Thinking of flying to Sydney in August

[Legendary]

I haven't taken a vacation in almost 6 years and it's about time I did. Found a deal for ~$830 round trip JFK to Sydney which is ~30% off the normal RT down there.

Couple of questions to any fellow travelers/Australians:

1. Long haul flight, do you choose United or Delta? Those are my two options
2. Sydney in August, I know it will be winter, but still enjoyable? Any tips about Australian travel itself will be appreciated. My only goal is to make my way up north and swim the Reef before it's gone. Also see the Opera house.

Don't let me down ATOT :awe:

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

Don't know the answers to your questions specifically, but let me give you a tip. If you see any of the following people getting on the flight, I'd give up my seat if I were you.

 

[rivan]

Don't know the answers to your questions specifically, but let me give you a tip. If you see any of the following people getting on the flight, I'd give up my seat if I were you.

Who are they?

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

Who are they?

They tend to be involved in plane crashes.

 

[BrianP]

I haven't taken a vacation in almost 6 years and it's about time I did. Found a deal for ~$830 round trip JFK to Sydney which is ~30% off the normal RT down there.

Couple of questions to any fellow travelers/Australians:

1. Long haul flight, do you choose United or Delta? Those are my two options
2. Sydney in August, I know it will be winter, but still enjoyable? Any tips about Australian travel itself will be appreciated. My only goal is to make my way up north and swim the Reef before it's gone. Also see the Opera house.

Don't let me down ATOT :awe:

I flew down there last October on Delta via LAX. I'm not sure how much experience you have with long haul flights - this was my first one - but it you have any questions (meals, the plane, etc.) regarding the LAX-SYD segment on Delta, I can probably answer them.

 

[rivan]

They tend to be involved in plane crashes.

You lost me.

 

[Reliant]

I haven't taken a vacation in almost 6 years and it's about time I did. Found a deal for ~$830 round trip JFK to Sydney which is ~30% off the normal RT down there.

Couple of questions to any fellow travelers/Australians:

1. Long haul flight, do you choose United or Delta? Those are my two options
2. Sydney in August, I know it will be winter, but still enjoyable? Any tips about Australian travel itself will be appreciated. My only goal is to make my way up north and swim the Reef before it's gone. Also see the Opera house.

Don't let me down ATOT :awe:

I went to Sydney via United in August a few years back. Be prepared for a LONG flight. I left at 11pm and we stayed in the dark till we got there, so it was pretty easy to snooze a lot of it. I went up to the reef, and even though it was winter, it was still decently warm. You're moving up towards the equator and it's pretty mild there.

 

[Uppsala9496]

Make sure you sign up for whatever mileage program for the airline you fly. if anything, you can cash the miles in for random stuff (magazines, etc) if you don't fly much. or you can always donate them for a tax write off.

 

[tboo]

JFK to Sydney is a long-ass flight.

 

[insect9]

I flew United from LAX to Sydney and back in February/March. It was miserable. Not sure how Delta stacks up though, sorry. Fun trip, had a blast.

 

[mjquilly]

I was there for a week for work a few years ago. Stayed at the Ibis Hotel on Darling Harbour. The room was smallish, but it was a decent hotel, and had an awesome view from my room overlooking the city. Sydney was fun, but seems like it just wants to be a big trendy European City, and not Australian. I think I was there in October and it was still in the 60's.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

You lost me.

touche

 

[thepd7]

touche

haha I get it now

 

[CrimsonWolf]

I flew to Perth last August via LAX and SYD for work and vacation.

United uses older 747-400s from LAX to SYD, and from what I read the economy section hasn't updated in ages. There's no personal entertainment TVs and whatnot in economy. I upgraded to business class and it made the 15 hours (one-hour delay on the ground on top of 14 hour flight...) much more enjoyable.

I think Delta uses much newer 777s on that route, so if you're sticking to economy I'd try Delta.

LA to Sydney flights leave late at night and arrive early morning two (!) days later. If you get 7-8 hours of good sleep on the plane, the jet-lag will be easy to deal with.

Perth in August was awesome. The weather was very San Diego-ish. The winter season was very mild. Some days the weather was bright, sunny, and a little warm. There were also a few cooler, cloudy/rainy days. Sydney might be the same. I wouldn't hesitate to go back there in the winter.

I only connected in Sydney so no specific tips there. But a couple locals suggested that Melbourne is fun to visit too, so if you can fit that in it might be worth a shot.

 

[glenn1]

I flew on Qantas last year (LAX to Melbourne, and several domestic routes) and found them to be great. I'd much rather fly them than any domestic U.S. carrier.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

I would stay away from United and Delta. I've flown United before and the plane was really out of date. Qantas and Air NZ are the way to go. They are more modern planes.

Although Virgin now has V Australia and they are all brand new planes, supposed to be nice, although I haven't flown them before.

And when in August? It will be the last month of Winter. I can tell you now, it's not even Winter and it's coooooold. 20C highs for the day and it's currently raining, and when it rains, it rains. Then again last August we had the warmest Winter ever recorded so....

 

[KillerCharlie]

Always, always opt for foreign airlines if you can. American carriers suck. American carriers are really hit and miss on how nice the plane is, but the foreign airline crews are friendlier.

 

[AVAFREAK182]

In my experience, Delta is great.

United usually has really outdated planes it seems.

IMO, Delta is great for comfort.

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

Watch out for Drop Bears.

 

[speg]

I spent a month there summer before last, it was great. The only thing I regret is not getting a chance to go to the 'outback'. We pretty much were stuck on the whole east coast, from Caines to Sydney. It would have been great to fly over to Darwin and do a outback trek to see what the "real" Australia is like. (East coast is just like North America)

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

I can tell you now, it's not even Winter and it's coooooold. 20C highs for the day

Hah, wow. Aussies are such pussies

 

[onlyCOpunk]

You'd think 20C was cold too if you didn't live in the buttcrack of the world right next to antarctica.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

You'd think 20C was cold too if you didn't live in the buttcrack of the world right next to antarctica.

lollerskates. Whatever makes you feel better about yourself.

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

You'd think 20C was cold too if you didn't live in the buttcrack of the world right next to antarctica.

Actually, I would guess that that wouldn't be considered "cold" most places in the world. Maybe unseasonable, but even that's a stretch.