Getting a flight to the US at Very Short Notice

[mjt57]

We are trying to get a flight to the US (specifically New York) as my wife has to travel urgently. But it seems that unless we want to do a Ferdinand Magellan, then it seems to be all but impossible to get there.

Who has travelled to the US recently and how did you do it?

Cost isn't an issue at this stage.

Thanks.

 

[levelnine]

Plenty of options available. Check Google Flights and go from there: Google Travel

 

[Lynda2475]

Not sure where you are based, but plenty of direct USA flights from East coast (SYD, MEL or BNE), just looking at QF there are many options.

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/qantas-experience/timetables.html

To LAX (then you can get a connecting flight to JFK or EWR or LGA):

• QF11 SYD -LAX Mon - Sat (no flight on Sundays)
• QF17 SYD-LAX Sun
• QF4111 (AA codeshare) on Tue, Fri and Sunday
• QF93 MEL -LAX - Mon-Fri + Sun
• QF95 MEL-LAX on Sundays
• QF55 BNE-LAX daily

To DFW QF7 Tues to Sun

All the way to NYC just a couple of examples below:





From Sydney - United, Delta and Air Canada also have flights with 1 stop North American connections (or you can go QF to HNL then Hawaiian Airlines HNL to NYC).

From Melbourne - Emirates, Ethiad and Qatar also have 1 stop connections to NYC, although QF+AA or QF+Alaska will be faster.

 

[justinbrett]

Thanks for the posts, guys. Still not seeing anything.

View attachment 274996

Are you trying to make a booking or just looking at the timetable? Don't use the timetable for this.

I can start a booking and I'm seeing flights just fine.

 

[mjt57]

You should be able to fly QF412 (MEL-SYD), QF11 (SYD-LAX) and AA238 (LAX-JFK). Unsure why it's not coming up on the QF website.

Perhaps QF only sells QF marketed seats on that flight and they've sold out?

Edit - are you trying to make a booking or just looking at the timetable? Don't use the timetable for this.

I can start a booking and I'm seeing flights just fine.

Trying to make a booking. Right now the website has stalled. Or appears to have done so.

 

[justinbrett]

A bit expensive - might be cheaper to just book to LAX and book LAX-JFK on a different ticket. But definitely plenty of flights.

 

[justinbrett]

Trying to make a booking. Right now the website has stalled. Or appears to have done so.

Oh - if you want business - this is going to cost you a fortune. I would probably use google flights to compare all the options.

Website is working fine for me.

 

[ausfox]

Be sure to frequently remove your cookies to stop spiralling costs.

 

[Lynda2475]

Yep Business at such short notice is going to cost a motza.

Using departure date of 26th April and Return date of 14th May cheapest appears to be Air India which would not be my first choice.



Next cheapest would be Air Fiji (but this is 2 stops):



If you just need J for the long haul, likely would be cheaper to book MEL- US (LAX/SFO) return in J and then look at buying the shorter LAX/SFO to JFK/EWR/LGA separately.


For Example

MEL-LAX for same dates in J:



add



or

MEL - SFO for same dates in J is (book via Fiji Airways):



then add

 

[Lynda2475]

Given short notice, this might be best done via a travel agent you could try reaching out to @madrooster for some other options.

 

[justinbrett]

My advice would be book Air Fiji but book NAN-JFK return, which you can get for A$9,853 return.
Then just book MEL-NAN separately which you could probably cope in Economy for +$835 return (or +$2853 in business).

 

[DC3]

Be sure to frequently remove your cookies to stop spiralling costs.

Yeah, but some seem to be made of money.

 

[mrsterryn]

OP don't forget the ESTA I almost did lol

 

[Lynda2475]

Yeah, but some seem to be made of money

When trying to book paid J fares 1 week out, its not cookies causing the high prices, its the short timeframe.

 

[ausfox]

I was looking for award seats to Paris a couple of weeks ago and they were showing as 300K+ each. I needed to transfer some points within the family, then went back to find they were over 1million each
I cleared the cookies and they went back to the earlier level.
Certainly the short time frame is punishing.

 

[eric2011]

On another topic....has anyone applied for a ESTA lately. Used to come through almost instantly but have been waiting a while for mine to process

 

[mrsterryn]

On another topic....has anyone applied for a ESTA lately. Used to come through almost instantly but have been waiting a while for mine to process

Yeppers I applied the other day and had the new one within an hour or so. My previous one took about two days or so to receive

 

[mjt57]

Hey folks, thanks a lot for your help. It's appreciated.

Last night my wife eventually got flights with Singapore, flying MEL-SIN-JFK business. The trip home via the same route is with Premium Economy. All up it cost around $9k.

Oh, as for an ESTA, my wife is a US citizen, so not required.

Qantas is totally out of the question, just far too exxy and limited options for her, unfortunately.

 

[justinbrett]

Hey folks, thanks a lot for your help. It's appreciated.

Last night my wife eventually got flights with Singapore, flying MEL-SIN-JFK business. The trip home via the same route is with Premium Economy. All up it cost around $9k.

Oh, as for an ESTA, my wife is a US citizen, so not required.

Qantas is totally out of the question, just far too exxy and limited options for her, unfortunately.

You'd want business for flying SIN-JFK! That's almost as long as it would be from MEL-JFK direct!

 

[Franky]

Yeppers I applied the other day and had the new one within an hour or so. My previous one took about two days or so to receive

Did mine yesterday and were approved in less than half an hour…