mrttennis

Looking forward to flying on a one way PR visa 21st July!
Might exchange on the house sale on Monday (started process in Feb - 3rd time lucky we hope).
Anyway - last night was checking out flight prices for various members of the family that want to come and visit. April , May 2005 looks cheap at around £520.
Then I thought I'd check out prices from Aus to London
Is it really almost twice the price?? Checked various websites based in Aus and the UK and the cheapest rtn ticket from Brissy to London was £1000!!
So I'm starting to think that once your there on a PR visa they don't really want you to leave.

Anyway.....
Can anyone out there verify these prices or offer advice as to where to get cheap rtn tickets for Aus to UK.

12 days and counting.....

mlbonner

I got a return open-ended flight from Brisbane to Heathrow, via Bangkok for $1800. This was with Flight Centre, if that helps

Harvey World Travel I also found to be very competitive and they had a good online search/booking facility. http://www.harveyworld.com.au/index.cfm

jad n rich

This was discussed a couple of months ago and the genreal opinion was same flight, same airline, same journey but in different direction will cost up to double from Australia. Dont ask me why tho.

Once here, the best times to get out are February or late October or November, of course not the most glam times to be in the UK and all in Australian school term time, but you can see fares advertised for as low as $1500 plus taxes which is usually about $150.

bondipom

The rip off Britain campaigns have made the British much more price savvy and willing to hunt down the best fare. There aren't as many bucket shops competing for business and the main airline (Qantas) is 20% owned by the next main competitor on the route (BA). The flight centre is useless at getting the best fare yet mot people believe they are the cheapest.

Wait till you see the US fares. Only Qantas and United fly to the mainland (Hawaian fly to Hawai) and Qantas makes a third of its profits from the route. Virgin threatened to compete to LA and Qantas shares went down.

A small market like this needs some competition.

Pants

My daughter who is 21/2 and I are due home in mid August our tickets cost $2732....you pay 75% of an adult ticket for a toddler. Flying back with Malaysian Airlines ( Virgin Atlantic)

ekkkkkkkkkk...and this is one way !!

mlbonner

Virgin fly out of Australia soon I think to KL & Heathrow. I had a look at their fares but unfortunately not that cheap at the moment

bondipom

Virgin will fly via HK in December subject to approvals. At the moment they sell fares via KL with Malaysian providing the KL - Sydney Link.

I think the main issue is the travel agents. The same airlines fly from here as the ones do to here.

JayDeee

Virgin curently do a code share (basically virgin Buy a block of seats on the Malasian flight and sell them as virgin fares) to Sydney on Malasian Airlines vis KL.

Dec 6th this year is the launch date for Virgin to fly to Sydney, this will be a virgin aircraft and it will go via Hong Kong (fares not yet released but should be in the next couple of weeks) Virgin have fought to get this route for years and finally got permission from the Australian government earlier this year after the success of Virgin Blue.

Kala

bondipom

Oz wanted reciprocal rights for Qantas to fly via HK to London. Cathay got rights to fly via LHR to JFK.

Virgin Blue is a separate entitiy listed on the ASX and partly owned by an Australian company called Patrick Corp. Virgin Atlantic is 49% owned by Singapore airlines and British based, hence they less likely to try and compete on price on the Aus routes.

JayDeee

VIRGIN ATLANTIC ANNOUNCES START DATE FOR AUSTRALIA - 20th BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR VIRGIN ATLANTIC - 21 JUNE 2004

Virgin Atlantic Airways today announced that it is to launch daily scheduled services between London and Sydney via Hong Kong. The service will be operated by an Airbus A340-600 aircraft and will commence on 7 December this year. The A340-600 is the longest plane in the world and in future years this will be replaced on the route by the Airbus A380, the biggest plane in the world.
Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Atlantic said:

“I am delighted that Virgin Atlantic is now able to offer flights to Australia – everyone at Virgin has long wished for us to operate to Australia and today’s announcement really is a dream come true. Australians have also been waiting for many years for the BA-Qantas duopoly to be broken and for new competition to be introduced.

“Today’s announcement is another major landmark in Virgin Atlantic’s development. Sydney is a prestigious route and will become our 23rd destination. Tomorrow is also the 20th anniversary of our very first flight from Gatwick to Newark in 1984. Australia is a country that everyone at Virgin has been hoping to fly to from those early days and the news that our ambitions have become a reality will really add to our celebrations!

“I am grateful to the British and Hong Kong governments who have brokered this pro-competition deal that enables us to launch these new services. I’d also like to thank the Honourable Joe Hockey, Australia’s Minister for Tourism, for all his help and support.

“Virgin Atlantic’s new services on the kangaroo route will be good news for consumers in the UK, Hong Kong and Australia, as it will mean that much needed competition and choice is brought to these markets. I am sure that Virgin’s award winning service and innovative products will be well received both in the UK-Australia and Hong Kong-Australia markets.�

Mackenzie Grant, Head of Asia Pacific for Virgin Atlantic Airways, said:

“I would like to thank all the government and airport agencies in Hong Kong, Australia and the UK who helped us fulfil our dream to operate to Australia and I am particularly pleased that we will be able to offer our award winning service on this route. We will offer Virgin’s new Upper Class suite which consists of a reclining leather seat for take off, a place to sit and eat a meal opposite your partner, the biggest fully flat bed in business class with a proper mattress for sleeping on, a private onboard bar to drink at with your friends and an inflight beauty treatment area. Also included in the price of a Virgin Upper Class ticket are four chauffeur driven journeys to and from the airport at both ends of the route.�

Tickets will go on sale for the new services later in the summer. Details of introductory promotional offers will also be announced at that time.

anya4oz

From my (rather limited, it has to be said) research on this so far, it seems that economy class fares booked in Oz are much more expensive than those booked in the UK, whereas business class are about the same price booked at either end.

Anya.

janeyray

Lots of old expats that live out there will tell you the same!!! They can't get back. Along with the flights, they also have to think about the conversion of the $ to the £ the cost of living and the house prices. You're right many who stay a long time certainly get stuck!!!
:scared: What a scary thought!!!!!!!!!!

There are thousands of different independant travel agents in the UK compared with The Flight Centre in OZ. The UK can afford to have lower flight but when you have no competition the prices in OZ will always be higher!!! We paid £350 one way (each) with Singapore airlines using Austravel in the UK. On our return we used Air Canada and paid £590 to get back (each one way). Singapore airlines knock spots of the Canadians.

Sharpy67

I wonder also if there is a seasonal thing here as well.

If travelling from the UK to Australia, now is probably cheaper as it is winter in Oz compared to December at the height of Aussie summer. For the UK its vice versa, now is summer so flights are more expensive flying to UK against chosing to go in December to a sub zero temperature for a cheaper price

bondipom

Seasonally the prices change here as well but they are consistantly well above the equivalent UK price. You'd be hard pressed to get much below $1500. Add on the taxes and its an expensive family trip. Make sure you are earning the mullah if you want regular trips to see old friends and family.

NickyC

Surprise, surprise - flying from Australia to the UK is peak season in both summer and winter!

In the summer in Australia it's long school holidays and people want to travel then (regardless of the fact the place they're going to might be freezing). Also it's Christmas - so they bung on the prices.

In the winter in Australia, the UK is a popular place to go to because it's summer there - so they bung on the prices.

Unfortunately, it's a lose/lose situation.