Economy to Sydney
Discussion
Going to Sydney for two weeks In march.
Never flown long haul before so don't know much, but can only afford economy.
Anyone had experience with economy on any of the following:
Malaysia
Cathay Pacific
China
Emirates
Etihad
Tempted by Emirates as every flight is A380 and I've always wanted to go on one, but it's about £210 more than the Malaysia flight, worth it?
Never flown long haul before so don't know much, but can only afford economy.
Anyone had experience with economy on any of the following:
Malaysia
Cathay Pacific
China
Emirates
Etihad
Tempted by Emirates as every flight is A380 and I've always wanted to go on one, but it's about £210 more than the Malaysia flight, worth it?
Out of that list I'd pick Emirates. Always found their economy to be very decent. More than adequate unless you are a powerfully-built director type.
However, I would suggest looking at Qantas. Very long flight from Heathrow to Darwin (used to be Perth) and then again on to Sydney. I had a family member do it recently and said it was the best long haul economy experience they have had in many years, having travelled variously on Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Etihad and others.
The only truly bad long haul economy experience I have had was on Air New Zealand, and that is not because the flight itself was bad (had nothing to complain about there, food, service, seat etc were all good for the money) but having to transit through LAX is the most miserable experience on earth. I would never do it again, even at a sizeable discount to other options.
However, I would suggest looking at Qantas. Very long flight from Heathrow to Darwin (used to be Perth) and then again on to Sydney. I had a family member do it recently and said it was the best long haul economy experience they have had in many years, having travelled variously on Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Etihad and others.
The only truly bad long haul economy experience I have had was on Air New Zealand, and that is not because the flight itself was bad (had nothing to complain about there, food, service, seat etc were all good for the money) but having to transit through LAX is the most miserable experience on earth. I would never do it again, even at a sizeable discount to other options.
samjaynz said:
Out of that list I'd pick Emirates. Always found their economy to be very decent. More than adequate unless you are a powerfully-built director type.
However, I would suggest looking at Qantas. Very long flight from Heathrow to Darwin (used to be Perth) and then again on to Sydney. I had a family member do it recently and said it was the best long haul economy experience they have had in many years, having travelled variously on Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Etihad and others.
The only truly bad long haul economy experience I have had was on Air New Zealand, and that is not because the flight itself was bad (had nothing to complain about there, food, service, seat etc were all good for the money) but having to transit through LAX is the most miserable experience on earth. I would never do it again, even at a sizeable discount to other options.
Qantas is back to Perth or Singapore rather than Darwin. Singapore being the A380 so fits the OP’s requirements.However, I would suggest looking at Qantas. Very long flight from Heathrow to Darwin (used to be Perth) and then again on to Sydney. I had a family member do it recently and said it was the best long haul economy experience they have had in many years, having travelled variously on Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Etihad and others.
The only truly bad long haul economy experience I have had was on Air New Zealand, and that is not because the flight itself was bad (had nothing to complain about there, food, service, seat etc were all good for the money) but having to transit through LAX is the most miserable experience on earth. I would never do it again, even at a sizeable discount to other options.
OP what sort of prices are you finding for your preferred airline?
samjaynz said:
but having to transit through LAX is the most miserable experience on earth. I would never do it again, even at a sizeable discount to other options.
Interesting - I flew into LAX last week (on BA) and it was great. No queues - they allowed you to use the US only
Immigration line on arrival because it was open and I was straight through the airport in about 20 minutes. One of the best US arrival experiences I have had.
Similar on the return trip. The international terminal could do with a better bar / food place but getting through the airport (no need to remove laptops at security etc) was about as good as it could be.
Maybe it’s changed / improved since you did it?
Vote for Emirates from me too. If your route is on an A-380 you may find there is a top deck economy section. If so, it’s well worth paying for seat selection to get a seat up there if you can. The cabin is small and the window seats have side lockers due to the curvature of the fuselage walls up there which gives those seats a more spacious feel (and a view out of the window). These are probably the best long haul economy seats anywhere.
Mark V GTD said:
Vote for Emirates from me too. If your route is on an A-380 you may find there is a top deck economy section. If so, it’s well worth paying for seat selection to get a seat up there if you can. The cabin is small and the window seats have side lockers due to the curvature of the fuselage walls up there which gives those seats a more spacious feel (and a view out of the window). These are probably the best long haul economy seats anywhere.
There are no economy seats upstairs on an Emirates A380 on the Aussie route. However with Singapore airlines there is a section of economy seating which as you say is 2-5-2 and pretty good.I have flown Emirates A380's a lot in the last 10 years in all three classes and pretty much unbeatable in my opinion.
fat80b said:
Interesting - I flew into LAX last week (on BA) and it was great.
No queues - they allowed you to use the US only
Immigration line on arrival because it was open and I was straight through the airport in about 20 minutes. One of the best US arrival experiences I have had.
Similar on the return trip. The international terminal could do with a better bar / food place but getting through the airport (no need to remove laptops at security etc) was about as good as it could be.
Maybe it’s changed / improved since you did it?
Air New Zealand used to have an arrangement for flying London-LAX-Auckland using one plane, where you (in the long and distant past) didn't have to clear US immigration. You were put in a holding pen. Then the rules changed and you had to clear immigration but still had the holding pen problem.No queues - they allowed you to use the US only
Immigration line on arrival because it was open and I was straight through the airport in about 20 minutes. One of the best US arrival experiences I have had.
