What Would You Do re Connection Time
 

We are flying biz class on Thai airlines into Sydney. Our flight arrives at 7:30 am. midweek. We will have to take another flight (not biz class) on a separate ticket onto Tasmania. International & Domestic terminals are approx. 10 minutes apart by bus/train. We can take a 9:35am, 10:30am (on a budget airline) or 2:00pm flight. Which one would you experienced flyers choose?

It's hard to give a make a recommendation for a shorter connection time when you are traveling on two separate tickets. Given that you will be on an intercontinental flight coming into a destination in which you will need to go through immigration and customs, I would factor in cushion time rather than less, to anticipate for flight delays, etc. The 2pm flight should check these boxes and not leave you stressed should your flight be delayed and / or immigrations / customs take longer than expected.

I’d go with the 2:00 p.m flight as well, if for no other reason than to give you peace of mind. I’ve generally found customs and immigration pretty quick, but the airport can be a zoo, and getting from one terminal to the other can be confusing. Be forewarned, unless it has changed you have to pay for the shuttle unless you are flying Qantas which provides their own service.

Thanks, I'm starting to lean that way.

Australian customs can take ages, never mind what class you're flying.

Sydney airport is confusing - my most recent experience involved a domestic flight from Perth to Sydney, then a TransTasman flight to NZ. The Sydney terminal shuffle was easy (I had a voucher as I was connecting from Virgin Australia to Air NZ) but I was surprised at the distance between terminals and how long it took to get from one to the other via bus. I also found the international terminal poorly signed and confusing.

Personally, I'd opt for the later flight, just to lower the stress level. Then you'd have time for a shower and possibly a bite to eat in the arrivals lounge. Do treat yourself to a lovely Aussie flat white!

I suggest you also post over on the AUS forum, lots of folks over there who do this kind of thing on a regular basis.

Thanks, Mel. The folks on TA had me leaning to an earlier one, but I really think, it's not worth the stress as you said. I will post on the AUS forum, but it doesn't seem to get much activity.