Federal Government will be allowing fully vaccinated Australians to leave Australia for outward travel and to return (with 7 days of home quarantine).
Wondering if this has tipped many OzBargainers to pull the trigger and book an international flight?
Hoping to see some announcements from the major airlines about increasing flights to and from Australia in December.
With SF3 on that one…!
Last night, I booked a return flight to Europe for May next year.
How much did it cost you?
I did Barcelona return in May/June 2019 for under $1100 via Qatar.
I should have qualified. I booked Qantas FF classic reward. Soon after the Govt. announcement we noticed the availability of FF flights were getting less available. Confirmed with Qantas that there is a no fee for cancellations or rebooking of FF flights up until the end of December 2022, so risk free.
I must say $1100 with Qatar was a fabulous price!
I want to book for next year June/July to Europe, I just don’t know what to expect in terms of pricing.
Is it going to be expensive because less seats will be available or is it going to be cheap to push sales….
Was a pain to get refunds from airlines from the start of the pandemic so I guess it is a calculated risk you are taking. Though we will need to open back to travelers soon, can't shut the country off from international flights forever.
This Jan managed to get my money back hassle free from PayPal for my cancelled flights.
We had some issues with the budget airlines like Air Asia.
Though Cathay Pacific were pretty good.
We had paid for AA flights via PayPal and just went around AA by dealing with PayPal after AA failed to respond. Had a refund in about 14 days.
Not this year, the prices will probably be jacked for the next few months so might wait until they come down.
Maybe November 22. Wouldn't bother with the hassle this year.
Forget this year. Too unstable and any time could be locked out with the caps being reinstated.
Not from Queensland unfortunately…
I have a pretty good opportunity and reason to go, help support a friend struggling a bit overseas.
But I still worry regardless. The rules may change suddenly which would mean hotel quarantine which I don't want to do. Or flights cancelled and I can't get home by Christmas. Or a COVID flare-up overseas means you get stuck in lockdown - or you can catch COVID and be one of the rare few with complications even with a vaccine. It's a really hard call to make, I don't blame anyone for wanting to hold off.
Once we hit 80% things won’t change so much because they can’t at that point. If you don’t feel safe travelling at 80% than you likely never will. Roll the dice and buy a one way ticket out.
Once we hit 80% things won’t change so much because they can’t at that point.
What things won't change and who or what is "they"? The 80% target is completely arbitrary and in reality is only around 65% of the total population. I doubt those states without Covid will be all that keen about opening up at that point and given that National Cabinet is non-binding there's nothing forcing them to open either.
I do want to go to Japan at some point, I was hoping to do that in 2020.
That said, I don't think the whole situation would be stable until mid next year.
Pretty sure this announcement was just to give some good news in the light of Gladys, the complete lack of details means it's exactly the same as yesterday, I'll wait and see what the actual requirements for travel are, whether insurance is possible and the actual dates we open on. I don't really want a $100k US hospital bill because COVID treatment isn't covered.
A vague announcement about maybe reduced quarantine requirements and it'll probably be November (instead of Dec 17th as it was before) doesn't mean much.
Agree, has all the hallmarks of Shifty the marketeer announcing a sale. Don’t look at climate, international relationship issues etc, etc. look, a monorail!!!
Exactly! Seeing her being crucified over her wishes I really like to see more clarity.
Dying to have real Onigiris if the land of the rising sun opens.
Don't think the government mandates on COVID travel insurance. Give insurance a call to see what kind of protection them offer. You may have to pay a hefty price regardless.
Some countries may require you to isolate unless you have vaccination forms and recent test done.
Insurance often it comes down to the restrictions in the country at the time of travel, because the government currently lists almost every country as "do not travel" it means the insurance is worthless until that changes and individual guidance is issued
Im keen on travelling overseas to see my parents but I will wait till Jan. I need to see people actually flying in and going into home quarantine before I buy any tickets. Until then its just all talk .
As of this morning Border Farce still deemed you require their approval to travel in December so good luck with that.
Pollies say one thing.
Bureaucrats do something else.
That is how government works.
