Business Class Upgrade Cost Aust/NZ

[macbest]

What have others paid from Princess on upgrades to business class for Princess provided airfare to Australia / New Zealand? Given the 14 hour + flight from SFO, it would seem to be monies well spent.

 

The search this thread function did not find anything discussed on this recently.

[jasmith52]

I am fairly familiar with airfares to Australia. However I am not so familiar with open-jaw trips from the US to NZ and Aus.

 

Round-trip economy class fares to Aus run around $1200 when on sale. Double that over the Christmas season.

 

Business class fares are around five times what a economy class ticket goes for (maybe $5000 USD or so during the regular season). First class seats go for just under 10 times what economy class tickets go for (Maybe $9500 USD during the regular season).

 

I would love to fly first class on my next trip, I just can't justify it. That is one brutal flight so a first class seat would sure make a difference.

[j!m]

last time i went to australia (feb 07) business/first class on quantas out of lax was bout $17k return

 

you can get an economy ticket for under $2k at times

 

but itsa brutal flight 14 1/2 hrs is a VERY long time ona plane believe me

 

if you have the time its almost better to fly to hawaii stay a few days then tahiti n stay a few days then goto australia or new zealand,

 

breaks up the trip

[Cruise Junky]

I don't know what Princess charges but regular business class to AU is outrageous. I just plugged in dates out of Vancouver on Air Canada...these are before taxes..

Economy 1,498

Economy flexible 3,648

Exec. 11,313

Exec. flexible 13,480

 

For that kind of dough I'd consider suffering for 14 hours or at least being drugged :)

[Toto2Kansas]

I agree, it is a very tough flight, at least it was for us the three times we have done it. But I still could not justify the price to upgrade. Even useing miles for the flights is a tough one. Europe, we always use air miles and it's first class flights or we don't go, but AU is a tough one with the open jaw flights and they don't seem to release as many seats going west.

[j!m]

the ac flight outa yvr is terrible, stops in honolulu in the middle of the night and you gotta change planes,

 

sometimes not, but you gotta get off the plane and go thru US immigration anyway

 

plus ac uses old beat up planes and those businees class seats that dont fold out into a bed

 

their service is outrageous but we letem get away with it

 

i think they are getting the new businees/first seats on the route but the honolulu stop is still a real pain in the .....

 

the lax or sfo route is frankly a lot better imo as someone who has done both

[Cruise Junky]

the ac flight outa yvr is terrible, stops in honolulu in the middle of the night and you gotta change planes,

 

sometimes not, but you gotta get off the plane and go thru US immigration anyway

 

plus ac uses old beat up planes and those businees class seats that dont fold out into a bed

 

their service is outrageous but we letem get away with it

 

i think they are getting the new businees/first seats on the route but the honolulu stop is still a real pain in the .....

 

the lax or sfo route is frankly a lot better imo as someone who has done both

 

Not anymore, they started direct service in December....365 days a year :) NO US IMMIGRATION :) :) :)

[Linda-E]

We bought United upgradeable economy tickets for about $1900 per person (one way from Washington DC to Sydney via LA) and used frequent flier miles to upgrade to business class. Saved us a bundle! Since it's gotten harder and harder to get free tickets, I think that using miles for upgrades is the way to go.

[Pam in CA]

For our upcoming Sapphire cruise from Sydney, my sister and BIL are paying (from LAX):

 

reg air $869.38pp

deviation fees (non refundable) $75pp

additional air $2267.71pp (for Biz Class)

TOTAL $3212.09pp

 

I found this out AFTER I'd booked my own Biz Class air from LAX to Sydney on Hawaiian Airlines for $4,210. They have a direct flight; I'm stopping in Honolulu for two hours. Now I'm kicking myself.

 

If you can't upgrade using FF miles, check the Princess air rates. There aren't too many ways they can fly you from SFO (or LAX) to Sydney.

