shecha

Hi guys,

Can anyone recommend an airline that flies via America so that we can get the 64kg luggage allowance each???

I don't mind paying a bit more than the price of flights with the cheaper airlines such as Singapore Airlines.

Any advice would be much appreciated!!!

Cheers

Shell

lucyb

I think Qantas go via LAX, or United Airlines or Air NZ

Lucy

lucyb

Im at work at the moment so give me the date syou are looking at and Ill look in Galileo and give you a route!

shecha

Hi Lucy,

Cheers for your help - it is appreciated!!!

We don't know an exact date as the house sale hasn't gone through yet, but we are hoping it will be January 2005.

Cheers again

Shell

JAJ

If you travel via LAX make sure you leave plenty of time between flights as clearing US Customs and Immigration could take ages (eg 2 hours).

If you're not continuing on the same flight (eg AirNZ) the airline may not wait for you if stuck in the immigration queue.

Also you need to comply with US passport requirements - for the visa waiver you need machine readable passports for all family members.

Jeremy

shecha

Hmmm,

I just had a look at flight prices on Expedia for America Airlines and Air New Zealand and the flights cost over £1200.00 each!!!!

Singapore Airlines are only about £500.00, so it would be cheaper to fly with them and pay for extra baggage allowance!!!

I thought the flights would be more expensive going via America - but not that much!!!!

roiboit

We are flying BA and Qantas (bought through Austravel) and paid 659£/adult for one way to Brisbane with 2 stops in US. It was even cheaper if we only only stopped in LA....

good luck!
roiboit

Hels

We flew with United in September and stopped for 2 weeks in Florida then went on to LA and then Melbourne and it only cost us £500 each.

I would highly recommend United as I have flown with them alot in and out of the US and have never once had a single problem with them. They are also part of the Star Alliance so if you get their miles you can use them with other airlines such as Singapore for any holidays you might take home. Use the points to upgrade yourself...

bondipom

From the US to Oz there is only Qantas and United plus air NZ with an extra Auckland stop. BA and American Airlines partner with Qantas. United are star alliance.

For a longer journey there is also Air Pacific (via Fiji) and a new airline called Hawaian. Not sure of their alliances and how they would fit into a fair from the UK.

I have heard many a person say "never via LA again" because of the long waits at immigration.

Hels

What I would suggest for anyone going through the US is stop someplace other than LA and then fly to OZ from there. We stopped in Florida and did the Immigration thing there...not in LA. The only thing we did in LA was had our passports checked at the gate. Didnt have a wait at all....

Dave, Tracy & Emily

We have booked to fly with Qantas/BA vie America in June 2005. Stopping in New York for 4 nights and Fiji for 5. Cost 550 pounds each one way.

Hope it helps.
Tracy

Amazulu

United fly from San Fransisco to Sydney, so do Air NZ (via Auckland). Avoid LAX, it's 3rd world. The International terminal at San Fransisco is brand new & is pretty nice.

saraliz

My other half's flying in January to Sydney via the US with United Airlines - total cost was £530 through Travelbag (which includes 2 free stopovers anywhere United flies in North America).

Nancy

Hello,

We always fly United, it was pure chance to start with, but once you start playing the mileage game it can be cheaper in the long run. They have however just changed the weight allowance (which was the Only reason we flew via USA) it is now 32K so not great and they are expensive in the first place. All I will say is once you decide on an airline, join the "club" and collect the miles. For example we have done Oz a couple of times now and my husbands miles combined with mine is 100,000 which is a return for free on miles alone! or as someone has already suggested use them to upgrade.
If you go with United they are part of the Star Alliance network check out their website www.star-alliance.com you can also use BMI with them which is good for UK-European flights. If you were to go BA they are part of One World as are Qantas, Emirates.
If I had my choice over again I'd go with a one world carrier but once you get miles with one it is too good to just change. Most are pretty strict on the weight though you may end up paying excess.

Hope it helps.
Nancy