QF 16 refurbed 747 and advice

[kirstyoz]

Hi everyone

My sister in law is just booking for her/hubby and the three kids (age 14, 8 and 6) to travel to the USA in September/ October 2016 and looking to take advantage of the QF sale. She is keen to get QF over VA if she can. All flights will be in Y. She is looking at:

17 Sep 2016: PER- SYD QF 576 connecting to SYD - LAX QF 17

13 October 2016: coming back LAX - BNE on QF 16 connecting BNE - PER QF 589).

Are the 747's on the AU-USA routes all refurbished now? I couldn't seem to get seat map info (it is a long way off) on seat guru to check the exit rows and see what is scheduled to run that day.

Also, I couldn't find any trip reports on QF 16 / Y. If anyone has any feedback or thoughts about this route please do share.

Domestic USA flights will probably be with United as they seem to have the best routes for their proposed destinations however the dates aren't available for booking yet. They'll roughly be doing:

SNA - SFO 24 September

SFO - NYC (any airport) 27 September

NYC - MCO 3 October

MCO- LAX 13 October

Any feedback, thoughts or suggestions from the wise people on here would be welcomed with open arms

 

[mannej]

Seat Guru isn't a reliable source for seat maps, Expert flyer would be better.

One thing to keep in mind is that due to the age of the children in the booking, exit row seating may not be an option.

 

[Himeno]

Are the 747's on the AU-USA routes all refurbished now?

There is only 1 747 left in service without the newer seats. It isn't generally used on the transpac flights.

Domestic USA flights will probably be with United as they seem to have the best routes for their proposed destinations...

SNA - SFO 24 September
SFO - NYC (any airport) 27 September
NYC - MCO 3 October
MCO- LAX 13 October

How does UA "seem to have the best routes"? I can think of easy routes for all of those except SNA-SFO on AA in a few seconds (eg, AA has 7 or 8 non stop SFO-JFK daily, ~7 NYC-MCO daily and many options for MCO-LAX). If their not locked in to an alliance/FF program, then just go on a per flight cost/time basis.

 

[mannej]

There is only 1 747 left in service without the newer seats. It isn't generally used on the transpac flights.

Actually it is 2, OEB and OJM. OJM has headed to LAX/JFK a number of times in the last month or so but not OEB.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Hi everyone

My sister in law is just booking for her/hubby and the three kids (age 14, 8 and 6) to travel to the USA in September/ October 2016 and looking to take advantage of the QF sale. She is keen to get QF over VA if she can. All flights will be in Y. She is looking at:

17 Sep 2016: PER- SYD QF 576 connecting to SYD - LAX QF 17

13 October 2016: coming back LAX - BNE on QF 16 connecting BNE - PER QF 589).

Are the 747's on the AU-USA routes all refurbished now? I couldn't seem to get seat map info (it is a long way off) on seat guru to check the exit rows and see what is scheduled to run that day.

Also, I couldn't find any trip reports on QF 16 / Y. If anyone has any feedback or thoughts about this route please do share.

Domestic USA flights will probably be with United as they seem to have the best routes for their proposed destinations however the dates aren't available for booking yet. They'll roughly be doing:

SNA - SFO 24 September

SFO - NYC (any airport) 27 September

NYC - MCO 3 October

MCO- LAX 13 October

Any feedback, thoughts or suggestions from the wise people on here would be welcomed with open arms

With 5 of you I would look at flying Southwest (WN) or JetBlue (B6) who include checked baggage otherwise you'll be nickel & dimed to the max on UA for checked bags, IFE, food, wi-fi etc so could easily pay an extra USD50.00 pp or USD250.00 total for each flight.

 

[kirstyoz]

There is only 1 747 left in service without the newer seats. It isn't generally used on the transpac flights.

How does UA "seem to have the best routes"? I can think of easy routes for all of those except SNA-SFO on AA in a few seconds (eg, AA has 7 or 8 non stop SFO-JFK daily, ~7 NYC-MCO daily and many options for MCO-LAX). If their not locked in to an alliance/FF program, then just go on a per flight cost/time basis.

I should have said has the best options rather than the best routes. UA have direct routes for the chosen destinations, good times of day for them to depart with the kids, and the best current price. Although taking on board what OzBeachBabe said about add on charges she might be right about JetBlue - their Y is a good product too, I flew with them last year.

 

[kirstyoz]

Seat Guru isn't a reliable source for seat maps, Expert flyer would be better.

One thing to keep in mind is that due to the age of the children in the booking, exit row seating may not be an option.

Thanks - I'm not sure they'll be looking to book exit row but that's a good point. I'll check with them.

 

[kirstyoz]

Actually it is 2, OEB and OJM. OJM has headed to LAX/JFK a number of times in the last month or so but not OEB.

Thanks for that. I guess there's always a chance it'll be swapped out at the last minute anyway. With only 2 left and nearly a year to the departure date hopefully they're all completed by then and they'll be guaranteed a refurbed plane

 

[mannej]

Thanks for that. I guess there's always a chance it'll be swapped out at the last minute anyway. With only 2 left and nearly a year to the departure date hopefully they're all completed by then and they'll be guaranteed a refurbed plane

The refurb program is complete - these two birds aren't part of the refurb program.

 

[Himeno]

Thanks for that. I guess there's always a chance it'll be swapped out at the last minute anyway. With only 2 left and nearly a year to the departure date hopefully they're all completed by then and they'll be guaranteed a refurbed plane

They only did the 6 400ERs and the 3 newest of the 744s. The remaining 8 (at the time they were done) were to be retired shortly and it wasn't worth doing. Timings of the retirements changed due to 787 delays, etc, but they aren't going to refurb the other 744s when they'll likely be gone within the next 16 months.