Getting to Aust/NZ

[shardal]

:) :) :) Taking the Mercury out of Sydney for 2 legs to Auckerland and then to Honolulu. Wanted Business Class but none open as yet, so got 2 seats in coach on 1st call to AA. Leave on Feb. 10, arriving in Sydney on 12th for a Feb. 17, 2008 sailing. I was so excited after reading all these responses. They said I can keep checking to see is Business opens up, and can switch to that if it does. Laurie at AA was a jewel to work with. This is my first posting on Cruise Critic, but couldn't resist passing it along.

Susie from Florida

[DrFUN]

Dear Shar:

 

Thanks for sharing your results--and congrats on getting something close to what you wanted. Would you clarify if you've got TWO seat for ONE person, which can be switched later to ONE business seat of ONE person...?? If so, that's fabulous!

 

Also, how many points did that cost?

 

Thanks

Mary-Lou

 

P.S. DH Dave and I are on the FIRST sailing from Sydney to Auckland on Mercury on 12/23. We got so tired or phoning DAILY for award business seats either with AA or USAirways that we finally just BOUGHT premium economy seats on ANZ, which we hope will be OK....

[vozzie]

Folks, there's another way to get from Aus to US in relative comfort.

 

Some have mentioned ANZ Premium Economy ... that would be my first choice if I couldn't afford Business.

 

Another option is with Jetstar. They are a QANTAS subsidiary and they operate between SYD(& MEL)-HNL. They operate 2 class ... Economy & Star Class, which is Premium Economy ... 38" seat pitch + some goodies.

 

Did a quick search and it's about US$300-400 Economy & US$900 Star Class each way for a January flight.

 

I would imagine that it's pretty easy (and cheap) for you guys in the states to then get a flight HNL to the mainland.

 

We are doing it that way for our Alaska cruise in June ... Jetstar Star Class SYD-HNL and Harmony Airlines Business Class HNL-YVR.

 

It's a bit of extra service and a bit of extra legroom ... for a lot less than Business Class.

 

Just a thought ...

[shardal]

;) I'll reply to Mary Lou first. Where are you from, as I know a couple Mary Lou and Dave? I've gotten 2 seats on hold, 1 each for my husband as well as myself. We each have enough miles for Business if I can get that. Will try again later in the week when I put my Honolulu return to Tampa on hold. This sure beats the $2,800/pp charge for a coach ticket, or the $1,500 that Celebrity is charging for the ticket. Something that I've picked up from other sources, is the fact that Christmas-New Years is actually Summer for Australia, and vacation time for Aussie's. Quantas also open their ff miles up a clear month before they release the seats to AA or United. Hope I'm clear. Vozzie, as far as your reply, that sounds great except for 1 big thing. They won't sell seats to US residents. The travel industry has us all over a barrel to make the nmost money they can.

 

Susie from Florida

[shardal]

:confused: Senior moments??? I forgot to mention the miles. It's 75,000 for coach, 125,000 for Business and 145,000 for First Class. Not knowing the exact model of the 747 that they'll be using, First Class only has about 12 seats, where Business is anywhere from 50-60 according to Seat Guru. Business looks better on the upper level, but not quite sure just how I'd feel, just looking forward and not seeing a cockpit door. MIght seem like just floating in air. Are you just doing Sydney to Auckerland Mary Lou? At least I'll be able to get your feedback on the ship. There's so many really storng pros and cons of recent cruises of the Mercury, that I'm getting concerned. We love Celebrity, and the cruise staff on our November Hawaii cruise on the Summit, say Mercury is their favorite ship by far.

 

Susie from Florida

[DrFUN]

Dear Susie:

 

Thanks for the info. We had the same mileage info from AA when we were daily trying to get our business seats. We FINALLY got seats on Air Tahiti Nui for the outbound from LA. (ATN has fabulous reviews all over for their service, so we were looking forward to it.) But AA just couldn't get us back, and we couldn't keep holding on for hours each day--so we just booked the Air NZ premium economy, which was "only" about $3200 from Phoenix.

