Best way of flying economy from Sydney-London

What's the best option for flying from SYD to LHR in Economy? I'm QF Gold, and I have the choice of flying on QF thru SIN, CX or EY/QR/EK. The most important factor is comfort!

Then the best way is to upgrade to premium economy..!

More seriously, we don’t cover international economy here but some readers may be able to share their own takes based on their own experience down the back of the bus. I’ve sat in the Qantas Boeing 787 economy seats and they struck me as pretty good, but I doubt I’d want to do PER-LHR nonstop in them, so by default you may be looking at breaking your journey somewhere.

EK or QF with PE upgrade

Let's be honest, economy class from Sydney to London is always going to a miserable experience. The trick is to find the least miserable option. I would definitely agree with everybody here who suggests aiming for premium economy. Qantas has a decent economy seat in the A380 and it's best if you can get into the little 'mini-cabin' at the rear of the upper deck. I visited the 787 during an open day and the economy seat has good legroom and really good features, but you are going to have to sit in that for 17 hours.

A number of my colleagues have done the PER-LHR flight in economy, and say that they would never go any other way again. They liked just getting it over with, but also thought the seats and 787 atmosphere quite good. Admittedly you are going from Sydney, so it is still one stop, but might be worth considering.

If there are two of you the JAL 787 to London is a nice option . It is only 2 across, instead of 3, with a window and isle seat and has bit more room .No one gets the middle seat. The catch is you may have to overnight in Tokyo and may have to change airports.

If you are by yourself I have found the best option is to get flights that arrive in the afternoon at the destination . That way you can just go to the hotel and sleep and hit road running the next day. I find that first day just gets wasted as you wait for the hotel .

In regards to the seats on the plane I like to sit upstairs down the very back on Qantas A380 but you need to see if they are free when you book. ( burn some points too to get an upgrade is an option )

Cathy 777 I find the seats ok and would uses them if you want a stopover in HK or want to arrive in the afternoon.

For the M3 airlines , I have found ,personally, that I don't like the long leg first and then a short leg and then the reverse on the way home . I prefer the Singapore/ Tokyo /Hong Kong stopover.

If travelling economy, and if your schedule allows, breaking your trip with an overnight stay in a transit hotel is worth considering (eg. Crowne Plaza Changi Singapore). You will arrive in your destination in better shape than if you were to attempt the trip in one go.

I would go QF via SIN or CX via HK. Given you are gold both places have good lounges. An option would be to go QF81/QF1 or get one of the morning flights on CX which would connect with their late night departures. These options give you time to get off and refresh yourself in the lounge and then move onto the London flight. Singapore airport also has day rooms which you can book and actually get some sleep and rest up before going on. The other option would be to overnight in either SIN or HK. Both are great stop over options. Good luck,

If you can get a seat upstairs at the back of the cabin on the QF A380 it is very nice.

I don’t mind the Perth option. Get it over and done with in one go and the plane is fine and tiny Perth Airport easy to manage.

I do this journey a wee bit and try my best to go through Narita (Tokyo). Day flight up from this side of the world (albeit I live in NZ). Quick hotel rest (hotels go for about AU$130-150 Hilton or alike). And then a day flight from Tokyo to London next day usually leaves Tokyo mid morning arriving London 3-5pm or so same day. Have dinner a few wines then bed! Hahahahaha the last time I did that I arrived at Heathrow at 3pm and had a party I had to go straight too and I stayed up past midnight, not sure I could’ve been quite so perky flying straight through. Good luck!

I know you are QF Gold but here's how I always do iit in economy. Late flight up to SIN with SQ (6/7pm departure), crash at the Changi Crown Plaza, then the 12.30pm flight to LHR. Arrives at Heathrow about 7pm. I find this a really bearable way to make the trip. I stop over on the way back through, and SQ now have 3 day time flights to SYD, which I prefer to an overnighter.