Im off to Australia at the end of the year (or beginning of '07) and Im not sure when to book my flights.

Do I book them ASAP or leave it till later on in the year? Ive heard that its cheaper to book long-haul flights earlier.....

Anyone help?

Em x

Hi

I'm off to Oz this summer, probably September. I will be booking my flights as soon as possible cos they get booked up pretty early (depending on the time of year). I'm hoping to get my flights through STA travel as they are pretty reasonable and go a long way advising you with regards to cheaper alternatives etc.

Good luck!

Originally posted by Dick Dastardly
Hi

I'm off to Oz this summer, probably September. I will be booking my flights as soon as possible cos they get booked up pretty early (depending on the time of year). I'm hoping to get my flights through STA travel as they are pretty reasonable and go a long way advising you with regards to cheaper alternatives etc.

Good luck!

Thanks, think I'll try STA Travel as I work at the Uni so its only round the corner!

Have a great time!

Em

No probs. Let us know how you get and whether they were able to offer you a decent deal.

I plan to have a good un. Whereabouts in Oz are you going and for how long? Tell me to b*gger off if I'm being too nosey lol.

I've got family in Perth and whenever I go out there I get my flights from the Co-op travel stores. I've found them to be very friendly and reasonably priced. When handing over such large sums of money I prefer to do it in a "real" shop rather than a website. And the price difference is negligible anyway.

You definately need to book flights to oz early because they do get booked up. We went to oz last summer, booked end of feb and there wasn't all that much choice. I'd imagine it to be cheaper to book early too as they don't seem to have a problem shifting the seats.

STA were great, i'd recommend them for sure

Originally posted by Dick Dastardly
No probs. Let us know how you get and whether they were able to offer you a decent deal.

I plan to have a good un. Whereabouts in Oz are you going and for how long? Tell me to b*gger off if I'm being too nosey lol.

Ive got family in Sydney so staying with them. Im hoping to go to New Zealand while im over there for a week aswell. Thinking of going on a tour of the South Island, heard its beautiful and its Lord of the Rings country!!!

Where are you off to?

Before booking with STA try the Manchester Airport flight centre - I've consistently found them cheaper for long haul flights.

Originally posted by Emilychee
Ive got family in Sydney so staying with them. Im hoping to go to New Zealand while im over there for a week aswell. Thinking of going on a tour of the South Island, heard its beautiful and its Lord of the Rings country!!!

Where are you off to?

That sounds pretty cool. Not sure at the moment about the whole journey as I will be arranging a few stop-overs - probably LA on the way and Hong Kong on return. While in Oz I will be staying in Sydney for a while. Pity we aren't there at same time - would be best Sheff forum meet ever lol. Afterwhich, I'm picking up a camper and driving north up to Cairns stopping off at various places on the way and maybe doing a spot of surfing at surfers paradise. Got some family outside Brisbane so I intend to stop off and visit them too.

Getting some quotes on flights tonight so will keep you informed.

Originally posted by Dick Dastardly
That sounds pretty cool. Not sure at the moment about the whole journey as I will be arranging a few stop-overs - probably LA on the way and Hong Kong on return. While in Oz I will be staying in Sydney for a while. Pity we aren't there at same time - would be best Sheff forum meet ever lol. Afterwhich, I'm picking up a camper and driving north up to Cairns stopping off at various places on the way and maybe doing a spot of surfing at surfers paradise. Got some family outside Brisbane so I intend to stop off and visit them too.

Getting some quotes on flights tonight so will keep you informed.

Sounds more exciting than my trip!!! Im sure you'll have a great time.

Em x

Originally posted by withnail
Before booking with STA try the Manchester Airport flight centre - I've consistently found them cheaper for long haul flights.

Thanks for the tip withnail, I'll give them a try

Em

I'm originally from Sydney, I flew home for a holiday at the beginning of July 05 and booked my flights in April 05.

While there is definitely a case for booking long-haul flights a fair way in advance, I was still able to find a very reasonable fare even just 3 months ahead.

Although you might prefer to book through a travel agents rather than over the internet, keep your eye on airlines websites as they occasionally have sales and reduce their fares quite dramatically. You should still be able to claim the discounted fares at an agent. My boyf's mum got a great sale fare last year when she came over to visit, through Emirates I think. Other good ones to try are Singapore Airlines and Qantas.

Have a fab trip - Australia is a great country (not biased at all, lol) :)

Originally posted by LisaO
Australia is a great country (not biased at all, lol) :) So why are you staying over here...:confused:

Watch out Lisa, they'll get at you if you give them half a chance.