 

Of course, we're just in coach from PHX to LA (no big deal as it's just a one-hour flight, and we're gold level with US Air, so we might get the bump)--but we're also in coach from Auckland to Sydney, which doesn't make us too happy for a 3-1/2 flight after that long trip over there. Oh, well. We'll have a week to recuperate on the Sydney Harbor, as we're staying on our own pre-sailing.

 

The reason I was so curious is that I was thinking you'd figured out a way to reserve TWO economy seats EACH for the same points as business--which wouldn't be too bad as an alternative! :p

 

Dave and I are in Phoenix, where we're professors at ASU. Are your Dave and Mary-Lou in Florida--or are they us??!

 

And YES: We're "just" doing the 14-night sailing from Sydney to Auckland, with the extra week in Sydney pre-cruise and two days in Auckland post-cruise. We have to get back for the Spring term, which starts in January.

 

When do you leave? We're back late on January 8 and have to get right to school, so it might take me a little while to provide a full report. However, if you send me an e-mail before your cruise, I'll be happy to let you know how it went. I'm DrFUN@RealisticRomance.com.

 

Warmest wishes,

Mary-Lou

 

P.S. The upper deck on those planes is GREAT! We've chosen seats there several times on very long flights--and it's like a private charter plane: quiet and peaceful and lots of attention from the attendants, as they have very few people to serve. We've requested it on our ANZ flights. AND the cockpit is up there, too--so you'll be without pilots if you're on the lower level.... :)

[shardal]

:) Hi Mary Lou.

My friends Mary Lou and Dave are from Ohio. I just got off the phone with American again, and got my Business Class seats on Air Tahiti Nui. We leave February 12th, will have February 13th to spend in Papeete (also stopping there on the ship on way home), leave 2:15 am on 14th, and arrive Sydney 7:45 on 15th. AA has been nothing but gracious and very helpful to me. We fly home from Honolulu on March 15th, and that should be no problem, as there's many ways we can get home from there. I'll email you. We leave tomorrow for a 9 night riverboat cruise through Holland and Belgium "Tulip & Windmill Cruise". Not even packed yet.

 

Susie

 

P.S. The secret I believe in Business Class is flexibility and not during the Holiday season.

[DrFUN]

Bon voyage, Susie! Have a great trip seeing the tulips. It should be great.

 

And you hit the nail on the head: OUR problem in getting award tickets was two-fold: the holiday (12/15-1/8) AND the high summer season at that time Down Under....

 

Best,

Mary-Lou

[Aussie Gal]

Shardal,

 

When we fly Business Class we always ask to be up in the Bubble if we are flying on a 747, which is upstairs. It is very roomy with only about 24 passengers up there.

 

 

It is a lovely way to fly.

 

Jennie

[Ransome]

Shardal,

 

When we fly Business Class we always ask to be up in the Bubble if we are flying on a 747, which is upstairs. It is very roomy with only about 24 passengers up there.

 

 

It is a lovely way to fly.

 

Jennie

 

Too true. I got back on Saturday from LAX on QF12 upper deck in "the club". It's the only way to fly business. It's even better if you can score the exit row upstairs on QF - that way you don't have to clamber over your neighbour if you are in the window seat.

[Globaliser]

I'm also very fond of the 747 upper deck. But there are a couple of real disadvantages.

 

First, there is more overhead bin space on the main deck, because of the restricted space for overhead storage on the upper deck. On a trip where you happen to have more cabin baggage than normal, this could make the main deck more practical.

 

Second, on any Qantas flight that is not completely full in business class, the empty seats tend to be found downstairs in the centre block, because there's a middle seat there and middle seats on their own tend to get allocated last. Related to that, sometimes the main deck is just quieter for the same reason - everyone's chosen to be upstairs.

 

There's also relative trivia like the fact that if you really need to hit the ground running, you can usually get out of the aircraft faster if you're on the main deck.

 

I don't often get to fly QF business, but I do usually try to be nosy and ask what's happening with the upstairs and downstairs cabins so I can try to be moved if one is obviously better than the other.

