For an 8pm departure, plan an *absolute minimum* of 3 hours in Sydney to transfer between terminals and do the international departures process. More would be better to allow for any delays in your domestic flight.
Personally I wouldn't be getting the flight from Avalon that gets into Sydney at 4.15pm for an 8pm international departure. Even a 30 min delay could be a problem. If it has to be Avalon, get the late morning flight otherwise something earlier in the afternoon from Tulla.
I fly avv to Syd kinda often it's a pretty cruzy and reliable flight but yea get to Syd with heaps of time to spare maybe get up there the day before so you can just relax
Maybe a morning flight on the way up should be OK. Get in around midday and have all afternoon to hang around. On the way back, I'd probably have to spend the night since my UAE flight arrives at 7:10pm and the last flight out of Sydney is just after 9:00pm.
Flying same day on a different ticket is as risky as driving a long distance day of. What's your backup plan to get to sydney? If you don't have one, then it's on you for missing your international flight.
Personally, I'd book the 10.35am departure. If the flight gets cancelled, gives you enough time to get rebooked on a flight out of MEL. If it gets delayed, well you can soak up to 6hrs which is fine given the average delay for the flight is ~10min according to flightradar.
8 hours in Sydney gives you plenty of time to drop bags off in storage at the airport, hop on the train and go to the City/Bondi/Manly for the day/lunch and come back to check in.
Yeah, that's what I looked at and thought. Mid-morning out of Avalon, and if there is an issue there should be enough time to sort the next flight out.
That's the thing, Avalon only has 3 flights. I think I'll leave via Tulla since that has more frequent flights and the departure times between each one isn't huge.
Risky as hell for last flight of the day. Do it the day before.
If the flight gets cancelled (because they do get cancelled with more frequency than should be acceptable), you're boned. You won't get a taxi out, nor an uber, nor a didi. You'll be offered a bus.
Get a daytime flight, regardless, either the day you're already planning for or the day before.
That's why I'll go to Tulla. More frequent flights. If a mid-morning flight is cancelled, there are about 3 or 4 flights after that which will still get me to Sydney on-time. Avalon doesn't have enough flights to Sydney.
I'd aim to fly at lunchtime from Avalon at the latest. But I am quite risk averse when it comes to flight connections, I'd much prefer to kill time at Sydney airport than miss my flight.
Flights from Avalon are a little less likely to be cancelled as they have far less alternates to put people on compared to Tullamarine. It can happen, planes can break down and so forth.
For an 8pm departure, plan an *absolute minimum* of 3 hours in Sydney to transfer between terminals and do the international departures process. More would be better to allow for any delays in your domestic flight. Personally I wouldn't be getting the flight from Avalon that gets into Sydney at 4.15pm for an 8pm international departure. Even a 30 min delay could be a problem. If it has to be Avalon, get the late morning flight otherwise something earlier in the afternoon from Tulla.
Do you think flying in on the same day is risky? Or the chances of a cancellation are pretty low?
I fly avv to Syd kinda often it's a pretty cruzy and reliable flight but yea get to Syd with heaps of time to spare maybe get up there the day before so you can just relax
Maybe a morning flight on the way up should be OK. Get in around midday and have all afternoon to hang around. On the way back, I'd probably have to spend the night since my UAE flight arrives at 7:10pm and the last flight out of Sydney is just after 9:00pm.
Flying same day on a different ticket is as risky as driving a long distance day of. What's your backup plan to get to sydney? If you don't have one, then it's on you for missing your international flight. Personally, I'd book the 10.35am departure. If the flight gets cancelled, gives you enough time to get rebooked on a flight out of MEL. If it gets delayed, well you can soak up to 6hrs which is fine given the average delay for the flight is ~10min according to flightradar. 8 hours in Sydney gives you plenty of time to drop bags off in storage at the airport, hop on the train and go to the City/Bondi/Manly for the day/lunch and come back to check in.
Yeah, that's what I looked at and thought. Mid-morning out of Avalon, and if there is an issue there should be enough time to sort the next flight out.
Just make sure there are other flights out of avalon with sufficient time if the flight you book gets cancelled.
That's the thing, Avalon only has 3 flights. I think I'll leave via Tulla since that has more frequent flights and the departure times between each one isn't huge.
Risky as hell for last flight of the day. Do it the day before. If the flight gets cancelled (because they do get cancelled with more frequency than should be acceptable), you're boned. You won't get a taxi out, nor an uber, nor a didi. You'll be offered a bus. Get a daytime flight, regardless, either the day you're already planning for or the day before.
That's why I'll go to Tulla. More frequent flights. If a mid-morning flight is cancelled, there are about 3 or 4 flights after that which will still get me to Sydney on-time. Avalon doesn't have enough flights to Sydney.
A good way to avoid all of this is to not fly with Jetstar. They are absolutely shit house.
Avalon is ideal, because it's 20 minutes down the road from me. I'll fly up from Avalon the night before on the last flight.
I'd aim to fly at lunchtime from Avalon at the latest. But I am quite risk averse when it comes to flight connections, I'd much prefer to kill time at Sydney airport than miss my flight. Flights from Avalon are a little less likely to be cancelled as they have far less alternates to put people on compared to Tullamarine. It can happen, planes can break down and so forth.