australia jumpseat

[skychicken]

Hey anyone go from ORD to australia on polar or any other freight company. Just looking for ideas
thanks

 

[lemtjones]

Int'l Jumpseat

I got down to Costa Rica on Delta no problem, all I had to pay were taxes and airport fees. Watch out coming back, the people at the Delta ticket counter in CR looked at me like I had just stepped out of a spaceship . I recommend you get to the aiport very early if you are trying to JS anywhere Int'l. You might also check on Hawaiian and UAL to AU. Please post how it was if you do get down there. Good Luck!

 

[Noise]

I second the UAL to Australia, a buddy of mine from Horizon took them and sat business both ways.

 

[purduej]

UAL is the way to go, but the other options are Hawaiian and Air Canada (if you can jumpseat them). I looked into Polar when I did it but they don't it anymore. Atlas does it and only once a week. Not only that, but the routing was as follows: ORD-LAX-HNL-SYD and SYD-HKG-ANC-ORD. Not exactly the quickest flight and each stop is 2-3 hours on the ground. Good luck! UAL is empty this time of year to down under. Just get to the airport early when coming back, took them 1.5 hours and 3 calls to headquarters to figure out how to get someone in the jumpseat and pay taxes ($103 last year).

 

[Kenny]

UAL is the way to go, but the other options are Hawaiian and Air Canada (if you can jumpseat them). I looked into Polar when I did it but they don't it anymore. Atlas does it and only once a week. Not only that, but the routing was as follows: ORD-LAX-HNL-SYD and SYD-HKG-ANC-ORD. Not exactly the quickest flight and each stop is 2-3 hours on the ground. Good luck! UAL is empty this time of year to down under. Just get to the airport early when coming back, took them 1.5 hours and 3 calls to headquarters to figure out how to get someone in the jumpseat and pay taxes ($103 last year).

I promise I'm not trying to pee on anyone's bonfire here but as someone who's JS'd to OZ for the last 5 years there are a few things that I've found to be completely different to this post.

The busiest time of the year for the LAX-SYD route is Nov thru Feb, so we're still at the end of that. It's always been packed whenever I've JS'd down there at this time of year.

Currently, Atlas is doing JFK-HNL-SYD. Which is what I'm doing in a week. Getting back is out of the question because they head out of SYD to PVG and you need a Chinese Visa.

Still haven't ever been charged departure taxes by United when I've JS'd on them, so I don't why others have.

If you can try and get some ZED's on Qantas. Dirt cheap if you need to use them.

 

[fastback]

Thanks for the help

I promise I'm not trying to pee on anyone's bonfire here but as someone who's JS'd to OZ for the last 5 years there are a few things that I've found to be completely different to this post.

The busiest time of the year for the LAX-SYD route is Nov thru Feb, so we're still at the end of that. It's always been packed whenever I've JS'd down there at this time of year.

Currently, Atlas is doing JFK-HNL-SYD. Which is what I'm doing in a week. Getting back is out of the question because they head out of SYD to PVG and you need a Chinese Visa.

Still haven't ever been charged departure taxes by United when I've JS'd on them, so I don't why others have.

If you can try and get some ZED's on Qantas. Dirt cheap if you need to use them.

Too right! Thanks to all for the help.

 

[redbird]

Also, be very cautious when jumpseating back to the US...I jumpseated on United to Japan with no problems, but when trying to return, the ticket counter refused to let me jumpseat. Because it was a 777 and a relief crew occupied all the cockpit jumpseats, no cabin jumpseaters allowed. We saw the United Captain going through customs and asked him about the situation. He called Chicago operations and got it approved to let me jumpseat, but the gate still denied me. After talking with United ops in Chicago three times, the Captain finally got me on the flight! The moral of the story....always, always, always have a pass for a backup plan when leaving the country (if you're not affiliated with United)...Hope it helps! I was sweating bullets!

 

[purduej]

Cargo schedules change all the time so I'm not surprised that the routing is different, that's just what it was when I looked into it. As for the loads, you're right, it is full this time of year. My trip was in mid April and the loads were light. 50 seats open on the way there 100+ on the way back. How did you get away with not paying taxes? Every time I have jumpseated internationally I have had to pay. This has been true on United, Delta, and USAir (not Polar/Atlas however). I'm always open to suggestions on how to not though.

 

[Kenny]

How did you get away with not paying taxes? Every time I have jumpseated internationally I have had to pay. This has been true on United, Delta, and USAir (not Polar/Atlas however). I'm always open to suggestions on how to not though.

Don't know what to tell you. I've been JS'ing on UAL all over the world both out of and into the US and I've yet to be charged departure taxes.

Also, even though it's a pain, wear your uniform if you're JS'ing overseas. It makes a huge difference dealing with security and the local ops.