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Air New Zealand to LA/SF from $1090 Return

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Similar to the Air New Zealand deal the other day. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/129968

Economy
Gold Coast to: Los Angeles - $1090
Gold Coast to: San Francisco - $1090

Melbourne to: Los Angeles - $1102
Melbourne to: San Francisco - $1102

Sydney to: Los Angeles - $1117
Sydney to: San Francisco - $1117

Economy Outbound: 4 May - 18 Jun, 15 Jul - 31 Aug, 20 Oct - 30 Nov 2014 & Return: 8 May - 2 Jul, 19 Jul - 31 Aug, 24 Oct - 7 Dec 2014

Booked it yesterday. Two and half hour stopover in Auckland. Had been looking for weeks and hadn't found tickets below $1300 for China Southern or $1600 direct with Virgin Australia around May (depart) - July (Return). With Air NZ got it for $1100. Though only came with 1 checked 23kg bag. Got one extra bag on the return trip for $95.

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closed Comments

  • This price is almost good enough to make me put up with Air New Zealand's awful economy class.

    • Never been with them before but I guessed it was better the China Southern.

      I at least for got good seats for a extra $20 on the flight over to Auckland. 23 A and B. Normal economy the rest of the way though.
      http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air_New_Zealand/Air_New_Zea…

      • I flew with China Southern last week. Honestly not that bad, I'd been lulled into thinking they were a lot worse. Definitely flown with worse airlines.
        Air NZ are definitely superior though. I've only ever flown Melb > various NZ destinations and back with them, so a 15 hour flight to LA would be interesting.. I think I'll have to bite at this price..

        • +2

          I've done BNE to LAX via Auckland with AirNZm they're all good. Honestly IMO economy class on most airlines is much the same. I have done the Brisbane to LAX on Virgin, Qantas, Air-NewZealand & Air Pacific (now Fiji Airways). And to Europe on BA, Qantas & Emirates.

          Wort of the bunch was Air Pacific, but keeping in mind this was on their clapped out old 1989-1990 era 747's. They got brand A330's this year to fly Nadi to LAX so should be all good now, much more pleasant.

          Economy is economy, try your best to sleep your way through it and treat it as in inconvenience on the way to your holidays. Seat sizes vary only slightly and food is food, you don't fly for the gourmet meals lol.

    • +13

      I've flown Air New Zealand a number of times and have found their economy class to be one of the better ones…

      • Stay away unless you are less then 5.5 foot. Their seats are narrow and close, seat cushions thin just like the budget Scoot.

        • +4

          i.e. Hobbits only.

        • +2

          I am 6 foot and never had a problem.

      • +4

        I'm 6'3 and definitely agree they're one of the better ones.

  • +1

    Though not travelling but this is a good deal! Almost close to the best you could get!

  • $1107 from Adelaide… baaah!

  • decent. Was originally looking at $1340 via Fiji. Though I've been to NZ before, and not Fiji, and if I flew via Fiji, no point in not staying a few nights there.

  • -2

    I'm looking for cheap airfares to France, generally which airlines would be the cheapest?

    • +4

      Even though you're being downvoted I'll help you. Best deal is to use kayak.co.uk or similar to find a cheap flight from singapore or KL to france, and then get a cheap flight on Scoot/Air Asia etc to get you to your chosen hub

  • Air new zealand is pretty good. I flew with them last month to san fran and again, next month to l.a
    Their planes are way better than emirates. Bigger and newers seats

    • +26

      I'll repeat what I have said in many threads previously for the benefit of those here.

      Air New Zealand runs a 777-300ER from Auckland to Los Angeles, which has a an economy layout too similar to a low cost carrier operating out of Singapore called "Scoot". Scoot also happens to run 777s to Australia. The similarities include adding an extra seat to every economy row. This means you have 10 people in one row (3-4-3). To put this into perspective, the standard is 3-3-3. This means the seats are only 17" wide, Singapore Air, Virgin Australia, Malaysia Airlines all have the 9 abreast layout with a seat width of 18.5-19". Thats a 2" or 5cm difference, think about the difference that will make on a 13 hour flight.

      To make matters worse, the slimmer seats don't make up for that extra squeezed into each row, they also slice a chunk off of the aisles. Looks at the man in the aisle in this picture, he only fits with his hands raised, and he is normal weight wise. Compare that, to this, much wider seats, and a much wider aisle. Which I would still, even then call a squeeze.

