I think you are looking at the premium economy prices. Business class is capped at 318k points. Not that it matters as there are no business class reward seats around your dates anyway. If you have the time you can look for flights via Asia. Even if you happen to be very lucky and find some it will double or triple your flight time to the U.S. with potentially some long transits. That is the reality Iām afraid.
Hi @Yura,
Itās very slim picking for those dates given itās school holidays and also booking for 2 adults makes it even harder. Butā¦ if you want to think outside the box a little and you can get to Kuala Lumpur say on a cash fare from Sydney - or maybe book a separate return trip using points, the following itinerary is āfairlyā close to getting you a trip that fits your required dates.
Of noteā¦ all the Emirates flights are listed as the A380 - a MUCH better business class experience than on the 777. Also, the flight from SFO to Dubai (via LAX) gives you Business class reward seats for the LAX - DXB leg, but if you search only for LAX - DXB it will only offer you Premium Economy.
Hereās another stab at itā¦ returning via Seattle - Taipei - Kuala Lumpur. This fits even closer to your preferred dates AND includes New York to LA and LAX - Seattle - for less points.
2 general questions that come up during our searching:
1. What is the domestic connecting flight experience like at LAX, SanFran or Dallas or Seattle? Long waits?
LAX is a good airport to transit from International to Domestic. You can walk to the other terminals easily. There is a courtesy bus but you donāt really need it. The airport is a large āUā shape. After 14+hrs sitting, its nice to stretch the legs a bit. Most of it is under cover too from memory.
Seattle is fine too. Itās a larger sprawling set of terminals, but there is a train for the longer sections/distances. You can walk a lot of it as well (maybe all? Iām not 100% sure). All the parts Iāve walked were inside the terminal āairsideā.
I always do a quick google search for airport maps before I fly so I know where Iām headed once I land etcā¦ Iād strongly suggest the same. Print them out if necessary and take them with you as well so you can review them prior/once you arrive.
Wait times all depend on your connecting flights next departure time really. Personally, I like to have a minimum 3hrs transit time to clear customs and get backs etcā¦ before needing to check them in again for the next domestic leg. Going the other way it depends on the airline(s) youāre flying with and what partner agreements they all have, but you might be able to check your bags in for your domestic flight and not see them until you arrive back in Oz. But be aware of transit times if you might have to pick up your bags and then make the next flight.
What if there is a flight to New York via LAX. Could we not just ask for luggage to be taken off at LAX and skip the connecting flight?
In general you can safely skip the last leg/sector if your bags arenāt checked all the way through. Given that youāll need to clear customs and immigration upon landing in LAX this could be an option for you. You can certainly depart the terminal and head off where ever you like.
An important note: the capped 318K points price is for a Qantas OneWorld Classic Reward ticket (colloquially known as a round the world ticket). All airlines within your itinerary must be OneWorld alliance airlines. Emirates and China Airlines are not part of OneWorld and cannot be included if you want the price to cap out at 318K. Other airlines that are partnered up with Qantas but not part of oneWorld and cannot be included include EL AL (the Israeli Arline), Jetstar, Air France, KLM just to name a few. Make sure that ALL airlines in your itinerary are part of the one world alliance.
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