Similar on the return trip. The international terminal could do with a better bar / food place but getting through the airport (no need to remove laptops at security etc) was about as good as it could be.
Maybe it’s changed / improved since you did it?
Now that route has been cancelled - Air New Zealand no long fly to London at all (at one point you could go London -> LAX -> Auckland ->Hong Kong -> London all on Air New Zealand), so all academic.
thole.djc206 said:
samjaynz said:
Out of that list I'd pick Emirates. Always found their economy to be very decent. More than adequate unless you are a powerfully-built director type.
However, I would suggest looking at Qantas. Very long flight from Heathrow to Darwin (used to be Perth) and then again on to Sydney. I had a family member do it recently and said it was the best long haul economy experience they have had in many years, having travelled variously on Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Etihad and others.
The only truly bad long haul economy experience I have had was on Air New Zealand, and that is not because the flight itself was bad (had nothing to complain about there, food, service, seat etc were all good for the money) but having to transit through LAX is the most miserable experience on earth. I would never do it again, even at a sizeable discount to other options.
Qantas is back to Perth or Singapore rather than Darwin. Singapore being the A380 so fits the OP’s requirements.However, I would suggest looking at Qantas. Very long flight from Heathrow to Darwin (used to be Perth) and then again on to Sydney. I had a family member do it recently and said it was the best long haul economy experience they have had in many years, having travelled variously on Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Etihad and others.
The only truly bad long haul economy experience I have had was on Air New Zealand, and that is not because the flight itself was bad (had nothing to complain about there, food, service, seat etc were all good for the money) but having to transit through LAX is the most miserable experience on earth. I would never do it again, even at a sizeable discount to other options.
OP what sort of prices are you finding for your preferred airline?
Think it's between Singapore, quantas and Emirates on the dates I'm looking at now
l354uge said:
Just over a grand each. Malaysia is £820. Not sure if the prices get lower the closer to march we get but some websites say book 9 months before, some say 6 weeks before...
Think it's between Singapore, quantas and Emirates on the dates I'm looking at now
For my money they’re all much of a muchness. My dad almost exclusively flies with Emirates very regularly and he reckons their standards have slipped of late but that they’re still a solid choice in terms of reliability. Singapore have always been great. Qantas seem to divide opinion. Emirates is probably the logical choice in terms of sheer number of flights per day meaning any disruption shouldn’t be too problematic.Think it's between Singapore, quantas and Emirates on the dates I'm looking at now
I have sworn off Malaysian after a very bad experience a few years ago.
l354uge said:
Just over a grand each. Malaysia is £820. Not sure if the prices get lower the closer to march we get but some websites say book 9 months before, some say 6 weeks before...
Think it's between Singapore, quantas and Emirates on the dates I'm looking at now
I'd book this...Think it's between Singapore, quantas and Emirates on the dates I'm looking at now
I'm paying £1.3k to Melbourne next week in Economy and I booked back in May. ~£1k is a good deal with the way the Aussie flights are right now unfortunately (lack of cheap Chinese airlines flying and pent up demand = higher prices). I'm on Singapore airlines, mainly as it gets the longer leg out of the way first and doesn't involve a ME connection at crazy o clock.
Etihad had some cheap fares (£2.5k) in Business from Amsterdam to Sydney which may be worth looking at. Whether they're still available / dates work might be another matter however.
I fly a lot and have flown them all in economy and business (and some in first!). I'd rate them for long haul economy as:
Singapore - 9.999/10
Etihad - 7/10
Emirates - 6/10
Cathay Pacific - 6/10
Malaysia - 4/10
China - 0/10
The moral of this story is that you may not be able to afford business class, but if you can, pay a little extra and go Singapore. And a little more to choose your seats and get exit row seats with extra legroom.
On stopovers I'd not recommend a particularly short turn around, ie less than 2 hours. With economy on such a long distance you want to get off and get a proper walk around, stretch the legs, eat/drink and have time to let it settle. Make an effort to walk around the airport, dont just sit around as you'll do that enough on the plane. I usually airm for 2-4 hours stop on long haul eco, and 1-3 hours on long haul business.
My more flippant advice is that you should not do it at all, long haul economy is grim. Wait until you are older and can afford business class. Or get a job that travels and will stump for business.
Singapore - 9.999/10
Etihad - 7/10
Emirates - 6/10
Cathay Pacific - 6/10
Malaysia - 4/10
China - 0/10
The moral of this story is that you may not be able to afford business class, but if you can, pay a little extra and go Singapore. And a little more to choose your seats and get exit row seats with extra legroom.
On stopovers I'd not recommend a particularly short turn around, ie less than 2 hours. With economy on such a long distance you want to get off and get a proper walk around, stretch the legs, eat/drink and have time to let it settle. Make an effort to walk around the airport, dont just sit around as you'll do that enough on the plane. I usually airm for 2-4 hours stop on long haul eco, and 1-3 hours on long haul business.
My more flippant advice is that you should not do it at all, long haul economy is grim. Wait until you are older and can afford business class. Or get a job that travels and will stump for business.
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