Flights home for Xmas

darcy07

hey guys

just wondering do any of you seasoned pros have any tips tricks for getting home at xmas


im looking at leaving my desk in melbourne at 6pm the 20th dec leaving dublin returning to melbourne to be sat at my desk monday morning 13th jan

i can leave dublin to make my way back maybe a cheeky few days in thailand could leave say the 6th
ive looked on sky scanner but its coming to over 3 grand i know its xmas but i havent been home in 2 years

so any tips ?

is it to early booking in the next couple of weeks

Mellor

That close to Xmas, it'll prob float around the $3k mark for the whole year.
Going earlier will reduce the price maybe are 2k a month earlier but a longer holiday obviously has other costs.

darcy07

ye and taking 3 weeks off work kinda suits that but thanks for informing me its 3k all year i get paid holidays so it will be just rent while im away

catbear

Price can drop considerably if you're willing to leave on Xmas day.

jackbhoy

A quick search on Zuji for those dates shows flights at $2k...with Thai Airlines and Air France.

Undertow

$3,000 is crazy money. I think Etihad start at $3,600!! Mental. Whats even more mental is that flights from Auckland to Dublin work out at about $2,300. They clearly want to ride the Irish for all its worth.

Does anyone know if its possible to choose online to stop off in Thailand for a few days en route? Or do you have to take the times that are chosen for you?

darcy07

ye was wondering the same is there a site online that i can just say i wanna go from a-c return and have a break at b on the way back to c

mel.b

darcy07 wrote: »

ye was wondering the same is there a site online that i can just say i wanna go from a-c return and have a break at b on the way back to c

It really depends on the fare rules - some will let you, some won't, some will let you but it may cost a bit extra. http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ is great in these situations as you can read the actual fare rules for the flights you are looking at to see what it says about stopovers.

Diddler82

Contact STA Travel. They are absolutely brilliant and find little tweaks like flying out of Adelaide, Brisbane or clever little manipulations.

I did Sydney - Brisbane, Brisbane - LAX, LAX - NY on the way home, then Aer Lingus - NY to Dublin and then Emirates on the way back to Sydney direct for $2500. Flew out the 16th and got back on the 6th

Caked Karen

Hey guys

Said I would add here rather than starting a new thread but am looking at flights home and I found 1800 with KLM via KL and AMS. GS the same thing on the return flight but they have the stop over time in AMS before KL as 1 hour and 10 mins...is that even remotely close to enough time to get through?

I'd be flying DUB - AMS with Aer Lingus and then onwards with KLM but from the KLM website it seems to be one ticket so will they put me in the next flight if it missed?

Clearly a newbie to flying home

Thanks

mel.b

If it is all on one ticket then if you miss your connection you will be put on the next flight. Minimum connection time for international to international flights at AMS is 50mins so in theory it is a legal connection and you should be able to make it. However, all that is needed is a bit of snow in DUB and you are cactus. Up to you if you want to take the risk.

munchkin_utd

Caked Karen wrote: »

<snip>
I'd be flying DUB - AMS with Aer Lingus and then onwards with KLM but from the KLM website it seems to be one ticket so will they put me in the next flight if it missed?<snip>

a) if its on one ticket then they will look after you with an alternative flight for free if you miss the connection
b) as KLM is a european airline they must look after you according to EU law (remember the one that Ryanair is so opposed to that cost them millions during the ash cloud) so hotels etc also thrown in if needs be until they are in a position to fly you after a delay caused by an extraordinary event (like a mental snow storm or ash cloud). Non EU arlines do not have to do this so if anything happens on a Quantas/ Emirates/ Ethiad ticket you are on your own if the delay takes days and are relying on the kindnes of the airline rather than any legal obligation.

massdebater

Caked Karen wrote: »

Hey guys

Said I would add here rather than starting a new thread but am looking at flights home and I found 1800 with KLM via KL and AMS. GS the same thing on the return flight but they have the stop over time in AMS before KL as 1 hour and 10 mins...is that even remotely close to enough time to get through?

I'd be flying DUB - AMS with Aer Lingus and then onwards with KLM but from the KLM website it seems to be one ticket so will they put me in the next flight if it missed?

Clearly a newbie to flying home

Thanks

I done this exact flight last xmas and my stopover in AMS was 1 hour. It was plenty of time. I even had time for a smoke at the airport so 1 hour 10 is more than enough time.

Next time I fly home I'll probably go with emirates for the one stopover and especially now that they've teamed up with Qantas so I can use my Qantas frequent flyer points to pay for some of it.

lg123

Diddler82 wrote: »

Contact STA Travel. They are absolutely brilliant and find little tweaks like flying out of Adelaide, Brisbane or clever little manipulations.

