QF93 question from a new member

[muzza]

Hi everyone, am organising a holiday myself for the first time (previous travel has always been organised through travel aganets). I am booked on QF93 MEL-LAX then QF107 to JFK on 11 March 2010. Then back from LA-MEL on QF94 on 24 March 2010 (all flights economy). Just so I know what to expect, does anyone have any experience with these flights in terms of how full they usually are? Also am I able to request a specific seat and if so, how would I go about it? (previously travel agents have looked after it all for me). Any seat suggestions also?
Cheers in advance, have found this site to be a great source of information with some very well seasoned travellers!

 

[straitman]

Hi everyone, am organising a holiday myself for the first time (previous travel has always been organised through travel aganets). I am booked on QF93 MEL-LAX then QF107 to JFK on 11 March 2010. Then back from LA-MEL on QF94 on 24 March 2010 (all flights economy). Just so I know what to expect, does anyone have any experience with these flights in terms of how full they usually are? Also am I able to request a specific seat and if so, how would I go about it? (previously travel agents have looked after it all for me). Any seat suggestions also?
Cheers in advance, have found this site to be a great source of information with some very well seasoned travellers!

muzza,

Welcome to AFF.

1. My limited experience is that these flights are reasonably full.
2. They are currently showing as about 50% seat allocated and good availability in most classes.
3. You could ring QF and request a seat or if you check your booking there may already be an allocation.
4. Someone will chip in fairly quickly with the best seats but it would be helpful if you could post your preferences.

 

[muzza]

Cheers for the info straitman. Heres hoping the flight doesnt fill up and I can get some sleeping space (I cannot sleep sitting up in plane seats). In terms of seating preferrences, I am going to try and get an exit row seat by paying the extra $200 for each leg of the journey. As I am not a FF member I cannot do that until 1 week prior to the flight which gives the FF members plenty of time to get in before me! Personally I prefer aisle seats over window seats (I prefer to stand up every time someone wants to get out of their seat rather than sitting at the window with my legs crossed because the passenger next to me is sleeping and I dont want to wake them up!). I usually fly emirates and am a Gold Skywards member so have the same seat each flight, but they are 777's whereas my Qantas flight is a 747 and Im not as familiar with the seat setup and where is the best. I always try to avoid the part of the plane where they tend to put families with small children so any heads up on how to avoid that section would be great. Cheers again!

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Muzza

As I am not a FF member I cannot do that until 1 week prior to the flight which gives the FF members plenty of time to get in before me!

Don't forget to sign up to QF f/flyer free - just go to Woolies/Safeway and grab an application for the everyday rewards card which includes membership to QF f/flyer.

In the meantime call QF res and try and allocate an aisle seat for yourself on all the flights. You don't have to be a frequent flyer to do seat selection in any case.

Don't forget to use the search option on these forums to research New York and other places you may be visiting as there's some invaluable info there.

Have a good one!

Cheers

Oz

 

[FlyboyAl]

Came over on Valentines Day to LAX and flight was about 60% full. Had dinner tonite (in LA) with friends who came in today, and they said their flight was around 50% full - they had tons of sleeping space.
Might change in the future, but thats as up to date as I can make it.

 

[Alanslegal]

On those 747's if you do not mind sitting right at the back, then the 2-4-2 configuration works quite well.

If get to sit in the aisle seat, there is only 1 other passenger that will disturb you during the flight rather than potentially 2 (in the 3-4-3 configuration).

 

[muzza]

Thanks for all the great info... Signing up for that Woolworths card is a great idea ozbeachbabe. I have seen them advertising them insotore before but never reeally saw the benefit. if it gets me QF FF membership I will definitely do it now.
FlyboyAl, great to know the recent flights havent been very full, I can relax a bit more about the flight (and the transfer in LAX) knowing I wont be sharing the plane / immigration line with 400 other people! Sometimes I think I have "weirdos please talk to me" written on my forhead because the invariably find me! And flying solo this time I wont be able to pretend I am talking to my partner to fob them off!
Again cheers for all the info, I think these forums are an excellent source of info and I thank the regular travellers for sharing their tips!

 

[FlyboyAl]

Ahhhh, I didn't say the imigration line was short!!!!!! Far from it!!!!!! There were about 4 other flights came in at the same time, and the queues were longer than we have ever been in at LAX! Needless to say, not all the booths were open, and those that were open seemed to be working at the (normal) snails pace.
Our plight was made worse by a Japanese flight that came in where most of the Japaenese had not filled in their green visa waiver forms correctly, so they were being knoocked back at the booths and then just standing around waiting for someone who spoke Japanese to come and help them. They just stood everywhere and anywhere waiting. And by the time we had passed through, they were STILL waiting!

 

[muzza]

Gees FlyboyAl that sounds like a nightmare! I did see something similar last time I flew into LAX before transferring to an internal flight to Vegas, with people not having filled out their immigration forms properly. Also coming back from Mexico at Immigration they had 6 booths for US citizens and 1 for everyone else... And once the US lines were cleared the immigation staff from those booths closed down and left, leaving the 50 or so internationals queing for the one booth... It was a nightmare to say the least! I read in another thread on this forum that passengers transferring from QF93 to QF107 get ushered through customs if the flight is running late... I can only hope that is the case with my flight! Does anyone know off hand if I will have a chance to grab a quick cigarette somewhere in between the two flights?

 

[Skyring]

On those 747's if you do not mind sitting right at the back, then the 2-4-2 configuration works quite well.

If get to sit in the aisle seat, there is only 1 other passenger that will disturb you during the flight rather than potentially 2 (in the 3-4-3 configuration).

I like these seats as well. Window seats with plenty of room at the side to stuff my spare cough, no wing obscuring the view and only one person between me and the dunny.

The downside is that you're at the back of the bus when it comes to going through immigration.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

The downside is that you're at the back of the bus when it comes to going through immigration.

Unless you can move forward to a spare seat just prior to landing.