Keith T

The survey was about the financial status of airlines, not their product.

I now know what I was doing wrong - and that was attempting to engage in a constructive and intelligent discussion with you. Really don't know what else I can say and not sure if I can be bothered either - for dinner at Delizia Cucinia awaits.

There wasn't any of that implied - I was merely correcting a factual inaccuracy in the previous post (of which I should've also quoted), that there are only 2 carriers in the entire Australasian (haven;t seen that term for a while - South Pacific maybe??) region. Harsh but true. The methodology gives equal weighting to and makes no difference between first time travellers, infrequent travellers and frequent flyers. This means that one time experiences can have disproportionate influence over the overrall result of the survey. IF someone flies MH once on a 2hr regional short hop and just so happens to be unlucky to have a lacklustre crew that particular day vs someone who flies MH weekly on both long and short haul flights and who generally loves flying MH - obviously the latter's opinions are more accurate and reliable than the former, but skytrax's methodology gives equal weighting to both. And not to mention that Skytrax also operates a consultancy service for airlines - that in itself is a major conflict of interest. IF you've got time, you're going to have so much fun observing the correlation between advertising/sponsorship and results. Need I then also address your point about why such a mickey mouse of an organisation has prospered thus far? A v small example - NH isn't in the top 10, that in itself speaks volumes. And as much as i love Qantas - what on earth is the SYD QF First Lounge doing charting above the Lufthansa First Class Terminal? AS to why airline industry figures give so much weight to skytrax survey results - any marketing is good marketing no matter how shaky the foundations of such marketing are, and that is applicable to any industry. Anyway my earlier comment was directed at the doom and gloom style posts about MH underperforming on this particular survey - if MH works for you as a choice of carrier, then their performance on ANY KIND OF survey whether conducted by Skytrax or a far more reputable organisation really shouldn't matter how you personally as a consumer select a carrier. Real life experiences are far more helpful than junk surveys.

Air Tahiti Nui, Air Pacific, Aircalin and Air Niugini come to mind as other examples of Australasian carriers. And as I posted on SQTalk: For instance I will continue to fly QF even if they never win anything as my own experiences (go to any of the oneworld TRs in my signature) suggest that they are the best airline as far as my perceptions and preferences are concerned. Different strokes for different folks - you can replace 'QF' with 'MH' or 'SQ' or 'BA' or 'CX' or 'UA', if a carrier works for you why would their performance on a survey, especially one conducted by an organisation as dubious as Skytrash with a badly flawed methodology, matter?

I wonder what kind of f*ckwit would consider this even remotely funny, if it'd been intended as a joke??!! Or perhaps a Bin Laden supporter doing a test run to see whether it'd go through. Anyway... http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...9-26103,00.html http://www.theage.com.au/national/qantas-c...80803-3p3l.html

Nothing planned at JFK but upcoming flights include AA at HNL, LAX and LHR. The LHR one is a transit to a BA flight at T5... be very afraid.

Sorry for promoting - but you could also try SQTalk. There's a *A sub-forum there, and a huge amount of *A experience on SQTalk. Failing which, the *A sub-forum on FT would be a good way to start. Also do a search in Trip Reports (under 'Community').

I've not flown LH JCL, only FCL. Whilst LH is fantastic in FCL - I've not heard good things about LH JCL. I've done LX JCL but only BKK-SIN - angled lie flat seats, good service, reasonably good food, fantastic wines if you're into Swiss pinot noirs. Many of my friends comment that it's their fave European airline. Would this be a bmi redemption? If so... F isn't that much more on Miles and Cash if flying Europe 2 to North Asia (25k one way + GBP170 + tax). YGPM

The latter. I suspect this story wouldn't have had the same reporting urgency were it not for the QF30 incident.

I read with concern the snipey posts that grossly overgeneralise Australia and Australians. Whilst I am sympathetic to some of the frustrations expressed in this thread, it is starting to get extremely weary to read post after post of Oz-bashing. If the subject of some of these posts were people from a minority group - it'd be considered racism. And sadly not the first thread either... All I'm saying is, please do not equate the Australian media and the Qantas unions to 'the Australians.' Thanks, Nik H.

Got home on yesterday's (as in Sunday) QF30, was quite uneventful in comparison. Talk on the plane was the QF30 decompression incident, seatmate's ex gf is a QF FA and happened to be working on that flight. They also handed out newspapers with the QF30 incident on the front page - i hope there weren't any nervous/first time flyers onboard. Sensational experience on QF as usual, will write more in my TR. Updates to continue within 24 hrs - promise! Anyway... the latest: http://www.theage.com.au/national/qantas-p...80727-3lqc.html

Am on QF30 on Sunday, thankfully not today! Hopefully this doesn't cause some skeds muck up, or (god forbid) eqp chg!

I believe you got the following fare? PQ 1 NCB BASE FARE EQUIV AMT TAXES TOTAL MYR3415 USD1046.00 257.40XT USD1303.40ADT XT 15.40US 5.50YC 7.00XY 5.00XA 15.60MY 38.90UB 170.00YQ ADT-01 VAPOW LAST DAY TO PURCHASE 03AUG/2359 KUL MH X/LON AA CHI M1048.18VAPOW NUC1048.18END ROE3.2579 VALIDATING CARRIER - MH FEE APPLIES TO CHG/REFUND 01 O KUL MH 2Y 10AUG 1140P VAPOW 10AUG10AUG 02 X LHR AA 99Y 11AUG 755A VAPOW 11AUG11AUG ORD VALIDATING CARRIER-MH Nice find! Looks like MH ticket stock... meaning I'd not be able to throw an EVIP your way to upgrade the AA segment. (AA flights only upgradeable if plated on AA 001 ticket stock... as they need to fish out your ticket and change the booking class to upgrade you.)

jani - if you've not ticketed with expedia yet, please check your PM inbox...