I did Sydney - Brisbane, Brisbane - LAX, LAX - NY on the way home, then Aer Lingus - NY to Dublin and then Emirates on the way back to Sydney direct for $2500. Flew out the 16th and got back on the 6th

jesus, how long did that take? sounds like way too much hassle for the sake of $500

Xavi6

I flew that KLM option when I went back at Christmas and it was perfect, 25 hours transit all up and the short stopovers are great.

They're the cheapest I found as well, though mine cost $2100 pp from Perth (booked 7 months in advance) so anything less than that you're doing well.

The Perth to KL part was Malaysian Airlines which was a nice bonus, super airline.

darcy07

doesnt suit me but flights home for a good portion of the year 1400 return to amsterdam (not quite home but still)

http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/98269

The_Hustler

Seeing as the flights cost so much more at Christmas, are there any flexi tickets that will allow you to change the dates and not pay a fare difference if it is higher?

Like they seem to with easyjet: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/budget-travel/1395633-easyjet-flexi-fare.html

I know flexi tickets are generally quite expensive, but if there were any that operated with those fare conditions, it may be possible a flexi ticket at another time would be cheaper than a Christmas normal ticket, and just change it to the Christmas date.

It looks like Aer Lingus allow it with their flex fare http://www.aerlingus.com/help/help/feesfares/

belcampprisoner

2129 to London


on expedida au or Dublin 2867


or 2517 if you change dates


skyskanner au 22nd dec return 16th jan to Dublin 2177

JohnC83

Myself and my girlfriend booked ours last year in May. We checked the flights every evening and ended up getting them for 2200 dollars each with British Airways return. We traveled Sydney - Singapore - London - Cork. We only had an hour to wait in Singapore and 4 hours in London. We heard so many stories of huge costs involved but once you keep checking them regularly you will get a good deal.

amybabes

I booked flights home late in August last year - 16 Dec departing and coming back 4 Jan and i paid $2192 with China Southern, 7 hr stopover on the way home in a sh*t airport in china and an hour in Paris but to fly with etihad same dates was almost 3k with an 18 stopover in Dubai. Wasn't great but if you want to save money and get home cheap as possible at Christmas time it was fine - I'd definately do it again anyway the 800 dollars i saved went far at home!

6ix

Is it just me or are the prices a lot higher this year than last? At least for the good routes with Etihad/Emirates?

I did Sydney to Dublin return with Etihad (1 stop) at Christmas for $2400, which I booked last May. I'm not seeing anything near that price for December 2013 unless you go for a longer trip and/or more stops. I'd prefer as short/comfortable a trip as possible as I'm travelling home for a wedding and will be arriving just before it (annual leave constraints).

I'm also looking at one-way flights and then booking a return from Dublin (as I have to fly home again mid 2014) but even one-way flights in December are $1850. :eek:

colman1212

Yeah I was looking at flights with emirates for the last couple of weeks.
brisbane - dubai 7/12/13
Dubai - Dublin 12/12/13
Dublin - Brisbane 03/01/14

Wanted to spent 4 nights in dubai on the way. Flights were 2401 and now they are 3061 for the same flight. How can it go up over $600 in 2 days :-(

But the weird thing is if I book a simple return flight brisbane/dublin its only 2289 and it goes through dubai. How does that make sense?

mel.b

It's been suggested before to clear your cookies and cache if you are continously looking at flights with the same dates, so give that a try.

Also some fares don't allow stopovers which could be why it is pricing is a lot more expensive. I always use ita matrix to check the fare rules - that will tell you if a stopover is allowed and how much it costs.

Batgurl

Hey All

Bumping this as I've noticed something interesting.

Been monitoring flights for Xmas daily and in the last 2-3 days Emirates (and today Qantas who obviously codeshare with them now) has dipped below the $3k mark - departing 13 Dec, returning 4 Jan.

I think that the merger between the two airlines was preventing them from releasing inventory for future months including xmas so OTA's and airlines direct were pricing high just to cover their asses. But now that the dust is settling, prices are slowing dropping.

They won't go as low as KLM or China Southern but worth keeping an eye at the moment for further drops. I imagine Etihad will follow suit shortly as those two are fiercely competitive.

Also, Garuda just announced that they are restarting their London routes so keep an eye out for cheap flights through Indonesia for the Xmas trip home. They may be popping up soon.

Xavi6

Batgurl wrote: »

Also, Garuda just announced that they are restarting their London routes so keep an eye out for cheap flights through Indonesia for the Xmas trip home. They may be popping up soon.