      While I try to avoid the companies that do this, it is becoming increasingly common, Etihad, Emirates, American Airlines and Air France are the worst offenders currently. I feel I should also add the the seat pitch on all these airlines are similar, Scoot uses a 31" pitch, Air NZ is 32", while Etihad and Emirates try to make up for the loss in width with a generous 33-34" pitch.

      • Thanks for the info! I'll avoid NZ air and stick to Virgin. Do you know is Qantas also have smaller seats (fit more into a row)?

        • -2

          BNE to LAX QANTAS flights run a 3-4-3 config.

        • +1

          That's a bit misleading, they use a 747-400 for those flights, which is much wider. A 747 in a 1- abreast layout is similar to a 777 in a 9 abreast layout.

          Best options for crossing the pacific are delta, virgin and Qantas. They are the ones with good entertainment and seats.

        • 747 is wider then a 777, hence that seat config is fine

      • +4

        its all about choice bro, choice (in my best kiwi)

      • +1

        I thought Air New Zealand partnered with United, and that more times than not you're actually on a United plane despite being an ANZ route…?

        EDIT: and don't get me started on how awful United are!

        • Agreed, Delta and United are pretty poor in my experience. Best pan-Pacific flights I've done are with Virgin and Hawaiian.

      • Awesome information Mikelogos! - So Air NZ fly the 777-300ER into LA and the Boeing 777-200 into SF - I have done some more investigations and here is a link to the seating plan for the AUS-SF aircraft: http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air_New_Zealand/Air_New_Zea… ; looks like a nicer flight to San Fran!

        • +2

          SFO > LAX

      • 3-4-3 Seating on the 777 is not uncommon. It is used my many airlines. I'm 6 foot exactly and fit an AirNZ seat with no dramas.

        • +1

          The point is that while it may not be uncomfortable for some, the more people who use airlines with this layout, the more other airlines will be encouraged to do it for the obvious financial gain.

        • +1

          You don't get cheap airfares like this without some trade off. Frankly sitting in 3-4-3 seating is acceptable for most.

      • I aint flying anywhere anytime soon (as we have a newborn), but I logged on just to +ve vote that.

  • +2

    And with my Qantas points cast me $890 for trip so approx 100000 points worth $200

    • +3

      This. Qantas points for international flights is a scam.

      • Not in Premium classes, only with Economy.

        For example, First class is 288,000 + ~$900-1000 in taxes, for a $25k flight (return).

        Economy is poor value at 96,000 + ~$900 in taxes for a $1200 flight lol

        • -3

          $25k is irrelevant if you aren't willing to pay that much without using points. For me, the statement if corrected would read:

          First class is 288,000 + ~$900-1000 in taxes, for a $1600 flight
          Economy is 96,000 + ~$900 in taxes for a $1200 flight

          Becuase $400 more is the most I'd personally pay for the upgrade to business.

  • +1

    Damn, just misses out on the Coachella dates. Would have pulled the trigger for sure otherwise

    • +1

      I get the feeling this is on purpose I know a few people who would be heading over from Aus/NZ

      • +1

        Good try, but while music buffs will probably think its a conspiracy, it just happens to be School holiday time here in Oz, so fares always go up because pesky kids can fly…..

    • Hah, did you actually get Coachella Tickets?

      (I did, woke up at around 5AM AEDT to get them )

      but I'm flying there in First end of this month and staying in US for 6months after

      As a Platinum QFF, getting First revenue seats released as Classic Awards, is the best perk of being Platinum.

  • +5

    Awesome, my wife and I were about to book flights to the USA for May. Just saved myself about $1,000. Cheers!

  • +1

    Wish they had cheap flight for this period (jan - feb). The cheapest I've found flying direct to LA from Bris is $1310 with virgin.

  • +2

    Great find. Where budget is tight this fits the bill. The savings allow me to buy more OzB stuff. Opening those random packages in the mail is like having Christmas every week.

  • Booking server down…

    Working now…just booked multistop ticket…MEL ->San fran….LA -> MEL….$1,200

  • +1

    comic-con San Diego, 24-27 July…

  • Man. Would have jumped this in a hearbeat if I didn't already ozbargain 4 weeks between Tokyo & NZ for this year. Got to save to fund those two. Crossing fingers this will be back next year, cause that's a sick price. Kudos Ghost35

  • Thanks OP. Awesome deal, just booked for our little family of 3 :).

