Business Class advice and options - April 2015

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bluejam00

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Hello

I'm travelling alone April 1st, 2nd or 3rd 2015 from Sydney to London. Will probably go business class and use my Amex CC points.

Any tips on best Business Class in April 2015 among the airlines - and info on new business class roll outs etc in 2015? I quite like Qantas, Emirates, Virgin, Cathay Pacific and Singapore options but can't decide who's got the best business class among these (or others).

I like the A380 so might consider that above others - seems bigger?? Also - I love the idea of shared bars etc. I've seen an offer with Amex that upgrades Bus class to 1st class - with Etihad - might be worth it?

Anyway - options and opinions people as I've never flown business on any of these? Thanks in advance!!
 
Using points to redeem a business class seat (J) can be problematic especially on the Aus-LHR and Aus-USA and especially if you dont have Frequent Flyer Tier status

My advise for redeeming points is to start looking 353 days in advance. You probably left it too late. But you never know.

Start looking now via the websites of the respective airlines and if they have any, transfer your cc points from Amex and hope it vgets into your frequent flyer account in time before someone grabs them

Any of the main airlines that do the LHR route will be good. The choice for you will be availability and timetable first and foremost.

There are differences between airlines with their J offerings which may appeal to some but if you haven't flown international J before just go with whatever is available.


Alternative is to book an economy seat and hope for upgrade with points. Virgin will let you bid $$ for an upgrade. Otherwise with no FF status your chance of upgrade is low to nonexistence but again you never know.
 
If you want to fly using your points you'd be lucky to find availability let alone have the luxury of choosing an airline or product. Your situation is made even harder by booking only six months out and travelling at the start of school holidays and a long weekend.

I didn't find a J award seat on QF, SQ & CX for your dates. Malaysia Airlines are always good for J award seats at "short notice" and luckily they have some available.
 
I booked J seats for July as soon as they were released. Two days later and the whole month was gone. I think SQ opens more up later?
 
You don't need status to snap up award seats unless its on QF. All you need is good timing and knowledge. This "the airline release xx seats 365 days out" thinking worked 10 years ago but is simply not the case now. Flexibility and knowledge trumps status these days (IMO)
 
At six months out your best bet is probably with either EY or MH I think. QF seems to have tightened up their QF1 and QF9 availability. With CX availability ex-Aus is tough this close to departure, need to be looking 11 months out. Looking for just one pax does help considerably though.

I just checked CX for you and found one seat HKG-LHR in J (and even one in F) on CX257 09:15-15:05 for April 3rd. Nothing on CX ex-SYD that connects nicely so you may have to fly from another city say MEL or BNE or spend some time transiting in HKG.

Also checked EY and found nothing for your dates so I were you I'd focus on CX. Said to be one of the better J products.
 
What I would suggest, is Singapore Airlines purely because they offer a variety of European cities to fly into (then make way to London if you really must go there). Register for Kris Flyer and you can search what is available, even without having any points.
 
I would take whatever availability you can find! I would avoid MH (safety - see other threads if you want to know more, this is not the place to re-open the discussion!) and TG (poor quality) if there are other options.

A380 - the plane itself is big. But not necessarily the cabins themselves. No different to any other plane. And on some airlines business class is so large it can be like a dorm room. So i wouldn't necessarily hang out for that particular aircraft.

In order of the airlines you have listed (for business class) I would take SQ, CX, QF, VS/EK (tied)

First class? Definitely worth it if you can score it. No comparison with business class.
 
Hi

Thanks guys - have asked Amex travel to get back to me on options. I hold Emirates Skywards Gold Status - not sure if this will help. Will check out CQ too as I've heard good things.
 
Hi

Thanks guys - have asked Amex travel to get back to me on options. I hold Emirates Skywards Gold Status - not sure if this will help. Will check out CQ too as I've heard good things.

If you're in business class anyway then status isn't going to add much (unless you have access to First class lounges, or unless your membership level will give you access to additional award availability. Thise things you can check before transferring your points.). Recent reports on Emirates have suggested their on-board service is not what it used to be (still ok, just not to the standard of say Singapore Airlines).
 
You should also avoid SQ if you are going to avoid MH for safety reasons. They had/have exactly same issue as MH but were just lucky.
 
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You should also avoid SQ if you are going to avoid MH for safety reasons. They had/have exactly same issue as MH but were just lucky.

SQ and MH are very different, but perhaps this is something better discussed on the dedicated MH17 thread?
 
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Ignoring opinions about safety I can see loads of availability on MH business class on those days (@51k + taxes), but SQ only out of BNE (3 Apr) or MEL (1 Apr) (@81k + taxes).
 
Ignoring opinions about safety I can see loads of availability on MH business class on those days (@51k + taxes), but SQ only out of BNE (3 Apr) or MEL (1 Apr) (@81k + taxes).

I fail to see how it is an issue to do with safety. MH is regulated the same as any other international airline.
 
I fail to see how it is an issue to do with safety. MH is regulated the same as any other international airline.

I have taken 8 MH flights this year, and have another 12 booked in the next two months, so I'm not going to argue with you on this observation!

There are numerous threads elsewhere where this issue is discussed, and plenty of debate between myself/others with MelTraveller on this issue. My advice is for individuals to make up their own minds on this, as to what they are comfortable with, but in doing so consider a range of different opinions.
 
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