Help me decide. West or East route?

[OzEire]

Planning a trip which is fundamentally CBR-DUB (Dublin not Dubai) return and fairly open regards dates but we would prefer 2017 and know to avoid the higher costs around Christmas. After looking at many complex routings through Asia, with lots of potentially cool stopover locations, as a family we have settled on two main options to compare.

Q1: WEST route based around SYD-DOH-DUB return for about $1250 pp and adding a tbc side-trip into Europe or E.Coast US.

or EAST route based around the current QF11/12 sale SYD-JFK (via LAX) with stops in LA and NYC adding tag flights from JFK or somewhere nearby (eg. SWF, PVD or even BOS) after enjoying some time in the NE USA.

Q2. Airlines: Only really interested in direct flights unless we are stopping for a few days, and thankfully there's plenty of options. For WEST route EY (VA), EK (QF) and QR all fly direct from their hubs to DUB. For the EAST route, has anyone tried the seemingly very cheap Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) transatlantic services from US to Europe - its seems a bit random but you might get a B787 with Y and Y+ or B738 or B73X single class. Main competitor is Aer Lingus (EI) for about 3-4 times the price but all inclusive (DY's cheapest fares exclude luggage, food but adding these still well cheaper than EI and others).

Q3: Also, in October through early December, are there any key dates to avoid (Halloween 31 Oct comes to mind, any others ?).

Q4: Finally, why can't I use a QF gift voucher to book a multi-city flight - only options are one way or return. Anyone been able to figure out how to do this?

Cheers in advance for any advice. OzEire

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I wouldn't put myself through the hassle of connecting to Norwegian. Separate LCC tickets, need to build in padding (and potentially hotel costs) in case of missed connections. And basic service. Fly West via a major full service airline.

 

[OzEire]

Thanks MEL. We'd be padding anyway so not a major concern but your points are valid, hence the dilemma

 

[OzEire]

Trying a thread bump before we book.

Any suggestions?

 

[harvyk]

Just on point 3, no problems traveling around Halloween, but I would avoid traveling in the US around Thanksgiving. Be at where you'd want to be well before the day, and plan on staying at where ever that is beyond the day.