What´s flying to Australia like?

If I may add one elements to the above messages, it is this: get yourself a set of noise cancelling headphones. They may a heck of a difference and add to the comfort of the journey. I bought some Audio-Technica for a bit less than US$ 200.- and would not consider flying long-haul without them.

A waste of money to me. I don’t have a problem with noise levels on long-haul flights, but I have a big problem with economy-class seats. 😡

If I may add one elements to the above messages, it is this: get yourself a set of noise cancelling headphones. They may a heck of a difference and add to the comfort of the journey. I bought some Audio-Technica for a bit less than US$ 200.- and would not consider flying long-haul without them.

I work mainly for an airline operating LHR-DUB flights with connections and my advise is STAY AWAY FROM HEATHROW!

Flying day time ismy main reason of me staying partial to SQ for my numerous DEL-SIN-MEL journeys. Infact i am booked on the same flight yet again in July when i come back from Europe. I think TG has a minimum 11 hour stop for any Aus flight from LHR and i try to avoid Malaysian all together.

Keltic if you make your plans in such a way that the flights are all day flights its a much better experience. SQ leaves Singapore in the morning at 9:55 am i think, for all three MEL, SYD and ADL. I have done this route alot of times and found the day flights being much much less tiring.

I’ve only ever done it once, and that was recently. I think the idea of what you’ve done is spot one. We flew to LHR and stayed overnight, before the 1100 LHR-SIN leg, straight onto the 0955 SIN-SYD. You effectlvely fly through the night on the first sector, and through the day on the second. For me it was good to arrive at SYD in the evening… being tired meant I was in bed a few hours after arrival and never felt any differant in terms of lag.

On the way back we stayed in SIN for 16hrs. Worked spot on. Had time in town to see some of the sights, a freshen up in the hotel, and dozed back to LHR. A stop-off was the ideal way to break things up, and relieve a little bit of the dissapointment of leaving… oh, and we did get the A380 SYD-SIN… not that it was planned 😉

Another way to go is Heathrow to LAX with Virgin And onto Honolulu with Hawaiian with a nights stop over then onto Sydney..or if you’re adventurous and want to see the Pacific you can fly Honolulu-Guam -Cairns with Continental Micronesia

What about Kingfisher or Jet Airways instead 🙂 An stopover in India could be a nice option too.

well if you are planning a stop-over in India…. then i would suggest MUN-DEL on LH. The flight lands at around 10am which gives you a good day ahead. Then onto Australia you have a plethora of connections… SQ via SIN, 9W offers connections to all Aussie cities with its code-share with Qantas.

MH, TG, AI all offer connections. Or you can also land in DEL… take a flight to BOM and take Qantas direct BOM-SYD operated on a A333 (i think).

Kingfisher (IT) does not fly international yet.

I would recommend an overnight stopover in Singapore or Japan on the way there and back.

I flew to Oz by JAL a few years ago and had no stopover on the way there. Result, jetlagged for several days!

On the way back, I had an overnighter in a JAL hotel near Tokyo airport and that set me up for the return to work in the UK.

By the way, JAL were brilliant – and their hotel was too! Not much extra on the cost of the flight, either.

Bri 🙂

If you’re ever overnighting at Narita again, try to get a hotel in the town, if possible. Train connection’s only a few minutes. I’ve been in an airport hotel, & hated it. Nothing wrong with the hotel itself (rather good, actually), but there wasn’t anywhere else to go, & I can’t stand that. In Narita town, you can pop out to a local bar (& meet aircrew from all over the world), look round the rather impressive main temple, do a bit of shopping, etc. The locals are familiar with the odd ways of gaijin, & English is widely spoken. Next time I have an early flight home I’ll do the same. The missus feels the same, so no problem there.

BTW, there’s a rather good local brewery. Can’t remember the name, but we found their products on sale in a larger than average convenience store behind the station, & then looked out for them in bars.

Keltic if you make your plans in such a way that the flights are all day flights its a much better experience. SQ leaves Singapore in the morning at 9:55 am i think, for all three MEL, SYD and ADL. I have done this route alot of times and found the day flights being much much less tiring.

What about Kingfisher or Jet Airways instead 🙂 An stopover in India could be a nice option too.

I’d highly recommend BA First Class on this route, if the purse strings can stretch! 😀 😀

Well, it could, but I am not sure if it´s worthy. Flying is even scarry in First Class 🙂

Keltic if you make your plans in such a way that the flights are all day flights its a much better experience. SQ leaves Singapore in the morning at 9:55 am i think, for all three MEL, SYD and ADL. I have done this route alot of times and found the day flights being much much less tiring.

