Aviation Discussion

[atillathehunn]

For Australia your luggage will be checked through but like America you have to claim it at first entry point. So you collect and re check in Brisbane. At Abu Dhabi not at all.

On the way home then check in in Sydney then not at all. See it in Manchester

 

[Techniquest]

For Australia your luggage will be checked through but like America you have to claim it at first entry point. So you collect and re check in Brisbane. At Abu Dhabi not at all.

On the way home then check in in Sydney then not at all. See it in Manchester

Excellent, thanks for the advice. That works out well for me, as that will surely get me the hold luggage label for Brisbane as well as Sydney, which will boost my collection of said labels nicely. Manchester's one I haven't got yet too, so that's a bonus.

Is 2 and a bit hours going to be enough though? I don't really mind if it's literally off my 787, collect luggage, check it in at the Virgin Australia desk, through security and straight to the gate. However it would still be nice to have enough time to wander around a bit, enough for a mini airport review in my trip report, and get a bite to eat before my 737 to Sydney. Especially after over 14 hours on the 787, the chance to get up and properly exercise the legs (which are used to fast-paced walking) would be rather nice.

 

[fowler9]

Excellent, thanks for the advice. That works out well for me, as that will surely get me the hold luggage label for Brisbane as well as Sydney, which will boost my collection of said labels nicely. Manchester's one I haven't got yet too, so that's a bonus.

Is 2 and a bit hours going to be enough though? I don't really mind if it's literally off my 787, collect luggage, check it in at the Virgin Australia desk, through security and straight to the gate. However it would still be nice to have enough time to wander around a bit, enough for a mini airport review in my trip report, and get a bite to eat before my 737 to Sydney. Especially after over 14 hours on the 787, the chance to get up and properly exercise the legs (which are used to fast-paced walking) would be rather nice.

Brisbane Airport is really nice but a bit of a trek from the international to the domestic terminal. I would think that if you arrive on time and have no problems at immigration you will be fine. Are you booked through with Virgin Australia? If you are you will just be able to get a later plane if you have problems which I'm sure you won't .

 

[atillathehunn]

Excellent, thanks for the advice. That works out well for me, as that will surely get me the hold luggage label for Brisbane as well as Sydney, which will boost my collection of said labels nicely. Manchester's one I haven't got yet too, so that's a bonus.

Is 2 and a bit hours going to be enough though? I don't really mind if it's literally off my 787, collect luggage, check it in at the Virgin Australia desk, through security and straight to the gate. However it would still be nice to have enough time to wander around a bit, enough for a mini airport review in my trip report, and get a bite to eat before my 737 to Sydney. Especially after over 14 hours on the 787, the chance to get up and properly exercise the legs (which are used to fast-paced walking) would be rather nice.

With luggage labels... probably. Or possibly. I've never done Etihad to Virgin there so I don't know. Some airlines there you can do the bag reclaim and check in the international terminal and others you take it over yourself. If you have to take it over yourself it will be a BNE label but it might be both BNE and SYD if you just have to claim it and shove it back on.

The time is waiting to sort out the bags. With the evisa you can use the express line. Its a good 4 or so kilometres between the terminals. 2.5 hours will be ok. There's plenty of other flights to Sydney I'm sure if you're late.

You can't walk between terminals, though.

 

[fowler9]

Sorry, re read you post. If you have to collect your bags I'd head straight to domestic departures.

 

[flymo]

Regarding Australia, because of the quarantine regulations I wouldn't be surprised if after coming off the international inbound flight you need to collect your bags and go through the quarantine and customs inspections at the first port of entry as after that you'll be on domestic where the rules may be a bit different. Can't say for sure as I've always arrived at the place I've been going to in Australia and never had to connect but I'd just be prepared. Make sure you don't bring any undeclared food in or there may be issues at quarantine. If you have something, declare it on the arrival form.

