Australia Flights

caerleon9176

Hi,

For my birthday I am going to Australia to see my distant family, but i noticed a huge difference in pricing depending which sites you go on.

I would prefer London to Sydney from the 30AUG13 to 21SEP13 arr/dept the same airport. Looking at all of the carriers at the moment Singapore is the cheapest.

Having never traveled that far in a civilian aircraft before and being 6"2 would it be best i concentrated on getting Premium upgrade which is twice the price of standard 'Cattle' class seat and would it be better that i waited until nearer the date to book my tickets or should i buy them now.

I noticed that the Lions tour is going on during July so for a cheaper flight and better seat go at the same time.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Caz3121

what prices have you got so far?

callum9999

I don't know what it's like where you live, but 6"2 isn't unusually tall! You'll be fine in economy just like everyone else is - it's up to you whether you pay a huge amount extra for more comfort.

The price may get cheaper, it may not. Obviously no-one can know that otherwise no-one would buy them during the expensive periods! Generally the earlier you book the cheaper it is, but there could be a sale on to Australia between now and then. If I were you I'd look for the cheapest price now and keep checking it - if it starts going up then buy it then. That still risks missing out on a sale later on, it just depends how much you're willing to gamble.

zagfles

You generally get loads of legroom on long haul economy, it's not like the budget airlines. Have a look at seatguru.com which gives pitches etc for the exact flight you're looking at.

callum9999

zagfles wrote: »

You generally get loads of legroom on long haul economy, it's not like the budget airlines. Have a look at seatguru.com which gives pitches etc for the exact flight you're looking at.

We've clearly been on different planes! The only time I've ever managed to get loads of leg room was when I managed to get an exit row seat (in fact, the whole row!) by checking in something ridiculous like 4 hours early.

You'll get more legroom than Ryanair I agree, but I wouldn't call it significantly more - it's likely to be about 32" compared to Ryanair's 30". Maybe it's a lot for some people, but I barely notice the difference.

Caz3121

comparison
http://www.seatguru.com/charts/longhaul_economy.php

zagfles

callum9999 wrote: »

We've clearly been on different planes! The only time I've ever managed to get loads of leg room was when I managed to get an exit row seat (in fact, the whole row!) by checking in something ridiculous like 4 hours early.

You'll get more legroom than Ryanair I agree, but I wouldn't call it significantly more - it's likely to be about 32" compared to Ryanair's 30". Maybe it's a lot for some people, but I barely notice the difference.

OK, "loads" may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but I've never had a problem and I'm close to 6 foot. "Sufficient" may have been a more appropriate term, ie enough room to move about comfortably without knocking into the seat in front.

callum9999

zagfles wrote: »

OK, "loads" may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but I've never had a problem and I'm close to 6 foot. "Sufficient" may have been a more appropriate term, ie enough room to move about comfortably without knocking into the seat in front.

At 6"2 I'd imagine they'd be knocking the seat in front. I definitely do at 6"4 - and usually have to keep my knees separated as they don't physically fit straight in front of me. It felt like torture going from 5 odd feet of legroom in the exit row seat to the 32" odd on the second leg of the flight!

caerleon9176

Thanks for the replies all,

The best price i have had is £850 return economy with Singapore on a A380 (an Airframe i built many bits for in the past) Ariana and China all come in close to that also if you fly to thier hubs in Europe from the UK.

I have long legs and once spent 8 hrs with my legs tangled across a very sympathetic and attractive female passenger seated next too me on a flight to the US a few years back, until the crew took pity on her and swapped with me with a exit seat, but this was a charter flight. I think the whole thing about DVT has been applied to seat spacing and 32" pitch does sound alot, but these are long flights also. Premium Economy is double the price at £1600, so i am debating the costs.

callum9999

caerleon9176 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies all,

The best price i have had is £850 return economy with Singapore on a A380 (an Airframe i built many bits for in the past) Ariana and China all come in close to that also if you fly to thier hubs in Europe from the UK.

I have long legs and once spent 8 hrs with my legs tangled across a very sympathetic and attractive female passenger seated next too me on a flight to the US a few years back, until the crew took pity on her and swapped with me with a exit seat, but this was a charter flight. I think the whole thing about DVT has been applied to seat spacing and 32" pitch does sound alot, but these are long flights also. Premium Economy is double the price at £1600, so i am debating the costs.

It's not a lot but it's perfectly adequate. I certainly would never upgrade just for more legroom - only if you want the extra service (though I wouldn't upgrade full stop!).

£850 seems on the high-end of cheap to me. You may get it cheaper if you wait and a sale pops up, but if it doesn't then it could get more expensive. I'm by no means an authority on Australia flights but I'd be inclined to wait and see what happens for a little while yet (though check the prices at least daily to make sure they aren't rising).

littlereddevil

I always upgrade cos I can't stand to be sqashed in. I find the 380's are usually a bit cheaper as they get more people on.