Originally posted by LisaO
I'm originally from Sydney, I flew home for a holiday at the beginning of July 05 and booked my flights in April 05.

While there is definitely a case for booking long-haul flights a fair way in advance, I was still able to find a very reasonable fare even just 3 months ahead.

Although you might prefer to book through a travel agents rather than over the internet, keep your eye on airlines websites as they occasionally have sales and reduce their fares quite dramatically. You should still be able to claim the discounted fares at an agent. My boyf's mum got a great sale fare last year when she came over to visit, through Emirates I think. Other good ones to try are Singapore Airlines and Qantas.

Have a fab trip - Australia is a great country (not biased at all, lol) :)

Thanks Lisa, Ive heard that Emirates is pretty good and cheap compared to other airlines.

Em x

That sounds pretty cool. Not sure at the moment about the whole journey as I will be arranging a few stop-overs - probably LA on the way and Hong Kong on return. While in Oz I will be staying in Sydney for a while. Pity we aren't there at same time - would be best Sheff forum meet ever lol. Afterwhich, I'm picking up a camper and driving north up to Cairns stopping off at various places on the way and maybe doing a spot of surfing at surfers paradise. Got some family outside Brisbane so I intend to stop off and visit them too.

Getting some quotes on flights tonight so will keep you informed.

Dick, I did something really similar to that. We started in cairns and drove our campervan down the coast to brisbane then flew down to sydney. It was absololutely awesome. The best thing was that there's public bbqs everywhere, so every night- steak and a few beers........perfection

In my book, things that you must do:

Fraser Island, bout 200km north of brisbane: this is number 1, largest sand island in the world and its amazing, just amazing. Go with a group from the YHA, its really cheap and lasts about 4 days: its an absolulte must

Cape Tribulation: This place is about 80km north of cairns, its awesome. Its the furthest north you can take your camper on the east coast. At cape trib there's nothing there apart from a massive beach and thick rainforest, beutiful. Its well equipt for the traveller. there were a few other special places, but these 2 were easily the most beutiful.

You've got to take a day out to the reef, its expensive but well worth it. If there's cloud cover the coral will be grey but in lovely sunshine, you'll see the amazing colours. make sure you go on a lovely day.

With long-haul, it's better to book early, but only if it's not the standard return price. As long as you're happy with the price really...

A lot of good advice already. The following affects pricing from my own exp (cos I see my parents in HK, and it's one of the stopovers for Australia );

- mid-week flight are cheaper cos most ppl travel on weekends
- off-peak time are definitely cheaper (i.e. not summer/xmas/easter )
- non-direct flights (with stopovers) are cheaper than direct ones
- 'flexible (open return)' are more expensive than 'non-refundable (set date)' tickets

Some online website only sell tickets which are non-refundable, and once paid, you cannot change the dates. You need to be aware of this. The more flexible it is, the more expensive it will be.

There are also 'internet deals' on the airline's own website, and only applicable on certain dates. The airline do this when seats are not selling.

Useful info:
http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/uk/specials/January06SaleMel - Jan deal from 499.
http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/
http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/flights/Sydney/Heathrow/

I normally use these agencies for comparisons:
STA / Trailfinder / Cheapflight.co.uk

NB: cheapflight are good for comparing prices, but some of the flights may be for obscure time/dates, and only a few available. If you're unsure about an agency/airline/package being legit or not. You can always check their ATOL or ABTA number.

Happy hunting !

Ta for the recommendations. No doubt I will be coming to you with more questions in the near future. You are a marked forum member now lol. Anyway, I will send you a PM with some questions later.

Emilychee - I've just been quoted £531 + taxes for flight to Sydney with stop-over Hong Kong in Sept. You having any luck??

We're going to Oz in three days :)

We used Expedia the first time, and ebookers this time and would not recommend either due to inefficiency's, cock ups and bad communications.

A bit of advice - Quantas staff are known to be a bit arsey with an attitude (proved to be the case in our experience, too.....)

Emirates however have a good reputation for hospitality. Important when you're doing a 14 hour flight followed by a seven hour flight.

dick dastardly: Ask away. Glad to be of help. I am also interested in the airfares for Australia too. It's one of my 'to do' destinations. 531 for rtn sounds reasonable cos, for HK, it's around 350 - 450 (cheapest). Up to 700-800 (highest, and in the summer). I think it's only a short flight from HK to Australia as well. Definitely not another 13 hr, that is for sure.

Draggletail: I find that expedia do good package deals in terms of pricing, but unfortunately, they don't see things through at times. Esp when it comes to hotel bookings. Cos it's external agents or hotels. If overbooked, they only find you alternative solutions. I got bitten once. Though overall, they're okay for package deals, esp their 'expedia specials'.