 

[fowler9]

Regarding Australia, because of the quarantine regulations I wouldn't be surprised if after coming off the international inbound flight you need to collect your bags and go through the quarantine and customs inspections at the first port of entry as after that you'll be on domestic where the rules may be a bit different. Can't say for sure as I've always arrived at the place I've been going to in Australia and never had to connect but I'd just be prepared. Make sure you don't bring any undeclared food in or there may be issues at quarantine. If you have something, declare it on the arrival form.

Blimey. We got Bioscanned on the way in to New Zealand in 2011, not Australia. Didn't realise the did the same.

 

[theageofthetra]

Regarding Australia, because of the quarantine regulations I wouldn't be surprised if after coming off the international inbound flight you need to collect your bags and go through the quarantine and customs inspections at the first port of entry as after that you'll be on domestic where the rules may be a bit different. Can't say for sure as I've always arrived at the place I've been going to in Australia and never had to connect but I'd just be prepared. Make sure you don't bring any undeclared food in or there may be issues at quarantine. If you have something, declare it on the arrival form.

Don't forget each State has it's own quarantine rules so some things bought in one State can't be taken to another.

 

[ian959]

Just to clarify, since Etihad and Virgin Australia are partners, your luggage should be checked through to Sydney and you should have boarding passes all the way through to Sydney too. You will have to collect the luggage and clear customs and immigration in Brisbane. After customs and immigration, you drop the luggage at the Virgin baggage transfer desk in the main terminal area before catching the bus to the domestic terminal. The bad news at Brisbane is that you might have a long walk to customs and immigration. The good news is that Brisbane in my experience is pretty quick to get through customs and immigration. The longest I have had for a transfer to domestic there is about an hour.

 

[Techniquest]

Just to clarify, since Etihad and Virgin Australia are partners, your luggage should be checked through to Sydney and you should have boarding passes all the way through to Sydney too. You will have to collect the luggage and clear customs and immigration in Brisbane. After customs and immigration, you drop the luggage at the Virgin baggage transfer desk in the main terminal area before catching the bus to the domestic terminal. The bad news at Brisbane is that you might have a long walk to customs and immigration. The good news is that Brisbane in my experience is pretty quick to get through customs and immigration. The longest I have had for a transfer to domestic there is about an hour.

Thanks, that is incredibly helpful! An hour is a fair bit, but not too bad as it still gives time to grab a quick bite at the domestic terminal. Depends how quick I get off the plane I suppose, if I'm near the front of the lot getting off a 787 that will help a fair bit. I walk fast anyway, so that always helps, and after 14 hours flying I'll be glad to get walking!

Aye I didn't realise until I looked it up last night before work that it's either AirTrain (2 minute journey apparently) at 5UD (4,50 in advance I think) or the bus at 5AUD. A shame it's not walkable, as according to the FLIO app (where I got my transfer transport information from) it's about 3km. I could walk that in 30 minutes easily, if I was more determined I could do it in 25.

Yes I do recall Etihad and Virgin Australia being partner airlines, very useful that must be. It's interesting you collect your luggage before customs, my first time (I almost forgot entering Canada!) at such a major international checkout (March 2016, arriving into the USA) it was passports and the questions first. Actually, yes it was like that in Canada too, still it'll be interesting to compare the experience!

EDIT: Sorry, not long finished work, I forgot to thank everyone else for replying too. All advice on such a major trip is seriously welcome!

 

[atillathehunn]

Turkmenistan Airlines has been banned from operating in the EU pending proof of safety compliance. This has, according to Auntie Beeb, left thousands stranded. I would wager many of them are Sikhs travelling to/from Amritsar from LHR and BHX.

"The UK's Civil Aviation Authority said flights from Birmingham and London's Heathrow to Amritsar, and Heathrow to New Delhi - which fly via Ashgabat, Turkmenistan - had been suspended.

The CAA acted after the European Aviation Safety Agency suspended permission for it to fly in the EU.

It also flies from Frankfurt and Paris.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said the European Aviation Safety Agency had suspended the airline's flights to and from the EU "pending confirmation that it meets international air safety standards".

