Opinions - Qantas v China Southern, PER to LAX, Y

[Blaqjaq]

Hi All

We travel as a family (2 Adults, 1 Teenager and 2 Children) to USA once a year for vacation from Perth, two years back we flew Qantas and had a great experience in Y, A380 and scored the coveted 71D Seat with nothing in front. Last year we went Cathay and I've gotta say, never again...

This year the lure of "Cheap" airfares has got me again, I'm looking at China Southern for $3663 vs Qantas at $5066.

Benefits to China Southern: Plenty of availability of Y seats on Upper deck of A380 (Return leg only, 777-300 on the way there), Haven't flown China Southern before so it'd be an experience, $1403 cheaper for the 5 of us.

Benefits to Qantas: FF Points and Status Points (I'm only a Bronze but with smart usage of AMEX/Visa I accrue plenty of FF points and often enjoy upgrades to J on the long Perth to Melbourne flights), The security that I know Qantas is a great product and it'll be a comfortable flight, A380 for both long haul legs. Shorter layover on the way home and shorter flight times over all, Don't need to travel via China, *Possibly* more familiar demographic of fellow passengers, Access to Qantas Club in Perth and Melbourne.

Downsides to China Southern: No FF/Status Points, Long Layover on the way home, Never flown before so don't know if it'll be comfortable.

Downsides to Qantas: More expensive, Unlikely to get the upper deck due to low FF Status, Really not a fan of coming off a long international flight to then go on a domestic product.

I've put both quotes below so you can see flight times etc - Whats your expert opinion? Travelling with 8 year old and 2 year old kids especially, do you think the extra $1403 is worth it? I'm trying to justify 5 x FF Points (Roughly 60,000 points total) plus the Status points which may tip me into Silver, is worth it alone....

Many thanks in advance

 

[samh004]

On China Southern, have you looked into whether it would be possible to do a stopover in Guangzhou on the way back, to turn that long layover into a mini-vacation in itself and see somewhere new?

Can't really help other than that... I am too attached to my status to fly someone else!

 

[Cruiser Elite]

FWIW - whilst I have never flown CZ long haul in Y - I would never either - I have seen how the Y toilets get on flts with predom Chinese pax on short to medium haul - it aint a pretty sight IME - I will never put myself in that position - but as always YMMV.

 

[TheInsider]

With that many hours and the children, i'd go the quickest option with Qantas. Couldn't think of anything worse than being on a Chinese carrier anyway, especially for that length of time!

 

[lathiat]

Side note, apparently cell phone usage even in airplane mode (e.g. to watch videos, read books, etc) is still not allowed on Chinese airlines even outside of Chinese airspace.

Mobile phone use may soon be allowed on Chinese flights - Australian Business Traveller

 

[TheInsider]

Also I forgot to say although the QF flight is $5000ish, $1000 each return with domestic flights is a really good price.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Master FM's partner is originally from Guangzhou and goes back for Chinese New Year every year. She won't fly any of the Chinese airlines long haul and flies Qantas to Hong Kong. She now has gold status with Qantas so that colours her decisions now, but her original choice was based on her perception of the relative comfort of the airlines.

 

[AnnaB]

I flew long haul CZ and I would never do that ever again if I have a choice.
I flew on a 777-300 and the seats were made for tiny people. I am not saying that I am huge, but my frame alone would not fit the seat. I dont know if this is on all their planes, but it could be worth a look at Seatguru to see the size of the seat. You could have many, many uncomfortable hours ahead of you if you chose to travel CZ.
Then there is other factors like the FAs, food, other passengers... not saying that it is the same on all flights but I would, at this stage, rather fly another airline.

 

[Stanley Lambchop]

I've travelled long haul with two junior Lambchops (both under 6) several times to the UK and Hong Kong. Quite apart from the differences in carriers (I've never flown with CZ, so can't offer a view on the inflight experience relative to Qantas), there is absolutely no way I would contemplate a 40hr trip/16hr layover with a 2 year old. IMO the combination of shorter travel time, FF points, SC accrual, lounge access is well worth the price differential. YMMV of course.

