Have I Over-Analysed This Enough? Comments/Advice on My Plan Welcome.
I'm at the time in my credit card cycle where I can buy my ticket now (SYD to CDG via BKK in J) and not pay until late July, am strongly leaning towards the AY flight but I want to look at the pros and cons.
Price: The ticket at $5678.09 is around $1000 less than the next ticket that I’d consider, which is a combination of QF, JL and AF at $6603.17 Pro
Route: The flight goes via Bangkok with a 12 hour overnight stopover on the way over and 11 hours through the day on the way back. I’ve never been to Bangkok so this is appealing, I would arrive at 16.30 so I could visit the city, spend an evening there and return to the Novotel at the airport for a good night’s sleep in time for the 09:00 flight the next morning, even making time for breakfast at the hotel. The return flight arrives at BKK at 7:15 which would fit in with a day room rate at the Novotel. My alternate option would go via Narita, with a six hour stay there both ways which isn’t too appealing, too long to hang around the lounge and too short to get to Tokyo and do anything there Pro
Seats: Flights between Sydney are on Qantas on their A330s, which I’m ok with. The flight from BKK to HEL on my date of travel is 2 2 2 configuration which is a bit disappointing, but the return has the single seats (can't really change the dates). I plan on getting a single on the “A/C” side as they seem to be more spacious than the “L” – any traps here I should be aware of, is L perhaps more private or is there something else I should consider? The flights between HEL and CDG don’t have a real J class, but I’m ok with that for the short flight, I’ll try to get a seat in the first row, aisle. One of the options I noticed between CDG and HEL was a flight not operated by Finnair, but by Flybe which I would not consider taking Pro and Con.
Transfers: Despite assurances already given in this thread and elsewhere, I’m still worried about the short transfer time at HEL, 50 minutes going over and 55 minutes returning. I’m one of those people who leaves my brain at the door when I enter an airport and this doesn’t give me much leeway for getting lost. I also means that I won’t be able to enjoy the lounge at HEL. Con
Amenities: The kit sounds quite basic, but that’s fine, I usually don’t use much from them and just bring them home for my niece. I’ll have the QF kits between Syd and BKK anyway, and the flight. IFE doesn’t bother me much, I like to have it but there’s only so much Big Bang Theory that I can watch in one sitting. Neither Pro nor Con
QFF: The points sound to be as generous as I’d get with any non-QF ticket, certainly better than MH, and this trip should bump me up to Silver. Pro
This thread and the associated trip and hotel reports have probably been more use to me than any thread I’ve come across either on AFF or FT, I’m grateful to everyone who has contributed here, it’s obviously been very helpful, and I think the pros outweigh the cons, particularly with price. I’ll probably book the ticket this evening after vodka o’clock.
Any comments? I’m sure that I haven’t over-analysed things quite enough, but this flight is a bit more interesting and complex that my usual MH Sydney to Paris and back so it’s been a fun exercise for me.