"This means that Turkmenistan Airlines flights between the UK (London Heathrow and Birmingham) and Turkmenistan (Ashgabat), do not have permission to travel to and from the UK," the FCO said."

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47115732

A shame as their planes were always something a bit more interesting to see at BHX than the usual diet.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

Turkmenistan Airlines has been banned from operating in the EU pending proof of safety compliance. This has, according to Auntie Beeb, left thousands stranded. I would wager many of them are Sikhs travelling to/from Amritsar from LHR and BHX.

"The UK's Civil Aviation Authority said flights from Birmingham and London's Heathrow to Amritsar, and Heathrow to New Delhi - which fly via Ashgabat, Turkmenistan - had been suspended.

The CAA acted after the European Aviation Safety Agency suspended permission for it to fly in the EU.

It also flies from Frankfurt and Paris.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said the European Aviation Safety Agency had suspended the airline's flights to and from the EU "pending confirmation that it meets international air safety standards".

"This means that Turkmenistan Airlines flights between the UK (London Heathrow and Birmingham) and Turkmenistan (Ashgabat), do not have permission to travel to and from the UK," the FCO said."

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47115732

A shame as their planes were always something a bit more interesting to see at BHX than the usual diet.

According to posts on another forum the safety issue was not about aircraft maintenance but on-board "protocols", ie turning a blind eye to smoking.

 

[atillathehunn]

According to posts on another forum the safety issue was not about aircraft maintenance but on-board "protocols", ie turning a blind eye to smoking.

Safety compliance audit was from the BBC report, and I'm sure they don't publicise the reasons. I have also seen reports that planes they recently sold were so cheap because of the state of the paperwork, so no reason it wouldn't go deeper than smoking in the cabin.

Either way, I hope they manage to get people home. People who use Turkmenistan air are likely to be price conscious travellers and unlikely to afford a new walk-up ticket.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

Safety compliance audit was from the BBC report, and I'm sure they don't publicise the reasons. I have also seen reports that planes they recently sold were so cheap because of the state of the paperwork, so no reason it wouldn't go deeper than smoking in the cabin.

Either way, I hope they manage to get people home. People who use Turkmenistan air are likely to be price conscious travellers and unlikely to afford a new walk-up ticket.

Having read a little further I agree that it appears the main issue is with maintenance related paperwork. There are currently 4 former Turkmenistan 717s at Kemble which are unlikely to fly again; the lack of paperwork has allegedly lead to their scrap values being depressed as any salvageable parts will need to be recertified before they can be used on other aircraft.

As to the budgets of passengers using Turkmenistan, the main market they served from BHX was to India and it is already being said that no other operator is going to replace the lost capacity as Turkmenistan were charging fares so far below reasonable market rate. Those who wish to continue travelling will end up with Emirates.

 

[atillathehunn]

Having read a little further I agree that it appears the main issue is with maintenance related paperwork. There are currently 4 former Turkmenistan 717s at Kemble which are unlikely to fly again; the lack of paperwork has allegedly lead to their scrap values being depressed as any salvageable parts will need to be recertified before they can be used on other aircraft.

As to the budgets of passengers using Turkmenistan, the main market they served from BHX was to India and it is already being said that no other operator is going to replace the lost capacity as Turkmenistan were charging fares so far below reasonable market rate. Those who wish to continue travelling will end up with Emirates.

My concern was rather for those mid-trip who may not be able to afford a last minute ticket to complete their journey. I'm not sure the customer relations department of Turkmenistan air is up to much.
As for filling the void: Air India have direct flights to Amritsar and Delhi from Birmingham, and then as you say, the ME3 can mop up some of the rest.

 

[atillathehunn]

*Deleted

 

[thejuggler]

from Manchester to Sydney with Etihad

I await your trip report with interest.

A friend has just done Auckland, Manchester via Melbourne and Abu Dhabi with Etihad to attend a funeral (the only time she comes back to the UK is for such events),and unfortunately it was dire. Rude staff, uncaring, food offer and IFE was very poor for such a long flight.

