pockygoes

just wondered if anyone has travelled east to west on their way to Oz, and if so where did they stopover.

seeing as you get double the allowance just thinking that it could be an option!??

Where is good to stop off on the way, what are the prices like compared to going the other way?

will do some research on it. But wondered if anyone on here had done it as it is far better to get it from the horses mouth - no offence meant.

cheers
pockygoes

Pollster

Hubby went through LA to Auckland from Heathrow when he came to see me a year or so a go - no stopover - and he said it was hellish, absolutely hellish because of the time and the security checks at LA.

If I went that way I would certainly stop over somewhere at least for a night.

DawnBlayney

Hi,
We went Heathrow - LA - Sydney last year - think LA is only option unless you pay extra for a further stop. We stayed 2 nights in Annaheim - there is a shuttle bus, went to Disney 2 days and then got the night flight - all worked out well.
Dawn

SuzeM

Hi
We came to Sydney Via LA and had a fantastic week at Disneyland, highly recommended as well as for adults, never mind the kids.
Sue

dillon

Have gone both ways round and think if you are going straight thru it's best to go west to east as it's quicker (22 hours or so). If you are looking of the cheapest east to west United are about your only option and they will stop in LA - and believe me you will want at least a night stopover as its 2x13 hours legs going that way.
Qantas/BA do this route but are usually more expensive.
United will take you into Melbourne or Sydney only, and Qantas now do a direct LA to Brisbane flight.

If you don't mind spending a bit more you could get a Qantas/BA ticket that will stop over in San Fran which is a great city to visit for break, but this is not the cheapest route by a long way, and is San Fran to Sydney only.

You do get 64kgs of baggage going this way and if this is important to you then it's worth considering (compared with the 20kgs going the other way). I did not find the security to be too much of a pain in the US over the last 2 years or so, but then again I travel on my own which is easier - if you have kids it might be different(!).

chippy

Speaking to Trailfinders and travelbag last week...they seem to think that there are no flights direct from LA to Brisbane.

chippy

I don't get this....

I've just looked the Quantas route map, and it shows a route from LA to Brisbane, yet two separate agents (Trailfinders & Travelbag) tell me no-one flies La:Brisbane direct.

bondipom

The Direct Brissie LA flights were recently announced and will be 3 a week. On the other days the flight will go via Auckland. I do not know when the service is due to start.

chippy

I think I'll phone up Qantas directly, without going through the agents. It's the only way I'm going to know for sure I suppose.

Amazulu

Just had a quick look on their website & it is showing direct flights, BNE-LAX, from June.

chippy

Great! We're off begining of May. Bloody typical.

Amazulu

From Quaint Arse Website:

BRISBANE, 12 February 2004

Qantas today announced it would commence direct flights between Brisbane and Los Angeles, the first time any airline has offered non-stop scheduled services on the route.

The Chief Executive Officer of Qantas Airways, Geoff Dixon, said Qantas would operate three Boeing 747 non-stop Brisbane-Los Angeles services a week from 14 June 2004. These services will be in addition to the daily Qantas flights from Brisbane to Los Angeles via Auckland, and will take the number of services on the route to 10 per week.

"These new services make it possible, for the first time ever, for American tourists to fly direct to the Sunshine State, and provide easier access to the many world class tourist attractions throughout Queensland," Mr Dixon said.

"They also offer Queenslanders a more convenient way to get to the USA."

Mr Dixon said Qantas had significantly boosted capacity between Australia and the USA over the past six months.

"From next month, Qantas will be offering more scheduled capacity between Australia and Los Angeles than we ever have before, including during the peak period of the Sydney Olympics," he said. "In addition, we continue to operate three flights a week to Honolulu."

Mr Dixon said Qantas had been flying to the USA for 50 years and had invested billions of dollars in this market, including dedicating six new Extended Range Boeing 747-400s to non-stop USA services.

The new Qantas non-stop Brisbane-Los Angeles services will be operated by two-class Boeing 747-400 aircraft on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Englishmum

Sorry to be a lurker here, but here's another airline you might like to consider and relatively unknown to Brits.

I live in the US and last week an Aussie friend flew to Sydney (but had a couples of days stopover en-route in the tropical paradise islands of Fiji). He got a really cheap fare from Los Angeles with Air Pacific - the national airline of Fiji. It was cheaper than United whom he normally flies with. He began his journey in Newark, New Jersey on another carrier (Continental I think, but possibly United)

ttp://www.airpacific.com (they also codeshare with American Airlines) It might be worth checking with travel agents - but I'm not sure if many British ones would have heard of Air Pacific - except for Trailfinders and STA perhaps.

I also know lots of other Aussies who like to fly with Air New Zealand from Los Angeles. Brits can also fly Air New Zealand going Westbound from Heathrow (via Los Angeles). Again, they are cheaper than BA/Qantas.

Hope this helps!

Englishmum

Sorry to be a lurker here, but here's another airline you might like to consider and relatively unknown to Brits.

I live in the US and last week an Aussie friend flew to Sydney (but had a couples of days stopover en-route in the tropical paradise islands of Fiji). He got a really cheap fare from Los Angeles with Air Pacific - the national airline of Fiji. It was cheaper than United whom he normally flies with. He began his journey in Newark, New Jersey on another carrier (Continental I think, but possibly United)

ttp://www.airpacific.com (they also codeshare with American Airlines) It might be worth checking with travel agents - but I'm not sure if many British ones would have heard of Air Pacific - except for Trailfinders and STA perhaps.

I also know lots of other Aussies who like to fly with Air New Zealand from Los Angeles. Brits can also fly Air New Zealand going Westbound from Heathrow (via Los Angeles). Again, they are cheaper than BA/Qantas.

Hope this helps!

Englishmum

PS,

I also forgot to mention that Air Pacific also flies from Fiji to Brisbane - doesn't Fiji sound like a brilliant place to chill out before arriving in Oz!