On the flip side, you may not actually make it home.

colman1212

Got my flights booked for xmas with qantas and emirates for 2501.
Booked it through www.expedia.com.au
Flying Brisbane - Dubai, Dubai - Dublin
Dublin - Dubai - singapore - Brisbane
Spending a week in dubai on the way home.
Flying home on december 6th and back on jan 3rd.
Showed as 2650 and the when i went to book it, it went to 2501. happy days.

statina

Found flights with bestflights.com.au for $1828 return.

Flying Sydney-Hong Kong- Zurich-Dublin with Virgin and Swiss International. The stopover in Zurich on the way back is very long though.

Emirates, Quantas and Ethiad are still slightly below the $3000 mark.

Batgurl

Going to make a few people sick right now but all my hard work and flight stalking actually paid off!

Booked yesterday with Malaysia, KLM and Aer Lingus for the grand sum of $1700 + change.

29 hours each way: SYD - KL - AMS - DUB

Checked this morning and same flights had gone up by $550 :eek:

Stick it out guys - I'm sure more bargains to be had

Diddler82

I have found these guys to be brilliant.

STA Travel UNSW Phone: +61 2 9663 2378

At Christmas last year flew Sydney/Brisbane - NY (via LAX), NY - Dublin and then Dublin - Sydney (via Dubai) all for $2500. Using Qantas, UA, Aer Lingus and Emirates respectively.

They give you so many options that you would never think of (like flying out of Brisbane) that will save you up to $500 sometimes more.

If you plan stop overs or multiple flights they are well work speaking to.

kinggriff

I definitely agree you have to keep your eye on flights. We got our flights for $5200 for 2 adults and 1 child. Mel > Dubai > Dub return 29Nov - 5Jan with Emirates. Same flight was 7k with etihad at that time. They fluctuate so much.

munchkin_utd

kinggriff wrote: »

I definitely agree you have to keep your eye on flights. We got our flights for $5200 for 2 adults and 1 child. Mel > Dubai > Dub return 29Nov - 5Jan with Emirates. Same flight was 7k with etihad at that time. They fluctuate so much.

the one problem is often that on a single booking the online systems will only let everyone fly in the same tarif class.

So to put it simply, say theres one seat left at 1500 return and then the next cheapest fare class is 2500 return.
Most online systems will only offer seats in the same fare bracket so 2 x 2500 (5000 total) rather than the last of the cheaper seats and one of the dearer seats which would be 4000 of a total.

If you go to a travel agent though they can mix and match those seats across classes or do an awful lot more like building in a stopover rather than taking the first departure from an intermediate place, to ensure you are on the cheapest fare class for every leg on the entire journey which means you get the best price.

jellie

Has anyone flown with Air China before? Flying with them can give return flights of 1.7k, but Ive never heard of them...

Stinicker

Flight prices from Australia are crazy, almost 33% to 50% more expensive than flying from Ireland return, you guys are getting absolutely ripped off. Consider flying Air Asia X or Scoot either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore and book return flights from there.

Cheensbo

Stinicker wrote: »

Flight prices from Australia are crazy, almost 33% to 50% more expensive than flying from Ireland return, you guys are getting absolutely ripped off. Consider flying Air Asia X or Scoot either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore and book return flights from there.

Agreed, my flights dub - bkk - syd - dub are only 100e dearer than a one way from syd - dub..

hussey

jellie wrote: »

Has anyone flown with Air China before? Flying with them can give return flights of 1.7k, but Ive never heard of them...

two friends of mine did, both said they were fine, but nothing special.

Batgurl

Stinicker wrote: »

Flight prices from Australia are crazy, almost 33% to 50% more expensive than flying from Ireland return, you guys are getting absolutely ripped off. Consider flying Air Asia X or Scoot either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore and book return flights from there.

The problem with this is that in Dec/Jan EVERY airline, even the LCC's, are charging premium for Xmas. Just checked and AAX and Scoot are both charging $800 return SEAT ONLY for any ticket out of and into Australia in Dec/Jan.

So add the return from Singapore/KL to Dublin (a quick check shows approx $1400-$1500AUD) and you are looking at $2300 minimum. Combine that with the hassle of booking seperate tickets, the risk of missing connections, as well as transferring (in KL, AAX fly into a completely seperate terminal which is 20-30 minutes from the full-service terminal).

Yes flights are 33-50% more but so are wages. This theory only works in off-peak when you are time-rich/cash poor and can afford to take your time getting home.

jellie

hussey wrote: »

two friends of mine did, both said they were fine, but nothing special.

Thanks! If it saves me 1300 fine is more than enough!

Batgurl

It's finally happened. Etihad have dropped prices across much of the peak xmas window to $2400-$2500 direct on their website.

For anyone looking for the quickest way home. I don't think it'll get any better.