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Business Class to Australia

Want to fly to Australia in April/May this year, business class. Seem to remember from previous years that "companion fares" appear in the Spring, so two adults can fly together for approx £1500 each.

If there are any flight specialists out there, aware that these are about to come on the market, can you let me know!

The price may have gone up in recent years, but haven't found any companion fares being marketed yet, at least, not for April.

Maybe I am too early, but want to book ASAP, and don't want to pay the £2500 each they are quoting just now!

All news welcome!

Comments

  • Kezza25_2
    Kezza25_2 Posts: 271 Forumite
    BigZed wrote: »
    Want to fly to Australia in April/May this year, business class. Seem to remember from previous years that "companion fares" appear in the Spring, so two adults can fly together for approx £1500 each.

    If there are any flight specialists out there, aware that these are about to come on the market, can you let me know!

    The price may have gone up in recent years, but haven't found any companion fares being marketed yet, at least, not for April.

    Maybe I am too early, but want to book ASAP, and don't want to pay the £2500 each they are quoting just now!

    All news welcome!

    you've got no chance on that one i'm afraid - you'd be lucky to get business fares for 1500 each.

    sorry.
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  • Bob63
    Bob63 Posts: 1,320 Forumite
    Have you got any Flying Club miles with Virgin Atlantic, or got any friends with miles? A companion ticket paid for entirely with miles, or a miles-plus-money ticket can be quite good value.

    I fly Virgin Upper Class frequently and used them to go to Sydney in July 2005. They were excellent. The service made the long flights just about bearable and I was lucky enough to get 5 massages during the 4 flights as well as a haircut in the lounge in London. The Hong Kong lounge is nice, but (as of 2005) they shared a lounge with Air NZ in Sydney.

    I can also highly recommend the new look Premium Economy in Virgin. That might be a cheaper alternative if you can do without a bed but still like the extra legroom and bigger seat.

    Mike
  • BigZed_2
    BigZed_2 Posts: 19 Forumite
    That's useful, thanks. Alsway thought premium economy wasn't that much of an improvement, a plumper pillow perhaps!

    You can get cheaper BC flights with China Eastern Airlines, or something similar. I'll hold on until mid-feb and see what comes on the market.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,873 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    And don't forget that you can get as far as Hong Kong with a very affordable but apparently high quality business class product from Oasis.
  • BigZed_2
    BigZed_2 Posts: 19 Forumite
    "as far as Hong Kong" - forgive my ignorance, but why is that?

    I have spoken to someone at Trailfinders and Travelbag and they say they don't get prior warning, but these types of things tend to come out in March, for April/May departures.

    I guess I'll hang on and see what appears.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,873 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    BigZed wrote: »
    "as far as Hong Kong" - forgive my ignorance, but why is that?

    Oasis fly London-Hong Kong (and also to Canada) but so far as I know do not serve Australia. But in general air fares out of Hong Kong are very good value for money, so you might consider breaking your journey there.
  • view
    view Posts: 2,242 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Hi BigZed

    I am an Aussie and have lived in the UK for 6 years. I've actually done the flight back and forth over 7 times so can offer some advice.

    Check out www.dialaflight.co.uk as they very often have great deals to Australia, especially in business class. They are currently offering business class flights from London to Peth for £1548 + £241 tax which is a really good deal!

    Also, subscribe to Qantas, BA, Emirates, Cathay Pacific etc..[ie: the big long haul flyers] via their websites as you often get news of special deals [incuding companion fares] from their mailouts.

    Also, just find the cheapest way to travel to ANY part of Oz. Once you are there you can get very good deals for flights within the country via Qantas' JetStar http://www.jetstar.com/au/index.html - their prices are usually much cheaper than buying internal flights from the UK. [ie: Perth - Melbourne return flights is on sale for $149 about £84!]

    Sometimes when you purchase business class tickets, you get free internal flights also so look out for these deals - well worth it.

    Send out an email with your preferred dates & business class request to lots of different travel agencies. Get them to do the hard work and come back to you with prices - they like booking long haul business class seats! Then negotiate, if they come back and say no deal, then move on to the next and negotiate with them.

    Lastly, spend about half an hour each week of days checking the flight search engines opodo, lastminute, travelocity etc.. etc.. choose the 'my dates are flexible' and you'll be able to see the cheapest dates to fly in any given month.

    Hope this helps.

    My BF and I are also looking to fly out to Oz business class this year so I'll PM you if I find an amazing deal - please also do the same for me!

    Remember not to panic buy, you'll know the best deal when you see one, some of the greatest deals we've seen have been booked two weeks in advance.

    Best of luck

    GJ

    PS: also meant to mention, it's definitely well worth it to stop over, it's such a looooong flight. And if you're flying from Scotland, definitely try to go wtih Emirates as they cut the trip in half with a stop in Dubai, it makes ALL the difference..
  • view
    view Posts: 2,242 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    http://www.flightcentre.co.uk/ is another good website for this.
  • My BF and I are also looking to fly out to Oz business class this year so I'll PM you if I find an amazing deal - please also do the same for me!

    golden Jill : i just booked business with emirates glasgow to melbourne for Nov, don't know when you plan to travel but they are £2590 with travelmood limited availability i lost one of the options when trying to book, hope this might help
  • conradmum
    conradmum Posts: 5,018 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Oasis fly London-Hong Kong (and also to Canada) but so far as I know do not serve Australia. But in general air fares out of Hong Kong are very good value for money, so you might consider breaking your journey there.

    Oasis have London - Sydney in their business plan, so it might be worth signing up to their website and you'll get notified when/if they put these flights on.
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