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Hi all, So glad to have found this forum! 12 months later than planned (thanks COVID!), my partner and I finally received our 4 year TSS visa and travel exemption to move to Sydney. We have had a bit of a nightmare with the cost of flights (work are not covering our moving expenses but that’s another story…) and are booked to travel from London> Doha> Sydney at the end of March with Qantas, which is the cheapest we could find. I’m slightly worried with flight cancellations and needing to get a negative test before flying – feels so close but also those final hoops to jump through. Has anyone successfully got on a Qantas flight recently with no last-minute cancellations? Living We are in our late twenties and previously lived in London (Vauxhall/ Oval area) – enjoy pubs, bars and nice restaurants but equally love the outdoors (hiking, beaches etc). Does anyone have any advice on where would be best to move? We are thinking Zetland, Waterloo, Paddington, Bondi Junction, Surry Hills, Moore Park, Redfern. We need to be a commutable distance to CBD ideally and do not have a huge budget for renting. Moving Only have a 20kg luggage case included with our flight. We do not have any white goods, furniture etc to transport but I would like to bring as much of my personal items, clothing, shoes etc as possible. Does anyone have any recommendations on how best to transport - I do not think we will be needing a container – potentially a few storage boxes etc? I’ve seen MoveCube and Sendmybag mentioned on here, any experiences of either? Sorry for all the questions, any help/ advice would be much appreciated. I’ve loved reading all your threads Thanks, Ellie

Hi there My husbands company have just booked our flights and we are flying Quantas to Singapore and then on to Brisbane in Feb next yr. Does anyone know the baggage allowance for 1 way tickets ? and any info on Quantas ( are they ok compared to Emirates and Singapore airlines )?:wub:

QANTAS baggage handlers and ground crew have begun their latest round of industrial action, causing delays and cancellations for passengers across the country. Qantas cancelled at least 14 domestic flights this morning and rescheduled around another 30 because of the action. Passengers travelling on international flights at Melbourne airport were being warned to arrive early today as Customs officers go on strike for eight hours. Customs officers will be off the job until 11am, followed by another four-hour stoppage from 9pm. The move will add significant delays to the processing of passengers travelling on international flights both in and out of the airport. Melbourne airport spokesman Matt Francis said last night that passengers should expect delays getting through Customs today. "This will affect arriving and departing passengers on what is one of the busiest days of the week for international travel," he said. "We are strongly encouraging international travellers tomorrow to follow the advice from Customs, which is to arrive at the airport early, and go straight to Customs." It comes after talks on a new pay deal for Customs officers broke down yesterday and follows a three-hour strike last month. Qantas baggage handlers and ground crew from the Transport Workers Union also began their strike today at 7am. It will last for two hours before second strike at 4pm in a further headache for business people and holiday-makers. The TWU action will still affect more than 6800 passengers across the country, with 14 flights cancelled and another 38 delayed by up to an hour. Qantas also faces industrial action from aircraft engineers, who will stop work for four hours in Sydney tomorrow, and from the pilots union. Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/travellers-warned-as-customs-strikes/story-e6frfq80-1226165474919#ixzz1acOHkRfi

We are moving from Perth to Tasmania, most of the moving stuff is sorted, car, furniture etc etc, just one last thing - the cat - Bosco I had a credit with Quantas so booked my one way flight with them, having read their booking terms and conditions on their web site concerning transporting of pets I discovered that all I needed to do with the cat was to check him in, no extra charge, he would be part of my checked baggage. All I had to do was book my flight, then ring them and tell them about the fur ball and they would organise everything......... Or so they said........ So after paying over $900 for a one way ticket via their web site I telephoned them to organise Bosco, only to be told that my stopover in Melbourne was not long enough to allow a third party (Quantas dont touch animals) to move Bosco from one plane to another (the same transfer that I'm doing), and that I would need to re book, and of course pay a fee for the privelage, to allow enough time for the transfer...... What the hell are they playing at ?? - I phoned their customer service line but was put on hold for 45 minutes then cut off, so guess what ?, after this trip I wont be using Quantas again Rant over - thanks for listening

I’ve never flown frequently enough to consider joining some frequent program until now. Please could someone give me any advice whether it would not be worth joining? I’ll fly out on August 13 (with Quantas), and be returning home once every 12 months + any additional annual holidays (probably to eastern Asia). Are different airlines frequent flyer programs interchangeable? Or would I then be tied into using Quantas forever? Thanks in advance for any advice :biggrin:

I thought I start a new thread for this so other people will be informed too. In the last few days I had a lively email exchange with different airlines regarding luggage allowance for persons who are going to Australia for the first time on a temporary (also long-stay 457) visa. So after four tiring email attempts with BA I finally got a short and clear answer: ---- Dear Dr M, I am sorry if previous replies failed to answer your enquiry. Qantas do not offer any special baggage allowance for passengers entering Australia. They have an excess baggage charge of 50 Aussie dollars per kilogram in excess of 23 kilograms. Regards Barry British Airways ---- This means everyone booking a flight via BA which is operated by Qantas (see small print or details while booking) or with Qantas directly can only take 20kg per person. However, this seems to apply mainly for flights from London to Melbourne. I just thought I might share this so you will be able to avoid the shock of a lifetime.

