Purchasing flights in the current climate - please help!

Tori421

Hello, having used the forum for info many times this is my first time posting, because...I need to get this right! We are a family of five planning a trip to see a very close friend in Australia. I am currently renewing my children's passports ahead of sorting visa's and then booking the flight's. The trip is due to take place in December 2022. Covid weighs heavily over our planning and my husband is extremely wary of travelling still as he is so concerned we'll lose money on this trip should we not be able to travel due to covid. I have successfully applied for a credit card as I have read about purchasing flights on that to offer us additional protection, but had read that you may not be covered if purchasing through a travel agent. I have found the prices cheaper on Expedia that booking directly - would the credit card offer the additional protection if I book through them? Booking directly through the Birmingham Airport site, also slightly cheaper that booking directly through the airline, but more expensive than booking through expedia - would I get the additional credit card cover booking that way if not with Expedia? I have been looking at prices including upgrading to allow 'cancellation' although so far  I have not seen the fine print on what these cancellations cover. Do I take any additional cover/insurances offered by the airline in addition to separate travel insurance? I am not a experienced flyer, just the odd holiday aboard here and there and all prior to covid so I would really welcome any handy tips to ensure that this once in a lifetime trip for us does not end up going horribly wrong and us being at a huge financial loss should we not be able to fly. Apologies for the babbling and thanks in advance to all those who offer guidance. 

Ganga

I would not book with any dodgy travel agent , most people say for flights book with the airline ,they will give you more protection and flexability.
Also take out good travel insurance ,Australia is opening up its borders this month so things might get a bit easier for you.

Upsidedownandaround

The most important thing will be the flexibility of the airline you book flights and the tickets with.

You are taking a risk travelling at the moment so there are no guarantees you won’t lose your money if you can’t travel due to covid.

You either pay more to book flexible flights or choose an airline which allows free changes or future travel credits. E.g BA and EasyJet seems to be good but you will have to check those airlines that fly the route you are going to go on for their conditions.

A credit card does not give you any further rights specifically relating to refunds or getting your money back it simply means you can enforce your rights for breach of contract against your bank as well as the airline. Just because you can’t travel due to covid does not mean the airline has breached its contract with you so in many cases your credit card will not be of any help however you should still book with credit card.

Booking through Birmingham airport will simply take you to a list of dodgy OTA’s you have never heard of. Booking through them or Expedia will likely break the link between you and the airline for breach of contract. Not only will you have less protection from your credit card but you will be placing a 3rd party between you and the airline who will have its own terms and conditions, fees for work done on your behalf, likely poor customer service and may not even be based in the UK.

I would advise you to book direct with the airline. Personally in my opinion it would be madness to book through a 3rd party at this time particularly to Australia.

I personally wouldn’t take out additional insurance cover with an airline but get insurance elsewhere and make sure covers what you want it to although again it may not prevent loss in all circumstances.

Archergirl

I'd book direct with the airline, make sure as much as you can is changeable/transferable. Flights to OZ after about 6th Dec go up considerably so better to book them sooner rather than later x
 

Alan_Bowen

Christmas is indeed the peak of peak seasons, you save money flying for longer via intermediate points but in the current climate, you should book a flight with as few stops as possible, avoid Hong Kong completely as it has been a nightmare and be aware that although things are improving in Europe, the Far East is still under considerable restrictions which may improve, or not, in the months ahead.

The major airlines had their sales in January, many commented that BA's, in particular, was very poor this year, based it seems on everyone's expectations that bookings will boom in 2022 and sales were not really necessary. . For what it is worth, Singapore Airlines started a sale this week, whether it is good nor not, and frankly whether any airlines will discount Chritsmas flights is a very moot point, so if you are determined to book, do it sooner rather than later

stueyhants

Whilst I would have previously recommended Singapore Airlines their customer service has descended into chaos and they are treating a lot of their customers extremely badly so I would avoid. The pandemic has been hard on their finances, more so than other airlines that have some kind of domestic market where they can offset the border restrictions. 

A lot of airlines are going to struggle this year unless there is a sustained pick up in lad factors so I’d pick the airlines with the deepest pockets for added protection. I’d go for either emirates or Qatar.

comeandgo

I always book flights direct with airline, I don’t think you can dare risk booking through any agents when there is the risk of Australian closing its borders again.  A credit card payment is no help with covid reasons.  We have previously gone with Singapore air and Emirates.  Singapore air was by far the best flight but they are not so good at giving you your money back.  Emirates have three flight costs.  The cheapest has no refund, I think the middle price does.  I would be looking at refundable flights.  They cost more but you have the confidence.  

December is the most expensive time to travel, it’s close to Christmas and summer in Australia their peak tourist time.

yksi

I have flown once to and from Aus doing long-hop budget airlines (definitely the cheapest and most restful way to get there but takes two days out of your trip). I have also flown the more usual way several times, with Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Qantas and Finnair, all of which operate on codeshare agreements (= several different possible Airlines written on the tickets but exactly the same plane). Plus with a combination of both. So my recommendation is get your ballpark figures from lastminute.co.uk and momondo.co.uk and then make the decision on whether to actually book it direct, by checking ALL the codeshare airlines for your ticket of choice - it's absolutely not true that you'll get a better price direct from the airlines, I have never found this to be the case on long-haul flights for probably my last fifteen flight bookings (and yes I always check, since I am an enormous penny pincher).

I would also suggest not to book this for another six months, because of the Covid situation.

My big question for you is how old are your kids? There are stories everywhere of people whose holidays have been ruined because one child could not meet the destination's vaccine requirements due to a last minute change at the destination country. Do all your Covid & vaccination checking now just in case you need to organise things months in advance. That includes the adults, as your vaccines might be considered out of date by December.

Hopefully I see you on the same plane since I've been waiting to go back and visit my parents again for ages now!

Bicycleman22

No way would i book anything with Expedia, Last minute etc  at the moment. Check the big airlines Qatar, Emirates, Singapore etc websites and see what Covid offers they are offering regarding free changes and cancellations. Then book direct with the airline book once you  are confident Australia wont change the rules and you wont change your minds.