Hoping that will change soon and they spell out how it will work.
I'm most worried about insurance coverage - currently no insurer I've spoken to will offer COVID-19 coverage to a country on Smart Traveller listed as "Do Not Travel" which is nearly every country.
"Do Not Travel" which is nearly every country.
That's because there is still a ban on overseas travel for Australians leaving Australia. When that ban lifts so will the advice.
With all the people only getting credits for cancelled trips, I'll keep the money myself until Im 100% certain travel will happen and what rules they come up with.. it probably wouldnt be until mid next year.
Nobody knows what rules they will have to let you back in the country - mandatory 2 week isolation @ 1000's out of your pocket before flying in - and then when you get back? And what rules if you test positive before flying out or when you fly in…
Then theres the rules that might change while your away…. big covid flair ups… now allowing international flights in ??
Too many questions still and no real answers.
This could start sometime in November but there will be more information provided soon.
Nothing got announced, just an announcement to distract you from Gladys that there will be a future announcement.
Come to Sweden and see how life could have been from day one.
https://twitter.com/sophieelsworth/status/144411867472653926…
why would I want to be in a room of deafening screams
Come to the twitter page of a Sky News journalist, where you'll get complete bullshit from day one.
Sweden relaxed restrictions on nightclubs yesterday. After their initial little experiment of limited lockdowns (including banning gatherings over 50 people, i.e. gatherings like the above video, in March 2020) causing thousands of unnecessary deaths and their economy tanked anyway, they locked down like everyone else. They've been less restrictive than many places, but life certainly wasn't like that from day one.
Now that they're one of the most vaccinated countries in the world (63% of the whole population is vaccinated, Australia is still only at 43.6%. Total population, not just over 16s) they're lifting restrictions, like we will do once we hit their level of vaccination.
Just wait a couple of months, get vaccinated and learn to be a little critical of what you see from a con artist on twitter.
Lol day 1, day 1 of what; typical "alternative facts".
Lol, The bloody Corna virus
I'm currently living in Sweden. It's fantastic. AMA.
I have more reason to go than anyone else, I missed my parent's funeral last year :(
That is really awful.
Sorry to hear that, that's a truly terrible experience to have gone through.
Thanks guys. 1 of the hardest things I had to go through. Due to Covid, it was a very short funeral, and basically impossible to attend, even if I had the necessary exemptions the funeral would have been over by the time I got there.
Really sorry for your loss.
:(
As a person who missed their grandmother's funeral (albeit this was many years ago) because I wasn't allowed to leave, I know how devastating this can be (we were very close; my grandmother raised me).
Big hugs to you.
How often you say +1 for such statements. Unfortunately, that's the same case with me. Dad passed away in May 2020 and never went for his funeral. My son was born on Jul 2020 and my mom is yet to see him in person. Have already booked tickets to leave Aus in Jan and return by Feb. Fingers crossed.
In all honesty I’m torn. The real problem is if we get a variant that gets around the vaccine. You might find yourself locked out in a hurry.
yup exactly. Can see how wonderful the government was at getting Australians home during this pandemic, imagine going on a holiday and the rules change while you are away?
Booked a flight (yesterday after the announcement) to Spain, departing Sydney, on the 1st of November :D
With no firm opening dates, it is higher-risk but I am happy to take my chances.
name checks out
Which airline? How was the price? Qantas is totally outrageous as far as pricing goes in Dec/Jan to Europe.
I'm using points, flying Emirates.
Getting out of Australia is no issue (as there are no caps). It is the return leg that is a bit of an issue, where caps remain, causing the higher prices.
The government has announced that Australian citizens or permanent residents aged 12 and over who have received two doses of a recognised vaccine will be able to travel without needing an exemption. This could start sometime in November but there will be more information provided soon.
This may involve home quarantine for a reduced period of time.
It would be very prudent to display some trigger hesitancy on the strength of this announcement.
I will only travel once travel insurance starts covering treatment for Covid. Even if you're vaccinated, needing hospital care somewhere like America will be very expensive.
How will they make sure people are following 7 day home quarantine, when ever now, people skid the rules?