[Toto2Kansas]

Pam, Just think of it as a stretch break! :) :)

[Toto2Kansas]

Pam, Just think of it as a stretch break! :) :)

[Pam in CA]

Pam, Just think of it as a stretch break! :) :)

Oh, absolutely. I don't mind the 1-stop; it's the $1K price difference that is killing me. There are about 20 of us on the Roll Call on these flights and you can bet we'll be gabbing in the waiting area, in any open space on the flight, and between flights. Many of us have cruised before so we already know each other. It's going to be a blast. :)

[macbest]

For our upcoming Sapphire cruise from Sydney, my sister and BIL are paying (from LAX):

 

reg air $869.38pp

deviation fees (non refundable) $75pp

additional air $2267.71pp (for Biz Class)

TOTAL $3212.09pp

 

I found this out AFTER I'd booked my own Biz Class air from LAX to Sydney on Hawaiian Airlines for $4,210. They have a direct flight; I'm stopping in Honolulu for two hours. Now I'm kicking myself.

 

If you can't upgrade using FF miles, check the Princess air rates. There aren't too many ways they can fly you from SFO (or LAX) to Sydney.

 

I saw the business class fares and that they were ridiculous. What I was interested in was the cruise line upgrade amounts which from this post, is a lot more bearable than buying an outright ticket in business. Anyone else have any info on what Princess will charge for an upgrade once you book the airfare (economy) through them?

[Queenston]

Well, having done this flight five times in my "younger years"--ie, my 40s when I was young and foolish, I make the following observations. The first time while on that seemingly unending flight, I said to my companion that I was very glad that the world was not flat, because if it were we would have flown off the edge by now! That was the last time I ever flew economy--and the only reason we did it that time was because the flights were free on points (and I was crazy!). Thereafter, I was fortunate enough to be invited over to give lectures and travelled on business class tickets. I can honestly say that I couldn't even do that today (now 20 years on). Think of your arteries! That constriction even in business class is enough to brew a clot that could kill you--but check with your physician before flying this horrendous distance. I go back and forth to Europe several times a year and I can tell you that is a romp in the park compared to the Aussie trip.

 

But should you be young and energetic and decide to do that business class thing--I learned something very useful on my last (ever) trip to Australia. You might like to look into the difference in cost between a return business class ticket to Australia versus an around the world ticket. My travel agent friend alerted me to this, so that when I was offered to do a speech in London just after the Australian gig, I was able to fly to Australia, then London, and then back to Canada for the same price as the return ticket to Aussie land. As as result, the Brits paid for a lovely hotel in London for 10 days because they did not have to pay for the ticket! But back then of course (1993), the around the world ticket business class was only $7000 CDN! How times have changed!

 

Well, I wish you all luck, but guard against clots on that flight, and take aspirin to prevent them or whatever else your physicians prescribe!

[nna]

I flew to auckland out of sfo a couple of years ago. it was economy air nz. the seats were far superior to any economy in the us. you have private movies, travel shows or lots of other programing to choose from on your seat entertainment system. the crew walked around all night to give you water.

the flights go overnight so you can sleep most the way--and it was under 12 hours in the sky.

 

frankly flying sfo to hongkong was worse...

[Pam in CA]

I saw the business class fares and that they were ridiculous. What I was interested in was the cruise line upgrade amounts which from this post, is a lot more bearable than buying an outright ticket in business. Anyone else have any info on what Princess will charge for an upgrade once you book the airfare (economy) through them?

The rates I quoted were from a year ago (March, 2007). You should have your TA send you the rates that Princess will charge. I pretty much copied and pasted them from my sister's TA's quote. Your TA will give you the coach rate, the upgrade cost and the total, just like above. The airfare rates will be exactly the same whether you book through Princess or a TA. If you book a coach rate through Princess, you can't then upgrade using FF miles since it's a specially-coded fare.

 

Last September, I flew from LAX to Tokyo to Shanghai, returning from Beijing to Tokyo to LAX. I figure flying one-way to Sydney isn't going to be too much worse. The main thing is to get up and walk around every once in a while, snooze when you can, and drink lots of water.