Never flew before...need advice?

rightyabe

I booked my tickets with e-travel.ie and I printed of my e-ticket, i'm flying to Perth from Dublin on the 11th of August. Firstly i'm flying aer lingus to London Heathrow and then Singapore Airlines to Singapore and then onto Perth.

I'm just wondering do I have to check-in online before I arrive at Dublin airport or can I check in at the airport or will it cost me more?

Also for the 13 hour flight from London-Singapore and the 5 hour flight from Singapore-Perth I would like to sit beside the person i'm travelling with, how do I make sure this happens? will it cost us much more?

I've plenty more questions but these are the main one's

Cheers

rossie1977

never flown before and going all the way to perth on your flight trip, thats some trek

1. you can check in at the airport, in fact for a more complex journey like this i would only recommend checking in at airport, it won't cost more, check in at the desks too not at the machines for flights like this (they will try to make you check in at the machines, tell them only part of your flight is with aer lingus)

2. you should have received a booking reference, thats your singapore booking which you may be able to use to choose seats online at their homepage, usually thats the case with other airlines, try under the "retrieve booking" tab at top of page http://www.singaporeair.com/SAA-flow.form?execution=e2s1

if that doesn't work you can try at the aer lingus check in desk day of your flight, they will try to accommodate you as best they can, again won't cost extra

scooby2791

Hey, I did a similar trip last summer to Perth. I flew Dublin-Frankfurt-Singapore-Perth. If you booked with e-travel, on you e-ticket there should be booking/reference numbers - it should also tell you your seats. If you go onto Qantas(I'm assuming your flying with them from Heathrow onwards) you should find a tab saying 'Manage Booking', click into this and provide you reference number. That brings you throught to all your flight and seating info for the flights out and back and you can change your seat as many times as you want aswel as select a preferred type of meal. AFAIK with Aer Lingus when you check in, in the airport they give you your seats then so just go up to the desk with the person your travelling with and you will be beside eachother, let the desk people know that you want to be sit together anyway.

Another thing I found with Qantas flights from Europe-Singapor-Perth is that the planes are generally fairly empty so you can move around if your not together. The flights with Qantas are unbelievable aswel, very comfortable, loads of movies and tv to choose from, air host staff are very helpful and when I flew we got dinner/lunch/breakfast depending on the time of flight and then food/drink was free if you wanted anything else during the flight. You get blankets and a travel pack from them aswel. Singapore airport is also class, sickeningly humid outside!

rightyabe

rossie1977 wrote: »

never flown before and going all the way to perth on your flight trip, thats some trek

1. you can check in at the airport, in fact for a more complex journey like this i would only recommend checking in at airport, it won't cost more, check in at the desks too not at the machines for flights like this (they will try to make you check in at the machines, tell them only part of your flight is with aer lingus)

2. you should have received a booking reference, thats your singapore booking which you may be able to use to choose seats online at their homepage, usually thats the case with other airlines, try under the "retrieve booking" tab at top of page http://www.singaporeair.com/SAA-flow.form?execution=e2s1


if that doesn't work you can try at the aer lingus check in desk day of your flight, they will try to accommodate you as best they can, again won't cost extra

Cheers, from the aer lingus site it says to check in bags online is €15 while at the airport its €30, could I check in my bags online but still check in for the plane at the desk (if you know what I mean)

Also tried the link for singapore airlines, on the seat selection page it shows that all seats are occupied, so i'm guessing you cant pick your seat until closer to the date.

Thanks

rightyabe

scooby2791 wrote: »

Hey, I did a similar trip last summer to Perth. I flew Dublin-Frankfurt-Singapore-Perth. If you booked with e-travel, on you e-ticket there should be booking/reference numbers - it should also tell you your seats. If you go onto Qantas(I'm assuming your flying with them from Heathrow onwards) you should find a tab saying 'Manage Booking', click into this and provide you reference number. That brings you throught to all your flight and seating info for the flights out and back and you can change your seat as many times as you want aswel as select a preferred type of meal. AFAIK with Aer Lingus when you check in, in the airport they give you your seats then so just go up to the desk with the person your travelling with and you will be beside eachother, let the desk people know that you want to be sit together anyway.

Another thing I found with Qantas flights from Europe-Singapor-Perth is that the planes are generally fairly empty so you can move around if your not together. The flights with Qantas are unbelievable aswel, very comfortable, loads of movies and tv to choose from, air host staff are very helpful and when I flew we got dinner/lunch/breakfast depending on the time of flight and then food/drink was free if you wanted anything else during the flight. You get blankets and a travel pack from them aswel. Singapore airport is also class, sickeningly humid outside!

Brilliant info, I looked at me e-ticket again and no mention of seat numbers, but i'm flying with singapore airlines so hopefully the plane will be fairly empty I would hate to be on a full plane and sitting apart from me gf for 13 hours (even though it would be great peace,ha)

Might ring aer lingus and see whats the story about sitting together, it our first time even on a plane so someone you know beside you would be good.

rossie1977

rightyabe wrote: »

Cheers, from the aer lingus site it says to check in bags online is €15 while at the airport its €30, could I check in my bags online but still check in for the plane at the desk (if you know what I mean)

aer lingus won't charge you for bags because you are technically flying with singapore (its 32kg they allow you bring free on long haul), aer lingus are just working in partnership with singapore on that route, questions about seating should be made to singapore not aer lingus

this is taken from aer lingus on site

Aer Lingus will through-check baggage as a courtesy onto any carrier that have a baggage agreement in place, upon presentation of documentation of the itinerary showing Aer Lingus and partner carrier flights on the same ticket.

