QF Oz to USA September 2022 - preferred route?

[flydoc]

I am planning a trip to Kentucky in September, likely required to fly QF

The transPac routes that I can see scheduled for then are

-QF55 BNE-LAX (A330, departing mid morning),
- QF11 SYD-LAX (A380, departing mid morning),
- QF7 SYD-DFW (B787 departing mid afternoon)
- QF15 BNE-LAX (A330 departing mid evening) and
- QF93 MEL-LAX (also B787, departing mid evening)

and their corresponding return legs

Interested in people’s thoughts on preferred route. Key considerations include
- optimal departure time — morning vs afternoon vs night - influence on flight experience, inflight service and also likely arrival experience (delay at immigration, terminal transfer for onward connection)
- possible Oz DOM <-> INT transfers - in order of ease: MEL BNE SYD?
- lounges. BNE J vs SYD/MEL F
- aircraft type (likely J cabin , maybe W given flight prices)
- US lounge options - currently QF J lounge at TBIT - will the promised F lounge re-opening have happened by then?
Also wanting to confirm access to AA Flagship lounges as OWE, even though QF currently state no access to international partner lounges

What else have I missed?

Thankyou in advance

 

[mviy]

In J the seating should be pretty similar for all of those aircraft.

If you need the extra SC from flying indirect that is a factor too.

 

[Mattg]

I would avoid the BNE-LAX A330 flights as QF is using entirely Jetconnect (NZ based) crew on these flights, who have to sleep on banks of economy seats in lieu of having a proper crew rest. So the service may not be as good.

 

[Franky]

We’re currently sitting in the AA Admiral Lounge at LAX having just arrived this morning 90m late on QF11 In J. To add to the delay it took 15m for the air bridge to connect, and then another hour for us to clear customs and collect bags. There were many passengers who QF had to arrange for express passes to clear customs for those with tight connections as a result. Mrs C is the WP in the family, no issues getting into this lounge - similar to the QF Lounge at Sydney T1. Our journey from Perth started with the midnight horror also leaving 40m late, but with the big blow over the country Tuesday night, we actually had to back off to arriving in Sydney to avoid breaking the curfew!

 

[docjames]

Probably need to consider the end destination / connections in each stop ie. where are you departing from, what are the connections like in SFO/LAX/DFW to Kentucky (? Which city are you flying to).

And whether you are looking for (favouring) best experience, fastest trip, best price, or SC maximisation?

 

[moa999]

Doesn't help for September, but QF starting MEL-DFW from Dec 2022.

 

[Lynda2475]

You don't say where you are connecting from in Aus?

Personally I would fly SYD-DFW because DFW is a dream to enter the USA through in comparison to LAX (e-gates, and QF flight usually has the baggage claim area all to itself, so only people in the line for customs are from your flight), and DFW is the main AA hub so should have plenty of easy onward connections.

However transferring DOM-INT at Sydney is more complicated than it is at Melbourne.

 

[sudoer]

possible Oz DOM <-> INT transfers - in order of ease: MEL BNE SYD?

I think SYD is marginally easier than BNE if the QF bus is running, which it should be.

- lounges. BNE J vs SYD/MEL F

It's not even close. The BNE J lounge might look relatively new and it has decent runway views, but it's still a J lounge. Either SYD or MEL F lounge blows it out of the water when it comes to F&B and overall comfort.

 

[downtheback]

SYD-DFW on the way out (the seamless lite isn't that bad dom->int)
LAX-MEL on the way home (transferring at LAX is fine, it's just entry immigration/customs that is coughe)

(NB assuming you don't live in either port).

 

[sqrt()]

We’re currently sitting in the AA Admiral Lounge at LAX having just arrived this morning 90m late on QF11 In J. To add to the delay it took 15m for the air bridge to connect, and then another hour for us to clear customs and collect bags. There were many passengers who QF had to arrange for express passes to clear customs for those with tight connections as a result. Mrs C is the WP in the family, no issues getting into this lounge - similar to the QF Lounge at Sydney T1. Our journey from Perth started with the midnight horror also leaving 40m late, but with the big blow over the country Tuesday night, we actually had to back off to arriving in Sydney to avoid breaking the curfew!

Is the flagship lounge not open? Far superior to any of the 3 ACs in LAX I would think!

 

[smckay]

SYD-DFW in J on QF is great. Train into downtown is a bit of an effort as you have to get a shuttle bus to another terminal which are random and not signposted well but once on the train it's good.
787 is a good ride as well.
I can't recall the entry into US but nothing stands out so it must have been better than the folks at LAX or JFK with no interrogation.

 

[offshore171]

What else have I missed?

What is the city of origin?

