My friends did a similar flight this week, except they stopped in Singapore. Will see if I can find out for you, depends how soon they check e-mail!

I flew to Vietnam stopping at Bangkok going out and returning, there was about 90minutes until the plane took off again and we all got off and waited in a transit lounge..

when we went to Singapore those travelling onwards were not allowed off the plane. I felt really sorry for them and personally would never go to Australia without at least an overnight stop. I would be climbing the cabin walls!

As far as i know its not possible to fly non stop to australia as current aircraft cant fly that far although that will change with the new airbus a380.
Again i might be wrong? although im fairly sure im right
i think most airlines let you off from what ive been told, you could ask the airline you are flying with.

Just had a rely from my friend, she was allowed off the plane and had time for a (very expensive!) shower.

They flew Qantas if thats any help.

Thanks for the replies. WK - yes we're flying Qantas so sounds promising and a shower would be welcome after 13 odd hours flying (how expensive was it?).

Hi Sandbee

She didn't say, all I got was they they had time for "the most expensive but most welcome shower of my life! It was worth every penny"

Hope you have a good flight

I have made that trip in the other direction Sydney to Heathrow. While the plane was being re-fueled etc in Bankok you are allowed out of the aircraft and into the departures lounge of the airport. As I remember it we were given passes which we then presented when returning to the plane.

This is one hell of a journey to do in one go. Even with the stop and stretch of legs in Bangkok I was not in good shape on landing in London. If you can do it make a stop over.

as petitbuddy already mentioned,

if you can stopover enroute even for one night do it, ive done london to perth and melbourne to london, and only transitted the airport in singapore. Next time i go i will stop off for one or two nights.

Theres alot of talk about the new Boeing 787 flying non-stop from europe to australia and to be honest i would not even consider this.

We are planning a trip to Australia and would be interested to hear opinions on which airline offers the most comfort in economy class.

4jay,

Which airport are you planning on flying from? Heathrow will give you the best option in terms of which airline you can choose, but it depends where you are in the world. Have a look at seatguru for info on seats etc.

Darren

singapore airlines are very good.

Malaysia are good as well...usually have good deals...34" seat pitch in economy as well and seat back video screens and good service.

It depends if you want a stopover and where you want this to be. If this isn't an issue I'd be choosing Singapore, Malaysian or Emirates as all provde excellent service. If you want real luxury consider a less popular airline and enquire about business class prices. A colleague went to Sydney via HK on Cathay Pacific and paid less than £1,000 return for business class - larger more popular airlines wanted not much less than this for economy.

I am flying to Australia in four weeks time, with Malaysia. I have flown with Singapore and have found their economy seating to be very cramped. Thai Airlines also are very comfortable with reasonable seat pitch. I am very suprised about the cheap price with Cathay, they normally charge more than double the price quoted in the previous post for business and although they are one of the top four Airlines in the world their economy seating is somewhat cramped. As stated in previous post it depends a lot on which airline to choose if you are intending breaking the journey up with a stopover. If so with Thai it would be Bangkok, Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Cathay Hong Kong and Singapore in Singapore. You will have to stop somewhere for an hour or more as there are no non stop flights to Oz and I always find a night or two somewhere on the way really makes the journey more bearable.

Hi

I have used BA and Qantas to Australia. Traveled to Hong Kong Worldtraveller plus with BA and then after a couple of days looking around Hong Kong ( Great place) took a Qantas flight to Sydney (Economy).
Overall I thought that they were good, If you can I world see about World traveler Plus with BA or another Airlines Equivalent. More room I am 5,10" and I could sit with my legs stretched out reading the paper.
Maybe Virgin now that they fly there!
At the end of the day Australia is such a great place I would fly anyone!
A few of my friends have used Emirates via Dubai; I will try and find out what they are like!

Hi there,

My Mum wants to go out to Brisbane next year to visit her grandchild and family.

She is 81 years old but is extremely fit.

Does anybody have any reccommendation on which airline caters best for the 'older' passenger. My brother has just been out there with Emirates and said that they were very good - changed planes in Dubai and Singapore.

She would not want to stop over any where other than to change planes.

Any advice much appreciated.

Pippa

Your mother has a huge choice of airlines to choose from, Singapore
with a plane change in Singapore. Thai with a change in Bangkok, Malaysia with Kuala Lumpur, British Airways and Quantas change in Singapore and Cathay in Hong Kong all of these airlines only have one change whereas Emirates have two.(there are other Asian carriers but I am not too familiar with them) The best plan is to tell the airlines that your mumhas special needs (costs a bit extra) when she books and she will be looked after all the way. I know BA are pretty good with special needs(my parents have used this service) but I expect the rest are equally as good.
There is not a lot to choose between them Singapore has the best entertainment system though their fabled service is not as good as it used to be. Thai and Malaysia have the best seating.
I am flying to Adelaide next week and returning from Brisbane with Malaysia Airlines who are a 5* rated airline, I chose them because their seating is superior to most of the others plus the service on board is usually excellent.

Please go to >www.airlinequality.com< to get the seat Pitch for a comfortable flight for your mother. As the lady said Malaysian airlines have wide seat Pitch of 34in in their economy section, same as Monarch Premium upgrade. One can fly to Singarpore and change for Bribane. I have done the Sydney run since 1975 and You must get an airline with the Highest seat Pitch. 28 hours on the plane you know you have been in the air. Best wishes as I love Aussie. Barry from Ilford