Best route from SYD to DSM? DFW LAX SFO?

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cbvortex

Junior Member
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Jun 18, 2013
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Hey folks,
Looking for some advice on a good travel path with minimal wait times / easy transfer.

Im travelling to DSM (Des Moines, Iowa) will be departing mid May from SYD.
Iv been looking at the Qantas SYD-DFW, so I can use my points and it will land me alot closer to my final destination.

However after quite alot of reading, it seems DFW is a nightmare of a airport most of the time, any time saved by flying further will be taken up in queues for customs and immagration.

So now that leaves the question, is LAX any better?
Maybe fly Virgin to SFO?

Dont really want to layover in Dubai or Asia, would prefer direct.


Any help or opinions greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Chad.
 
Hey folks,
Looking for some advice on a good travel path with minimal wait times / easy transfer.

Im travelling to DSM (Des Moines, Iowa) will be departing mid May from SYD.
Iv been looking at the Qantas SYD-DFW, so I can use my points and it will land me alot closer to my final destination.

However after quite alot of reading, it seems DFW is a nightmare of a airport most of the time, any time saved by flying further will be taken up in queues for customs and immagration.

So now that leaves the question, is LAX any better?
Maybe fly Virgin to SFO?

Dont really want to layover in Dubai or Asia, would prefer direct.


Any help or opinions greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Chad.

LAX is probably one of the busiest airports around, last year my wife and I waited 3 hours to clear customs traveling in economy. Never cleared customs at DFW or SFO before so am not able to comment.
I would think nothing could be worse than LAX.
 
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We have had no problems clearing immigration at DFW.better than LAX.40 years since I flew into SFO for immigration so cant answer that one.
The other thing in favour of DFW it is AA's home base.5 direct flights a day to DSM.
 
I'd pick SFO any day. LAX can be terrible, and DFW isn't much better. Every time i've been into SFO it's been a relatively pleasant experience.
 
I would recommend DFW too after my trip to Des Moines in Aug 13. Maybe 60 mins through customs & immigration.

One tip, treat yourself to a night at the Grand Hyatt in Terminal D. Your flight arrives in Terminal D also so it's straight up the elevator into the hotel's reception. Next morning, check your bag a the AA counter then ride skytrain to Terminal B for your flight to Des Moines.
 
Travelled to DSM in July 2013. Qantas flight from SYD to DFWthen DFW to DSM. Was a Sunday and had to wait 8 hours for connection using AA. Took 3 hrs to get through customs on a Sunday. Was a disgrace. Huge queues, hot day and you had to stand up. Absolutely no consideration for the disabled.

Flew home DSM to DFW to LAX to MEL Check in at DSM was fantastic just walk right up to the counter ang bags booked through to MEL. Changeover at DFW was tight. New terminal at LAX was lacking creature comforts and everything was expensive.

If you have a few hours in DFW you can catch the local transit to visit either Dallas or Fort Worth. Doesn't operate on Sundays.

Got screwed by Qantas frequnet flyer who didn't recognise outward fares due to being booked on AA (cheaper) and rules changed in August.
 
Appreciate the replies folks.
DFW would be great because of the direct flight to DSM, but the hassles of the airport, has me leaning towards United Airlines SYD - SFO.
If only I could use my Qantas points....!
 
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Got screwed by Qantas frequnet flyer who didn't recognise outward fares due to being booked on AA (cheaper) and rules changed in August.

Do you mean that you didn't check before you booked whether the AA fare booking class would earn points on QF freq flyer?
 
Hey folks,
Looking for some advice on a good travel path with minimal wait times / easy transfer.

Im travelling to DSM (Des Moines, Iowa) will be departing mid May from SYD.
Iv been looking at the Qantas SYD-DFW, so I can use my points and it will land me alot closer to my final destination.

However after quite alot of reading, it seems DFW is a nightmare of a airport most of the time, any time saved by flying further will be taken up in queues for customs and immagration.

So now that leaves the question, is LAX any better?
Maybe fly Virgin to SFO?

Dont really want to layover in Dubai or Asia, would prefer direct.


Any help or opinions greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Chad.

I would go via DFW. I do not know where you read that it is a nightmare. That is not my experience. I have had a long immigration wait at DFW, but not as bad as LAX. While it is a very big airport, the Skylink is very efficient at connecting between terminals.

I have tried a dummy booking on Qantas. It shows 2 hour connections from QF7 to AA code share flights to DSM, so Qantas is confident that that connection is achievable.

If DFW is a nightmare, LAX is far worse. Avoid LAX if possible for flights from Australia. Also, there do not appear to be any direct flights from LAX to DSM. United fly via Denver, Delta via Minneapolis, US via Phoenix and American via DFW or Chicago.

I agree that Immigration in SFO is more pleasant, but the only direct flights from SYD to SFO are with United. Virgin does not fly direct to SFO. I have not flown with United, but reports are that the plane and service are not up to Qantas or Virgin standards. Anyway, again I cannot find any direct flights from SFO to DSM.

I recommend you go with QF7 to DFW.
 
I've been through DFW a number of times and it's been far from a nightmare. WAY better than my experiences at LAX and SFO. If you're worried about time, book a later connection if possible.
 
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