Hi Fender Strat,
I’ve done the trip a few times from Europe to Australia via South Africa. I’ve also done the trip Jo’burg-Perth many times. I’d not be overly keen on the routing UK-JNB-PER-BNE.
The transfer in Perth and the domestic flight from PER-BNE are the problems. Perth is rather hopeless. The terminals in Perth are miles apart, and this gives you the hassle of hauling your luggage between the terminals, waiting for the bus to take you to the domestic terminal for the BNE flight, and then sitting in the bus for quite a while as it chugs its way around the town to get to the other side of the airport. If it is summer, then the considerable Perth heat adds to the discomfort.
When you arrive in Perth, your luggage has to clear customs there without the option of transshipment to BNE. So you have to haul it to the domestic terminal yourself, and check it back in. Loading and unloading it on the bus, which is not very luggage friendly, adds to the trip.
Finally, you have the last leg from Perth to Brisbane, with a 4-5 hour grind across the continent in a narrow body jet with typical narrow body seating. Rather a comedown from the international widebody seating, and at the end of a long trip, it is simply unpleasant.
My own preference would be to hub through the Middle East or Asia where (at best) you can connect to BNE directly, or (at least) through Sydney which is a short domestic flight to Brisbane. If you are fixed on going through Jo’burg, then take the Jo’burg-Sydney flight on Qantas, and it is an easier short hop to Brisbane from Sydney.
Last edited by OverRun; 3rd Feb 2012 at 13:44.