 

[Lynda2475]

SYD-DFW in J on QF is great

Agree. Not sure the train will be relevent as seems the OP will be connect to a flight to Kentucky, not staying in Dallas. I've always chosen a DFW hotel that has a free shuttle bus that picks up for all terminals, if Ive needed to stay over night.

 

[Sssincaol]

I am planning a trip to Kentucky in September, likely required to fly QF

The transPac routes that I can see scheduled for then are

-QF55 BNE-LAX (A330, departing mid morning),
- QF11 SYD-LAX (A380, departing mid morning),
- QF7 SYD-DFW (B787 departing mid afternoon)
- QF15 BNE-LAX (A330 departing mid evening) and
- QF93 MEL-LAX (also B787, departing mid evening)

and their corresponding return legs

Interested in people’s thoughts on preferred route. Key considerations include
- optimal departure time — morning vs afternoon vs night - influence on flight experience, inflight service and also likely arrival experience (delay at immigration, terminal transfer for onward connection)
- possible Oz DOM <-> INT transfers - in order of ease: MEL BNE SYD?
- lounges. BNE J vs SYD/MEL F
- aircraft type (likely J cabin , maybe W given flight prices)
- US lounge options - currently QF J lounge at TBIT - will the promised F lounge re-opening have happened by then?
Also wanting to confirm access to AA Flagship lounges as OWE, even though QF currently state no access to international partner lounges

What else have I missed?

Thankyou in advance

Avoid LAX - DFW is so much easier. I do this route every year USA/Australia and gladly pay the extra cost to avoid LAX. The late departure from DFW makes the flight go faster

 

[Katie]

You don't say where you are connecting from in Aus?

Personally I would fly SYD-DFW because DFW is a dream to enter the USA through in comparison to LAX (e-gates, and QF flight usually has the baggage claim area all to itself, so only people in the line for customs are from your flight), and DFW is the main AA hub so should have plenty of easy onward connections.

However transferring DOM-INT at Sydney is more complicated than it is at Melbourne.

I flew on QF7 on Sun, 8 May.
All arriving international passengers, except those with Global Entry, must go through manual border control. Including US and Canadian citizens. All of the kiosks have been removed from the arrivals/border control room (except for the handful for Global Entry). There were at least three international flights arriving around the same time, so I was queued up for at least 45 minutes to get through to an immigration agent. The queue moved more quickly when all of the US and Canadian citizens had been processed, and the rest of us had an extra 10 or whatever agents processing our entry.

Curiously, the agents seemed to be randomly taking breaks, but would just leave their station even if there was a queue. *shrug*

From what I've read from other travellers, the kiosks aren't being used in any other international entry points into the US (apart from for Global Entry).

Baggage claim was easy enough once I got down there, I don't remember having to wait for my bags. Basically no customs double-checking any more (customs form given to immigration agent) - pretty much walked straight through from baggage claim to the AA connection luggage drop off area. I had to go to the AA counter, though, as the bag tag for one of my suitcases was barely attached (and one of my own fabric luggage tags had been completely removed somewhere in transit - the QF coaster had also taken quite a beating).

DFW is great for connections. My TA tried to ticket me on a ~50min connection, though, which must be MCT, but I refused it. So I had a 5 hr layover.

 

[Katie]

Oh, and the Flagship Lounge at DFW is nice (near gate D22 - the regular AA lounge is near gate D24; they're completely separate entrances). I went to DFW twice on my trip last month, and ORD once. Greeted with a staff member pouring Piper Heidsieck NV on entry. Cheers!

It will depend on how long your layover is and which terminal your flight to Kentucky leaves from whether you'll actually get to the Flagship Lounge. I had a long layover, and still left the lounge a bit more than an hour before my flight to MSP was due to depart to allow for the time to get to the Skytrain and transfer to whatever other terminal it was. A I think.

 

[Fergo747]

Given the choices you've outlined the 7 to DFW (and return) would be my pick for a number of reasons:

• Afternoon departure from Sydney meaning you can have a relaxing lunch in the F-lounge and also aren't battling the morning departure rush (having been there for both the QF1 and QF7 recently it's quite nice at that time of day)
• Arrival into DFW: you arrive closer to your destination and the fact that DFW is a AA hub (assuming your connection is on AA) then in the event QF is late, issues with original AA flight etc. you are likely to have more alternatives than LAX
• US Lounges: Flagship lounge at DFW is nice and you will have entry as a OWE. Note that you won't have access to Flagship First dining which is the dining room inside the Flagship lounge.
• Aircraft / Seat type: as others have said, going to be pretty similar seat types. A380 and 787 seats marginally better than 330. Only potential benefit of going via LAX on the A380 would be opportunity to upgrade to F.

