem to be comparable. I've done Jetstar "business" lots of times but I've got the pips with them now that you have to pay extra for the SC and points. As I wouldnt do that I may as well consider a "non-earning" airline.

Cheers

Timmi

Timmi looks like I wasnt alarmist enough. Hope you didnt end up booking with Air Australia.

 

[Timtammi]

I didnt book, thank goodness! Yes, you were right Spizz.

Took advantage of the QF Y+ promo to snag a good deal MEL-LAX return.

Cheers

Timmi

 

[Ansett]

Just checked for juine doesntr seem a bad option to me

Korean airlines Via Seoul

[TABLE="width: 100%, align: center"]


[TR]

[TH="bgcolor: #FFFFFF"][/TH]

[TH="class: t_head_flights_out, colspan: 3"]Airline [/TH]

[TH="class: t_head_flights_out"]Duration [/TH]

[TH="class: t_head_flights_out, colspan: 2"]Departs / Arrives (local time) [/TH]
[/TR]

[TR="class: item"]

[TD="class: flights_out_title"]Flights
out
[/TD]

[TD="class: flights_out_main clearbg, align: center"] [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_out_main clearbg, align: center"] [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_out_main clearbg"]Korean Air (KE 126) - Business
Airbus
A330-200
[/TD]

[TD="class: flights_out_main clearbg, align: center"]11h 10m [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_out_main clearbg"]Melbourne [ MEL ]
07:45
21-Jun-2012 [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_out_main clearbg"]Seoul - Incheon [ ICN
]
17:55 21-Jun-2012 [/TD]
[/TR]

[TR="class: item"]

[TD="class: flights_out_main clearbg, align: center"] [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_out_main clearbg, align: center"] [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_out_main clearbg"]Korean Air (KE 51) - Business
Airbus
A330-300
[/TD]

[TD="class: flights_out_main clearbg, align: center"]08h 40m [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_out_main clearbg"]Seoul - Incheon [ ICN
]
19:00 21-Jun-2012 [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_out_main clearbg"]Honolulu [ HNL ]
08:40
21-Jun-2012 [/TD]
[/TR]

[TR]

[TD="class: flightsdivider, colspan: 8"][/TD]
[/TR]

[TR="class: itemalt"]

[TD="class: flights_back_title"]Flights
back [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg, align: center"]

[/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg, align: center"]

[/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg"]Korean Air (KE 54) - Business
Boeing
747-400
[/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg, align: center"]10h 00m [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg"]Honolulu [ HNL ]

12:30 30-Jun-2012 [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg"]Seoul - Incheon [ ICN
]
17:30 01-Jul-2012 [/TD]
[/TR]

[TR="class: itemalt"]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg, align: center"]

[/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg, align: center"]

[/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg"]Korean Air (KE 121) - Business
Boeing
777-200
[/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg, align: center"]10h 15m [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg"]Seoul - Incheon [ ICN ]

19:10 01-Jul-2012 [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg"]Sydney [ SYD ]
06:25
02-Jul-2012 [/TD]
[/TR]

[TR="class: itemalt"]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg, align: center"]

[/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg, align: center"]

[/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg"]Qantas Airways (QF 415) - Business

Boeing 767-300
[/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg, align: center"]01h 35m [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg"]Sydney [ SYD ]
08:00
02-Jul-2012 [/TD]

[TD="class: flights_back_main clearbg"]Melbourne [ MEL
]
09:35 02-Jul-2012 [/TD]
[/TR]

[TR]

[TD="class: flightsdivider, colspan: 8"][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Fare Conditions


Pricing Details

[TABLE="align: center"]


[TR]

[TD="class: flightsdivider, colspan: 4"][/TD]
[/TR]

[TR]

[TH="class: feesHead"]Item [/TH]

[TH="class: feesHead"]Qty [/TH]

[TH="class: feesHead"]Price (per item)
[/TH]

[TH="class: feesHead"]Total [/TH]
[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Adult Fare [/TD]

[TD="align: center"]1 [/TD]

[TD="align: center"]$5331.79 [/TD]

[TD="width: 1%, align: center"]$5331.79 [/TD]
[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Online Sale On Now! [/TD]

[TD="align: center"]1 [/TD]

[TD="align: center"]$-120.00 [/TD]

[TD="width: 1%, align: center"]$-120.00 [/TD]
[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Adult Tax [/TD]

[TD="align: center"]1 [/TD]

[TD="align: center"]$174.47 [/TD]

[TD="width: 1%, align: center"]$174.47 [/TD]
[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Best Flights Service Fee [/TD]

[TD="align: center"]1 [/TD]

[TD="align: center"]$18.95 [/TD]

[TD="width: 1%, align: center"]$18.95 [/TD]
[/TR]

[TR]

[TD="colspan: 3, align: right"]Total Price (Australian Dollars): [/TD]

[TD="align: right"]$5405.21 [/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[Spizz]

Would rather save 11+ hours and just go direct with Qantas Business, Hawiian Business, or... Jetstar Business Class. For similar money or less than listed above. At least NZ was only 4 hour trip away.