Now that I have finished my first year in Australia, I want to start a series talking about my experiences. I want to cover everything from the flights leaving the USA to the end of my first year. So make sure you stay tuned to keep up on the story! So now let’s dive into the very beginning of my trip.

The Original Plan

Before flying out to Australia, I was spending time with some family in Texas. I originally planned to leave around my birthday, September 12th. However, my sister wanted me to go on a cruise she had planned that was the week of my birthday. I wasn’t going to go on the cruise, but last minute I decided to do it and surprise her. This trip pushed my date back a little for Australia. I still scheduled my flights for September 20th with arrival in Australia on September 22nd.

The Weather Had Other Plans

I was in an excellent mood when the day arrived to start my flights finally. Things were looking good; I was even on the upgrade list for the final flight, Los Angeles to Sydney. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t care about my good mood. My first flight was a short flight to Dallas, where I would have a connection to Los Angeles. A storm ended up developing over Dallas and was expected to be at the worst around the time we were scheduled to land. Since my first flight was so short, Dallas Tower asked our plane to remain on the ground until the weather cleared.

The delay shouldn’t have lasted long, but Dallas was overloaded with flights after the weather cleared. This overloading forced my flight to stay grounded for even longer. During this time on the ground, gate attendants had to rebook connecting flights for us. The rebooking made for me had me going to Dallas that night and staying in the airport to then catch a flight the next day for Los Angeles and finally Sydney. I did not like this automatic option so the gate agent helped me. He was able to do some work for me and swapped me for a flight from Dallas to Los Angeles that night. This flight option would barely make it in time for the trip to Sydney. It was going to be tight, but I liked the option. After about four hours of a weather delay, we finally made our way to Dallas. Things were looking positive again.

Weather Wasn’t the Only Concern

I knew that as soon as I landed in Dallas, I would have to rush to my gate for my next flight as boarding should be starting by time I arrived. Boarding had not yet started when I arrived to the gate, so it looked like I arrived just in time. I soon learned that my next flight had a delay due to a mechanical issue. Things were looking down again as I only had about 30 minutes in Los Angeles between flights. There was still a small chance if they could fix the problem quickly, and it might just work out.

Before they could finish the repairs, some of the crew timed out for the day. Crew timeout means that they were okay at the time of departure, but they would be past legal limits for hours worked in one day by the time we would land in Los Angeles. So now we had to wait for a new crew to arrive before we could leave. We finally took off, but it wasn’t looking good to make it in time. The flight path had a favorable wind that allowed us to make up a lot of time. Unfortunately, we landed in Los Angeles about 15 minutes after my flight to Sydney took off.

I Felt Defeated

The flight landed, and I just felt so defeated. I knew the plane was already in the air, so there was no point to rush off the plane. Once off the plane, I confirmed that the flight was indeed gone and started to look for staff to figure out what would happen next. I found someone at the gate with a sign for Sydney, so I stopped by to check with her. She had tickets and accommodation for people that were on a canceled flight from Dallas to Sydney. My name was not on her list, so she told me to check with customer service.

I went to customer service to see what would happen. They told me that I would be on the next flight to Sydney. Sadly that would not be until the next day, 24 hours after my original scheduled flight. I did receive a small piece of good news since the flight had a mechanical delay, the airline would pay for a hotel for me for the night. They actually paid for two nights so that I would be able to stay in the room all afternoon since the flight was not until 11 pm.

The Situation was not Ideal but Could be Worse

The day was not going at all how I wanted but having a hotel room for the night was still way better than the original rebooking of staying overnight inside the Dallas Airport. It was well after midnight at this point, but I eventually made my way to the hotel. I originally planned to have a meal once on the plane to Sydney, so I hadn’t eaten much all day. Once I made it to the hotel, I looked to see what my best food option would be. Luckily there was a McDonald’s next to the hotel, so I headed there for some food. While eating, I ended up talking with some people from Australia, and they gave me some tips on my trip. I then headed back to the hotel to get some rest.