Having been through DFW a couple of weeks ago and as Katie rightly pointed out, they have changed at DFW to now being manual border entry rather than gates which is annoying. The retimed QF flight (used to arrive around 1.30pm now 4pm) has multiple other flights arriving at the same time meaning that it can take some time to get through (not as bad as LAX).

 

[Lynda2475]

Interesting wrt to removal of the e-gates, pre-covid it was great that the SYD-DFW A380 arrived early arvo and was the only flight arriving at that time. Still competing with 2-3 flights still beats competing with 10+ at LAX.

Curiously, the agents seemed to be randomly taking breaks, but would just leave their station even if there was a queue. *shrug*

This happened last time i entered through JFK, so frustrating. There were only 3 counters opened and 2 other flight arrived immediately after mine so lengthy queues. 2 went off for their coffee break leaving 1 person, then just as I was nearing the front (after an hour wait), 7 agents appeared and a stack of extra counters opened.

 

[flydoc]

Probably need to consider the end destination / connections in each stop ie. where are you departing from, what are the connections like in SFO/LAX/DFW to Kentucky (? Which city are you flying to).

And whether you are looking for (favouring) best experience, fastest trip, best price, or SC maximisation?

Destination is SDF. Connections look to be 2-4 hours. Probably looking for the sweet spot between all the above considerations....

In J the seating should be pretty similar for all of those aircraft.

If you need the extra SC from flying indirect that is a factor too.

Indeed. LTG is a goal so it all helps

Doesn't help for September, but QF starting MEL-DFW from Dec 2022.

Yep I saw and wished it started in Sept....

SYD-DFW on the way out (the seamless lite isn't that bad dom->int)
LAX-MEL on the way home (transferring at LAX is fine, it's just entry immigration/customs that is coughe)

(NB assuming you don't live in either port).

Hadn’t really considered the open jaw option, so thankyou

Given the choices you've outlined the 7 to DFW (and return) would be my pick for a number of reasons:

• Afternoon departure from Sydney meaning you can have a relaxing lunch in the F-lounge and also aren't battling the morning departure rush (having been there for both the QF1 and QF7 recently it's quite nice at that time of day)
• Arrival into DFW: you arrive closer to your destination and the fact that DFW is a AA hub (assuming your connection is on AA) then in the event QF is late, issues with original AA flight etc. you are likely to have more alternatives than LAX
• US Lounges: Flagship lounge at DFW is nice and you will have entry as a OWE. Note that you won't have access to Flagship First dining which is the dining room inside the Flagship lounge.
• Aircraft / Seat type: as others have said, going to be pretty similar seat types. A380 and 787 seats marginally better than 330. Only potential benefit of going via LAX on the A380 would be opportunity to upgrade to F.

Having been through DFW a couple of weeks ago and as Katie rightly pointed out, they have changed at DFW to now being manual border entry rather than gates which is annoying. The retimed QF flight (used to arrive around 1.30pm now 4pm) has multiple other flights arriving at the same time meaning that it can take some time to get through (not as bad as LAX).

Like the rationales.

Thankyou everyone for all the replies to the thread, I appreciate the knowledgeable input and will give those suggestions some thought

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

SYD from T1 int to T3 is now a pain in the (can I say it)?
In the past, the transfer bus provided by QF after being xray screened at T1, the bus would bring you to the secure zone of T3 at gate 15, just like it is from T3 to T1 for QF dom to int flights.
But now, they call it seamless lite, so it takes more of an effort to get from T1 to T3, and now the QF bus will drop you outside T3. so you have to do xray in T3, instead of T1, so the transfer time QF gives you, might be very tight, coming back from the US with QF at T1, then making your way, tired as you are, to get to T3, then having to do xray of your HLO there, with everyone else.
I say, try to get a QF int flight that directly leaves from BNE, and ideally, comes back to BNE.
Avoid SYD.
If you have to go transit, go via MEL where you can walk from T1 to T2, the QFi J lounge might not be too flash, but at the least, its walkable from the dom terminal to the int terminal.
Or, QF BNE - PER (plane arrives into PER at T4, walkable to T3), then PER - UK, and then something from there to the US (AA), yes, a long way around, and $$$. but it avoids transitting/tranferring at SYD!
Edit: our new mantra, bring a laptop with you that you can do the Aust DPD on, for your return.
You might need to use a hotel scanner, or a scanner somewhere to scan passport data page, and take a selfie!
And they said TSA/US CBP is strict and hard, this DPD is halfwit to that.
Both google app and apple app rate to app based doing DPD as hard, deters me from flying overseas.