Work Trip - How To - Australia

Serpent

So as of Yesterday, I'm flying to Australia this Friday (short notice? expensive flight? check).Vancouver to Manila to Hong Kong to Perth.

I've never been outside of North America, and I have no idea what the airports/customs or anything will be like in these areas. I'm not so worried about what to do when I'm in Perth, that's not the problem, it's getting there. I assume that all these airports will have some English floating around? I'm most worried about Manila. I'm only there for 2 hours so I can't dilly dally around.

1. Manila airport -- English? Will I go through Customs?
2. Hong Kong airport -- supposed to have the number 1 airport in the world and I think I'm there for 6 hours. will it be easy to find my way around? English? Customs?
3. I've never flown business class, let alone business class on a 12 hour flight to Manila, and business class on a 10 hour flight to Perth. Any idea what this will be like?

CooterTKE

my friend said that english is every where so not to worry about that. As for customs I think you only go through it when you arrive in Perth.

bsjezz

who are you flying with? you'll more or less always be fine but especially so if you're with a carrier whose primary language is english

i don't know much about the other countries but in terms of coming into australia, be careful with what you bring - quarantine is strict here, so don't be caught with any food or other particularly unprocessed animal products. if it's just a business trip i don't suppose you'll have much to worry about, anyway

Serpent

I'm flying with Philippine Airlines to Manila, and Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong and Perth.

Ponge

First class will be a blast. I've never flown it but my company policy states that all flights over 5 hours long will be first class, and one of my collegues gets to fly it to New York quite a few times.

Free drinks all flight. Good food. Plenty of space. Just bear in mind that everyone else around you (all middle-aged businessmen) will be sleeping or wanting to sleep. For them this is just a hotel in the sky so that they're fresh to work when they arrive.

Have fun mate! I'm very jealous!

Ponge

Oh yeah and you'll probably have access to any first class lounges in the airports, which i'm sure will be chocked full of cool things to do/eat/drink. So make sure and take fulla advantage!

Serpent

Change of plans, i'm now leaving tomorrow night and flying straight on Hong Kong, then Perth on Cathay Pacific. Business class, not first class, so I'm not sure how that affects things... I saw pictures of their business class and it looks like first class to me.

30 hours of travel does not sound like a 'hotel in the sky' to me, even if it is a nice seat.

Cauld

As long as you're only on one carrier you'll only have to do customs at your destination. This isn't always the case if there's a domestic connection (which you don't have) because not all airports are international/have customs.

Everything should be in English, even if you had gone to the Philipines). Generally on air travel everything is repeated in English (but not always).

Try to sleep on your flight, it will help with jet lag. When you arrive spend as much time outside as you can, you'll adjust faster. Make sure you follow the stupid carry on rules in regards to liquids. Also, since you're traveling for business, you might want to include a set of clothes in your carry on in case your luggage is lost.

If you get lost or want reassurance, ask for help. There's plenty of people around who you can ask. I often go to gates that aren't boarding or aren't very busy and ask someone there. Also, make sure your gates don't change in Hong Kong, gates change fairly frequenty so double check which gate you're going to when you get off the plane in Hong Kong.

grungebox

I just went to Hong Kong in August. Since you'll never leave the airport, language won't be a problem. Most people at the airport will speak English. I didn't spend a whole lot of time there, but there are a lot of shops and such around (much like in Hong Kong itself). It's easy to get around. if you need help, ask a store clerk since they'll speak English.

You don't do customs until your port of entry, usually. You have little to fear. Just don't put your passport in checked luggage (obviously) and write down the address/phone # of your hotel on a slip of paper before you get on the plane. There's a customs form they'll ask you fill out on the flight, so you'll need that info. Oh, and bring a pen on the plane to fill out that form.

Enjoy the trip. You have one hell of an awesome job.

The Cat

Serpent wrote: »

Change of plans, i'm now leaving tomorrow night and flying straight on Hong Kong, then Perth on Cathay Pacific. Business class, not first class, so I'm not sure how that affects things... I saw pictures of their business class and it looks like first class to me.

30 hours of travel does not sound like a 'hotel in the sky' to me, even if it is a nice seat.

Business class is still pretty nice, you get all the free shiny distractions :P being a government flunky I've only ever flown economy on short hops, and let me yell you, three hours has got to be the absolute upper limit for that class of seat the boss has access to the business class lounge and sneaks the rest of us in though. Definitely take advantage, there's an endless supply of free food/drink/intertron, nice showers and such.

international customs in Au can be pretty strict, but they're by and large not assholes about it and fairly professional. Shouldn't take long to get through.