Trip to US West Coast - various questions...

[tuapekastar]

I'm taking my mum to visit US West Coast area in April (courtesy QF 2 for 1 sale). QF's sale has probably stymied my plans to requal DJ plat this year but that's for another time.

I do have a number of questions (and I know some of this info is out there for finding, it's just nice to get it all in one place if possible), but I'll probably just do them bit by bit.

FLIGHTS

First things first, we are in 11EF (A380, J) on way over and way back. One leg pre-allocated in those seats, the other leg, I moved us from the side to the centre. 12EF would have been my preference if available as I am always wary of bulkheads. I considered centre seats back around row 18, but settled on 11. Any opinions on these seats? 'Lounge' noise seems to be the possible issue.

We've decided to see LAX, SFO, LAS and the Grand Canyon (just a 10 night trip, so nothing extended). I had a brief poke around the AA website and was able to get reasonable fares (~USD260) for flights (in Y, no flight longer than 80 or so minutes, not worth YUPPing or anything like that). I don't think I can drag my mum on a YUPP via PAP or POS or anywhere like that either. :shock: The fare I got (LAX-SFO-LAS-LAX) had us flying in O, S, S respectively, so the first flight does not earn on QF. This is not necessarily bad for me as my (relatively few) AA miles are due to expire in July so I could credit that leg to AA.

But any tips on getting flights ensuring credit to QF if I want to? Or is it just hard yakka, and lots of looking?

Does my Mum (QF NB) get the priority access (lounge, security screening, boarding, free luggage) that I get where applicable when flying Y (talking strictly AA here - QF not an issue)?

I'll leave it at that for now, and post some more questions in a day or two - thanks in anticipation.

 

[newformula]

Only point I have an opinion on is the seating - I was in 13F a couple of weeks back from HKG-SYD; went to check out the 'lounge' and realised it was kinda close to the first row and only separated by a curtain. Could be an issue if J is full and people use the area when you're trying to sleep.

 

[tuapekastar]

Only point I have an opinion on is the seating - I was in 13F a couple of weeks back from HKG-SYD; went to check out the 'lounge' and realised it was kinda close to the first row and only separated by a curtain. Could be an issue if J is full and people use the area when you're trying to sleep.

Thanks - I may have to put my mum on that side. :shock:

In all seriousness thanks, and I'll check back on the seating again. The flight over will be a little less 'sleepy' than the return - maybe I'll see how it goes on the way over and change for the late night departure return flight (if possible) if it proves to be an issue.

 

[cove]

Have a look at Australian Expedia and you will see AA is not a leader in the market to get LAX-SFO and Alaskan schedule may not suit you. As a result we do those short hops more cheaply and avoid losing time seeing your trip is short.
By the way you are a treasure for taking your mother!
Driving to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon is quite a viable option from Los Angeles even though you might save an hour by flying you then have a car to go sightseeing.

 

[newformula]

Thanks - I may have to put my mum on that side. :shock:

In all seriousness thanks, and I'll check back on the seating again. The flight over will be a little less 'sleepy' than the return - maybe I'll see how it goes on the way over and change for the late night departure return flight (if possible) if it proves to be an issue.

Thinking about it, 13E would only be marginally better than 13F - the drinks bar is on the LHS while the searing is on the right. There's a sort of crew office on the left beyond the bar too. Either way, there's a decent chance crew and passengers would be coming and going between those curtains, so if that's likely to bother, I'd move back if possible. Or it could be like my flight where J was empty and I was the only bugger who couldn't sleep so was the only person sitting in the lounge. Regardless, I still saw 3 crew ccome in and out in the 1/2 hour I was there (one serving me).

Not relevant, but have to tell someone - this was my first opup as a SG; coming back from
HKG after Chinese new year; Y was full (or at least queue for boarding was massive), Y+ had one spare seat and I got booted up to J. Hurrah! F even looked quite full, but J had loads of seats free.

 

[munitalP]

Have a look at Australian Expedia and you will see AA is not a leader in the market to get LAX-SFO and Alaskan schedule may not suit you. As a result we do those short hops more cheaply and avoid losing time seeing your trip is short.
By the way you are a treasure for taking your mother!
Driving to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon is quite a viable option from Los Angeles even though you might save an hour by flying you then have a car to go sightseeing.

Couldn't agree more regarding driving LA/LAS. In most cases, with the mainstream car hire companies you wont be hit with relocation fees either. Nice little blue soft top Mustang Chris - great drive once outside of LA area. Los Angeles, Grand Canyon ~8 hrs, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas ~5 hours

 

[Skyring]

By the way you are a treasure for taking your mother!
Driving to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon is quite a viable option from Los Angeles even though you might save an hour by flying you then have a car to go sightseeing.

Agree on the treasure tag.

There is nothing like cruising up and down the Strip. Especially in a 'Stang. Do it at night and it's an experience you'll never forget. Hoover Dam is on the way to the Grand Canyon, and the pedestrian walkway on the new bridge gives some amazing views. Stop at Kingman for a 50's Route 66 diner experience at Mr D'z and they'll refill your jumbo home made root beer to keep you sipping on the road. Driving back from the GC along the eastern road past the San Francisco Mountains to Flagstaff is a fantastic ride, and then you just take I-40 all the way back to LA. But hop off and do some desert Route 66 west of Bagdad. Those long desert stretches with the shields on the road surface are great photo ops.

