Australia (Besides Melbourne And Sydney) Master Thread

[harry]

in business, usually fresh from lewis caterers

[oreo]

So here's the report on the KSML in Y from SYD to LAX (I wasn't the one traveling, so I'm just copying and pasting; picture is of dinner):

here is what they served me for "dinner" on the plane.
rice cakes
margarine spread
tidbit of cake which was very tasty
one slice of  canned pineapple

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

man if I had paid 3000 plus for that flight i'd be pissed lol.
TRUTH,
I find it hard to believe that the hot part wasn't missing but they didn't seem to think it was.

for snack.... honest to G-d... they gave me a mini  ham and cheese sandwich.

for breakfast, there was the same as dinner, but this time a hot something.... I think it was some kind of eggs and some kind of potato

[oreo]

Does anyone know how the KSMLs are (or who provides them) on DL for LAX-SYD or SYD-LAX?

[tuvz]

Does anyone know how the KSMLs are (or who provides them) on DL for LAX-SYD or SYD-LAX?

most probably Lewises
there are other caterers, but you would only get them flying out of MEL

[oreo]

most probably Lewises
there are other caterers, but you would only get them flying out of MEL

Got a response from Delta, they said Borenstein provides LAX-SYD and Lewis SYD-LAX.

I've seen some reports that Lewis has gotten much better over the last couple of years, can anyone confirm or deny?

[ajs625]

Flew from SYD-LAX earlier this month and the Lewis meal was better than any meal that has ever originated from the US. Note, from talking to the FA on my flight make sure to confirm your KSML because she said that there were times when they were supposed to and the meal was not on the flight.

[oreo]

Flew from SYD-LAX earlier this month and the Lewis meal was better than any meal that has ever originated from the US. Note, from talking to the FA on my flight make sure to confirm your KSML because she said that there were times when they were supposed to and the meal was not on the flight.

I will do that, thanks. Looking forward to the meals now.

[Dan]

I had Lewis from MLE-SIN.
Best KSML I ever had. 2 awesome hot entrees on a 4 hour flight.

[oreo]

I had Lewis from MLE-SIN.
Best KSML I ever had. 2 awesome hot entrees on a 4 hour flight.

This is only in Y but that sounds promising for a 14-hour flight

Funny thing about that, actually, is that I'm flying over tisha b'av--leave Perth on Monday night after the fast starts, then SYD-LAX on Tuesday morning, land at LAX Tuesday morning due to the time difference, and when I get back to CVG it's still Tuesday before sunset. Asked a Rabbi (my brother) who said he would check with his colleagues, but gave three possible answers at first:
1) Start fasting when it starts in Perth, and end 24 hours later
2) Fast from when it starts in Perth until it ends at my final destination (40+ hours)
3) Change my flight

After consulting with some experts (I assume) he gave me the following recommendation:
I start fasting in Perth according to their time. I can end my fast after 24 hours, in the air between SYD and LAX with about 5 hours left before landing--I can stuff myself during that time. Once I land in LAX though, I start fasting again until the fast ends after I get home.

[Dan]

I flew MLE-SIN in Y
Worked out nicely actually.  Had a row of 4 seats to sleep on. Sure beats domestic J!

[PlatinumGuy]

This is only in Y but that sounds promising for a 14-hour flight

Funny thing about that, actually, is that I'm flying over tisha b'av--leave Perth on Monday night after the fast starts, then SYD-LAX on Tuesday morning, land at LAX Tuesday morning due to the time difference, and when I get back to CVG it's still Tuesday before sunset. Asked a Rabbi (my brother) who said he would check with his colleagues, but gave three possible answers at first:
1) Start fasting when it starts in Perth, and end 24 hours later
2) Fast from when it starts in Perth until it ends at my final destination (40+ hours)
3) Change my flight

After consulting with some experts (I assume) he gave me the following recommendation:
I start fasting in Perth according to their time. I can end my fast after 24 hours, in the air between SYD and LAX with about 5 hours left before landing--I can stuff myself during that time. Once I land in LAX though, I start fasting again until the fast ends after I get home.

