Trying to get cheap flights for my mum to be able to visit me, please help!

Bueno_2

Hi,
I want my mum to able to visit me when I am studying in Svalbard, an island north of Norway. However flights are quite expensive, typically at least £370 that I have found. I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me find return flights to Svalbard in August, September or October, what ever is cheapest!

I have read the article on this website and managed to get the price down a bit just wondering if there are any tips such as the practicalities of perhaps flying with ryanair to Oslo or Norwegian.no to Tromso before getting the connecting SAS flight to Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Or perhaps using airmiles (have that card with a 1500 free points on it) to get there.

In short whatever the cheapest way for my mum to be able to visit me in Svalbard!

Thanks,

Ben

mad_rich

Hmm. Sounds like a tricky place to get to. Nice place to study! What will you be doing there? As you've probably discovered, the only attack points are Tromsø and Oslo, with either SAS or norwegian.no.

The idea of getting to Oslo and starting from there is a good one, but you can still expect to pay in the region of £200-£250 for OSL-LYR-OSL. And of course you have the added risk of a misconnect at Oslo (or the expense of an overnight stay).

Norwegian.no fly from Gatwick to Tromsø (and on to LYR), with flights 'from £29', though I couldn't find anything like that price. It might be worth playing around with the flights calendar to see what you can come up with.

AIRMILES - I think they only allow you to book to a few popular, specified cities, of which LYR isn't one... Worth a phone call though.

Do you have any miles with other airlines (eg BMI)? - it sounds like a classic case for a Europe award with them. A return from UK to Norway would cost 12,000 miles plus ~£100 in tax. You can still get 20,000 bonus BMI miles for signing up to their Amex Card. Maybe even treat her to business class (18,000 miles), though not sure what biz is like on that route.

Do it quick though, as BMI are about to be swallowed up by Lufthansa, and who knows where the mileage program will end up then...

Have a read of the stickies on Flyertalk for details of BMI

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/bmi-diamond-club-486/

Bueno_2

I'm doing an exchange for 5 months from Aberystwyth looking at pollution and climate change, including many trips around the islands, should be incredible! When I looked norwegian.no didn't actually seem to fly there or am I wrong on this point?

With the BMI card which is for the Star Alliance (which SAS is part of) - this sounds excellent! I'm guessing I'll have to phone up as Svalbard doesn;t come up on BMI's destination list what with it being an SAS flight.

Thanks for your help, I'll give BMI a call tomorrow to make sure it is possible to book a flight with them to Svalbard; and then if the answer is yes I shall apply for the BMI card.

My only concern is that on this page - flybmi.com/bmi/src/html/diamondclubhowtospendmiles.html (as a new member I can't post links apparently)
it lists spending miles with airline partners, yet SAS is not on that list

mad_rich

Hmm. Norwegian fly there according to Wikipedia. But I guess if anyone would know, it would be the airline. Maybe the route has been dropped.

Don't worry, you can spend BMI miles with any *A airline, of which SAS is one.

(The specific airlines listed on that page (BMIbaby, Virgin, Qatar etc.) are the additional airlines which you can spend with. They are Diamond Club partners but not *A.)

Also, whatever you do, don't try to book a BMI award flight online. Therein lies the path to madness. You'll have to phone them. Therein also lies the path to madness after the three agents have told you 'BMI doesn't fly to Svalbard, sir', 'I'm sorry our computers are not responding', 'the tax will be £12.87', 'the tax will be £183.49', and other gems , but at least you'll eventually get it booked. If in doubt, phone up three times and choose whichever answer you prefer.

I highly reccomend looking at the 'READ THIS FIRST' thread on that flyertalk link I posted, before you call BMI. It will tell you more than you could ever find out in a million phone calls. Particularly FAQ 1,3 and 4.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/bmi-diamond-club/927937-read-first-bmi-diamond-club-faqs-seats-planes-promos-contacts.html

Good luck!

Nordictat2

Bueno wrote: »

Hi,
I want my mum to able to visit me when I am studying in Svalbard, an island north of Norway. However flights are quite expensive, typically at least £370 that I have found. I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me find return flights to Svalbard in August, September or October, what ever is cheapest!

I have read the article on this website and managed to get the price down a bit just wondering if there are any tips such as the practicalities of perhaps flying with ryanair to Oslo or Norwegian.no to Tromso before getting the connecting SAS flight to Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Or perhaps using airmiles (have that card with a 1500 free points on it) to get there.

In short whatever the cheapest way for my mum to be able to visit me in Svalbard!

Thanks,

Ben

Hi Ben..

I'm living in Stavanger, Norway. No where near Svalbard but I figure I would offer my help if you haven't already got it sorted? WHICH airport will your Mum be coming from? I think it's best to split the trip but I need to know which airport first Although, I did see from London to Tromso £58 each way (1st to 15th Sept.).

Also try this link...

http://www.skyscanner.net/flights/lond/lyr/september-2009/september-2009/cheapest-flights-per-month-to-svalbard-from-london-in-september-2009.html

Bueno_2

She'll be flying from London probably as it seems to be cheapest from there. I had a look at the cheaper fares from Tromso in advance but they arrived at a time that meant a very long time in the airport until a flight the next morning. Is this the way that you meant by splitting it up?

Thanks for your help!

Bueno_2

Just spoke to BMI, it will cost 19,000 miles return plus £102.46 which is remarkably cheap! Thanks for all your help!