Seriously, I wouldn't bother with internal flying. Just drive everywhere. I don't know if they have fixed the coastal highway between San Francisco and LA yet, but that's a fabulous drive - though a very long day. Drive over the Golden Gate Bridge for a meal and a stroll in Sausalito. Experience the LA freeways - with a good GPS it's no hassle at all. The freedom of having a car will make up for a lot of fussing around with public transport. The USA is designed around cars, so there's plenty of parking and fuel is cheap and nobody minds if you go a bit over the speed limit. You're more likely to be pulled over for going too slow than too fast.

But do take a cable car in San Francisco. And a good camera. And share the experience with us.

As to the seats, geez, J on an A380 is going to be good no matter where you sit.

 

[tuapekastar]

Thanks all for the replies. It seems driving is popular! TBH part from a relatively short freeway-only stint in my youth, I've never driven on the 'wrong' side, and it's not an overly appealing prospect, but I guess, given thousands do so, I can do it too and will certainly consider it (along with all the other suggestions here). But the whole trip is basically for the old girl, so it's going to depend a lot on her wants/needs more so than mine.

I know I have further questions re this trip, but gotta run right now. Thx again.

Oh, and point taken about the J seating Skyring, they're all good, but as others have posted there can be small things which make a difference such as noise from the bar/lounge. I guess I'm just being an AFFer and obsessing a little.

 

[Skyring]

Bless you again! Making your mum happy trumps all.

Driving on the other side isn't difficult, and you soon get used to it, once you get over the OMG I'm on the wrong side! bit. The hardest parts are turns, and I say to myself, "Right is tight and left is loose," to keep on the right track at intersections. Driving on single-lane country roads, you need to keep your wits about you, as you tend to pull to the left when faced with oncoming traffic and that's a bad idea. Your mother, as co-driver, will need to nudge you to keep to the left side of your lane, as you will naturally tend to position yourself as driver on the right hand side of the lane, with half of the car sticking into the next lane over. That takes about a day to get used to.

Last April I spent five weeks from SFO to DC and back, driving in a big Chrysler van with various companions, and I loved it. We all had a go at driving and the co-driver would help reduce the workload on the driver by navigating and fiddling with the radio and nudging him or her "you're drifting right again...".

OMG, those American rentals. Ugly as anything, but they know how to pile on the options. We had satellite radio with about two hundred channels, so there was news and weather and traffic for wherever we were driving, and a massive choice of music and talk channels. If your mum likes fundamentalist Christian, she'll be well catered for. Or golden oldies or jazz or whatever.

A good satnav is golden, especially on the freeways. We brought our own TomTom, loaded with a US map, and it showed the exact lane to be in at freeway ramps. It catered for transit lanes as well. Some of those intersections were truly awesome, but the satnav gave the exact instructions we needed, down to an auto-generated view of the ramps and the signage.

Signage, especially on interstates, is excellent and more or less uniform nationwide. Even the dreaded LA freeways were easily navigated. Mind you, I thought we'd been shot cruising past Hollywood when there was a bang and the windscreen developed a sudden crack. Turned out it was just the engine of the guy ahead seizing up and we must have copped a bit of shrapnel. The massive rental depot at the Las Vegas airport switched the thing over for us without blinking. They had rows and rows of the same model van we were driving all exactly alike and my daughter picked the one with the prettiest state license plate (New Mexico was her fancy).

Up to your mum, as you say, but I'd seriously recommend driving. It gives you a lot of freedom to see what you want, stop for photographs, stow your bits and pieces, and see the country up close. I loved the desert driving we did in California and Arizona. And exploring an American roadhouse/travel centre is an adventure in itself. Whole aisles devoted to beef jerky. Serve yourself taco bars. Bad coffee out the wazoo - caramel "cappuccino" and mocha slushies. Chilli mango slices. Chocolate-coated peanut-butter-filled pretzels. Superjumbo-sized tobacco chaws...

 

[Bundy Bear]

I'm taking my mum to visit US West Coast area in April (courtesy QF 2 for 1 sale). QF's sale has probably stymied my plans to requal DJ plat this year but that's for another time.

I do have a number of questions (and I know some of this info is out there for finding, it's just nice to get it all in one place if possible), but I'll probably just do them bit by bit.


We've decided to see LAX, SFO, LAS and the Grand Canyon (just a 10 night trip, so nothing extended). I had a brief poke around the AA website and was able to get reasonable fares (~USD260) for flights (in Y, no flight longer than 80 or so minutes, not worth YUPPing or anything like that). I don't think I can drag my mum on a YUPP via PAP or POS or anywhere like that either. :shock: The fare I got (LAX-SFO-LAS-LAX) had us flying in O, S, S respectively, so the first flight does not earn on QF. This is not necessarily bad for me as my (relatively few) AA miles are due to expire in July so I could credit that leg to AA.

