how rough is flight from west coat to Australia?

[vash]

I googled it and it was 16 hours? is that right?

that is compression stockings level event... I assume one direction is worse than the other? longer?

thinking of our next trip. meshing with another family, and trying to work a fishing charter in to catch some big reef fish.

Queensland? I am just scratching the surface.

[Chocaholic]

I flew to Sydney from LA, but it was about 3 decades ago. What I remember is the feeling that after flying for that long…I should have landed on the moon, not still on Earth.

[vash]

hahahah.. I did hear the moon is nice in the spring.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Worst I’ve done is ATL to South Korea, I think that was 12 hours? That’s rough, you can get drunk and sober up like twice on that flight! I flat out refuse to be in coach, at a minimum it’s premium economy if not the lay flats. Your seat makes a huge difference for a flight like that.

[Scott Douglas]

One of my nieces' and her husband/family live in Australia and fly to/from often.
They say it's longer one way than the other, 21 hrs vs 16 hrs, because of the trade winds.

I'd love to go see my sister in Perth, but I don't fly and a trip that long with another 5 hr flight just to get to the far side of Oz isn't going to do it for me.

[Cajundaddy]

We are planning to go to Oz for the solar eclipse in 2028. I have not done the flight there but our flight to South Africa from NY was brutal. Get up and walk the plane every 2 hrs for circulation and a stretch. Business or 1st class for the win!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by vash

hahahah.. I did hear the moon is nice in the spring.

But really carpy fishing

[Alan A]

Ambien.

It’s really long…

[PKINGHAM]

We did a family vacation exactly 9 years ago. Detroit to LA to Sydney in coach. Yeah, it's long, but between sleeping, eating, watching movies, and phone games it wasn't heinous. The kids were 8 and 10 then and did ok. In retrospect, though, the 4 hour drive (in a rental on the wrong side of the road) straight from the Sydney airport wasn't a great idea.

[look 171]

Been to Asia and Oceania only one time. They have always been none stop flights. The last time, I decided it was too long for my fat ass, so flights were booked with a 2-3 hour lay over. It was nice to get off the plane, have a bite and just walk around a bit. What a game changer. I can deal with 10 hours but anymore then that, it becomes rough. I remember the days of having one TV and paying for a headset to watch just two movies as we cross the vast Pacific. The rest of the time, it was sitting there wide eyes open. For a teenager traveling with family was rough on those long flights.

We like to see OZ or NZ someday and my plan is to stop over at Hawaii then suck it up for the long haul to OZ. I think its about 10 hours. From LA to Hawaii is only 4-5 hours. Easy pleasey.

[JavaBrewer]

For those of you suggesting 1st or business class do you pay for those tickets or use points to upgrade? personally I cannot justify the 4x price increase per seat. We recently flew LAX to ICN and I think that was 12 or so hours. Was not fun but doable for me at 63.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

For those of you suggesting 1st or business class do you pay for those tickets or use points to upgrade? personally I cannot justify the 4x price increase per seat. We recently flew LAX to ICN and I think that was 12 or so hours. Was not fun but doable for me at 63.

For personal travel I’ll either use miles or pay for at least premium economy. Even that is a huge step up on most airlines, and typically not much more.

[GH85Carrera]

It is really long getting there, as it is already tomorrow there, before you leave!

One of my earliest memories is flying to Hawaii in a USAF C-54. Unpressurized, 190 MPH cruise speed at 10,000 feet, while facing the tail of the airplane. It was so long I asked my mom if this is where we live now. I think last I checked that was a 14 hour flight. As a 5 year old kid it was forever. Nothing to look at out the windows except waves. No carpet, no sound insulation, just the drone of the engines and going to the restroom was the most exciting part of the flight.

Find a Dr. Feelgood to prescribe a good sleeping pill. Sleep for some of the flight to get used to the jet lag, and get up and walk around other times.

[LWJ]

Did California to NZ in the last few years. No biggie. We stopped over in Fiji. Valium + a boring audiobook + noise cancelling headphones + an inflatable butt pad (thanks Seahawk!!!) = non event.

I really do advocate the boring audiobook. I have used this even without valium and it is great. You are sleeping. You wake up. The narrator is droning on about Huck going down the river. You snooze off. As opposed to a movie that engages your mind and keeps you awake. Sleep is your friend.

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

For those of you suggesting 1st or business class do you pay for those tickets or use points to upgrade? personally I cannot justify the 4x price increase per seat. We recently flew LAX to ICN and I think that was 12 or so hours. Was not fun but doable for me at 63.

We have done both but usually the Business class with lay down seats is roughly 2x the price of coach. Prices can vary wildly so shopping is required. For flights 5 hrs or less we fly coach or premium. Across oceans we do what we have to do to fly Business class or 1st class. If we arrive rested we can enjoy the day we arrive. If not, the first day is completely a write-off.

[Baz]

On my flight from L.A. to Tahiti (New Zealand Air) I just waited for the seat belt light to go off and then grabbed an empty 3 seat unit to stretch out on.

This was coach.

[javadog]

Stop in Hawaii for a day. Easy, peasy.

[A930Rocket]

What airline do you fly for long distance? When we flew to Paris last summer, we flew Delta because I had points for premium comfort, or whatever it was called.

There were other airlines I’ve never heard of that, but e didn’t want to take a chance of getting lousy seats or service.

[Bob Kontak]

Not quite Australia but relatively close. Only about 6,000km to Sydney from Singapore.

Outbound: Chicago-Portland-Tokyo-Singapore
Return: Singapore-Frankfurt-Chicago

What freaked me out was the length of the Tokyo to Singapore leg. Eight hours.

No booze helped. God bless big oil for a business class ticket.

Outbound to Frankfurt was up top on one of the Qantas 747s.

[vash]

Originally Posted by javadog

Stop in Hawaii for a day. Easy, peasy.

dang. I didnt think about that!! nice.