First flight to Australia ever... need some help finding the right flight!

[jrm27]

Thanks for all your help folks. I just ended up booking two tickets QF from LA to SYD at a rate that we are happy with. Thanks for pointing out the correct flights so we could experience the new A380 and have power at our seats.

At what point do they generally assign seating? I called into the Qantas office and they said that seats aren't assigned unitl the passenger checks in at the airport desk. Yet, it seems like plenty of people know their seats before hand. Any pointers on getting some nice seats for a long ride?

Lastly... flight ettiquete on these types of flights. I've not been on a flight with so many different class cabins (first, business, premium economy, economy), let alone dual levels of seating. I'm assuming that if you book an economy ticket, it is polite to stay in your section of the plane... no wandering upstairs to stretch the legs or anything. Just don't want to be "that guy"! Thanks!

 

[tuapekastar]

Thanks for all your help folks. I just ended up booking two tickets QF from LA to SYD at a rate that we are happy with. Thanks for pointing out the correct flights so we could experience the new A380 and have power at our seats.

At what point do they generally assign seating? I called into the Qantas office and they said that seats aren't assigned unitl the passenger checks in at the airport desk. Yet, it seems like plenty of people know their seats before hand. Any pointers on getting some nice seats for a long ride?

Lastly... flight ettiquete on these types of flights. I've not been on a flight with so many different class cabins (first, business, premium economy, economy), let alone dual levels of seating. I'm assuming that if you book an economy ticket, it is polite to stay in your section of the plane... no wandering upstairs to stretch the legs or anything. Just don't want to be "that guy"! Thanks!

Seats will be automatically pre-allocated for Qantas FFers with 'status', and Qantas Club members (not sure whether that is dependent on having a preference in their profile but I digress). So yes, QF do pre-allocate for international flights (but not domestic, yet).

And anyone without QF status can ring (cannot be done online) and request a seat allocation ahead of time, but only till a certain percentage (70%?) of the cabin is sold. It then will not pre-allocate to non-status pax in order to have some flexibility available at the airport on flight day (eg. to seat families together). Given your flight is in July I'd be surprised if that limit has been reached (though maybe it has). I'd ring QF in US and see what they say, if no luck ring QF in Australia (local number is 13 13 13) and try them.

Try searching some threads here for A380 seating, and/or check www.seatguru.com or www.seatexpert.com for some guidance.

I haven't been on the A380 but I definitely suspect you would be "that guy" if you attempted a self-guided tour of the premium cabins of the aircraft! :shock:

Enjoy your trip.

 

[jrm27]

Well, since I don't have "status" since this is my first Qantas flight, guess I'll just to leave it up to chance. Unless I don't understand what you are saying. thanks again for explaining it!

I haven't been on the A380 but I definitely suspect you would be "that guy" if you attempted a self-guided tour of the premium cabins of the aircraft! :shock:
Enjoy your trip.

Yeah, that was mostly in jest! Mostly... I'll be quite content to hang in steerage!

 

[tuapekastar]

Sorry if I've confused things.

You (and anyone) can ring and request a seat, status or no status, but after a certain percentage of the cabin is sold, then you cannot. I would be surprised if that percentage has been reached yet for a July flight, so check those seating sites (by the way, someone else recommended 80A or 80K as each of them have no seat directly in front of them), then ring Qantas and try. If no luck in the US, try ringing Qantas Australia.

If you "take your chances" you may end up in a 'middle' seat crammed in between others (some people may prefer this, but I would find it unpleasant even for a short flight, let alone TransPac)

Cheers