AIBU to ask about flying to Australia?

[snapdragongirl]

I have never been to Australia, indeed have never even flown long-haul, but will soon be doing so with DC (2 teens and a tween). We are flying with Qatar Airways, economy, via Doha (we have a couple of hours there).

For myself, but also for DC who have (understandably) lots of questions about how it all works, what should we expect in terms of any food/drink that is provided during the flight, and what are your top tips in terms of embarking on a journey like this, eg when to try and sleep, how to manage jet lag, what in-flight facilities/entertainment are there? I don’t even know if we will be able to watch tv/films, having never done this before! Do the seats recline for sleeping? What comfort items could we take to make it more bearable? We also have neurodiversity in the mix to make things more interesting….

Any advice from more seasoned travellers is very welcome as I am clueless!

Have a look at the airline website, it tells you lots of this. You will typically be served two meals per leg of the flight (UK - I presume - to Doha, then Doha on to Australia). Drinks and food is all included in the ticket cost. In economy you generally have a choice of 2/3 meals, you need to book vegetarian, etc ahead.

each seat has a tv for shows / movies and earphones are provided. You can also BYO device and headphones for your own content. The airline website will list shows and films available on your particular route - they usually update every month.

Qatar is a good airline. You will get plenty of food and drink and can ask for more drinks. Usual and good advice is to stay hydrated. I always have an aisle seat to be able to get out easily…I assume you are flying economy. There will be a screen in the back of the seat in front of you with movies, tv series, games, music etc. You will be given headphones. The seats will recline, but not lie flat in economy. Don’t recline them at mealtimes. Some people can sleep on planes but most struggle, as I do. A good eyemask and earplugs will help a lot. Some take sleeping tablets which I wouldn’t recommend but something like Nytol may help. Some swear by melatonin. Jet lag, well some suffer more than others but the usual advice is to get on to local time as soon as possible. Depending what time you arrive, power through until an early bed time, a lot of flights to Australia arrive early morning, which can be less than ideal.

Thank you! Will definitely look at their website, I didn’t really think to as presumed some of the things I’ve asked are widely known by most people This is all really helpful, thanks!

Copy your flight number into here for a look at the seating plan.
https://www.seatguru.com

More details here. Just work through the site menu. www.qatarairways.com/en-gb/onboard/economy-class.html

I flew last summer with my DD21 with Singapore airlines.
Menu is available online like a month before?
Take slippers with the rubbery bits on bottom.
I wore compression socks.
Long scarf to wrap around as blanket wasn't warm enough.
Comfy hoodie/sweatshirt.
Loose clothing for flight.
Clean underwear/wipes/deodorant to have a freshen up at layover.
Toothbrushes available on the flight.
Earplugs and my own eye mask.
Good travel pillow.
Moisturiser (used same one for hands and face) and lip balm.
Hairbrush
Buy bottled water airside and drink loads.

Wear shoes that slip on. You do not want to go to the toilet in your socks or bare feet.

Also, your feet will swell so make sure your shoes allow for that.

Drink loads of water, ideally with electrolytes. Consider a longer layover (8-10 hours) and book into the airside hotel in the terminal (often works out a similar price and so much nicer to lie down and sleep between two long flights).

Hi op,
I would not call myself a seasoned traveller but have done a similar journey this year with Qatar on my own. Man-Doha then Doha-Auckland. You probably wont sleep on the first flight, food and drink seems to be constant you wont go hungry that's for sure. The food is not great but certainly edible. Walk through the terminal at Doha to your next gate, its a long walk but kills time and lots of shops on the way if you're interested.
Try and get some sleep on your Aus flight if you can, the seats do recline but not by much. I found the jet lag not too bad over there but was shattered for a good week after coming home.
Good luck

My top tips would be to eat whenever they feed you, sleep / rest when it's dark in the cabin, wear comfy clothes, wear compression socks, move your feet about to keep the circulation going, stretch whenever you are in the aisle (there will be queues for the loos at popular times - use the time to stretch!), take a neck cushion for comfort, take moisturiser and eye drops as the air is really dry. Don't despair when it feels like you have been on the plane your whole life but you realise you're only halfway there :)

I've flown long-haul lots - it's tedious but fine.