Not safe to fast while flying.

[Emkay]

Not safe to fast while flying.

Darn, so all the times I couldn't bring myself to eat that plane food are gonna come back to haunt me ?

[PlatinumGuy]

Darn, so all the times I couldn't bring myself to eat that plane food are gonna come back to haunt me ?

Just need to hydrate properly.

[oreo]

Not safe to fast while flying.

source? obviously if i feel ill i will drink water, and it's easier to get dehydrated while flying.

I asked Delta before the flight and they said Borenstein provided meals LAX-SYD, but the meals came out and they were all KoshAir/InfliteDelite. Yuck.

[Yehoshua]

source? obviously if i feel ill i will drink water, and it's easier to get dehydrated while flying.

I asked Delta before the flight and they said Borenstein provided meals LAX-SYD, but the meals came out and they were all KoshAir/InfliteDelite. Yuck.

What ended up happening? What did you end up fasting?

[oreo]

What ended up happening? What did you end up fasting?

Fasted the 24 hours with no problem, didn't even need water, though i thought i'd be able to fall asleep for the first 9 hours of SYD-LAX but I was unable to.  Got hungry more out of boredom than anything else, though there were plenty of movies to choose from. Then again I'm the type who, at the end of YK, would be totally okay to fast another couple hours. Thank goodness it was winter in Australia though, would have been much harder if it were hotter.  When the time came to break I asked the FA to heat up my dinner from earlier, ate my snack and water that had come an hour or two before break fast time, ate dinner, and ate breakfast when it came out a few hours later. Hydrated as much as possible.

My seatmates probably thought I was crazy, refusing meals and beverages for 9 hours and then stuffing myself.

All this with a 5-hour layover in SYD during which I took the train downtown, did Shacharit at the Great Synagogue, walked down to the Opera House to take a selfie and prove I was there, and returned to the airport to discover that DL doesn't allow its Gold/Plat/Diamond members on intl flights to use partner lounges, it's only for intl biz/first or club members.

Having fasted 24 hours, I then independently decided that I would continue to fast while on the ground in LAX and CVG but not in the air, since it is a public fast while on the ground but not in the air. This may have had something to do with being upgraded LAX-CVG. It's hard to refuse food and drinks when they're basically being force-fed to you.

Regarding the Lewis meals--good but not fantastic, certainly better than the Borenstein I got on the way to SYD. Fish as expected for dinner due to it being the ninth of the nine days. Kosher snack, btw, was an apple, a pear, and an orange, which were in fact delicious and the perfect things to break my fast on but it's kind of messy to eat an orange on a plane. The snack was not actually from Lewis.

Biggest downside of all this was missing a lot of free booze, including a great lounge (VA lounge in Perth).

Any other questions?

[SearchGuy]

What's the cheapest way to fly SYD/BNE/MEL-HTI with miles?
Can I purchase a ticket NYC-MEL-HTI-MEL-NYC?
BA-QF YQ?
VA?

[Yehoshua]

What's the cheapest way to fly SYD/BNE/MEL-HTI with miles?
Can I purchase a ticket NYC-MEL-HTI-MEL-NYC?
BA-QF YQ?
VA?

There's no YQ on QF within AU. Use Avios. VA doesn't even offer free water, but they have nice planes.

[SearchGuy]

There's no YQ on QF within AU. Use Avios. VA doesn't even offer free water, but they have nice planes.

Whats the rate?

[Yehoshua]

Whats the rate?

From                                           To        Initial                                Heading        Distance    
HTI (20°21'29"S 148°57'06"E)   BNE (27°23'03"S 153°07'03"E)   152.2°    (SE)   551 mi
HTI (20°21'29"S 148°57'06"E)   SYD (33°56'46"S 151°10'38"E)   172.2°    (S)   945 mi
HTI (20°21'29"S 148°57'06"E)   MEL (37°40'24"S 144°50'36"E)   190.8°    (S)   1218 mi