QF J or VA "The Business" BNE > JFK

[doczim]

I'm looking for some advice of QF over VA for BNE to JFK in J. Here are the assumptions :

- price for both is much the same
- status is currently with VA WP, time of travel it will likely have just dropped to SG. Nil status with QF
- Internal for LAX > JFK would be Delta for Virgin & AA for Qantas ( i assume J or equivalent would be the booking here also if whole trip is booked as J)

I have travelled Qantas J BNE > LAX as WP on top deck of 747 and loved it. Also flew VA J pre-refit last year. Definitely not as good as QF in my mind, but still good. On paper VA new "The Business" seems to be a top product so not sure if peoples experience give it the edge now over QF J.

What would you seasoned J travellers do?

thanks.

 

[yohy?!]

id be going VA - QF J on the 380 is tired and not having direct aisle access a pain.

Also AA is typically worse than DL in terms of cabin & service (unless you can nab the 321T).

 

[hm520]

I'm not sure if it's changed, or varies day to day, but QF uses the B747 when flying to LAX from BNE (or did both times I did it)

 

[doczim]

id be going VA - QF J on the 380 is tired and not having direct aisle access a pain. Also AA is typically worse than DL in terms of cabin & service (unless you can nab the 321T).

good to know, and thanks for your view.

I'm not sure if it's changed, or varies day to day, but QF uses the B747 when flying to LAX from BNE (or did both times I did it)

as far as I know its only 747 out of BNE yes, certainly was last time i went on QF

 

[Katie]

QF11 would be an option for LAX-JFK. It's the 747 that flies QF15 in from BNE. If you took that option over AA, it would be QF J vs whatever AA options (J or recliner-seat F???)

 

[doczim]

QF11 would be an option for LAX-JFK. It's the 747 that flies QF15 in from BNE. If you took that option over AA, it would be QF J vs whatever AA options (J or recliner-seat F???)

thanks Katie. so do you book that as two separate legs? not BNE-JFK?Though TBH I'm more interested in the J quality of the TransPac flight

 

[Katie]

thanks Katie. so do you book that as two separate legs? not BNE-JFK?Though TBH I'm more interested in the J quality of the TransPac flight

You would book it on one itinerary. AFAIK, the QF LAX-JFK-LAX flights are only available on QF tickets; they are not sold separately to travellers. I believe you can stop over, but you can't just buy QF LAX-JFK.

 

[liamsal]

I've flown VA J long haul in both the old and new config and would strongly recommend it - direct isle access, the new bar and and the seat itself were all huge improvements. I haven't flown QF J so can't compare but really enjoyed the new VA J.

 

[chooms]

We did QF J/F BNE-SYD-LAX-JFK-LAX-BNE over Christmas last year.

For the long haul SYD-LAX we purposely chose the A380 flight to burn some points in F which was definitely worth it, but I note you don't have QF status to access F lounge but you could always try the points upgrade option if you have them to burn.

You would get access to the QF J OneWorld lounge in LAX in each direction, which IMO, is quite good and much better than the AA offerings.

I can't compare in JFK as we used the BA lounge on the way back as QF uses their terminal at JFK.

On the way back in J on the 747 was fine. Slept a good 10 hours, which to be honest, is what I would be looking for on the return flight.

 

[doczim]

We did QF J/F BNE-SYD-LAX-JFK-LAX-BNE over Christmas last year.For the long haul SYD-LAX we purposely chose the A380 flight to burn some points in F which was definitely worth it, but I note you don't have QF status to access F lounge but you could always try the points upgrade option if you have them to burn.You would get access to the QF J OneWorld lounge in LAX in each direction, which IMO, is quite good and much better than the AA offerings.I can't compare in JFK as we used the BA lounge on the way back as QF uses their terminal at JFK.On the way back in J on the 747 was fine. Slept a good 10 hours, which to be honest, is what I would be looking for on the return flight.

a few years ago i was WP on QF and did 747 BNE-LAX on points. then company changed to VA . last year did same on VA. Now my flying has slowed down a lot , so really just trying to get the best experiences. While F would be nice saving my QF points for a Europe jaunt in the future so keeping those possibilities open.

 

[doczim]

QF11 would be an option for LAX-JFK. It's the 747 that flies QF15 in from BNE. If you took that option over AA, it would be QF J vs whatever AA options (J or recliner-seat F???)

does this mean luggage is checked from BNE to JFK, or do yo still retrieve it and recheck it for the LAX-JFK flight?

 

[chooms]

does this mean luggage is checked from BNE to JFK, or do yo still retrieve it and recheck it for the LAX-JFK flight?

Checked all the way through, but you do have to pick it up before customs then drop off before heading back through security. You clear customs in LAX not JFK.

It is a simple process though, your tags will be marked all the way to JFK.

 

[doczim]

Checked all the way through, but you do have to pick it up before customs then drop off before heading back through security. You clear customs in LAX not JFK.

It is a simple process though, your tags will be marked all the way to JFK.

Thanks Chooms.

 

[doczim]

I ended up booking QF BNE-LAX-JFK in J. VA couldn't give me J for the LAX-JFK leg and was only $200 cheaper so I opted for lie flat J all the way.

I did notice a big different that being a NB plebe has on seat selection. Upper deck on 747 was really restricted as were lower. Last time I booked with QF I was the lofty @ WP so had the whole cabin to choose from . oh well still will be a nice trip. Now just got to work out what to do when over there!

 

[doczim]

I actually ended with some good seats. Got some row 3, got an upper deck row for trans continental flight and single row 5? with two seats behind which all seemed to work out nicely. Hope they all stick!

 

[Brisbane Flyer]

QF hands down, direct BNE-LAX upper deck on 747 is the way to go, according to my wife...I'm self funded so tend to travel Y

Easiest way from BNE to LAX.

Cheers
BF

 

[doczim]

QF hands down, direct BNE-LAX upper deck on 747 is the way to go, according to my wife...I'm self funded so tend to travel Y

Easiest way from BNE to LAX.

Cheers
BF

I agree totally. Couldn't get seats enough seats up there going over which I assume was because of my no status. Last time we went I was WP so we got to enjoy it upstairs. I figured the front section was the closest things downstairs.

 

[Madz]

Make sure you take a print out of your seat selection or a record of the staff member you spoke to to get those seats. I lost my seat selection upon check in at the airport, despite confirming my J seat selection just the day before!

 

[doczim]

Make sure you take a print out of your seat selection or a record of the staff member you spoke to to get those seats. I lost my seat selection upon check in at the airport, despite confirming my J seat selection just the day before!

I'm sorry to hear that. Would having that have made a difference?