Over the past two weeks, we looked at finding the routes with the least demand to Europe and the Asia:
Hacking Award Seats to Europe – All 403 Routes – Part 1 of 5
Hacking Award Seats to Asia – All 177 Routes – Part 2 of 5
In this next short installment, we look at some of the hardest award routes to get: from North America to Australia and New Zealand.
Don’t forget some of the non-alliance partners that fly through their island hubs in the Pacific!
Google Drive Version of all OZ-NZ Routes
Excel Version of all OZ-NZ Routes
With far fewer carriers flying these routes and routing restrictions tightening up, it’s worthwhile to look at non-alliance partners, since they take a larger percentage of the market, flying many routes through Hawaii, Fiji and Papeete to get down under. Sounds like a great way to work in a tropical beach vacation on your way to Australia or New Zealand!
Here is an article from Hilary at Travelsort on how to nab coveted Qantas first space.
Non-Alliance Partners Shine
Since there are only 19 direct flights from North America to Australia and New Zealand, it’s worth highlighting a few non-alliance carriers that partner with our favorite US and British airlines.
Virgin Australia
Virgin Australia Long-Haul Business Class. The seats cantilever to almost 180 flat – from The Points Guy
Usually space is pretty easy to come by and can be booked with DL (160k), SQ or VX miles. The product is quite good (just barely short of lie-flat) and finding domestic award space to LAX is going to be an easier bet than the other North America gateways of SFO and YVR. Here’s a review from Eric at TPG about his experience flying to Melbourne
Air Tahiti Nui
Colorful, though a little cramped, the flight times in and out of Papeete might allow for some beach time on the way down under – from Matt at UPGRD
While the business class product is angle flat, you can enjoy a more polynesian-styled flight to Down Under with a stop in Papeete. Both AA and DL partner with this carrier and space can be more easy to find during non-peak times, generally November through April. Here’s a review from Jeffsetter on his experience with Air Tahiti Nui business class.
Hawaiian
Not your most luxurious seat – and the recline is very slight, but Hawaiian gets good marks for service and food – from Weddingspend.com
It IS recliner seats to Hawaii and onward to Australia, but if you can manage that, Hawaiian offers another option South. With lots of routes, they may prove to be a good fallback option, partnering with both AA and VX.
Brian from TPG reviewed the product here.
Fiji Airways
Almost lie flat and partners with Alaska and American, don’t forget about Fiji Airways – from UnderConsideration.com
Very few blogs talk about the fact that Fiji Air partners with AA and AS and offers an angle flat seat. Trip reports have rated it favorably and for 125k AA or 110k AS miles roundtrip, you’ll be hard pressed to find cheaper award for flights that far.
Which cities should I search availability out of?
Given how few flights there are, the least hub captive gateways are (unsurprisingly) as follows:
Best North American Gateways:
- Los Angeles – LAX
- Honolulu – HNL
Best Down Under Gateways:
- Sydney – SYD
In prior segments, we looked at which cities were least hub captive, presuming there would be less competition for frequent flyer space. I’d argue that given there are so few routes to the South Pacific, that logic doesn’t necessarily apply, as seasonal trends and lack of gateways will force bottlenecks of demand. Choosing a non-aligned carrier that most frequent flyer mile holders and booking agents have never heard of will be your best bet to get there in style.
There are a few cities you wouldn’t expect direct service on, so it could be worth your time to check flights out of the following cities:
North America:
- Dallas – DFW
- Vancouver – YVR
- San Francisco – SFO
OZ-NZ:
- Brisbane – BNE
- Melbourne – MEL
- Auckland – AKL
Also keep in mind that these are some of the longest flights in the world, so comfort does matter here. A lie flat seat might be a more important factor than US vs international service and food on a 14 hour flight.
Hope that helps you plan your next trip to the Southern Hemisphere. Stay tuned for South America and the Middle East/Africa in our final installments.