Don't hold your breath waiting for that ..
@buderim11 - They will once Covid is classed as an endemic instead of a Pandemic.
+1.
This is what's going to happen, and you'll see that stranded Australian sick abroad and needs a medivac lift.
(Can still travel, but I would go a country that has a reciprocal agreement with Australia)
Should not consider to travle to USA unless you really have to.
Agreed. Too much risk of dying in a mass shooting.
@salin - I’d say all overseas travel should t not be considered unless necessary at the moment. We still don’t know what happens if you get caught in a hot spot etc.
But there’s people who need to see their families etc. Some parts of the US are in a much better state than others.
F**k no.
If we're talking business, in my current situation, there's no opportunities that I can see that deliver the right risk to reward ratio to justify me travelling internationally.
If we're talking holidays, I hate going where there are crowds, so if the majority are itching to travel, I'll stay home. When they're all over travelling, I'll zip away and have the place to myself.
YMMV.
Booked to Europe departing on Singapore Air 12/12 and returning 16/01. Get us out of here,
How much per seat if I may ask?
Points mate. Had 600k that were going to expire so I booked this 11 months ago in hope.
That is the problem with Singapore Air points. Qantas do not expire as long as you transact on the account within 18 months.
Are there any countries within 9 hrs flying time which is currently accepting Aussies without needing to quarantine there?
While I miss my twice yearly overseas trips, I still have an outstanding flight to Jakarta with Garuda that I have until 2023 to use, and worst of all now a baby to lug around… I am honestly more apprehensive about travelling with the small baby. Need to ease myself into it I think.
Small babies are not too hard… its when they start to crawl and walk you have problems!
Even worse when they can walk and run.
For the last few years (until the advent of covid), I'd spent most of the last few years moving round India & SE Asia. I am keen to return there, but the right time for me will be when budget airlines such as AirAsia & Scoot resume flights out of Australia.
Booked a trip to Japan in April using FF points. Looking forward to it!
We were going to do march/April for cherry blossom but decided to much risk of quarantine or travel restrictions. Hope it does go well for you though
how many points do u need for that?
Japan is cheap points wise. Can do syd-tokyo for 45k economy each way or about 100k business
I've only got 9k points from woollies groceries the past 2 years.. How long did it take / what did it take you to get that amount of points?
@danieroo: a month or so. churn credit cards, use FF points based cards. Use and Abuse the system for getting points, it is easy to get 200-300k a year with very little effort. currently have 1.1 million (Covid has prevented me using them this year or last, the last FF flight I took was march this year business for wife and I to hamilton island and back).
@gromit: Yeah we make no effort really, just have an ANZ FF card and use it for all expenses. Also book Airbnb via the Qantas link. We do put a lot of investment property repairs etc through the card though so it adds up.
50,000 points for an adult return to Osaka
You'd have to be nuts to believe government announcements. I'd be waiting until after they actually do it, and even then wait and watch what happens for a few weeks. And even then, the situation can change in a heartbeat, and you could end up locked out of Australia or locked into Australcaz again (and end up losing your tickets or ending up with unusable travel credits.
My belief is Morrison is opening the borders to help his election chances. So much that the Commonwealth and State leaders have done is based on politics, not health (case in point - state borders are not health-based barriers to stop the spread of disease).
Trust political announcements at your peril - the terms are not clear yet (even to the government itself!).
Good luck with it!
Visiting and staying with family or close friends - maybe, but just for the fun of travel - not yet - too many variables and unknowns.
Elderly relatives OS. Will go as soon as we sensibly can. Announcement is of interest, but as it comes from a serial bullsh@@@er with zero credibility I’ll wait and see.
I'll be sticking to Australia for 2022 but will plan Europe for 2023. May also do the USA again in 2023 as well.
just another Morrison announcement. anything could happen.
How good was the Singapore bubble that was announced and spruiked for weeks last year?