Her last trip was about 5 years ago with Emirates and the two just don't compare.

Needless to say Etihad have not responded to her complaint two weeks after she arrived home.

 

[LOL The Irony]

A friend has just done Auckland, Manchester via Melbourne and Abu Dhabi with Etihad to attend a funeral (the only time she comes back to the UK is for such events),and unfortunately it was dire. Rude staff, uncaring, food offer and IFE was very poor for such a long flight.

Her last trip was about 5 years ago with Emirates and the two just don't compare.

Needless to say Etihad have not responded to her complaint two weeks after she arrived home.

Etihad are in the toilet finacially.

 

[Techniquest]

I await your trip report with interest.

A friend has just done Auckland, Manchester via Melbourne and Abu Dhabi with Etihad to attend a funeral (the only time she comes back to the UK is for such events),and unfortunately it was dire. Rude staff, uncaring, food offer and IFE was very poor for such a long flight.

Her last trip was about 5 years ago with Emirates and the two just don't compare.

Needless to say Etihad have not responded to her complaint two weeks after she arrived home.

Thanks, and I'm sorry to hear she had a bad experience. I watch aviation trip report videos pretty much daily on YouTube and I've not yet seen one with a negative view on Etihad. Emirates does always get a lot of praise, but that doesn't surprise me as they do seem to be on top of their game.

Etihad not responding to her complaint, and what you've commented on above, does not bode well for my upcoming flights with them. Indeed, the lack of response sounds similar to what I had with Norwegian in response to my long list of complaints in March 2016 and their lack of any interest in actually responding to them.

I do hope it won't be as bad as what your friend endured, only one way to find out. They've responded swiftly and professionally to my queries to them via Twitter so far, so that's a good start. To be fair, if I could have afforded the trip to be with Emirates I probably would have taken that option up. I would have loved to do it on Qantas, but they wanted silly money.

I will, for the Sydney trip, have both the written report on this forum, the written report with photos on my Wordpress blog and all being well a YouTube aviation trip report too. I'm also hoping to do a short destination report video too, as part of a new project, highlighting some of the best bits of my trip.

 

[Mike395]

Flew short-haul with BA yesterday London - Amsterdam and return (spur of the moment photography day trip with a booked-on-the-day return price of under £90!) - outbound flight was on an A319 and fairly uneventful. The return, however, was on an A321 NEO which felt pretty much brand new, with USB charging points at every seat, though with the tradeoff of less leg room (I also had an exit row seat on the outbound, which made the difference between the two feel more than it actually was).

Both flights were pretty much full, so I'm surprised prices were as low as they were. The other thing I wasn't expecting is that I was seemingly booked as a standby passenger (no mention of this on booking) and had to go to a desk at the airport, both ways, to get a seat assignment - I couldn't check in on the app or via the self service terminals. Is this standard practice on last minute bookings?

 

[Bald Rick]

Flew short-haul with BA yesterday London - Amsterdam and return (spur of the moment photography day trip with a booked-on-the-day return price of under £90!) - outbound flight was on an A319 and fairly uneventful. The return, however, was on an A321 NEO which felt pretty much brand new, with USB charging points at every seat, though with the tradeoff of less leg room (I also had an exit row seat on the outbound, which made the difference between the two feel more than it actually was).

Both flights were pretty much full, so I'm surprised prices were as low as they were. The other thing I wasn't expecting is that I was seemingly booked as a standby passenger (no mention of this on booking) and had to go to a desk at the airport, both ways, to get a seat assignment - I couldn't check in on the app or via the self service terminals. Is this standard practice on last minute bookings?

Can’t speak for the standby process, but BA only have two A321neos, G-NEOR which is 11 weeks old, and G-NEOS which is 2 weeks old. Both did Amsterdam runs yesterday, but the former did the late evening return.

Unusually BA seem to be using them mostly on relatively short haul routes, where their fuel efficiency won’t be as beneficial as on mid haul. Easyjet use their A321neos almost exclusively on longer runs to the Canaries, Greece, and similar.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

I await your trip report with interest.

