Flying to Australia without a stopover

bclark

My Wife and I are planning to fly to Australia this Christmas for a holiday and we were hoping to find some flights that allowed us to stopover in each direction in order to break up the long flight.

Unfortunately flights are massively expensive for this time of year but we have found a great deal which involves a direct flight on the way out (with a 3 hour refueling stop which will allow us to stretch our legs) and a stopover on the way back.

Has anyone got any experience of flying directly to Australia? Is it bareable? Any advice would be welcome.

dmg24

Which airline are you flying with, and in which class? x

bclark

The deal is with Korean Air in economy! Its not an airline that I would have chosen but apparently they are the 2007 economy class of the year. They have a 34" seat pitch.

The length of flight just seems such a long time but we would save almost £500 each on the flights.

LumpyCustard_2

Hmm, just got off a direct flight from Sydney (via Singapore) this morning, and the last leg - 14 hours - was pretty tough - although we had come from Auckland directly before that too, so a long journey.

Refuelling can give you a decent break, but it does make your overall journey longer and you may end up getting less time than you think since you'll need to take all your hand luggage through security again to get back on the same plane.

I've done it three times each way now - sometimes via Asia, others via the US with only once a stopover in Hawaii. I'd say going out direct is usually fine as you're looking forward to being away, but the home leg can be more tiresome, so if you're having one stopover, then it makes sense for it to be on the way back. How you cope may depend on which way you go too - for instance, last night it was dark all the way from Alice Springs to Heathrow as we were heading west, but coming back via the US I didn't find it so hard, and didn't get jet-lag. Some people find the opposite is true, however!

I'd go for the direct flights unless there is a particular reason you want to stopover anywhere. It's only a day (or less) after all.

lyndasharp

I flew over with BA/Qantas a couple of years ago, with a 1 hour stop in Singapore. I wouldn't do it again unless very desperate, but then I can't sleep on planes... Also it was all night flights, so it was hard on the eyes trying to read / watch movies for 24 hours without sleep. On the other hand, if it saves you that much money then it's worth it if it makes the difference between you going there, and not going! It was a fantastic holiday :-)

bclark

Yes I don't wan to be cheap but for a little less comfort on the flight I feel that we could take the £500 each extra and use it to make the holiday even better when we are there!

I am struggling to convince my wife as she is not a great flyer.

chuckles1066

bclark wrote: »

Has anyone got any experience of flying directly to Australia? Is it bareable? Any advice would be welcome.

Yep, it's the only flight where you can get drunk, sleep off the hangover and then get drunk again :beer:

Potaroo

Hi

We have travelled out yearly for the last 7 years and go again at the end of March. Have used Malaysian every time bar last year when we went Singapore airlines. Always fly the lunchtime departure and after a 12-13 hour flight have 2-3 hours in Kuala Lumpur airport then straight on to the next 7 hour flight to Sydney (or 5 to perth)

It isn't an ideal flight going straight through but with only a couple of weeks holiday it gets us out there as quickly as possible. On the way back we always overnight at KL. The afternoon flight from Oz gets into KL at around 10pm and a straight through connection to UK leaves at 11pm - Can't face that one so we book a room at the Pan Pacfic hotel which is at the airport and they golf buggy you there from the lower concourse- worth every penny for a nights sleep, breakfast and back onto the 9am flight to UK arriving at 4pm UK time. Just about enough energy then to drive home.

Other tips - try and get seats around row 60-61 (747) as these are doubles as opposed to triples further forward. Better than having a stranger crawling over you or vice versa. Malaysian has a 34"seat pitch too and I would say their service level is very good. The only reason for using Singapore airlines was convenience to fly into Brisbane.

Hope you enjoy your holiday:beer:

dmg24

bclark wrote: »

Yes I don't wan to be cheap but for a little less comfort on the flight I feel that we could take the £500 each extra and use it to make the holiday even better when we are there!

I am struggling to convince my wife as she is not a great flyer.

If she has problems with flying, a sympathetic GP may be able to prescrible her something to help her get some sleep? Obviously I would only recommend this option with the full agreement of the GP, I would not try to source medication elsewhere.

sleep2much

Don't forget it takes longer coming back, I guess it's because it's all up hill.

lynn44

I have done it and I hated flying then, ( the olden days when airtours use to fly 2 sydney), went through some terrible storms too but to save £1000 I would do it again
Go for it and have great time....