Thread: New Zealand in Jan

Flew LAX-AKL last year with Qantas. Be sure to get listed on the flight, even if done on the same day of travel. They won't check you in without a stand-by listing. Boarding passes are issued half hour before departure at checkin counter, so its a dash to the gate once accepted. As to the 14 hour flight, lets say I won't rate it as among my better flying experiences. On the other hand, Air New Zealand have on some days 3 daily flights. And I would rate the NZ product higher. Buyer beware, NZ's ZEDs are in the high zone and they do double check to ensure you're ticket is issued as such. Aukland is a beautiful city with a good range of accommodation options in the city centre. Touring outside the city would however require a car rental. Motor homes are a popular choice for visiting the rest of the country

Being a QF staffer, I flew this route earlier this year, as part of my trip back to Oz.

Personally, I did not find it to be a long flight, but being based in Melbourne, most flights are 10 hours plus to International destinations.

Currently Qantas operate A330's and B743's on this route. Personally, I find the Airbus a fantastic aircraft, and new to the fleet. The one I travelled back on even had that 'new plane smell'. The 743's however are showing their age, and were planned to be retired years ago. These aircraft should be gone by years end however, with the A380 to begin services from mainland Aust. to USA, freeing up B744 aircraft to cover the AKL-LAX route.

Keep in mind Qantas does not upgrade staff from other carriers, and requires its own staff to have 7 years service before becoming eligible for International Business Class travel. Therefore be prepared for a long economy trip. FYI, Qantas check-in in Auckland is handled by Air NZ, and Hallmark Aviation in Los Angeles.

If you have any specific queries, let me know.

Hi all. Post #1 for me on this forum
QF staffer,
I work with NWA and we have a ZED agreement on QF. We are planning on LAX to SYD the last week of Dec on ZED's... I am *hoping* to catch the A380 to SYD or if not then to MEL then on to SYD. If neither one of the A380's, then the 747's.
I know a lot of people will be trying to get there for New Year's Eve but traditionally are the load factors really high right after Christmas? After reading the above post about being upgraded on QF, I really didn't expect it to Business or First; however, would the agents bump you from economy to premium economy??

Welcome nightice, (still new myself to the board)

School holidays in Australia usually begin just before Christmas, and last until the end of Jan (as per our summer). Typically, I would be expecting more passengers to be flying out to the states, being the start of holidays. Keep in mind, we dont really have what I would call a busy time with flights to the USA, as it is busy all year. However, with the US dollar, it has just become a lot more expensive for Australians to travel to the US, but who knows how that will turn out in months to come

As for an upgrade to premium economy, as staff we are not allowed to travel in this cabin at all. I don't have the reason for this, but we have all been waiting months in the hope that this will change (prem econ is still new to Qantas, and was only introduced earlier this year).

The main concern on these longhaul flights is weight restrictions. With the A380 introduction we have heard this will become less of an issue, as it can take full pax, fuel and cargo with no restrictions. Once again, only time will tell however.

As for connecting from MEL to SYD. Not a bad option, as there are flights every 30 mins week days (every 15 during peak hour!). However, loads may be a concern with school holidays. Do you plan on visiting any other cities, or just Sydney?

OP, December is the "high season" for traveling to/from New Zealand, what with it being summer and schools on holiday. I look at UA loads pretty frequently. That time of year, chances aren't very good to non-rev, at least on United (via Sydney). My wife and I have been to both NZ islands, but we chose to travel in the shoulder seasons (April and September). Loads this month are good as well to SYD.

You really need to get a guidebook or do online research to figure out what to see and do in NZ. You really have limitless options depending on your budget (surf, ski, bungee, fish, wine taste, hike, etc.). Lonely Planet just came out this month with a new edition of their NZ guidebook. It is an excellent book.