London - Melbourne - with who?

[yellowtriumph]

We're thinking of flying to Oz next January and we're not sure which carrier to use. We do know we want to fly business class.

We're thinking of either Emirates, or Virgin (who will actually use Etihad). We are flying club members of Virgin and we do use the points on occasion so they would be useful. Virgin are also about £900 cheaper for the two return tickets.

Any thoughts from the team?

[crewmeal]

For starters Virgin only fly as far as HKG. They will probably have a partner carrier to Oz. Qatar or Etihad have excellent service reputations along with Singapore. Personally I would be looking at one of those.

[Cheltman]

If you going Business Class any of the gulf carriers or Singapore should be good.

I used Cathay Pacific some years ago and the service was excellent. Not done in recently though

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by crewmeal

For starters Virgin only fly as far as HKG. They will probably have a partner carrier to Oz.

I think I read somewhere it was Etihad.

[PAXboy]

Is that Etihad HKG~MEL direct?

[yellowtriumph]

My wife says when she looked on the Virgin website and put in dates for next January, the flight was London, Abu Dhabi, Melbourne all on Etihad?

[Evanelpus]

Friends of mine have just gone Thai business class, loved it!

[Heathrow Harry]

Emirates are very good - nice lounge at Melbourne and excellent limo service

You can save yourself a fortune in Business by going via AMS or CDG ..................

[ExXB]

And if you buy a seperate ticket UK-AMS/CDG your longhaul ticket is not subject to UK APD. Currently £146 per passenger for business. I think even an open-jaw ticket would be exempt. i.e. AMS-MEL-UK.

[yellowtriumph]

ExXB, I'm not very familiar with this sort of thing so forgive me for asking . Are you suggesting getting a 'one off' scheduled flight to AMS/CDG then getting a ticket that routes AMS/CDG to Melbourne then back to the UK directly?

Would the same sort of thing work if we were to fly to Melbourne but return from Sydney? Sorry for the rather naive questions, how might I go about this - we have a very good small local travel agent who relishes a challenge.

[Heathrow Harry]

I did London Paris on Eurostar, then Emirates Paris-Dubai-Adelaide; and return from MEL to Paris and then AF back to LHR just before Christmas in Business

The only issue was having to reclaim bags in CDG and walk around to the AF checkin in the next terminal - about 30 minutes all in...................... but saved well over £ 800

The Emirates bit I booked on their website in about 5 minutes................ it's very very easy

AF I booked as a single trip standalone ticket when I was in Australia

[ExXB]

YT, that's exactly right. A 'double open jaw*' AMS-???-MEL; SYD-???-UK should also be possible without being subject to UK APD. Try it on one of the airlines web sites. But do some comparisons, returning to the UK rather than AMS/PAR could have a higher fare just because UK fares are higher.

APD applies to flights departing the UK and this itinerary doesn't have any. But do make sure that your initial UK-AMS/PAR journey is ticketed separately. You do pay £13 (economy) or £26 (business) APD on that sector if you fly.

*As I recall the terminal points of the open jaw must be in the same country, with the EU being considered one country for this purpose. Don't delay your trip too long!

[Heathrow Harry]

It also took about an hour longer door-to-door

I was quoted ex LHR (or any other UK airport) prices that were significantly higher than going via AMS or CDG - Qantas were highest, then BA, then SQ and Emirates were the best deal

you should ALWAYS check other airports when going long distance IMHO - sometimes the savings can be astounding....................

[Cymmon]

For business travel I would highly recommend Qatar Airways.

[yellowtriumph]

Thanks for your inputs. Mrs yt is concerned about booking such a long journey using multiple suppliers and ticketing. She thinks, perhaps not unreasonably, what happens if one of the legs is late and we miss a connecting flight? Who is responsible etc.

She also feels that if we go say via CDG/AMS that she would like to travel there the day before and have an over-nighter which of course reduces the financial attractiveness of split carrier ticketing.

Any further thoughts?

[ExXB]

YT, yes that is a risk. And you are on your own in such a case. But, depending on the fare conditions of the long haul fare you may be allowed to easily rebook flights. Less flexible fares may allow a change for a fee. The more flexible, the more expensive though. If something does go pear-shaped make sure you contact the longhaul airline as soon as you can to advise them and sort out options. Try and not no-show, it gets more difficult to fix afterwards.

Check the fare conditions so you know what would happen if your outbound transport over the channel is delayed or cancelled.

Travelling the day before is wise, but it does add cost - unless you plan on sleeping in the airport! You will need a longer connection time - a minimum of three hours to be on the safe side.

[Yaw String]

Try Royal Brunei,1705 departure....0700am arrival.
Ok,it's via Dubai and Brunei,but it's on the only aircraft type -B787-that gives you air to breath,as fresh as the ambient air( doesn't pass near engines).
Business class basic but full flatbed,and you can BYO..
Check the price.....

[surely not]

Royal Brunei used to be a 'dry' flight a few years ago. Not a problem if you don't like to have a glass of wine with your meal, but if you do then choose another option.

The Virgin/Etihad tie up is with Virgin Australia, not Virgin UK.

If I was travelling economy down to OZ I would do my best to use flights and airlines using the Airbus A380 as the leg room on these is far superior to other aeroplanes. It is also very quiet on board.

Qatar have an excellent transfer product, as do Emirates and Etihad.

[Andy_S]

Originally Posted by surely not

Royal Brunei used to be a 'dry' flight a few years ago. Not a problem if you don't like to have a glass of wine with your meal, but if you do then choose another option

As Yaw String says, the flight may be dry but you are allowed to bring your own....

Originally Posted by surely not

If I was travelling economy down to OZ I would do my best to use flights and airlines using the Airbus A380 as the leg room on these is far superior to other aeroplanes.

Sorry, but I call BS on that. The leg room is entirely what the airlines choose to offer, nothing to do with the A380. You get more leg room with the Thai 787 than the Qantas 380, for example.

[Rush2112]

SQ every time for me, the business class seat is excellent, service is superb and I would far rather transit in Changi than Dubai airport.