freebo

Well, time has flown! We arrived in May on a return flight from the UK, and we're heading back to see friends & family over Christmas. Now we're looking at the flight to return us to the January Sunshine down under.

We're looking at either a one way from the UK (expensive but flexible) or a return. We will be visiting the UK sometime in 2011 and preference would be around Aug (start of the footy season). Thing is, if we get a one way this time the next trip would be originating here and it seems like thats always more expensive

As a direct comparison I looked at UK-Aus return in Aug - about £1,000 same flights in the other direction where about £1,350 (each - school hols & regional airport in the UK).

Looks like it may be better value to keep getting returns starting in the UK, we'll be back once a year for the foreseeable.

I'd like to do the one way and be in Honkers for New Years Eve and for flexibility of when we next go back.

Have I missed something, any hints gratefully received.

Red_V_Roger

To answer the title of your post: 'Yes'

DadAgain

+1

- Depending on time of year and quality of your deal searching skills thedifference should be between 10-50 % cheaper for travel purchases ex UK.

If you get stuck in Australia - its often cheaper to buy 2 one-way tickets (so only half your fare is paid in AU$), or 2 returns - 1 short one to your SE Asian gateway city from Australia (paid in AU$) - and another return from there to UK (paid in SIN$, HK$ etc etc)

James516

+1. Do anything you can to avoid paying for flights in Oz.

discobay

Yes I go back to Hong Kong regularly and buy my tickets ex-Hong Kong. Cheaper by a long shot.

freebo

Thanks all, you've convinced me!

mbike

As an aside, People on 457s can sometimes salary package one half of the cost of home leave per FBT year under a specific FBT exemption, regardless of whether they actually travel home or not!

As an example, looking at the Uni of Sydney LAFHA guidelines here, the amount which can be packaged is as follows:
-50% of the actual cost of travel to the home location, inclusive of meals and accommodation en route, for the international staff member and his or her family; or
- if travel is not to the home location, the 457 holder may claim 50% of the cost of an economy return airfare (determined at the commencement of the holiday) to the home location to a maximum of what was actually spent on the travel.

May be a way 457 holders currently negotiating their contracts could batter down those rip-off aussie airfares?

ukecadet

When you purchase these flights are you flying to Asia and getting them there or are you doing it via the net from Aus.

paddyo

Some good stuff there but it is UoS specific and based on 2008 guidelines. It also appears as if they outsource the LAFHA and Salary Packaging, good for Contractors and Self Employed but can often cause confusion for centrally administered 457 people.

bcworld

The latter.

Seneca21

This sounds great but like most of these "short-cuts" does this actually prove worthwhile? I mean, would all this fartig about with one-way tickets save anything really substantive, or just a couple of hundred $$?

Good idea though.

spartacus

Yes . . . but you've got to factor into the equation the additional expense incurred by the airline, of actually getting the empty plane to Australia in the first place . . . obviously this 'Australian surcharge', as I like to call it, doesn't apply when you're flying from the UK, as the plane's there already.

James516

I've flown 4 times this year to the UK and back. Buying 2x 1-way tickets (BNE-LHR and LHR-BNE) saves about 10-15% on the BNE-LHR-BNE return fare. Buying LHR-BNE-LHR returns saves about 25-30%. It's really not a lot of mucking about, especially if you are buying your tickets direct from the airline website.

Amazulu

Australia can be a rip-off for flights. I'm booking some at the moment, and 3 SIN-PER one-way flights on Qantas in May are AUD930. Just out of interest I looked at PER-SIN on the same day and it's about AUD1800.

Thank heavens we now have Tiger, Air Asia, Jetstar, Virgin Blue flying internationally out of Perth.

paddyo

Hold on, can you just check that???

First you said you save 10-15% on the BNE-LHR-BNE return, then you say the BNE-LHR-BNE return saves you 25-30%. I'm confused!!!!!