USA Trip (Most comfortable aircraft)

[seniorelf]

Hello everyone,
I am thinking about taking a May holiday in the USA.
My itinerary currently looks like this:
SYD (Sydney) - SEA (Seattle) - JFK (New York)
Coach tour New York to Los Angeles
LAX (Los Angeles) – HNL (Honolulu) – SYD (Sydney)
Which airlines/planes would AFF members suggest for this holiday? – I am close to booking an economy/premium economy seat.
I look forward to your thoughts.

 

[bsb]

No idea for economy, but Qantas in PE I've done and the 380 was better than the 747.

 

[UP4014]

It's not really going to make much difference, personally I'd go for the 747 but I like 747s.

You're a braver man than me to do a coach tour NY to LA, I'd prefer to hire a car and drive myself and choose who I talk to each day.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Hello everyone,
I am thinking about taking a May holiday in the USA.
My itinerary currently looks like this:
SYD (Sydney) - SEA (Seattle) - JFK (New York)
Coach tour New York to Los Angeles
LAX (Los Angeles) – HNL (Honolulu) – SYD (Sydney)
Which airlines/planes would AFF members suggest for this holiday? – I am close to booking an economy/premium economy seat.
I look forward to your thoughts.

Welcome to AFF

That sounds like quite a holiday !!
With that itinerary probably the best way you can do it on the one ticket is with Qantas/American Airlines. The easiest way would be QF to SFO and connect to SEA at the start.
SEA-JFK on AA and LAX-HNL also on AA. HNL-SYD would be on QF.

Have a play around with the multicity booking engine on QF and it should give you an idea of the flights and pricing.

 

[jgm]

It may be worth having a look at Hawaiian - one stop at Honolulu, and around the cheapest fares. Main advantages are the longest leg is around 3 hours shorter than flying direct to mainland US, total flight time is less, and quicker & easier customs & immigration in HNL than at either LAX or SFO.

 

[Gold60]

Hi,

This is similar to a trip i am planning.

Have you looked at A NZ for PEcon, and maybe a bit of train travel?

Hawaiian Comfort Seats are also on my radar as an option.

 

[seniorelf]

Hello everyone,
Thank you for the replies.
I have decided to book the trip in stages.
My itinerary has changed a little.
My revised route is:
SYD (Sydney) - LAX (Los Angeles) (Booked on A380)
LAX (Los Angeles) - SEA (Seattle) - to be booked.
SEA (Seattle) - DCA (Washington DC) - to be booked.
Train from Washington DC to New York - to be booked.
Coach tour New York to Los Angeles
LAX (Los Angeles) – SYD (Sydney) (Booked on A380)
I want to fly to SEA on the same day as I arrive in LAX. How much time between flights should I allow to clear customs/immigration?
Also, does anyone have a recommendation about where to stay in Washington DC? - I will be visiting the museums.
I look forward to your thoughts.

 

[drewbles]

You'll arrive into LAX in the morning. If you're connecting on separate tickets, i'd personally allow at least 3 hours between scheduled arrival and estimated departure. Ensure you have travel insurance just in case things go wrong.

That said, if you book LAX-SEA on AA, AA treat inbound QF (and Oneworld) flights as connecting, even on separate tickets, so they would protect you in the event your QF flight is late and you missed your outbound to SEA.

Can't help you about DC, i've only stayed in one hotel there and it was for a function!

 

[Denali]

Last year we flew LAX>SEA, I picked a flight that allowed a 6hr layover (in case our departure was delayed) but my plan was to ask to be bumped to an earlier flight - which is what happened.

To do this, I didn't take my luggage to the transit desk, I took it to the counter checkin at the other terminal. But this is because my bookings were separate.

 

[UP4014]

I want to fly to SEA on the same day as I arrive in LAX. How much time between flights should I allow to clear customs/immigration?
Also, does anyone have a recommendation about where to stay in Washington DC? - I will be visiting the museums.
I look forward to your thoughts.

