Flight from UK to Australia

[SamE1995]

Hi all

My partner wants us to travel to Australia from Birmingham, UK.
I'm not a nervous flyer but I can't wait to get back off the plane after a flight and a long flight to Australia puts me off wanting to go.

I know you have a stop either at Dubai or Singapore.

Those who have flew to Australia.. how was the flights? Am I over thinking it too much?
I need some reassurance 😫

We flew to Australia with an almost four year old! It was fine. We decided to go for Premier Plus (or whatever the equivalent was) to give us and our DS a bit more room. It gave us a few more 'treats' too like snacks etc which helped to keep DS amused.

TBH once we were airborne it was like sitting on a bus and with films, radio and a few books to choose from, we were fine.

You can fly direct London to Perth which we just did and it was great!

The stopover is ok, some people opt to make that part of the trip and do a few nights there. Singapore and Dubai airports are fab.

Once you're on it's fine, you just watch movies, read and eat! We just did with three kids, the youngest being 2 and oldest 7 and even then it was fine.

You need to try and get a stopover somewhere. My BIL took the non-stop UK to Australia flight and said it was a killer even though he was in premium economy.

Birmingham to Brisbane or Sydney with Emirates was fine 2/3 hr wait in Dubai. We tried a stopover in Oman, Well somewhere in the Middle East I can't quite remember but it took us 3 hrs to get through security, hotel was lovely but we hardly slept due to jet leg . Just go for it with a short wait in Dubai.

I know you have a stop either at Dubai or Singapore.

Other options are available such as Bangkok, KL etc...

As has been pointed out there's the London-Perth non-stop option, (that still leave you a long way from the likes of Sydney or Brisbane, which may or may not be an issue).

How you do it in terms of either having a layover ( a night or two somewhere en-route) or just blasting through on a direct flight (e.g. London-Singapore-Sydney with minimal time in Singapore, maybe under two hours) is a matter of taste...but plenty do chose to do the latter.

I find long haul more relaxing than short haul .. people settle down and read / watch films / sleep but there’s a lot less of the frenetic energy of crew with duty free and meals.. a more relaxed pace . Don’t get me wrong, still pleased to get off the plane ..but tired rather than stressed !

I’m a bad flyer so I can’t do UK - Aus without a stopover to stretch, sleep and shower. There are quite a few choices for stopover cities.

Treat yourself to a pair of noise cancelling headphones. They make the journey much more comfortable as you can blot out the “plane noise” and listen to some soothing music, or use them with the inflight entertainment system. I’d recommend the direct London to Perth flight….once you land, you’re already in Oz!

I've done that flight a lot of times.

I'd go via Singapore as the airport has so much to do during a stop over, and it's so clean.

I personally used to do the shortest layover possible though, think it was 1 hour 58. Just get the flight done!

It was fine. My DS loved it so much he asked if there were 2 week non stop flights he could go on. Can't say I was that keen but perfectly doable.

Depends on how much time you have, but Singapore is a lovely place to visit as well.

@TooTightToSwim

I personally used to do the shortest layover possible though, think it was 1 hour 58. Just get the flight done!

I know connecting via the Gulf or the non-stop London-Perth is fashionable ATM, and is the logical way of doing it for some but what you describe is still popular, especially if time away from the UK is limited and/or the final destination is the east coast of Aus.

I think the shortest scheduled transit (i.e. no aircraft change, just off the aircraft, a quick leg stretch, then back on) through Singapore at the moment is 1 hour 25..

I was dreading the flight to Australia but it wasn't too bad. We did it all (economy) with just a short stopver at Abu Dhabi. It wasn't very comfortable, but manageable and I just watched a lot of films. The only things I particularly remember were that they ran out of blankets and I was cold, so maybe take something warm that will fit in your cabin bag and they ran out of some of the food options so you just had to have whatever was left.

It also helps if you have at least 3 weeks there before you have to fly back again.

We've done the flight between Birmingham and Perth many times. Haven't stopped over in Singapore but I've heard it's a very good one to stop at. I'd recommend flying Emirates rather than Etihad or Qatar, it's definitely worth the extra money IMO. Getting onto the second flight is a little soul destroying because you'll have just come off a long haul one but we've often got a row to ourselves on the Dubai to Perth/ Perth to Dubai leg so can stretch out which helps.
Definitely worth the flight but go for a reasonable length of time

We stopover for at least one night either Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong.

Overnight flights are better, you watch movies, read, eat, sleep; however I prefer to eat before getting on the plane so I don’t have to wait or eat the plane food and go straight to sleep.

Day flight are a nightmare though, last forever

I went on my own last December and flew Manchester to Dubai and then Dubai to Perth. I had a short layover, just enough time to get a coffee, go to the loo etc but I was glad of the chance to stretch my legs.

the long flight was actually fine, not half as bad as I thought! Totally worth it to go to Australia- loved it there

It’s worth delaying the trip if need be and saving up to fly business class - it makes a HUGE difference on flights that long.

It’s just everything from some airlines offering free limo rides to and from the airport, short queues for check in, lounge access, priority boarding, able to take on more hand luggage, no having to store your hand baggage miles away from your seat, charging points for phones and devices, great food and drinks, more privacy, in most cases a lie flat bed, no queues for the loos - you get the gist.

I have been to Melbourne twice, once in economy and once in business. I honestly wouldn’t ever do it in economy again (although I did have a particularly bad flight sat next to someone with awful personal hygiene on the first leg and in between two young children on the second - parents on the other side of the aisle next to them but they all wanted aisle seats so I was stuck in the middle).

Singapore is lovely for a stopover. I travel in the opposite direction but like to do the journey out in one go as I am always excited to get to my destination but it’s lovely to have a couple of nights to chill out and break the journey on the way home. It helps with jet lag too.