This includes the following airlines: American Airlines, Air France, Air India, Alaska Airlines, Finnair, British Airways, Air China, China Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Emirates, Etihad, Gulf Air, Iberia, Japan Airlines, KLM, Kenya Airways, Kuwait Airways, Malev, Malaysian, Martin Air, Northwest, Austrian Airlines, Pakistan Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, South African Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airlines, United Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines, US Airways, Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue Airways.

if you had booked a simple flight from ireland to uk with aer lingus then you would be charged, when you check your bags in at aer lingus desk they should go right through to your final destination

rightyabe

So does this mean I can take 32kg on from DUB-PERTH, and also bring a carry on bag of 7kg? for free?

scooby2791

Yeah once you check your bag in at Dublin Airport it goes straight through to Perth so the 32KG bag is fine. Hand luggage is grand too, pretty handy to take advantage of it because you will be travelling for around 25+ hours because your passing through time zones so any meds or stuff like that I'd carry in the hand luggage because you won't see your main bag until you arrive in Perth.

rebel.ranter

How long is the flight stopping for in Singapore? We stopped for an hour & it gave us time to have a shower at the airport. You can pay €8-€10 to use what looks like Spa treatment facilities (which includes showers) at Singapore airport. This is well worth checking out, you will feel manly after the Lobdon Singapore leg if the flight especially after all the hassle of flying from Ireland to Heathrow, then the changing of terminals at Heathrow.
You do know that when you land in Heathrow on your Aer Lingus flight that you will almost certainly have to change terminal? The terminals are linked by a free train & you will have go through security again at the next terminal. You can check out on line to see which terminal you will be arriving in on & also going out on. Worth doing if you've never been in Heathrow airport before, it's huge! Like a town rather than an airport.
Best of luck with your maiden flight, what a marathon flight to pick! Just make sure you get a bit of sleep if you can, believe me that shower in Singapore is a Good idea, look it up!

rightyabe

@scooby2791

I've been looking everywhere and cant find anywere it says 32kg, On my itenery is says 20kg for my Singapore Airlines flights. But thanks for the info it gave me good things to google and find out more.

@rebel.ranter
2hr 10min in Changi International, i'll check out the showers, read somewere that theres a swimming pool on the roof to...not sure though.
And at Heathrow we've to go from T1-T3 in 2hr 25min but i'm read up on that and heres a extract from their site:-


Terminal 1 Channel Islands, Republic of Ireland or Isle of Man Connecting to Terminal 3 International

Your connections plan is as follows. You will be able to spend any extra time that you have in the departure lounge, where you will find a wide variety of exciting shops, restaurants and facilities to help you enjoy your time at the airport and prepare for your onward journey.
Welcome to Heathrow. On leaving the aircraft please follow the signs for Flight Connections.





A dedicated bus will take you to your departure terminal. They are free and depart every 6 to ten minutes.





Your hand baggage must conform to EU and UK government regulations. At this point your hand baggage will be checked. Please note, liquids in containers over 100ml are not allowed through security. More information about security.




You will pass through security screening at this point. If you are a non-UK resident and have goods to declare to H M Customs, please use the telephone prior to Security to contact a member of staff.





If you wish to visit your airline’s ticket desk you will find it at this point.




Once you arrive in the departure lounge you will be ready for your next flight. Check the screens for information about your flight, as they will tell you when to go to your departure gate. Meanwhile, you can relax, shop, eat and use other facilities here. Please note there are no service facilities or shops at the departure gates.


I think now I have a fair idea of what to do at the airports, and I now know that because I booked thru a travel agent and not directly with the airlines that I have to wait to 30 hours before the flight to check-in online with Aer Lingus and 72 hours with Singapore Airlines.

As for my luggage I think 20kg is the max i'm allowed without being charged extra, and 7kg is the max carry-on luggage i'm allowed, even though Aer Lingus allow 10kg, SA only allow 7kg, so it would be pointless bringing 10 when SA only allow 7.

Thank for all your help, no doubt i'll be back again soon with more "school-boy error" questions, ha:D

steve-o

Heathrow wrote:

On leaving the aircraft please follow the signs for Flight Connections.

That information is out of date. You'll actually leave the Aer Lingus plane through the rear door and get straight on to a Flight Connections bus (tip: get seats near the back of the Aer Lingus plane). That will take you to a little bus station where you'll change bus onto a Terminal 3 bus. That second bus will take you to T3 where you'll go through security.

Ruby21

Also that 32kg's baggage allowance is wrong, 32 is the max amount that can be carried for health and safety reasons, doesn't mean you can take it without being charged excess, the limit is usually 20 or 23kgs for long haul. Depends what airline you're with but excess charges can be huge once you go past your allowance

scooby2791

rightyabe wrote: »

@scooby2791

I've been looking everywhere and cant find anywere it says 32kg, On my itenery is says 20kg for my Singapore Airlines flights. But thanks for the info it gave me good things to google and find out more.

Ah right, I just assumed it was 32KG for you as it was mentioned above. I didn't fly with Singapore Airlines either so I wouldn't be up to scratch with their baggage allowances.

Ah sure fire away with the questions, better to know too much than get stuck halfway round the world not knowing what to do!