For the onward flight to Seattle. You don't say what time of year, it can make a huge difference in the time needed to catch a connecting flight. Summer is easy but winter can cause the domino effect delaying flights for hours all over the country.

I would allow 4 hours at LAX. If your flight out of Sydney is delayed an hour or two you're stuffed otherwise. I have previously allowed 4 hours and still missed a connection; make sure the flight from Sydney to Seattle is on the same ticket which will work wonders if there are delays at least you'll get on the next available flight. Go with American or Alaskan.

Matt

 

[sausagefingers]

Hello everyone,
Thank you for the replies.
I have decided to book the trip in stages.
My itinerary has changed a little.
My revised route is:
SYD (Sydney) - LAX (Los Angeles) (Booked on A380)
LAX (Los Angeles) - SEA (Seattle) - to be booked.
SEA (Seattle) - DCA (Washington DC) - to be booked.
Train from Washington DC to New York - to be booked.
Coach tour New York to Los Angeles
LAX (Los Angeles) – SYD (Sydney) (Booked on A380)
I want to fly to SEA on the same day as I arrive in LAX. How much time between flights should I allow to clear customs/immigration?
Also, does anyone have a recommendation about where to stay in Washington DC? - I will be visiting the museums.
I look forward to your thoughts.

I have stayed at the Beacon Hotel in DC which is walking distance to most attractions and funnily enough almost next door to the Aussie Embassy lol.

 

[seniorelf]

Hello everyone,
I am well on the way to booking my itinerary.
I spent a lot of time on researching accommodation in Washington DC.
I've never tried airb&b before, so I decided to give them a go. I was lucky to find a place near the capitol.
Also booked Amtrak from Washington DC to NYC. - should be nice trip.
When I get back to LA, I am thinking about visiting Disneyland.
Does anyone have any recommendations about where to stay in Anaheim?
I look forward to your thoughts.

 

[sausagefingers]

Hello everyone,
I am well on the way to booking my itinerary.
I spent a lot of time on researching accommodation in Washington DC.
I've never tried airb&b before, so I decided to give them a go. I was lucky to find a place near the capitol.
Also booked Amtrak from Washington DC to NYC. - should be nice trip.
When I get back to LA, I am thinking about visiting Disneyland.
Does anyone have any recommendations about where to stay in Anaheim?
I look forward to your thoughts.

Last month I stayed for 5 nights at the Camelot Inn and Suites which is very close to across the road from Disneyland (maybe a 5min walk from the front gate)
Very basic, no free breakfast but very clean and friendly and helpful staff.

 

[seniorelf]

Hello everyone,

I'm just back from my trip to the USA. I was away from Australia for a little over a month. I had a great time and would like to share some of my experiences with the forum.
I flew SYD to LAX and back on a Qantas A380 airbus. My seat was in row 66 near the cabin crew quarters. I was basically in the middle of the aircraft. The flights were long but free from turbulence. In my opinion, the A380 is more quiet than a Boeing. (At least where I was sitting). The staff were efficient but I wasn't sure as to whether they liked their jobs.
Within the USA I flew Alaska air from LAX to SEA and SEA to Washington DC. Both internal flights were comfortable. The staff were friendly. Food was not included in the price of the tickets. Snack packs could be purchased during the flight at additional expense. I would fly Alaska again.
I traveled by Amtrak train from Washington DC to New York. The trip took around 3 hours. I enjoyed the ride and the scenery. The speed of the train surprised me. At one point we were travelling at 200km/hour. - I was thinking to myself why can't we do this in Australia?
My cross country coach tour from New York to Los Angeles was fun. I ticked off a lot of items from my "bucket list". A highlight for me was the Smithsonian air and space museum.
Thank you all for assisting with my trip plans.

 

[Quickstatus]

Hi seniorelf,

Could you put an expanded trip report in this thread?:

Trip Reports and Trip Photos