how rough is flight from west coat to Australia?

[Rtrorkt]

HKG-SFO 14 hours and you arrive slightly before you left

[Bill Douglas]

They say not to drink too much alcohol on flights. I think it's a good idea on the LA to Australia flight. Try to sleep as much of the way as possible. Did I mention it's summer time in Australia right now

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by Cajundaddy

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.

Obviously I did not perform a deep shopping look but I use Google Flights to locate options and then book directly with the airline. So I just searched San Diego to Paris January 16 for 1 week stay.

RT in coach was $761, Premium Econ $2095 and business class $5500. First class was a hair over $22K That is with Delta, or BA, or Lufthansa. And remember this is per seat. I am sure prices would be cheaper to substitute LAX for San Diego but that place, while generally miserable, is far worse now as they prep for the Olympics.

Not judging anyone here at all. But for me I will take the 10-12 hour inconvenience in coach and spend the savings on upgraded accommodations/food/tours etc. Our friends only fly first class and they visit Italy 2-3x a year. They own a restaurant and use the Visa points earned keeping the place running. I also try to arrive at my destination for OCONUS trips in the late afternoon so after the arrival processing and transportation we check into the hotel and then head out for a evening stroll and a nice meal. Easier, again for me, to get to bed very tired trying to get used to the time change. And for clarification back in the day traveling for work I routinely got bumped to business for OCONUS trips and still could never sleep on the plane.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I can’t sleep on the plane either so I embrace the same strategy. Stay awake for the entire trip, arrive late afternoon, have a nice dinner, then freaking crash. It has worked pretty well on my Korea trips.

[HobieMarty]

Originally Posted by 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.

Last March I flew from Atlanta to South Korea!!! It was a 15 hour flight over but about 12 hours coming back. I was stuck in a middle row seat for both flights. I was pretty much miserable on the flight over, but coming back, I took a sleeping pill and slept for about four hours making the flight bearable.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[stuartj]

I used to do it 4-6 times a year, and then on to NYC, its really not that bad. Helps if you love flying. It helps even more if you can get into the pointy end.

Do be wary about over sleeping on a such a long haul, especially in your middling years. You can -will - easily dehydrate, and that can be bad, as I once found out.

[WolfeMacleod]

Probabbly not as bad as west Coast to the Philippines, which is where I'm at right now. 7th time since October of last year. 14 hours or so.

[icemann427]

It's a long long time in any seat. Even Laydown business class is way long. I normally go to Google Flights when I want to see every airline going from one place to another. Below is UA from that site.

United Airlines

Departing flight

10:35 PM Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Travel time: 15 hr 55 min
9:30 AM+2Melbourne Airport (MEL)

Boeing 787

Returning flight

11:30 AM Melbourne Airport (MEL)
Travel time: 14 hr 20 min
6:50 AM Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

Boeing 787

[GH85Carrera]

A friend of a friend is in town and he is from Australia. My fried asked his if he was going home for Christmas, and he said nope, it is 115 degrees at home right now. The cost and time needed to make the trip is just too high.

One of the clerks at a local convenience where I buy beer is from Nepal. He was gone for over a month, and suddenly back at work. I asked him where he had been, and he said he went home to visit family. I asked how long of a trip is it for him. He said it was 24 hours of travel time, not counting time waiting for the connecting flights, buses, trains and taxis and a several hour walk to get to his family home.

[vash]

Manaus Brazil was 35 hours of travel back. It was absolutely hell.

Ran my cat over in the garage coming back home and everything. Had to sit at a vet office 3 hours just to put her down. I felt like I almost died from exhaustion.

I planned poorly and will never do that again. I’ll stay in Panama a few days next time.

Australia will be better thought out hopefully.

[Rick Lee]

I did NY to Beijing non-stop a month ago - 16 hours. I had premium economy and it wasn't bad at all. I took two Xanax pills and probably slept a good six hours, which is unheard of for me. While checking in, I asked about upgrading to business class. They wanted $8700. Yeah, no. Coming back we flew from Seoul-Incheon to Seattle, which, at 10 hours, I can do standing on my head.

[vash]

I did economy Plus and it was very good. it was strangly way more expensive than regular economy. but only my wife next to me between the aisle and the window. lots of leg room. EVA Air flight people are all good looking. even the dudes..my wife couldn't stop staring at one guy. hahah..

I did some situps and pushups coming back from Taiwan - I cannot sleep on a plane and I am not willing to use chemistry to do so. ...and I still havent pooped on a commercial flight..ahhaha.. I binged watched Dark Wolf on my iPad.

[billybek]

One of my customers developed DVT after flying to Australia. He was hospitalized for quite a while.
Great idea to get up and move!

[john70t]

[sc_rufctr]

Good timing... My Sister and her husband arrive today. They started their journey in Denver.

Lots of hours in the air!

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

Obviously I did not perform a deep shopping look but I use Google Flights to locate options and then book directly with the airline. So I just searched San Diego to Paris January 16 for 1 week stay.

RT in coach was $761, Premium Econ $2095 and business class $5500. First class was a hair over $22K That is with Delta, or BA, or Lufthansa. And remember this is per seat. I am sure prices would be cheaper to substitute LAX for San Diego but that place, while generally miserable, is far worse now as they prep for the Olympics.

This started with Oz, but now you mention Paris...Can't help for Oz, but for Paris, try French bee instead. You likely can afford business with them from LA for barely more than economy on a major airline. They're fine - they land at the wrong Paris airport (Orly) but that's actually a plus if it's your final destination (closer, less busy, less of a cluster than CDG). I flew business there for $1200 RT, it's not lay flat but it's a pretty decent seat and biz class service for the $. And you fly with a lot of tatooed Tahitians playing the ukulele (it's a scheduled Tahiti/LA or SFO/PAris and back), which makes for a fun boarding experience.