Actually, I rolled the dice about three weeks ago before the announcement this week and booked a return Adelaide to Chile flight in business class ( got family there). Got it for $4500 return which I thought was quite cheap. Leaving 11 January returning early March. Chile just opened its borders to international tourists on October 1, with just five days of quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers in private residence or a hotel of your choice. Many ducks have lined up enabling this to happen since I booked.
One of the few remaining things that I’m still unclear about as I’ve heard no clear announcement is that whilst my home is in Adelaide but my departure and arrival point from Australia is Sydney, on my return, will I be able to continue to Adelaide immediately to do my home quarantine without being forced to do it in Sydney, as is currently the situation, before continuing to my final destination. I haven’t seen any announcements around that yet.
I wonder that the definition of "fully vaccinated" is unchanged as in '2 doses' or it gonna be indefinite of yearly/quarterly booster
It is only for international students
That's not correct, it is for Australian and PR holders without the need to apply for a travel exemption.
What you are talking about is a pilot to bring back 500 international students into NSW
It takes a special kind of person to get excited about the prospect of further lockdowns and disease because they want to 'own' someone they rightly or wrongly disagree with politically. Also, I'm seeing more of this misconception that the Vic government is in control of borders. This is untrue and you're forgetting that the Morrison government made states responsible for quarantine to escape any criticism and orchestrate attacks on non-lnp goverments.
The international border is not the responsibility of individual states, only state borders and quarantine.
Nope, being Victorian cannot trust whatever govt is telling us anymore. Can’t trust dumb Vic govt.
Dictator Dan can shut borders any moment and I have absolutely no plans to stick overseas.
I know you're probably dog-whistling, but just so you're aware, Dan Andrews doesn't have a say on border control. I know this doesn't help with your frustration, but immigration is purely a fed government responsibility. A lot of loud, pro-LNP voices online, just want to make sure you have your facts straight.
Curious how it works - so if Feds say immigration is fine, can the state essentially say "no you can't enter the state"?
National plan requires federal government and all states/territories to agree on terms of quarantine and immigration. At the moment these announcements by Morrison are empty heralds to churn the news cycle away from the icac investigation, but an actual plan requires organisation and leadership from Canberra and I'll let you make up your own mind about if and how that is going to happen 😂
Sanity doesn’t prevail with Dan. He can close international flights to VIC as he done in past. People had to land in Perth or Sydney first, complete hotel quarantine there and then catch another flight to Mel.
If someone is happy to take this crap, go ahead and book your flights.
People need to stop worshiping politicians and be realistic.
The international border is not the responsibility of individual states, only state borders and quarantine.
Not a chance, Australia changes their mind every 15 minutes
I have a flight booked for Feb-Apr.
Nope, mainly due to fear of not being able to get back into Victoria.
Tried to but it's virtually impossible. I tried to book flights for Dec/Jan to Europe but there are literally zero Qantas classic award flights and to pay for a flight or use points instead of cash is outrageously expensive - double normal i.e. over $4000 economy return to Europe.
So I'm waiting, but it's difficult to know what to do. Do i commit to time off work in the 'hope' i can get a flight (big risk i could end up wasting my holidays and not get a flight), or do i wait until i can see everything working and prices dropping and then book, which i guess would be next year some time? Not sure, but i will keep watching.
My passport also expired, I'll be renewing it on Tue. Let's see how long it will take. I read the Govt is expecting 2.1 million passports to be renewed or applied for in the coming months due to people not doing it during covid, me included. The delays could be huge (many months) as this is what happened in other countries. So this is another risk for me - if i go to the Post Office on Tue will I get my passport back by Christmas? No one knows. It's all a bit of a crap shoot until everything is back to normal.
You can pay to expedite the processing of a passport. I renewed mine (not expedited) and it took 3 weeks last month.
No way we'll be going anywhere until it's been proven that there are zero bureaucratic stuff-ups.
The World has moved on, Australia needs to as well.
I'll be interested to see how long it will be before tourists are allowed in - e.g. my Mother, she's 79, UK-based and loves to come here for the summer months. She's fully AZ-vaxed as are we, but when might this actually be possible? She'll travel Business Class, why not at her age, sod the inheritance etc and totally respect for that?
I might wait to be the “late majority”.