Flown long haul frequently with babies/toddlers/children/teens over the years. We take our own headphones plus snacks: watch movies, eat, sleep and relax! I always take a small zip up hoodie as it can get cold on the flight, I don’t like the rough blankets they give out sometimes.

It was good last year , meals are nice , all drinks ,water tea coffee where in with the ticket ,
Don't pack food stuff for customs when you arrive as they may charge you for it fresh food , oranges , so on . Slipper type shoes are a must for comfort and travel , have a great time as well .All the best

Layers layers layers.

shoes you can easily take off. Compression socks. Have multiple layers as sometimes you’ll feel much colder than the plane and sometimes hotter.

I find the little neck pillows really help with sleeping.

You can watch lots of different movies and tv shows on personal tv screens on the seat back in front of you. Plus games/ music/ radio, all sorts.
I managed 3 movies on my last flight to Seattle 😀

Qatar are good.
You'll get plenty of meals and drinks throughout the flights.
Doha airport is HUGE so when you land start making your way to your gate as it can be a bit of a walk. There are loads of shops and food outlets so there will be some close to your allocated gate. If you're lucky it will be close to the indoor rainforest which is a lovely place to relax with lots of food outlets surrounding it.
Also look out for the giant teddy bear!

Definitely get some wireless noise cancelling headphones if possible, connect to your own phone or device.

There's apparently a gadget you can connect to wireless headphones that allows you to listen to the plane TVs, but I keep forgetting to buy one so make do with phone/Kindle for entertainment.

How long are you in Australia for? On the flight, behave like you're already in the destination Australian time zone, will help with jet lag.

I packed a lightweight change of clothes - wipes for quick clean and basic toiletries. I had a plastic zip up for all my important documents passport flight tickets etc ( as you’re transferring via Doha they’ll likely print off paper versions for you when you check in). Definitely eye mask and over ear noise cancelling headphones. Hand luggage allowance was ridiculously generous so I took my own pillow from home which really helped me sleep. The flights I’ve been on have a kitchen area at the rear where you get unlimited ( as long as you’re not cheeky) drinks / tea/coffee/soft drinks /water. I took a water bottle which they kept topped up for me. Really long beautiful comfy pashmina which doubled as a blanket. The tv will show lots of films and tv series and there should be usb plugs to charge your phone. I took a power bank as a back up - it wasn’t necessary but it made me feel better knowing it was there. Flight socks definitely. They’ll be aware you’re transferring at Doha and should have people at the plane doors to direct you. Enjoy - it’s a beautiful and welcoming friendly country.

Funnily enough I'm about to embark on a similar journey, apologies that I'm going to be a bit vague because it is pretty outing due to our slightly obscure routing. We've decided to break our journey out in a couple of places, but that does leave us with two 10 hour flights and one 3 hour flight before we hit our destination.

Food wise it can be a bit hit and miss on flights but I have heard great things about Qatar airways generally and it might be worth having a look on their website to see if you can order specific meals if there are dietary issues.

I'm travelling with some fussier eaters and they are planning on stocking up on snacks airside at the airport to have on the plane as they are likely to hate the food and refuse to eat it.

We have all got decent memory foam neck pillows and noise cancelling headphones and airplane adaptors. The noise cancelling won't work when plugged into the seat back system but will work when connected to your own device. I think that most airlines how have usb charging but that might also be worth checking if devices are likely to be used / needed.

I also personally like to have comfy warm but not constrictive clothing when travelling and tend to take off my shoes and put a pair of thick socks on for being on the plane but I know some people find that a bit revolting in the toilets. I also always travel with a big scarf or wrap which can be used as a light blanket.

