Jumping on a plane this evening

richardw

Sorry to hear it is family not well.
I think its best to book with an airline direct on their website.

There's a 21.20 Emirates to Dubai from BHX tonight if you don't want to go to Heathrow.
China Southern http://global.csair.com/GB/GB/Home/
and China Eastern http://uk.ceair.com

have codeshares from BHX via AMS or PAR to AKL

NZ are going to bed soon so if you need a Drs certificate may be best to ask for it soon.

If you need to go tonight, you need to start making decisions, any help just ask.

Look at Cathay Pacific http://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_GB.html

If you went this evening the earliest you'd get there is Friday morning, local time.

NiftyDigits

I'm not sure as to why the irrational fear of OTA. It only takes a click through to see if they are offering the fare advertised. Pay with CC.
If you are flying the same or next day, ticket flexibility isn't going to be high on your list. Even booking direct with the airline doesn't guarantee a more flexible ticket.
If I'm booking far in advance, I prefer to book direct with an airline that has a flexible ticket policy. If flying imminently and there is a £600 difference, I would be taking a few minutes to read the fare rules and terms and conditions.
Don't allow a few dodgy OTA stain your view of the whole industry.

Mr_Wangers_Wang

I have booked through OTA's many, many times and in actual fact do so more than direct with flights. Often, they are slow on sending through the e-tickets or may present other issues such as availability etc. Since the booking is time critical it makes sense to rule out any further potential issues when clearly the OP has enough going on at the moment.

NiftyDigits

Mr_Wangers_Wang wrote: »

I have booked through OTA's many, many times and in actual fact do so more than direct with flights. Often, they are slow on sending through the e-tickets or may present other issues such as availability etc. Since the booking is time critical it makes sense to rule out any further potential issues when clearly the OP has enough going on at the moment.

If they have the time to visit a "local specialist AUS/NZ travel agent", waiting forty five minutes for a ticket to be issued is neither here nor there.
Of course if we are talking about eDreams as opposed to eBookers, that's another thing altogether.
The first I wouldn't touch, even with a bargepole.
Nothwithstanding, I'm not referring to this case in particular. I am referring to the irrational fear of OTA. If I was was facing the potential saving of £600, I would look closely at the fare conditions and T&C, rather than than dismissing out of hand.

Voyager2002

NiftyDigits wrote: »

I'm not sure as to why the irrational fear of OTA. It only takes a click through to see if they are offering the fare advertised. Pay with CC.
If you are flying the same or next day, ticket flexibility isn't going to be high on your list. Even booking direct with the airline doesn't guarantee a more flexible ticket.

Actually, unless the OP is buying a one-way ticket then flexibility could be an important consideration. Impossible to know how long s/he will need to stay at home, so flexibility on the return date could be vital, while flying both ways on one-way tickets would not be cheap. Compassionate fares could be a real boon in this situation.

As for OTAs, I suggest using only those that are known to be reliable. The obvious things that can go wrong involve delays, and that could cause major problems in this situation.

Voyager2002

No-one has mentioned ITAsoftware, which is a good way of finding low fares that can be bought directly from the airline.

NiftyDigits

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Actually, unless the OP is buying a one-way ticket then flexibility could be an important consideration. Impossible to know how long s/he will need to stay at home, so flexibility on the return date could be vital, while flying both ways on one-way tickets would not be cheap. Compassionate fares could be a real boon in this situation.

As for OTAs, I suggest using only those that are known to be reliable. The obvious things that can go wrong involve delays, and that could cause major problems in this situation.

As I wrote earlier, buying direct doesn't guarantee ticket flexibility. You really need to take it on a case by case basis.
Not everything can be 'dumbed down' for the masses. Sometimes you really need to peruse the small print.
Compassionate fares is a useful addition, though not sure if they'll offer anything less than what is available online.
What kind of "delays"?

Voyager2002

NiftyDigits wrote: »

As I wrote earlier, buying direct doesn't guarantee ticket flexibility. You really need to take it on a case by case basis.
Not everything can be 'dumbed down' for the masses. Sometimes you really need to peruse the small print.
Compassionate fares is a useful addition, though not sure if they'll offer anything less than what is available online.
What kind of "delays"?

Agreed. In practice, buying direct makes it easier to get hold of flexible tickets: some OTAs insist on being involved and charging a fee for a date change, even when the ticket is flexible. And some OTAs do not allow you to see the fare rules before purchase!

Compassionate fares offer flexibility at a lower price than an online purchase of a fully flexible ticket, and so could be very relevant in this particular situation.

NiftyDigits

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Agreed. In practice, buying direct makes it easier to get hold of flexible tickets: some OTAs insist on being involved and charging a fee for a date change, even when the ticket is flexible. And some OTAs do not allow you to see the fare rules before purchase!

Compassionate fares offer flexibility at a lower price than an online purchase of a fully flexible ticket, and so could be very relevant in this particular situation.

It's a minefield. But ok if you walk on tippy toes

Voyager2002

NiftyDigits wrote: »

What kind of "delays"?

Many OTAs do not have live pricing, so when you book the fare that you see is not available. So before the ticket can be issued they contact you and let you know the new fare and collect payment, and only after that does the issue process begin. For most travellers the main issue is that the 'new fare' might be a good deal higher than fares offered elsewhere at the time of booking, but of course the delay involved might be the main frustration for this traveller.