Planning Ahead for the Long Flight

I knew I had a 15-hour flight ahead of me, so I wanted to try to plan my sleeping so that I could limit jetlag upon arrival. My flight was scheduled to arrive in Sydney around 7 am, so I figured my best option would be to stay awake in the beginning and sleep toward the end of the flight. I decided to take advantage of the hotel room and sleep a little in the afternoon so that I could stay awake initially. The hotel offered a free shuttle to the airport every hour, so I decided to catch the shuttle around 8 pm.

Fighting for an Upgrade to First Class

I made it to the airport a few hours before my flight since I had to go through the entire check-in process again except for my checked bag. I figured with all of the difficulties of the previous day that maybe I would have a higher chance on that upgrade to first class. During check-in, I explained everything to the guy to see if there would be anything he could do. He took quite a bit of time looking at options, and he was able to move me pretty high up the list, I think to the number three spot. The bad news was they only had one available seat in First Class unless people didn’t show up. I tried my best, but there were just too many people with much higher status than myself.

The Buildup to the Flight

After trying my luck for the upgrade, I proceeded through security and toward my gate. Luckily security was swift. I always make a point of finding my gate before finding my spot to relax but make mental notes of the places I pass on the way to the gate. The Flight was still a couple of hours away but I had a lounge access card. I looked at the closest lounge options for my card (Priority Pass) and found there was one close to me. Of course, this particular one was more a restaurant than a lounge, but it would work for me. The lounge access is only a $30 voucher for food or drink since anyone is allowed to go into this restaurant. I found a seat at the bar and ordered myself a couple of drinks for free. I left the bar just a bit before boarding would start so that I could see if anything changed on the upgrade list.

Time to fly

I sadly had no luck with the upgrade. People started lining up for boarding so I proceeded to an area for myself to wait. I booked Premium Economy so I knew I would be one of the early ones to board. Once they called my group to board, I headed on to find my seat. I was envious of those in First Class but glad that I booked Premium Economy since the seat was similar to a domestic First Class seat. I set all of my belongings up to prepare for the long flight and was glad to have a window seat with only one seat between me before the aisle. It would have been even better if that seat was empty, but I did not expect that with how many people were on this flight. I decided to go ahead and get a movie going to start the flight.

Flight Experience

The flight was pretty smooth, although super long. Shortly after take-off, we had our first meal for the flight. Premium Economy meant a more delightful meal than the regular economy, and I choose the ravioli option. I watched numerous other movies before trying to get some sleep finally. Two more times, the flight crew came through for food service. One was a mid-flight snack, and the second was a pre-landing breakfast. These were nothing fancy but still tasty enough. The annoying part was trying to sleep. During one of my movies, I started to fall asleep but then as soon as it finished, and I turned the TV off I couldn’t fall asleep again. So I decided to pick a movie that I was not too interested in and see if that would work to sleep. It didn’t work perfectly, but I was able to get a little bit of sleep finally.

Arrival

The sun started to rise just a little before landing, so I was able to have my first look at Sydney and Australia from the air. Landing in Sydney was nice and smooth with no problems. The next hurdle was customs and immigration. A lot of international flights seem to arrive around that time in the morning, so there was quite a long line. Luckily, the process was straightforward. The visas are all digitally tied to your passport so the officers can see what visa you have when they scan your passport. I made it through the entire process and collected my luggage with no issues.

First Day in Australia

I was scheduled to meet up with a friend that worked on a Whale Watching boat. She gave me instructions on the easiest way to get from the airport to the Opera House, where she would meet up with me. For anyone wondering the easiest way is to get an OPAL card and take the train to Circular Quay station. I had to wait for a short time for my friend to arrive, but then we made it out to see some whales. On the second trip out we even got to reunite with another friend we both knew from The Bahamas!

This concludes the first part of my Australia Journey. Check out the next portion all about Sydney now!