I'll be flying NYC-SYD at the end of November (return in early-mid December) and want to fly *A. I have status with UA and would prefer to fly that.

I have a budget of 6k (work provided) which doesn't let me get to Z (~8.5k). What's my best option? I want to maximize comfort, miles, and employer's money. I have 100k+ miles and will be 1k by the trip, so I might have some SWUs available as well (but won't have them until at least September).

Suggestions?

 

Try Asiana

 

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/
-Try playing around with this.

Very hard to stay on UA in this case, and fly business. Business to SYD will run anyone several hundred/thousand over 6k. Y even runs ~7k.

I see EWR-ORD-LAX-SYD-LAX-EWR and several other options for Tue Nov, 29 to Thu, Dec 8 in K/L for $1857.90 ai

If you would consider leaving UA, Qantas flies a "direct" flight JFK-LAX-SYD and back. A plane change is required though. A330 to 744.

 

I hate to suggest you waste your employers $$, but:

Get a b-fare ($4k) and upgrade with miles.
JFK-SFO/LAX on PS
SFO/LAX-SYD

Route back through new zealand, don't know how long you would have.
SYD-<have fun in NZ>-AKL on NZ
AKL-SFO on NZ (b-fare means you can * upgrade. Maybe)
SFO-JFK on PS

But I like NZ.

 

What's the advantage of getting a B-fare for an upgrade (other than the 150% EQM and domestic auto-up)? It seems like if I go the upgrade path I should get the lowest SWU-upgradeable fare. Will that significantly lower the odds of me getting the upgrade?

 

OP won't have SWU's until September, unless s/he can snag some elsewhere. B fares might be somewhat reasonable and would put OP higher up in the waitlist food chain.

If upgrade inventory exists when you book, I would snag it with whatever instrument you have available. You might also get a buy-up offer at time of booking.

Other ideas:
Play with flexible dates on Kayak to see if any reasonable biz fares pop up.

Check fares from west coast gateways (LAX/SFO/YVR) to see if a "cheap enough" biz fare is available, then book a separate cheap ticket to departure point. Note: If this pans out, make sure to leave ample time for misconnects. A full day might not be too much.

Consider NZ via LAX/SFO and AKL to SYD.

Look at fares going eastbound. CO/UA/LH/SQ to Europe then SQ/TG/OZ to SYD.

Whatever you do, leave extra time to visit. Also consider time in New Zealand as it and Australia are fantastic places. Since they are so far, take extra free time to see and do something.

 

Every 1K spending their own money buys W fares. You are now in front of them. You are more likely to find a flying unicorn to ride to Australia than advance NC space on that route, so it's going to be a battle day of departure. There have been many times the CSR has told me to wait (one of the last two biz seats) while telling other 1Ks just to go ahead and take their economy seats.

Also, the 50% EQM bonus each year is the difference between 1P and 1K for me personally.

 

You can upgrade a Star Alliance (i.e. NZ) flight with miles on a B fare.

 

Check Air Canada they usually have fares averaging 7K RT its not 6K but if you could work your magic maybe you could find some dates where its a suitable price

 

+1 Looks like lax-yvr-syd on AC biz is around 5.5k, can buy a separate PS flight and upgrade it with CR1 when you reach 1k. I don't mind the upgrase roulette on domestic segments. But I want the sure thing across the pond.

 

The B fare also has no copay for a mileage upgrade..in case you end up using miles instead of SWU's, plus it's a higher fare so it puts you above upgraders on lower fares.

 

I like the idea of flying from LAX and buying domestic RT tickets for the rest but I have a few concerns:
1. Flying different carriers on different PNRs means I have to leave tons of time between flights and that's going to be a waste of time for me
2. Not going to be able to check luggage through
3. Flying AC LAX-SYD isn't nonstop so I'll have 2+ stops instead of 1.

It looks like I can get AC C NYC-SYD for 6.8k and LAX-SYD for 5.5k...I'm thinking of just paying the $800 overage myself. Or risking a B-fare w/miles or SWU upgrade...too bad my budget isn't 15% higher, I would just book the AC NYC-SYD in C now :-/.

 

I would probably take my chances with the B fare and an SWU. Then again, I'm rather cheap. The point made above about a lack of advanced NC space actually plays somewhat in your favor here as it isn't likely that NC space is going to open-up while you wait for your SWUs to hit in September. As a 1K on a B-fare, you've got a pretty good chance of clearing, IME. Also, you'll save your firm a bit of cash which will at least make you feel responsible (or at least it does me). Plus it keeps you on UA metal (and I'm a big fan of p.s. crews as well) which could very well help you in the case of irrops given your 1K-ness.

 

If you can't figure out a way to get a guaranteed Business class seat, check out Air New Zealand's new Premium Economy cabin. I haven't tried it myself, but from what I've seen it looks a hell of a lot better than any other Premium cabin I've seen. You'll need to be on a 777-300, though, which means NZ5/NZ6 between LAX and AKL.

 

My vote would be to buy a 'B' fare and upgrade with miles.