A friend has just done Auckland, Manchester via Melbourne and Abu Dhabi with Etihad to attend a funeral (the only time she comes back to the UK is for such events),and unfortunately it was dire. Rude staff, uncaring, food offer and IFE was very poor for such a long flight.

Her last trip was about 5 years ago with Emirates and the two just don't compare.

Needless to say Etihad have not responded to her complaint two weeks after she arrived home.

My suspicion here is that it's due to an unintended cultural issue. Lone female travellers are somewhat outside the comfort zone of many organisations from Islamic countries and some of their staff behaviours can occasionally reflect that.

Can’t speak for the standby process, but BA only have two A321neos, G-NEOR which is 11 weeks old, and G-NEOS which is 2 weeks old. Both did Amsterdam runs yesterday, but the former did the late evening return.

Unusually BA seem to be using them mostly on relatively short haul routes, where their fuel efficiency won’t be as beneficial as on mid haul. Easyjet use their A321neos almost exclusively on longer runs to the Canaries, Greece, and similar.

Seems normal practice for European legacy airlines in Europe, namely confining aircraft to (very) short haul routes until a new type is "bedded in". BA used A380s to Paris and Finnair sent A350s to London when the types were brand new to the carriers. BA's A321neos will surely turn up on the former short haul B767 routes in due course.

 

[Bald Rick]

My suspicion here is that it's due to an unintended cultural issue. Lone female travellers are somewhat outside the comfort zone of many organisations from Islamic countries and some of their staff behaviours can occasionally reflect that.



Seems normal practice for European legacy airlines in Europe, namely confining aircraft to (very) short haul routes until a new type is "bedded in". BA used A380s to Paris and Finnair sent A350s to London when the types were brand new to the carriers. BA's A321neos will surely turn up on the former short haul B767 routes in due course.

Well you’d hope so. Although Easyjet don’t seem to mind; new neos are straight into action on the long routes after their Luton acceptance.

Incidentally Finnair still run an A350 on the morning LHR rotation (albeit not every day). Will be interesting to see what BA do when they get their first one later this year.

 

[Crawley Ben]

Virgin Atlantic to launch Tel Aviv from Heathrow starting 25th Sept 2019 . Route will be served by Airbus A330 aircraft 1x daily flight.

Cheers

Ben

 

[Techniquest]

Virgin Atlantic to launch Tel Aviv from Heathrow starting 25th Sept 2019 . Route will be served by Airbus A330 aircraft 1x daily flight.

Cheers

Ben

And according to their post on Instagram yesterday, tickets go on sale 25th February 2019.

 

[atillathehunn]

Virgin Atlantic to launch Tel Aviv from Heathrow starting 25th Sept 2019 . Route will be served by Airbus A330 aircraft 1x daily flight.

Cheers

Ben

Solid choice. TLV to London and the US is a busy market. Timed okay for US connections.

 

[atillathehunn]

And according to their post on Instagram yesterday, tickets go on sale 25th February 2019.

Not estimating they will need much time to build demand with such short lead times.

 

[Bald Rick]

Virgin Atlantic to launch Tel Aviv from Heathrow starting 25th Sept 2019 . Route will be served by Airbus A330 aircraft 1x daily flight.

Cheers

Ben

Solid choice. TLV to London and the US is a busy market. Timed okay for US connections.

Presumably using resources thrown up from coming out of Dubai next month.

 

[atillathehunn]

Presumably using resources thrown up from coming out of Dubai next month.

The slots at LHR from the end of the Dubai flight have gone for the Boston flight. Not sure where these slots come from. Imagine the frame is a result of 787s coming back and Air Berlin 330s.

 

[Crawley Ben]

The slots at LHR from the end of the Dubai flight have gone for the Boston flight. Not sure where these slots come from. Imagine the frame is a result of 787s coming back and Air Berlin 330s.

Would it be using the slots Virgin leased to Cobalt previously? (Latter have have since gone out of business)

Cheers

Ben