  • -2

    When is it summer in the states? Very interested in this

    • +3

      When it's Wiinter here…

    • +4

      Really?…Really? USA is the opposite season to us, as they are in the opposite hemisphere. Thank you year 4 Geography.

      Mind you I just came back from the USA for two weeks over Xmas/New Year and most Yanks have no idea if its hot or cold here or if we have Kangaroos for pets instead of dogs, so at least you will fit in.

      Summer in LA can be pretty shitty though - Hot, Dry, Hazy and dirtier than usual, but at least the days are nice and long - so you can get more done, its similar to Melbourne in the length of day IMO (Melbourne is superior to LA in almost every other way).

      San Fran can actually be quite cold in Summertime as they get breezes off the pacific ocean channelled into their harbour and throughout the city, so always take a jacket. Some locals in SFO say that summer there is the coldest it gets. It was pretty cold on that bridge and I was there July 2013.

      • +2

        I went in September a few years back. Had 40 degree days in Vegas and icy roads and -10 temperatures a week later in South Dakota.

    • Why would I want the worst airline? Idiot.

    • Tell us why? I am contemplating a round the world ticket that includes some Finnair legs.

      • From what I know about finnair they are just average, they don't use a high density layout and have a 32" pitch (Qantas is 31" for comparison) as well as 9" video on demand TVs. There is no reason to avoid them, I would put them on the same level as British Air and Air France, but below the likes of Lufthansa, Qantas, Emirates, etc.

        • +1

          Do people really go on planes with their protractors, measuring seats and stuffs?

        • Nope, those are published numbers from the airlines themselves, so even those numbers are most likely inflated. Also, any experienced traveler pays very close attention to all this, being stuck on a cramped plane, with old entertainment and noisy engines is not something you want to endure often.

    • Interesting you say that.. Finnair was my most enjoyable airline I ever flew with. Hassle free, good food, row of seats to myself, english speaking staff and they were hot!

  • +2

    I have flown Finair (AY) a lot and really like them: upgrades, nice lounges and Helsinki is a lovely city esp in summer.

  • Top deal - Thanks OP, just booked the family holiday! 2+2 for AUD 3798.16 OOL > SFO Return!

  • I suspect some of the complaints about various airlines will depend upon how long ago it was & which sector they were flying (and hence which plane model it was).

  • Was about to get upset, as I booked my flights on AirNZ just the other day, but wouldn't have helped for my travel dates anyway, as I'm traveling in 2 weeks time… I've chosen to fly AirNZ mainly because it will skip a stopover in LA, and in Sydney on the way home (flying from Melbourne to SFO).

    A hint - my trip will actually be MEL - SFO, then LAS (las vegas) - SFO a couple of weeks later, then SFO - MEL a few days later again. The price difference between a MEL - SFO return ticket and my 3 trip multi ticket was only about $10, so if you are considering flying out of a different location etc, try looking at the multi trip options.

  • This is such a good deal.!!Im going to the states in april for a wedding!! One month before the travel dates !!! Ive been looking for a decent tickets since december :P

  • Only downside I've found is when booking GC -> SF there's a 5 hour wait at Auckland. Not long enough for a stopover, but long enough to stretch out what's already a bloody long flight. Tried to change the stop into a proper stopover but you lose the special pricing :(

  • I'm planning to visit a friend in the states but have never traveled before and I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on the following.

    Planning to visit Minneapolis which is not a common state to visit;
    if I chose the multi-option with connecting flights from MELB-LA-MN it'll cost me about $2400,
    however going from MELB-LA only costs about $1200.

    I was wondering if I could just buy a separate flight from LA-MN which is about $340, from here in AUS and use it when I'm there. Does that even work?

    If anyone has any idea or suggestions please feel free to share. Thank you kindly.

    • +1

      Hi shk1, yes that will work perfectly. Note that you will need to go through customs at LA so your best bet in order to ensure you don't miss your MN flight (and the same coming back through) is to spend a day or two in LA and see the sights.

      • +1

        Yeah, LA customs is horrible, took me nearly 2 hours to get through when I visited last year. So you should spend a couple of days looking around the ghetto that is LA to allow yourself to get over the jetlag, but at the very least allow yourself a good few hours between your flight landing and your next flight to MN.

      • Stay in Santa Monica, it's not far from LAX. Or if time permits…. Anaheim

  • Hi
    When i do the booking for 2 adults, 1 infant, it ends up with around 6K ….. did i do something wrong? This is for Melb - LA returned.

    Thanks

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