Or save up the miles towards a long haul premium award. Lots of FFPs including AAdvantage feature non-expiring miles so long as you have activity (either earn or burn) on the account every 18 months or 3 years.

jani - do please consider AAdvantage. Or at least an FFP of a carrier that belongs to an alliance. You can then do the AAdvantage Gold or Platinum challenge (ow ruby and sapphire respectively). This is AA's shortcut way to elite status (alas there's no EXP challenge) - just 5000 elite qualifying points for Gold and 10 000 for Platinum on AA flight codes (including codeshares operated by other airlines) within 3 months. You do need to requalify the 'usual' way though. But even if you can't requalify you do get to enjoy at least a year of elite status which is most useful if traveling within the US - priority check in, boarding, upgrade certs, lounge access on international itineraries etc. Get Gold or Platinum after July 16 and your status is valid till Feb 2010. Simply call AAdvantage customer service to sign up and nominate a start date. (details on aa.com) CX gives zero miles to AAdvantage customers if booked in discount economy (anything other than YBH classes). But switch to the AA codeshare numbers on the same flights and watch your accrual transform to 100% in most discount economy booking classes.

Never used them but friends have had positive experiences. Looks like an AA fare to me, though such a routing is unusual. As long as you get ticket numbers after payment you'd be fine, as in the fare ought to be guaranteed....(as it doesn't look like one of those error fares either).

http://business.theage.com.au/qantassingap...80623-2v7o.html

That'd require an overnight in SIN on the way back as neither the MEL/SYD flights arrive in SIN in time for the last PEN departure. A different route map might be doable (via ADL or PER) but will also most certainly force the fare up a bucket or two.

I've found entering through Mother O'Hare far more tiresome than the other entry ports. LAX T4 was by far the easiest (but only QF or AA use T4 - TBIT is appalling).

If you'd supply more info like your budget and/or dates, I'd be more than happy to suggest some hotels. Spring would be the optimum time to visit Melbourne, around October or so. Melbourne is beautiful in spring, and the warmer weather will allow you to enjoy our vibrant cafe and restaurant scene to the fullest as it won't be too cold dining alfresco. September is also nice but tends to be a little rainy. As for connecting flights, the airline must protect you in the event of a missed connection if you're booked on a single ticket, even onestar unless it is explicitly stated anywhere during the ticketing process that you're actually purchasing 2 separate tickets. I'm guessing your PEN-SIN will be on a separate tkt if with the JQ option? If so allow a generous connecting time in SIN or even overnight in SIN as the airline has no obligation to protect you on separately ticketed connections, and you might lose your entire fare on JQ. I'd go with MH or SQ for the peace of mind, and SQ would be better FFP-wise due to links with Star Alliance (meaning you can avoid Krisflyer and choose the best scheme out of the entire alliance).

That's the routing I tried on Sabre but ran into issues with availability on the KUL-AMS sector. NW codeshare on KLM is sold out in the discount classes. Using the KL code only S class was displayed.

BTW just looking at fares alone NW seems to be the cheapest. But I ran into issues with availability.

I have access to Sabre, a GDS (Global Distribution System, or in plain English - computer reservation system). Got it mainly to book my own flights as I got sick of arguing with airline offices and travel agents, and it's much faster than coaxing fares out of websites. It's very technical, there are lots of formats to learn. But once I got the hang of it it's a breeze. Found the above with just a few simple keystrokes. Nope - they codeshare with KE.

Found the following on DL KUL-LEX: PQ 1 BASE FARE EQUIV AMT TAXES TOTAL MYR3146 USD962.00 185.50XT USD1147.50ADT XT 15.40US 5.50YC 7.00XY 5.00XA 2.50AY 15.60MY 130.00YQ 4.50XF ADT-01 MHAPBO LAST DAY TO PURCHASE 07AUG/2359 KUL DL X/SEL DL X/ATL DL LEX M988.99MHAPBO NUC988.99END ROE3 .1803 XFATL4.5 VALIDATING CARRIER - DL REF/CHANGE PENALTIES APPLY 01 O KUL DL 7912M 09AUG 115A MHAPBO 09AUG09AUG 02 X ICN DL 92M 09AUG 605P MHAPBO 09AUG09AUG 03 X ATL DL 5334M 09AUG 935P MHAPBO 09AUG09AUG LEX ‡ VALIDATING CARRIER-DL According to XE that converts to approximately MYR3732 all in, and gets you all the way to LEX. UA: PQ 1 NCB BASE FARE EQUIV AMT TAXES TOTAL MYR2667 USD815.00 233.50XT USD1048.50ADT XT 15.40US 5.50YC 7.00XY 5.00XA 2.50AY 15.60MY 13.00CN 165.00YQ 4.50XF ADT-01 HHEMYO LAST DAY TO PURCHASE 31JUL/2359 KUL MH X/SHA Q100.00UA X/CHI UA LEX738.60HHEMYO NUC838.60END ROE3.1803 XFORD4.5 VALIDATING CARRIER - UA NON END/CHANGE FEE APPLIES/CANCEL FEE APPLIES 01 O KUL MH 388Y 10AUG 850A HHEMYO 10AUG10AUG 02 X PVG UA 836Y 10AUG 355P HHEMYO 10AUG10AUG 03 X ORD UA 5985Y 10AUG 750P HHEMYO 10AUG10AUG ‡ LEX VALIDATING CARRIER-UA Approx MYR3413.35 all in. The UA fare can also be done KUL-SIN on MH, and UA the rest of the way via NRT/HKG etc. I've only searched on price. These are published fares you can get from any TA or the airline/airline GSA directly. The MH and SQ fares I found to LAX/NYC were similar to what you've posted.