[DrFUN]

Mary-Lou,

We're flying Air New Zealand premium economy from Melbourne to LA next Wednesday Feb 28th. I'll try and drop a line here to let you know how it is.

We are in premium economy for the Melbourne-Auckland section too, but we do have to change planes in Auckland. They did let us know that the meal service on the shorter Melbourne-Auckland section was stock standard economy, so we are not quite sure what to expect.

 

Cheers,

Steve.

 

Dear Steve:

 

Hope your trip was great. I'm anxious to hear about the ANZ Premium Economy, which we've bought for our flight from LAX to Auckland (to Sydney, but in coach, as it's only two classes of service) -- and return N/S from Auckland to Sydney for our Dec/Jan sailing on the Mercury....

 

How was the service--and most important: How were the SEATS? Some posters elsewhere have said they're not very comfortable (rather hard).

 

THANKS,

Mary-Lou

[Aussie Gal]

We have just returned from taking four flights with Air New Zealand all in economy. We flew Melbourne to Auckland return and Auckland to Norfolk Island return.

 

The flights on the Melbourne Auckland legs were on a brand new Boeing 777 and an airbus 340 and the flights from Auckland to Norfolk and return were on a Boeing 737.

 

The leg room is excellent and the food was good. We found the seats in economy to be fine and even though our flights on the larger planes were only three and a half hours in length we were very comfortable and could have had a much longer flight.

 

Wine and beer is provided free of charge with your food which is a bonus as well as soft drink and of course tea and coffee comes at the end of the meal.

 

We are seriously thinking of using Air New Zealand next year on our flight to Vancouver when we do Alaska. They are starting a direct flight from Auckland later on this year.

 

Jennie

[cands]

Dear Steve:

 

Hope your trip was great. I'm anxious to hear about the ANZ Premium Economy, which we've bought for our flight from LAX to Auckland (to Sydney, but in coach, as it's only two classes of service) -- and return N/S from Auckland to Sydney for our Dec/Jan sailing on the Mercury....

 

How was the service--and most important: How were the SEATS? Some posters elsewhere have said they're not very comfortable (rather hard).

 

THANKS,

Mary-Lou

 

Mary-Lou,

The flights were pretty good.

Melbourne - Auckland was great. We had three seats between the two of us. Food was just regular economy and not much of it. Leg room was good, but the seats are not very wide.

 

For the Auckland-LA section we had reserved two seats on the right side of the 747 upstairs. (The seats are configured 3-2.). They had lost our reservation (or bumped us!) so we had a window and middle seat at the rear next to the lavatory. We were not amused.

The seats are narrow and hard and made of a fabric that doesn't breathe. Seat recline is good and legroom is adequate.

 

As for service, it was great! Full business class multi course meals were served and they were excellent, as were the cabin attendants.

 

The IFE system was excellent, also.

 

So, dependent on where you are seated, Premium Economy can be really good. We loved the service and made do with the comfort of the seats and being wedged in next to a stranger.

Premium Economy is a compromise, but we did save many thousands of dollars, we ate really well and we had significantly more room than those in true coach. Not a bad deal!

 

Steve.

 

Front Row - Premium Economy - ANZ 777, Melbourne - Auckland

[DrFUN]

Mary-Lou, The flights were pretty good. Melbourne - Auckland was great. We had three seats between the two of us. Food was just regular economy and not much of it. Leg room was good, but the seats are not very wide.

 

For the Auckland-LA section we had reserved two seats on the right side of the 747 upstairs. (The seats are configured 3-2.). They had lost our reservation (or bumped us!) so we had a window and middle seat at the rear next to the lavatory. We were not amused. The seats are narrow and hard and made of a fabric that doesn't breathe. Seat recline is good and legroom is adequate. As for service, it was great! Full business class multi course meals were served and they were excellent, as were the cabin attendants. The IFE system was excellent, also.

 

So, dependent on where you are seated, Premium Economy can be really good. We loved the service and made do with the comfort of the seats and being wedged in next to a stranger. Premium Economy is a compromise, but we did save many thousands of dollars, we ate really well and we had significantly more room than those in true coach. Not a bad deal! --Steve.