OK buoyed on by Save the Lemmings post about new threads, thought I would have a go! :err: I hope this doesn't mean more disruption for people! Not sure about the "cooking itself" comment! :shocked: At least it "cooked itself" before it took off! Another Qantas jet engine failure January 16, 2011 - 9:11AM There’s been another engine failure on a Qantas aircraft, this time as it was preparing to take off at Sydney Airport. Flight QF11 to Los Angeles, carrying 344 passengers, was on the runway preparing to take off at 3.30pm (AEDT) on Saturday when its number one engine suffered a complete failure, News Ltd says. Passengers on the 747 described hearing ‘‘a loud bang’’ and then watching as black smoke poured out of the crippled engine. The captain then reportedly announced over the intercom that the engine had ‘‘cooked itself’’. A spokeswoman for Qantas said the plane was on the runway and cleared for take-off when it had a ‘‘low-speed engine failure’’. She said the passengers disembarked at the gate and a replacement 747 aircraft was scheduled to leave at 7pm. It finally took off at 7.38pm. Saturday’s incident is the latest in a shocking run for the national carrier, which had to ground its entire A380 fleet in November after one of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines exploded in mid-air shortly after take-off from Singapore. The total cost of grounding its entire fleet of A380s, and replacing 16 of the A380 engines, has been estimated at $80 million. The day after the A380 near-disaster, a Qantas 747-400 aircraft had a mid-air incident, with flames bursting from an engine just after take-off from Singapore.

Singapore or Quantas airlines ~ Which is better? :wideeyed:

In peoples experiences which do you think are the best airlines to go with? We are planning on migrating Sept / Oct 11 from the UK and will have with us a 2 year old year old and a 8/9 month old baby. Do they all have the same baggage allowance as standard? Would love to hear your experiences, especially those travelling with babies & toddlers, i.e would Dubai be a better stopover than Singapore, etc. Does a 2 year old get their own baggage allowance? We are moving to Canberra so I guess we would be UK to Sydney Thanks Claire

Hi - After seeing good times and price with Singapore airlines - (and flown with them before), hubbie seen slightly cheaper but nearer to us (Manchester) flights with Quantas but not done long haul with them - has anyone else and how did you find them? (we have 2 young kids under 5 so are they good with them etc). Opinions much appreciated. Thanks :biggrin:

Helloooooo!! Looks like we will be booking with Quantas as they have come out the cheapest by far.....last time I flew with them in 2000 I wasn't overly impressed - have they improved? bear in mind It will be me and a 3 and 6 year old. What are your experiences?

I'm using a couple of iPods to keep the kids entertained (hopefully) and was wondering if there are any facilities for plugging in to charge at the seats. thanks grant

Anyone know the answer ? A while ago Quantas did a flight that went straight from Heathrow to Sydney, is this still going ? Thanks

very few available but if you fancy your chances this may be worth a look, Qantas are doing a cheap deal linked to The Ashes Specials - Ashes only via london and Sydney but I guess if the price is right you can get an onward flight to other parts of Oz regards Michelle

Can anyone tell us when Quantas are having their sale.

Hi I have just been looking at flights and Quantas have a special offer on with flights. They are 2 for the price of 1. I hope that someone finds a bargain! Specials - Multi-City Specials - Qantas Global 2-for-1 Great News Sale Now On best wishes Michelle

Remember it takes a degree to fly a plane, but only a high school diploma to fix one. Reassurance for those of us who fly. After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humour. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by Qantas' pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, Qantas is the only major airline that has never, actually had a crash P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement. S: Almost replaced left inside main tire. P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough. S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft. P: Something loose in cockpit. S: Something tightened in cockpit P: Dead bugs on windshield. S: Live bugs on back-order. P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent. S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground. P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear. S: Evidence removed. P: DME volume unbelievably loud. S: DME volume set to more believable level. P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick. S: That's what friction locks are for. P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode. S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode. P: Suspected crack in windshield. S: Suspect you're right. P: Number 3 engine missing. S: Engine found on right wing after brief search. P: Aircraft handles funny. S: Aircraft warned to: straighten up, fly right, and be serious. P: Target radar hums. S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics. P: Mouse in cockpit. S: Cat installed. P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer. S: Took hammer away from midget.