 

[raleyoz]

No, no ,no . Whilst money is always a major factor, I have 4 girls under 15, nobody needs to risk this , if something go to cough you want to communicate with someone that understands your point of view. I have travelled extensively in China and also on CZ and IMO, you do not need the stress

 

[Steelo]

I would never fly CZ on an international flight. I have flown them internally in China - and that's fine but my Chinese relations would not fly them internationally for a number of reasons - comfort and customer service being two of them. If you want some benefit from status credits, have you looked at other One World airlines.

 

[Blaqjaq]

Really appreciate the help everybody I've this afternoon booked Qantas, feel very reassured that the extra money is well worth it.

What has upset me tho, is it seems Qantas wants to charge me $30, Per Person, Per Leg, for Seat Allocation because i'm on a "Discount Economy" ticket - What an absolute scam!! $300 in seat allocation charges, there is absolutely zero cost to Qantas with me pre allocating them and after spending $5000 on airfares it seems like a kick in the teeth.... Has anybody had any success getting Qantas to waive the charge either on the telephone or email?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

There is nothing overtly 'wrong' or 'bad' about CZ. It's just basic service and perhaps not what people are used to. The seats on most airlines these days for the 777 are going 3-4-3 which is pretty uncomfortable. I know you have booked already, but for the $1400 saving (or $1700 after seat selection) it's not a bad saving.

Seat selection is free at the time on line check in opens.

 

[austom]

Haven't been able to get them to waive the seat selection charge on discount economy before. But as mentioned above, seat selection is free at the time of online check in. Haven't had an issue before getting three seats together. I'm sure 5 would be fine.

Just make sure to check in as soon as online check in opens .

 

[bsb]

You get what you pay for. I've done CZ (in PE around Asia) and I'd pay 20% more to go Qantas any day. Qantas really is on another level compared to CZ - depends on what you can do with the extra cash and whether that is really worth it.

 

[kamchatsky]

I would pick QF over CZ especially with the long layover at CAN where it is not the best airport for transit.

Why such as bad experience with CX? If you had bad experience with CX, then CZ is definitely not for you. I would have preferred CX over QF and CZ.

 

[PaulST]

Whilst recognising the extra cost, QF is a far better option so I think you've made the right decision. I visited Israel/Jordan with my family a few years ago and my father and I flew with QF and El Al while my brother and his wife flew CZ (and TK) . They saved a few hundred dollars but spent 14hrs extra flying/transiting (without status/lounge access) than us, and no doubt spent a fair bit of that $200 saved on coughpy airport food. You can't put a cost on a direct* flight with a good airline.

*unless, of course, you're on a status run or have high status/high travel class so travelling is actually enjoyable.

 

[gapmatt]

Side note, apparently cell phone usage even in airplane mode (e.g. to watch videos, read books, etc) is still not allowed on Chinese airlines even outside of Chinese airspace.

I just returned from a China Southern airline trip to Xiamen via Guangzhou, and was shocked to be told that my iphone in flight mode had to be switched off on the plane. I was listening to music on my phone. However there was a guy next to me with his big laptop watching a movie...

I flew in Y class, however I swear the seat pitch seemed quite decent compared to Cathay or Qantas Y class.

I would have said CX is a much better product than CZ. For me personally, (maybe I'm biased), I would also prefer CX other QF.

What was your negative experience that you had with them?

 

[dlam]

You made the right decision.

I work in China half the year and have flown most of the Chinese carriers domestically and internationally in the past, though, these days it's QF, CX and AY all the way depending on whether I'm going to Europe or Oz.

While the hard product on most Chinese airlines is fair, China is not a service culture as we understand it in Australia and, as another poster pointed out, when something goes wrong the s**t really hits the fan. Delays are commonplace and cancellations and broken connections are a normal occurrence. The worst thing is that the level of service you'd expect from Qantas is severely lacking from Chinese airlines. If something goes wrong you are expected to just shut up and put up. It's a fair superior product overall and you definitely have made the right decision!

 

[sausagefingers]

What about VA?
Family pool your status credits which from my calculations would net you 550SC for the return flights and 4 sectors gifting you Gold.
total cost is around $5200 when I just searched your dates?
just another option