But any tips on getting flights ensuring credit to QF if I want to? Or is it just hard yakka, and lots of looking?

Does my Mum (QF NB) get the priority access (lounge, security screening, boarding, free luggage) that I get where applicable when flying Y (talking strictly AA here - QF not an issue)?

I should have spoken to you some more during the weekend.

Don't drive in and around SFO.
When you arrive in America I would suggest flying straight onto SFO, I find San Francisco is an area you can actually walk around in unless when you are in LA go to one of the theme parks.
Your traveling companion will get the same boarding treatment if it is on the same booking.
If flying on AA trying to earn AA points then you may not get the lounge access, although I wonder if you book on 1 and then switch it around still works, so you get lounge access on your card but then you credit the miles to AA on your AA account, maybe someone can answer that.
Depending on how many AA points you got could you just use the points on 1 of the flights.
SFO-LAS you could consider flying Virgin America, Plane Tickets, Flights And Airfares | Virgin America another airline to add to your list.
One option is to drive from LAS to LAX then you could drive via Hoover Dam and or the Grand Canyon, driving LAS-LAX is about 300 miles, less than 500 kms.
You are flying J on an A380 who cares about the seat selection, although I would personally go for a window and an aisle.
KUPPs on LAX-SFO forgetaboutit. US $442.00 or there abouts.
Last time I was in LAS with my mum 2005 we brought tickets to one of the shows that was on.

Please enjoy your flight.

 

[DeKa]

Don't drive in and around SFO.

Why not? It's easy driving around the airport... Signage is very clear when leaving and returning.

If you refer to San Francisco itself, again, why not? The hills are fun, traffic not too bad, and parking in the CBD is cheap! (think $10-$12 a day). Then you have a car to check out things like the Golden Gate bridge and Sausalito.

 

[Blackadder]

If flying between LAX-SFO, and prepared to for go any points/SC's , then SouthWest is a good option prices from around $112 ow inc two checked bags free.

 

[cove]

The coast road from San Francisco to Los Angeles is quite beautiful but if you are easily scared of twisting roads built around cliffs then it would not be for you. I would not do that drive at night nor when it is pelting with rain.
If in any doubt and or you are short of time then fly it.
We drive a lot in America because the roads are so easy....you just go with the flow when it gets crowded.

 

[Skyring]

Second Bundy's advice to fly straight on to SFO after arrival. If driving, don't want to do LA/SF twice, nice though it is along the coast and the inland route faster but boring.

SFO itself is easily navigated, freeway into the city, or surface roads if you head a bit west before turning north, but be wary of some of those hills in town. Even experienced locals don't love approaching a cross street uphill, where you have severe vision limitations, like not being able to see over the bonnet. But SF isn't all hills.



In Vegas, yeah, it's all shows and they can be superb. Hotels often have fabulous deals. Staid at the Las Vegas Hilton for $52/night, and the Paris for not much more on the way back.

 

[Bundy Bear]

Just another thought, try and not stay in Las Vegas on a Friday or Saturday night, this really will depend on your schedule though but something to think about.
Usually Las Vegas people will fly in for the weekend.

 

[tuapekastar]

Just a quick update post-trip (I will post a small TR sometime soon):

Flew MEL-LAX-SFO, 4 nights SFO, then flew back to LAX, got car (!) and drove to LAX hotel. 2 nights there, then drove to LAS. 4 nights there (incl. helo trip to Grand Canyon), then drove back to LAX airport. "Right is tight, left is loose" was repeated many times, both by me and by my mum (who, incidentally, loved the trip). A most useful piece of advice!

Great trip, and as threatened a TR will appear relatively shortly.

Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[midcoast1]

As Skyring said , very easy to get used to driving on the other side.Only minor issue i had at times was judging where the front right corner of the car was in relation to the edge of the road , other than that it is not that scary. As for San Francisco , we arrived in peak hour in the afternoon but the trusty gps showed us the way and it wasn't to bad even in peak.

 

[PLANT]

Hostie gave me the best advice: "Keep your passenger in the GUTTER!"...kept me on the right side of the road!
Looking at going to LA in JUNE and driving the West coat to San Fran.
Can someone give me a link info on doing this, time, distance and where to stay?
Should I keep going to Vancouver?
Probably use novacarhire.com.au to book and just me driving.
Will sat nav it via GPS or my phone which has maps without data.

 

[tuapekastar]

As Skyring said , very easy to get used to driving on the other side.Only minor issue i had at times was judging where the front right corner of the car was in relation to the edge of the road , other than that it is not that scary. As for San Francisco , we arrived in peak hour in the afternoon but the trusty gps showed us the way and it wasn't to bad even in peak.

Funny you should say that. In my first foray through the LA 'burbs I gave the gutter an almighty whack (and my old mum a big fright!) with said front right wheel! Just had a tendency to drive to the right of the lane for some reason. No harm done fortunately.

 

[tuapekastar]

Just another thought, try and not stay in Las Vegas on a Friday or Saturday night, this really will depend on your schedule though but something to think about.
Usually Las Vegas people will fly in for the weekend.

Very prescient. We drove LA to LV on a Sunday and the amount of traffic heading the other way back to LA was horrendous.