Flights to Australia

sheilavw

Hi we are hoping to go to Australia around 22/23 or 24th March 16 , flying any north west airport to Perth to visit Sister in law who has lived there for 10 years and see our youngest who is on a year out there. It will be our first visit. Can anyone help with the following
Best time to book
Best airline
Any discount codes which maybe available
Any tips /advice on getting a good deal/ who to book with etc
Tips on seating (would ideally like just the two of us if possible. I know some airlines 2 4 2)
.
We know we will be willing to pay more for 1 stop/short lay over
Any help would be appreciated
thanks

mgdavid

Best time to book would have been some months ago ideally.
Best airline - do you mean quality or cheapest? Personally we go best combination of cheapest and quickest as long as not Chinese!
Choose flights on Skyscanner but book direct with airline. If you're fussy about seating then you may need to pay a bit extra to book them when buying the tickets. IIRC Cathay and Singapore allow seat booking at no extra cost.
When you say short layover do you mean you want a night in a hotel en route?

Justice13075

Also see if the Cashback sites can be used. Quidco or Topcashback

Gloomendoom

2-4-2 is unlikely on the longer legs of the trip. Top deck of an A380 might be an option. On the shorter legs, say KL or Singapore to Perth, there is a good chance.

PeacefulWaters

Skyscanner can help you identify cheapest flights. I got around £700 in economy and £2,550 in business class starting from Manchester.

That business class fare drops to c£1,650 if you start your booking from Oslo. If comfort matters I'd be taking this routing and paying for a cheap flight to Oslo the night before.

Book with the airline direct.

Check seat configurations out on Seatguru (not guaranteed for accuracy). Be prepared to pay an obscene surcharge for preferred seating - I'd only do this if I was genuinely getting extra space as 95% of economy seats on the same plane are identical.

Make sure you register with frequent flyer schemes as there's effectively a handful of free hotel rooms for you. More if you go business class.

fifeken

What prices/routes have you seen so far? With it being Easter, I agree with the above that they should ideally have been booked a while back.

If you don't mind an extra stop, or fancy a night out in Amsterdam, try Emirates. Their Euro price from AMS is less than the GBP price from MAN/NCL at about £760 return in economy. £1,160 fron MAN/NCL.

It can also all be done on their 777s which have a limited amount of 2-4-2 seating. Check seat availability before you book on Expedia if it's important. Reserving them is free, but you can only see what's available after you book when you're using the airline website.

Watch out for long layovers on the website. It's easy to miss them while booking and you don't want stuck in an airport for 10 hours if you can help it.

sheilavw

Thanks everyone. I have been looking on Skyscanner. We are looking at flights with only 2 or 3 hour wait for connection.
Seen a Qatar one which leaves Manchester 13.10. Never flown longer than five hours before, but it is a one off.

PeacefulWaters

you don't want stuck in an airport for 10 hours if you can help it

Although booking a cheap airport hotel room and getting a shower might be a welcome escape.

It's not a journey I've ever made, but I'd have thought each change of plane throws up different opportunities.