Syd - Sfo, Lax - Syd

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kaz

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Jan 10, 2006
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Hi
We're a family of 4, flying from SYD to San Francisco then returning from Los Angeles to Syd and thinking of booking via the net rather than through a travel agent. Does anybody have any advise on which would be the best way to make an international booking - T/Agent or internet. ??

Also, Apart from Qantas, United Airlines, Air New Zealand and American Airlines - Are there other airlines that fly the route we want to travel. As I can only think of the above airlines but I'm sure there's alot more that fly that route.

Also on another point - are there any airlines that should be avoided due to having small & uncomfortable seats in economy class. I'm told that the seat pitch is important but I don't really know what that is !!

Only having flown internationally with Qantas to Singapore, I'm wondering if other travellers that have flown frequently to the USA can advise us on which is the best airline to fly with on long flights travelling in economy class.
The thought of a 13 hour direct flight is nearly enough to put me off taking the trip !!

Any advise on all of the above questions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Karen
 
kaz said:
.
The thought of a 13 hour direct flight is nearly enough to put me off taking the trip !!

Any advise on all of the above questions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Karen

You can avoid the 13.5 non stop by going via HNL , which would be my preference

Dave
 
The only nonstop flights are on Qantas and United.

Indirect flights are on Air NZ (via AKL), Hawaiian (via HNL), Air Pacific (via NAN but only serves LAX not SFO), Air Tahiti Nui (via PPT but only serves LAX not SFO). Sometime in 2007 Air Canada will fly SYD-LAX nonstop. Currently Air Canada flies between SYD and YVR (Vancouver) via HNL.

If you want shorter flights I would take Air Pacific or Air NZ and stop over in the islands. With Air NZ, AKL-LAX and AKL-SFO are about 12 hours on the nonstop flights, or you can break the journey at one or more of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Cook Islands. Obviously total travel time is longer than the nonstop flights.

A TA is good for providing information and suggestions if you are unfamiliar with international travel. However, most likely will not be cheaper than through an internet agency and some are more expensive.

A user friendly internet TA that will bring up all the options is ZUJI: Your Online Travel Guru, however this site doesnt deal with open jaws (you arrive into a different city in US than the one you leave from).
 
I will compare via the airlines web site Versus an internet agency for cost. OR is the airlines prices on the web, pretty much the same as what our local travel agent will quote us.

Does anybody with international flights bookings experience, know of any internet airfare agencies that I can look at their websites for quotes

Thanks KiwiDave for ZUJI, however I need to fly out of a different location in the US (LAX) than my arrival location (SFO).


Oh, another thing, I did a search on American Airlines flights and it said their flights are operated by Qantas. Does that mean I can book with American Airlines and pay their fares but I end up on a Qantas flight without booking thru Qantas. Qantas flights at the time we want to go are so far the most expensive, so If booking through American Airlines which are cheaper we end up on a Qantas plane that may be a good thing.

Any more advise on internet booking sites etc is really appreciated.
Karen
 
kaz said:
Oh, another thing, I did a search on American Airlines flights and it said their flights are operated by Qantas. Does that mean I can book with American Airlines and pay their fares but I end up on a Qantas flight without booking thru Qantas. Qantas flights at the time we want to go are so far the most expensive, so If booking through American Airlines which are cheaper we end up on a Qantas plane that may be a good thing.


Yes. The AA flight from SYD-USA is operated by Qantas

Dave
 
Thanks Dave,

since AA is operated by Qantas, does that mean that people booking under AA are on the same Qantas flight as people that booked through Qantas or is it a seperate flight altogether and just using a Qantas plane ??

Also, can we use QFF points to upgrade seats booked through AA ??
 
Syd-lax are all qantas planes. AA only codeshare. They do not fly their own planes across Pacific.
No QFF points cannot be used for upgrades on a AA booking, only on a QF no.
 
You can generallly fly QF SYD-HNL and AA HNL-SFO for the same base fare as SYD-SFO non-stop. So Hawian Airlines is not the only option via HNL.
 
Thanks for all the info so far its been a great help

However one question I need answered, Can somebody advise names of internet agencies that I can book fares online with. And also if internet agencies would be dearer / cheaper than booking with the airline directly through their website.

Thanks
 
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As posted, the industry calls your SFO-LAX is called an "Open Jaw" or similar.

A TA would be your best bet for most cases.
 
kaz said:
Thanks for all the info so far its been a great help

However one question I need answered, Can somebody advise names of internet agencies that I can book fares online with. And also if internet agencies would be dearer / cheaper than booking with the airline directly through their website.

Thanks
The QF website is generally going to quote the highest price (full economy fare) unless there is a special on at the time. My travel agent often quotes fares around the same level as Zuji, so try a few TA's out for comparison. Zuji is the only online TA that I have used.
 
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