Long Haul Flights Australia

Leo45

Family trip to Australia to see relatives due in approx 12 months.
Is there any time which may give lower flight prices ie
1, book a long time in advance 2, leave booking until 2 to 3 months before departure date. 3, Book two single tickets rather than one return ticket. 4, Consider flying out and back using two different airlines.
Cheers Leo

EveryWhere

City? Approx. dates and duration?
That might get you a few options.

richardw

Hi Leo45, welcome to MSE. There are a many routes from the UK to Australia and this helps to keep prices competitive especially if you are flying from London. If you can return to the UK before the start of the Easter holidays you should get cheaper fares.

Where in the UK are you?

How many passengers will there be travelling?

Do you fancy stopping over somewhere on the outbound or inbound?

Will you be needing a hire car in Australia?

Are you interested in visiting China?

zagfles

According to this research which MSE link to around 60 days before is the cheapest time to book https://www.momondo.co.uk/discover/article/how-to-find-cheap-flights

Murphy_The_Cat

Leo, start using Momendo, Skyscanner, Kayak etc NOW, to see what the prices are for the furthest day possible that you can book the return trip for. And then do this every day, until you can see what your flight will cost at the earliest date that you can book it (be aware that different airlines have different lead times).
& then jiggle around your departure airports.
& then look at/consider taking a positioning flight and starting your trip ex-eu.
& then weigh up the pros and cons of buying the flights from the airline directly, or an online travel agent.


Other people experiences may differ, but for my big trip Down Under, I booked the tickets directly from the airline on the day that they became available at the start of Jan. I was (very) happy with the price that I paid, plus being able to prebook exactly the seats that I wanted. 10 weeks later, the identical itinerary is now 50% more expensive.


If you're prepared to do (potentially a lot of) research, the savings & positive choices can be considerable.

Leo45

We would be starting in the North West of the UK and flying to Brisbane, 2 Adult passengers.
Basically very loose plans, flying out mid January and fly back after 4 to 5 weeks.
We would love a stopover in Singapore but the whole trip is very cost conscious.

Is it true that if your online constantly checking flights across various airline that they know what your doing and will slowly put the prices up and up, is there a way to avoid this.

Leo

richardw

Good options from Manchester include flying Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad and Singapore Airlines.

Have a look at the Singapore airlines website for a flight and hotel deal with a stopover at Singapore, also give Trailfinders a call and see if they have a similar deal.

Murphy_The_Cat

Leo45 wrote: »

We would be starting in the North West of the UK and flying to Brisbane, 2 Adult passengers.
Basically very loose plans, flying out mid January and fly back after 4 to 5 weeks.
We would love a stopover in Singapore but the whole trip is very cost conscious.

Is it true that if your online constantly checking flights across various airline that they know what your doing and will slowly put the prices up and up, is there a way to avoid this.

Leo

hello Leo


So you're looking at Economy, rather than Premium Economy ?
Stopover at Singapore on way out, way back or both ways ? & how long a stopover do you fancy ?
Could you set off from Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh or Birmingham if it was easier on the pocket ?
What is your idea of a good fare ?


Finally, its a fallacy that the OTA's/airlines adjust their prices if you do repeated searches (although some people will insist that it is true)


Is £1585 Man -Sin (23hr stopover) - Bne, Bne-Sin (20hr stopover)-Man, booked direct with Singapore Airlines the sort of thing you are looking at ? (you'll get 1.6% cashback if you book via Quidco)

pimento

We've just come back form Australia.

We flew Cathay Pacific LGW - HKG - BNE - SYD -HKG - LHR in economy for £800

We had a four night stopover in Hong Kong on the way back. I think that's the cheapest we've ever done it.

We booked in October and traveled in March.

ETA: That was booked direct with Cathay Pacific on their web site. Q class.

zagfles

Leo45 wrote: »

We would be starting in the North West of the UK and flying to Brisbane, 2 Adult passengers.
Basically very loose plans, flying out mid January and fly back after 4 to 5 weeks.
We would love a stopover in Singapore but the whole trip is very cost conscious.

Singapore isn't expensive, probably less expensive than Australia. Bars did seem to be expensive but hotels and eating out are quite cheap IME. If you fly SIA they give you discounts on loads of stuff there.

Is it true that if your online constantly checking flights across various airline that they know what your doing and will slowly put the prices up and up, is there a way to avoid this.

Probably a myth but if you're worried just clear your cookies and reset your router (to get a new IP address).

mgdavid

my wife just popped out to Brisbane last month for granddaughter's birthday. Etihad with short transfers in Abu Dhabi both ways. Booked 5 weeks before departure, around £800-ish.