Pack a water bottle as the flights are dehydrating. You'll have to empty it before going through security but then you should be able to fill up on the gate. We are currently on holidays and flew with Qatar Airways (Sydney to Athens via Doha) and have found them to be really good. It was 2 meals provided from Sydney to Doha.

In terms of sleep and trying to minimise jet lag I always work back from the time when I land and try to put myself on that time from the moment I leave the UK. So if eg you land in Australia in the morning I would try very hard to sleep less on the UK to Doha leg and then try to sleep as much as possible on the Doha to Australia part of the journey.

Now that won’t work perfectly because sleeping on planes is hard and very few people can entirely skip a nights sleep on the UK to Doha section but if you plan to eat and watch movies etc and only have a couple hours sleep on the first journey then it will hopefully be easier to crash on a bigger part of the second part.

Also (and I admittedly run a tight ship for my family on jet lag and this won’t be for everyone) but for the first few days after landing the rules we try to follow are: - don’t go to bed before 9.30pm (adults and teens for sure, for younger kids you have to flex to their normal bedtime), everyone up and rolling by 8.30 in the morning (sleeping in until lunch time is just going to prolong the jet lag over more days in my experience), daytime naps only if you are murderously tired) and no more than an hour in the afternoon.

Also once you are in Australia try to get out and about in the daylight it will help your body adjust. Also try to avoid looking at the time and saying “gosh it’s actually 3am in the UK” or whatever. It will make you feel much worse! Get on local time as fast as you can for meals etc.

This is all brilliant advice, thanks all. Has anyone ever done the direct UK-Perth flight? This is something I'm considering in the next 2-3 years.

Lots of good tips. Definitely agree about bringing your own snacks, but be sure to eat/dump any fresh food before going through arrivals in the Australian airport as it's not permitted to bring agricultural products into the country and they're strict. Crisps, sweets, water etc all fine, but no fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy products, meat etc.

Take a look at the Timeshifter app. It helped me immensely when we flew from Canada/USA to Singapore. Direct flight from Seattle - 16.5 hours.

Honestly I thought this route was horrible although I had to go on to Perth, I'd hold my nose and do it again if my actual final destination was Perth. It's a new(ISH) route with new aircraft which sounds great in theory but I reckon the idea was to make the fit out as light as possible - it honestly feels like a Ryanair, thin plastic seats (although of course they recline). I’ve never been so uncomfortable and I’m all of 5 ft and fairly petite. The leg room is not awful it just felt very claustrophobic. In comparison the older Emirates planes feel more like a comfy armchair.

the bugger is that you have to disembark in Perth and go through immigration and THEN go collect your suitcase and THEN check it in again even if your connecting flight to Melbourne/Brisbane/Sydney is also with Qantas because there’s no immigration/customs on domestic flights of course. So they make you do a 3 hour lay over minimum in Perth.

never again, I’d much sooner do Qatar or Emirates or Singapore or Cathay with a speedy 1.5 hour layover where you can go stretch your legs and freshen up without dealing with immigration and all your luggage!

obvs different if Perth is your final destination but if not, I think it’s miserable. Hour 14 is exactly when you are fed up and need a break and I had to sit 3 more hours, and then spend 3 more gaffing around Perth airport 🤪

Flying to Australia is hard work however you cut it up ( I’ve done two different routes and flown on to New Zealand too ) but most airlines you can get can drinks and snacks from the galley the whole flight. Make sure you pack spare clothes, be comfy and take lots of snacks / sweets and buy water at the airport ( I wouldn’t drink water form a jug on a plane ) once you’re on you can’t get off so I always just consciously give in to it. Embrace the time where ALL you can do is relax and make the most of it!

you’ll be squished and uncomfortable but at the end … AUSTRALIA and that’s a joy.

*I had to go on to Sydney, that should say!

oh and ps I was economy, would consider trying again but only in premium / business, and you’d still have the faff of connecting in Perth.