hello all,

I wanted to get an opinion from all of you to figure out which is the better airline to fly from chicago to australia, that would be either United or Qantas.
I saw some great deals on united, but from what i read about this airline, they are not that good. But, then again, I heard that qantas is a hit or miss when it comes to a pleasant experience especially with the flight crew.

any thoughts would be appreciated. i plan on traveling either in october or november this year.

Hi - I flew with United from LAX ro Sydney December 06 and it was fine. It was the first time I had flown with them. Never done that route with Qantas but have flown with them often SYD-London or vv.

I'll nearly always choose on the basis of cost - cheapest gets my business unless the margin is small in which case I'd go for the Star alliance option (FF points and all that).

But for what it's worth, here are my comparisons:

Flight crew: Qantas overly officious: United more friendly but a bit taken aback if you ask a question (I think they had trouble with my accent).

Food: well we don't fly for the food! About equal.

Entertainment: on the Europe route Qantas have a personal screen and personal choice of movies even in cattle class. I find it hard to believe this wouldn't also be true on the N America route. United it's we choose and schedule - you watch.

Aircraft quality - nothing to choose between them.

Now this is all coloured by the fact that on the United flight I had a seat next to the main exit door, with loads of leg room - but more importantly, the ability to get up and take a wander without disturbing my fellow pax.

Oh bliss!! I don't know how I managed it. A very early check-in for a connecting flight, and a seat request cancellation somewhere along the line.

Probably never ever happen to me again!!

Do you have frequent flyer miles with American, Continental or U.S. Airways? Then go Qantas. If you have miles with United, go United.

Qantas has Video on Demand, which means you can pause the movie or choose a movie at your liking during the flight on most aircrafts. This is new.

Qantas is a high Four Star Airline while United is a medium 3 Star Airline. Visit www.airlinequality.com for more information.

If you can snag a seat in United Premium Economy, that might be a reason to go United, but I would choose Qantas "Hands Down."

The comments about United I have heard include, I have never seen such old flight attendants, do they ever turn off the fasten seat belt sign, and a poor choice of old films to watch.

You can visit the Qantas website and see what movies they are playing--if you like to watch movies.

I have heard that United will still give free alcohol when crossing the Pacific Ocean but they have cut it out ($5 each) when crossing the Atlantic.

To me, it is a no-brainer. You want to go to Australia, so why not fly on their carrier.

I am also planning a trip to Australia. We are going in June so I have been reading everything I can about flights, etc. I found more positives associated with Quantas flights than the others, so that's what I chose. Also, I don't know if you are familiar with www.seatguru.com or not, but it gives you the plane layouts and what the best seats are, complete with pros and cons for each seat so you know what ones to request!! I loved it! There's a website for everything!

We flew Qantas from L.A to Brisbane, and found the flight pleasant. The service was fantastic on our flight. The seats are a tight fit but we found the personal t.v screens and access to many movies and programs made the flight go by fast.

We love the personal touches Qanta's offers like: pouches with warm socks, eye covers, mints, etc. They also would hand out ice cream treats, along with a bag full of goodies during the flight.

I will definitely book Qanta's for our return trip to Australia!

Every airline in the world boasts passengers who'll "never fly with them again" based on one bad experience, so I'm wary about issuing a blanket condemnation of United based on mine. However I've spoken to quite a few people whose trans-Pacific experiences match ours.

United: food mediocre, between-meals refreshments and service poor to non-existent. Cabin crew elderly, tired and sullen. "Red Carpet" lounges at SYD and LAX a joke - cheap nibbles, and they charged for drinks. Even so, the barmaid at LAX sighed with exasperation and rolled eyes when I asked for a glass for my beer, seemingly considering judging this to be an effete and limp-wristed rather than a civilised habit. When my daughter found they hadn't supplied her pre-ordered vegetarian meal on another flight, the FA was rude and dismissive. On domestic flights the cabin crew at least were not senile, but overall it was obvious how the term "cattle class" was born.

Qantas: like a breath of fresh air. Ground staff attentive, cabin crew efficient, down-to-earth, responsive and friendly. Meals surprisingly good, free drinks willingly delivered, a good snack pack supplied to tide passengers through the night hours. Video-on-demand with good selection of movies. Lounge facilities (although my last use was a few years ago) excellent, with quality antipasto-style snacks and free drinks on request (although for some reason it was difficult to get barmen to refrain from putting ice in my Scotch).

Overall we struggled to identify any redeeming qualities in United and every reason to fly Qantas again. Chalk and cheese, IMO.

In short, most U.S. airlines are only concerned about their returning customers in First and Business class. Fly Qantas.

Here's another vote for Qantas. I've flown both several times between LA and Australia and Qantas is superior. The only reason I've flown United is when their fare has been SUBSTANTIALLY lower than Qantas'. If the fares are close, go with Qantas.

I'd recommend Air New Zealand. Granted, you have to make a stop in Auckland, but I think you'd enjoy the flight. Check out their website for further information and flyertalk.com for another great source.

A second vote for Air New Zealand. It is the only line we fly to Australia, and we deliberately stop in Auckland overnight in-bound. I absolutely cannot face the 15 hours from LAX to Sydney, gotta get off in Auckland. This year we stopped and after only three hours continued onto Melbourne. I was exhausted and will never do it again. Air NZ has the individual TVs, decent (for airlne) food, the little socks bag, and gracious staff. I've only flown Qantas in-country on tiny planes that are not fair to compare. But if you assume United is no great shakes at home, and barely tolerable to Europe, why would you consider them - unless you have a pile of FF miles.

Life's too short & that trip too long to put up with *&*&^ airlines. Fly Qantas!

I'll second, or third, Air New Zealand.
Excellent - and it's also a sane idea to stop on the way if you can.

Happy travels.

According to www.seatguru.com, United's "Economy unfortunately only has big projector screens with one movie choice."

Qantas had so many movies, I could not even count them all.

If you are flying direct I would go for Qantas.

If you do not mind a stop I would suggest Air NZ. Depending upon your type of ticket you should quality for United points on Air NZ.

Both airlines have seat back IFE, which is certainly helpful on long flights.

Anmother couple fo choices (So long as you do not mind stops ) are Air Pacific, via Nadi. Seat back screens though limited election of movies, free flowing with the booze as well if that helps. Or Air Tahiti Nui, Via you guessed it Tahiti. I have not flown the last guys but people I know who have flown them rate them very highly.

I would not rate United as an option if I had the choice of the other four above.

Another vote for Air New Zealand.