Anyhow, keep us up-to-date as to what's good to do out there ! :)
I would love to climb Sydney Harbour's Bridge.

i have just booked mine... wasn't too painfull less than £700

http://www.airline-network.co.uk

you never know i might see some of you if oz... i'll either be on the beach or taking photos... just chillin

So why are you staying over here...:confused:

Just because you like one place doesn't mean you're not curious about others...for 20 years I'd lived in the same house in the same suburb of Sydney so thought it was about time I broadened my horizons a bit.

The UK is just a temporary home for me, been here 18 months so far and will head back to Sydney for good in July :)

Just because you like one place doesn't mean you're not curious about others...for 20 years I'd lived in the same house in the same suburb of Sydney so thought it was about time I broadened my horizons a bit.

The UK is just a temporary home for me, been here 18 months so far and will head back to Sydney for good in July :)

Guess I will see you in Sydney very soon then? ;) lol

Cheaper is not always better,the big ? how old are the bones,friends just fm Russia to Canada 13hrs total wreck for 3 days.Go on, go 2nd class you've got the money and you deserve it,so treat yourself just this once.

Guess I will see you in Sydney very soon then? ;) lol

Yes you will. I'll be the one rushing to and from the uni every day, loaded up with books as I attempt to catch up on 2 years of my degree! Woohoo can't wait...

Ta for the recommendations. No doubt I will be coming to you with more questions in the near future. You are a marked forum member now lol. Anyway, I will send you a PM with some questions later.

Emilychee - I've just been quoted £531 + taxes for flight to Sydney with stop-over Hong Kong in Sept. You having any luck??

Not been able to look yet because my return date is gonna be around the end of Jan 2007! So gotta wait a couple of weeks!!

Your quote sounds really good, are you gonna go for it?

Em x

Not been able to look yet because my return date is gonna be around the end of Jan 2007! So gotta wait a couple of weeks!!

Your quote sounds really good, are you gonna go for it?

Em x

Not sure as it's with Qantas and I've heard rumours that they are pretty poor. Since I posted this I have discovered two more flights. One with Virgin Atlantic via Hong Kong and the other via United Airlines via San Fracisco - both are £680 inclusive of taxes.

Not sure as it's with Qantas and I've heard rumours that they are pretty poor. Since I posted this I have discovered two more flights. One with Virgin Atlantic via Hong Kong and the other via United Airlines via San Fracisco - both are £680 inclusive of taxes.

Yeah Ive heard bad reviews of Qantas. I bet Virgin will be pretty good tho. Happy booking!

Em x

Virgin Atlantic is pretty good in service. They boast to have tvs at the back of their seats. I think Cathy Pacific and British Airway have caught up too. It's a direct flight from London to HK, journey's 'real' time is only 11 hrs, than the 13 hr that I said, with no stopovers til HK.
The 2nd leg's journey time, I'm not familiar with. Not sure if you also need to change planes too once you reach HK for Australia. Some journeys don't require you get off the plane while ppl board.

I think if you flew towards SE Asia, your body clock will adjust better than if you flew towards America, cos you will encounter day time again, which does mess up your body clock. Maybe this is why flyer's friend felt groggy and jet-lagged from Russia to Canada.

I once flew 'backward' too. It was a cheap ticket with United Airlines (US comp?). London -> Minneapolis -> Seattle. I was trying to get to Vancouver. =( Short 6/8 hr journey first, then another gruelling 5/6 hrs, I think. I didn't know it takes that long ! Then we took a train journey up to Vancouver. You may wanna check the waiting times too, cos I sure didn't for that particular journey, and it was definitely a killer. I hate to wait 5 - 6 hrs at the airport. You may as well stop in the city and stay overnight and explore the place.

With any journey to HK (and possibly to SE Asia). Majority of flights from Europe are late flights. Basically, it's more in tune with your body clock. Cos they make u sleep on the plane. (Yeh, I onced checked the flight time too. Cos I was that curious. =P)

Note: Btw, remember to take aspirins for the plane journeys to stop DVT. It thins your blood apparently, which helps as a preventative measure.

Not been able to look yet because my return date is gonna be around the end of Jan 2007! So gotta wait a couple of weeks!!

Your quote sounds really good, are you gonna go for it?

Em x

No reason not to start shopping around for quotes, Emily! A lot of tickets these days are essentially 'open returns', so while you do need to specify your departure date (and will get charged a ludicrous amount for changing it), you can basically just pick a random date for your return and then alter it as the time approaches. In most cases this won't affect the price.