Will they ever do UK-Australia non stop.

can a plane operate direct to Australia from UK without having to change a/c.

Only one I can think of is 772LR if it was in use by any of the usual Airlines on that route.
Would it be weight restricted though is the question for viability.

As for original question, you could also route through AMS/HGK then onto your destination.

Was planning recently to get down under, didn’t come to pass unfortunately, and had planned/priced a few and most straight forward, for me, from Cork was CRK/AMS/HGK/SYD.

I’d prefer to stay clear of LHR if at all possible after some bad times there a few years back.

Only time I’ll consider LHR again is when T5 opens, might get some bit easier to navigate around there then.

Personal opinions and experiences by me.

can a plane operate direct to Australia from UK without having to change a/c.

Thanks again for the ideas. From here only STN, but LHR connection is not hard. Easier than CIA, HAHN, LPL, DUB or CDG other international hubs.

Or sleeping pills with acohol, or avoid DVT, remain awaken, and walking around.

The idea of a “Round the world” trip could be nice, if I enjoyed flying, which is not the case. Anyway, I think making two separate segments with a night rest, could be a bit more expensive but much nicer.

MAD-BKK, and then BKK-SDY.

Hi Keltic. I’ve flown the EDI-AKL trip 10 times over twenty odd years to visit family. Some trips have included stops in places including: Bali, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, Sydney and Gold Coast on the way and places like: Fiji, Los Angeles, Hawaii on the way back. Not to get a nights rest, but because if you are booking a ’round the world’ trip it is usually relatively inexpensive to include a stop on the way/on the way back – therefore, if you have time, you get the chance to see another part of the world without paying for a dedicated flight there and back.

None the less, all the trips I have done have included at least one 10+ hour flight at some point and you would like to know how to survive them? First of all, I have done the trip with Singapore (years ago), Qantas, Air NZ, Korean, Malaysian. All, I remember offering a high level of service on long haul. I have flown Air NZ the last few times I have been out because I am very happy with their service and am happy to fly with them. Therefore, I can’t really compare other carriers on this trip now as I don’t know what their product has been like in the last 4 years.

I am only 5’11” so never really have a problem with leg room when sitting down in Cattle Class. There are typically 2 meals served on these long haul flights so you wouldn’t starve. Most carriers now-a-days have seat back PTV so if you are not sleeping there is ample media to keep you entertained. The only issue I ever have on these flights, is that if you want to sleep and only have 1 seat to yourself (sometimes if the flight is under booked you may have a spare seat next to you), finding a comfortable position to sleep in can sometimes be difficult.

The two things I would recommend to people on these flights is: even if you don’t do it to help prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis, get up out of your seat a couple of times in the flight to go for a walk around (obviously when they are not serving meals or drinks) – your body will very much appreciate the movement and the stretch and you will feel a lot better because of it. Also, the legacy carriers flying these routes always have ample refreshments for those on board. If everyone is sleeping and you’re still awake watching something on the PTV’s, don’t hesitate to ask for a snack or a beverage (alcoholic or not)!

Two downsides to these trips are: it can be frustrating if you have a baby/young child close to you who is making a bit of a noise, but remember you were that age once also and they can’t really help it – just put your headphones on and listen to something. Also, they cabin crew like everyone to close their blinds at some point so everyone can have a better chance of sleeping. This means that even if you are flying in daylight over scenery, you may not get the chance to have a look out of the window as even lifting a little bit of your blind may illuminate the cabin!

Sorry if that was a bit of an essay! My main point was that I have never been put off flying these routes and neither should you! Just ask if you have any more questions.

Sy

I would recommend an overnight stopover in Singapore or Japan on the way there and back.

I flew to Oz by JAL a few years ago and had no stopover on the way there. Result, jetlagged for several days!

On the way back, I had an overnighter in a JAL hotel near Tokyo airport and that set me up for the return to work in the UK.

By the way, JAL were brilliant – and their hotel was too! Not much extra on the cost of the flight, either.

Bri 🙂

Best thing i would do is get a flight to LHR. Then once on ANZ go LHR-LAX-AKL-BNE or SYD or MEL or ADL where ever you want to go. Or there is always the option of going SCQ-LHR(If You Can) then on VS LHR-HKG-SYD. Then if you dont want that then the other option is LHR/CDG/FRA-SIN/BKK-SYD/BNE/MEL/ADL

Thanks guys. I suppose from North Spain, the FRA and Bangkok or Singapur conection sounds quite good. They might allow stopovers and sleeping a night someone in the middle. Time to relax and disconnect.

Flying from where?