I remember reading somewhere that flights are cheaper a long time before leaving and quite soon to leaving and are more expensive in between. We're travelling in mid july, should we book now or wait?
UK Flights, Book Now or Wait?
getho on 29/04/2018 - 22:06
Last edited 29/04/2018 - 22:25 by 1 other user
Last edited 29/04/2018 - 22:25 by 1 other user
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If you see anything close to $1k, book immediately. $1.2k is pretty good as well. Remember it's peak holiday season in Europe so airfares are going to be a little higher than expected.
just want to add there is a difference between $1k with terrible layover times, and $1.2k with minimal layovers. Also take into account airline quality……
Like most of travel, you will always find someone with a cheaper fare, but will it be exactly on the days you want. And you will drive yourself crazy trying to get the cheapest.
Fares to Europe are down and are at almost historic lows as Cluster says above.
$1K is a good price.
And as Nota.. Says, look at the airline and how many stops. A few hundred more with a quality airline and short layovers is worth it.
Waiting 18 hours for your next flight at say Beijing to save a hundred might be appealing now, but wont be after you have made the trip (keeping in mind the layovers on the return as well)
If you are flying Mid July you dont have the luxury of waiting for long to check prices.
Seeing you are in Coffs harbour, another factor is the departure and arrival times in Oz. Leaving at say 8am from Sydney (or Brissy) would probably mean an overnight stay before leaving - extra cost. Likewise a late arrival time on return will mean the same
thanks folks,
yes I always keep a lookout for total flight times. Current best prices I've found are around $1400, (flying to manchester). About $200 more than the last time I flew. And yes @rocky, always try to leave sydney in the afternoon :)Looks like we'll be flying out during both UK and aus school hols, returning in august.
Looks like we'll be flying out during both UK and aus school hols, returning in august
Given that $1.4K probably is fair fare
The earlier you book the better. $1.4K for peak season and depending on which airline is really good.
If you are happy with it, book immediately.
one was swiss air. Dont know mucch about them, but their watches and penknives are OK, so their planes should be, right?
Other was virgin. One price site has all the virgin flights in conjunction with etihad, another has no mention, but dont know if its just that - not mentioning it, or if it really is virgin all the way. Then again found a deal with emirates from coffs to man for about $1600, which is quite tempting.
It won't be Virgin Australa all the way. They don't fly to Europe.
Swiss is good, have flown them in the past. What you will find is its with Singapore Airlines to Singapore and then Swiss to Europe via Zurich
hey does anyone know if we book with swiss via zurich, can we stopover in zurich for a few days? (Can we book it, then shuffle the dates after booking?) When I tried to configure this in webjet the flights were $4K each. 0_0
A stopover will often increase the fare significantly.
If you change the flights you will pay a hefty change fee, plus they will re-price the fare which could potentially double it.
If you can get a flight to the UK in July on a full service airline (i.e. no bag fees etc.) for $1400, you should buy it immediately. The downside risk of waiting is that the fare may double, the upside is that you may save a couple of hundred bucks if you're very very lucky.
Just booked flights with Emirates return for the month of July and price was $4043 for 2 people economy, but got price match to $3700 because bestjet had same fare cheaper.
Singapore Airlines had a good price around $3200 for 2 same dates but have now gone up.
We didn't want to wait any longer as it was getting more expensive. We were hoping for a sale or deal to come up haha
just booked, flying with emirates :) Main thing I learned from this experience is that skyscanner is a pile of poo
I would be searching a couple times per day to get the feel of how prices are doing.
Over the past month, I've seen Malaysian Airlines & Emirates have flights to London (return) for around $1200. I don't recall the dates, but there's a lead for you.I prefer to use Google flights and Skyscanner to search.
There's also more flight search engines below if you have the headspace for them.
Re: stopoffs. Years ago I flew Emirates (booked and paid online). I wondered if I could get a longer stopoff on a short layover in Malaysia.. Not only did they give it to me (without charge. I went to see them in their KL airport office), they bumped me up to first class… This affirmed for me that the answer is always "no", until you ask (then, who knows).
I've flown a lot, and if price is important, then your flexibility needs to be even more important. School hols could be difficult to be flexible tho.Have a wonderful time in UK:
Momondo
Kayak
Hotwire
Seatguru
Cheapoair
Hipmunk
Wundergogo
Adioso
Airwander
Ifly
Aunt Betty.com.au
Flightscout.co.au
Typically best prices for full fare airlines are found 3 months before departure. Which airlines arr you considering?