From your departure date you've got 12 months - i.e. I flew to the UK on Sept 16 and so had to use the return portion by Sept 15 of the following year. My travel agent wasn't able to book my return more than 6 months ahead, so we picked some day in March and then before that date I just had to call her and tell her when I actually wanted to fly. No extra charges, fixed up in 5 minutes.

[QUOTE=Bago]Not sure if you also need to change planes too once you reach HK for Australia. Some journeys don't require you get off the plane while ppl board.
QUOTE]

In these post-Sept 11 days, in 99% of cases they will make you get off and re-board -- even if it's the exact same aircraft being used for the next leg.

Last July I flew Heathrow-Bangkok, Bangkok-Sydney and on this 2nd leg the plane was continuing on to Melbourne. The reason I know this is because the guy sat in front of me kicked up a stink when we landed in Sydney and they told us everyone had to get off, taking all cabin luggage, etc. He insisted 'but I'm going on to Melbourne, can't I stay on?' and they said no. They wouldn't even let him leave him leave his cabin luggage on board. Apparently all the people going on to Melbourne had to get off, go through Sydney Airport security and then reboard the very same plane.

Seems crazy, but at least it gives us peace of mind that airlines are doing everything they can to keep us safe!

Virgin Atlantic is pretty good in service. They boast to have tvs at the back of their seats. I think Cathy Pacific and British Airway have caught up too. It's a direct flight from London to HK, journey's 'real' time is only 11 hrs, than the 13 hr that I said, with no stopovers til HK.
The 2nd leg's journey time, I'm not familiar with. Not sure if you also need to change planes too once you reach HK for Australia. Some journeys don't require you get off the plane while ppl board.

I think if you flew towards SE Asia, your body clock will adjust better than if you flew towards America, cos you will encounter day time again, which does mess up your body clock. Maybe this is why flyer's friend felt groggy and jet-lagged from Russia to Canada.

I once flew 'backward' too. It was a cheap ticket with United Airlines (US comp?). London -> Minneapolis -> Seattle. I was trying to get to Vancouver. =( Short 6/8 hr journey first, then another gruelling 5/6 hrs, I think. I didn't know it takes that long ! Then we took a train journey up to Vancouver. You may wanna check the waiting times too, cos I sure didn't for that particular journey, and it was definitely a killer. I hate to wait 5 - 6 hrs at the airport. You may as well stop in the city and stay overnight and explore the place.

With any journey to HK (and possibly to SE Asia). Majority of flights from Europe are late flights. Basically, it's more in tune with your body clock. Cos they make u sleep on the plane. (Yeh, I onced checked the flight time too. Cos I was that curious. =P)

Note: Btw, remember to take aspirins for the plane journeys to stop DVT. It thins your blood apparently, which helps as a preventative measure.


I agree. I have flown with Virgin twice and have no complaints about the level of service they offer. In fact, I was very impressed and would fly with them again and again.

Thanks for the info above. Already considered the losing time scenario and agree that it will be a killer. Fortunately, I will be stopping over for 3 to 4 days and that should hopefully give my body time to reset it's clock and then I shouldn't be too much of a wreck by the time I touch down in Oz. I intend to do the same on the return journey also. At least I will have the opportunity to explore LA and San Francisco :D :thumbsup:

No reason not to start shopping around for quotes, Emily! A lot of tickets these days are essentially 'open returns', so while you do need to specify your departure date (and will get charged a ludicrous amount for changing it), you can basically just pick a random date for your return and then alter it as the time approaches. In most cases this won't affect the price.

From your departure date you've got 12 months - i.e. I flew to the UK on Sept 16 and so had to use the return portion by Sept 15 of the following year. My travel agent wasn't able to book my return more than 6 months ahead, so we picked some day in March and then before that date I just had to call her and tell her when I actually wanted to fly. No extra charges, fixed up in 5 minutes.


Thanks for the tip Lisa!

dick dastardly: I think it's only a short flight from HK to Australia as well. Definitely not another 13 hr, that is for sure.



not the case unfortunarely. HK - Brisbane 8hrs HK - Syders 9hrs, great flying over oz though

not the case unfortunarely. HK - Brisbane 8hrs HK - Syders 9hrs, great flying over oz though

Unless, of course, you get a tail wind and it knocks the HK - Sydney flight time down to 6.5/7 hrs. Bonus!!!

Went to STA Travel today and they reckon that my flight will cost around £800, flying just after Xmas coming back end of Jan 07. They also advised me to book as soon as the flights become available, as they will probably get more expensive.