 

You are SOOOOO kind to give such a thorough report, dear Steve. Bless you! :) I'm very appreciative. Also love the photo. Thanks!

 

I've been rather worried about these VERY long flights (LAX to AUCK and back), as we've never done PremEcon on any airline. For long trips, we've always bought economy seats and used miles to upgrade to REAL business or first-class. Glad to hear about the good service and decent food you got.

 

ONE MORE Q:

Did the P/E seat on the AUK-LA flight have a decent leg-rest that actually goes under your calves? I have a hip condition that makes it very uncomfortable if I'm stuffed in a narrow seat with the sides pushing on the tender bones -- especially if I have no room to elevate my leg a bit....

 

Also, can you suggest ANYTHING that might make the hard seat less uncomfortable? (I teased DH Dave that I would bring an air mattress from our swimming pool and inflate it on-board to use as a seat liner!! He teases me that I am like the "Princess and the Pea" --able to feel anything that's in the way, however small....)

 

The worst part for us is that after flying from Phoenix to LA and changing terminals for the LOOOOONNNGGG PremEcon segment to Auckland, we have to get out and immediately get on a 3-1/2-hour flight to Sydney with NO P/E. :(

 

OH: Were you able to SLEEP at all on the long-haul flight?

 

Again, my deep thanks for your gracious post--and great photo.

 

Best regards,

Mary-Lou

[cands]

You are SOOOOO kind to give such a thorough report, dear Steve. Bless you! :) I'm very appreciative. Also love the photo. Thanks!

 

I've been rather worried about these VERY long flights (LAX to AUCK and back), as we've never done PremEcon on any airline. For long trips, we've always bought economy seats and used miles to upgrade to REAL business or first-class. Glad to hear about the good service and decent food you got.

 

ONE MORE Q:

Did the P/E seat on the AUK-LA flight have a decent leg-rest that actually goes under your calves? I have a hip condition that makes it very uncomfortable if I'm stuffed in a narrow seat with the sides pushing on the tender bones -- especially if I have no room to elevate my leg a bit....

 

Also, can you suggest ANYTHING that might make the hard seat less uncomfortable? (I teased DH Dave that I would bring an air mattress from our swimming pool and inflate it on-board to use as a seat liner!! He teases me that I am like the "Princess and the Pea" --able to feel anything that's in the way, however small....)

 

The worst part for us is that after flying from Phoenix to LA and changing terminals for the LOOOOONNNGGG PremEcon segment to Auckland, we have to get out and immediately get on a 3-1/2-hour flight to Sydney with NO P/E. :(

 

OH: Were you able to SLEEP at all on the long-haul flight?

 

Again, my deep thanks for your gracious post--and great photo.

 

Best regards,

Mary-Lou

 

Mary-Lou,

I'm stretching my memory about the footrests.

They weren't very big. I remember that I just bypassed it and put my feet on the floor. If you are short the footrest may be okay.

I did get a few hours sleep, lying half on my side with my feet on the rest.

Chris and I discussed the seat situation and decided that a towel over the seat would make a difference re getting hot and sweaty. So maybe pack a beach towel in your carry on?

 

Good luck,

Steve.

[DrFUN]

Thanks again, Steve!

 

I'll let you know how OUR flights went when we return next January. Meantime, happy sailing!!

 

Gratefully,

Mary-Lou (& Dave)

[Aussie Gal]

We were in straight economy a few weeks ago on Air New Zealand, a Boeing 777 and an Airbus 340 and there were no footrests which I miss as on Singapore Airlines everyone has a footrest. Mind you we only had a 3 hour flight from Melbourne to Auckland and return.

 

Jennie

[AuzzieCruiser]

We flew Air NZ to LAX last Sep/Oct in 'real' Cattle class. They have a fantastic economy product. It has 34" seat pitch, and wide comfortable seats on the 747-400.:D

Food was fantastic, especially the ice cream :p .

The IFE (In-Flight Entertainment) was fabulous.

It was well worth the detour to Auckland to fly Air NZ.

[DrFUN]

Belated thanks, Auzzie Cruiser!!

 

Mary-Lou