Hi,

My visa has just been granted and I now have 28 days to get myself from the UK to Canberra to take-up a job offer. The initial work is for six months with a likely extension to two years. Wife and two adult children will remain in the UK (but will visit) and I will probably return at least every six months or so.

Given the above, does anyone have any general advice about airlines, routes or packages? For instance: -

1. Should I sign-up for one of the frequent-flyer options I've seen referred to in this forum, or is that sort of thing not really shareable with other family members?

2. Should I go for a cheap one-way or look for an open-ended return?

3. Are the "hop-on/hop-off" round the world tickets a good bet, especially as I have relatives in the USA?

Sorry - I know this is a *big* question with many possible permutations, but any general guidance (and tales of recent experience) would be much appreciated.

TIA,
Nick.

Returns are always cheaper than two singles and if you are going to be dashing backwards and forwards then an open ended return (unless you can pencil in a date) would be sensible.

FF programs are good if you are going to do lots of flying - the points rack up even quicker if you have a credit card which is attached to the FF program. You need about 3 -4 return flights to get a free return flight to UK. I have a Qantas FF membership, as do all the members of my family and we can consolidate points by a once a year transfer of points to whichever relative we need. Alternatively you can use your points to book for someone else (I used points and pay to get my son from UK last year). You dont have to go Qantas though if you can find a better FF arrangement, people do say there are better ones around but I am too lazy to go and find one (it also has a Woolies association so I get FF points when I shop at Woolies too). With my credit card I find I get a free flight every couple of UK trips

I would advise ensuring that your itinerary includes Canberra on the flight leg as it is a pain in the backside to have to drive up and down to Sydney to catch an international flight or after you have arrived on one - even if you choose to take the bus! You might find a cheaper option is to actually fly Canberra - Melbourne or vice versa (and Melbourne airport is a whole lot easier to negotiate than Sydney with luggage!)

It's generally cheaper to buy a return ticket departing from the UK than it is to buy one departing from Australia.

I spoke to one guy here who regularly returns to the UK. He purchases return tickets departing from the UK and flies with Singapore Airlines as they allow him to use the return portion up to one year after his outbound flight, whereas other airlines tend to let him use the return portion up to one year after booking.

As the above is hearsay rather than 1st hand experience I'd read the T&Cs before booking anything.

stuie83, quoll - thanks for those tips. I'll follow-up the FF route and report back for the future benefit of others. Looks as though I'll have to move fast, though, as flights are filling for the time I want to travel (about mid July).

Thanks again,
Nick.

If you decide to join Qantas FF, I advise you to do it from UK because it is free if you join there. Here, it costs you around $85 so you can join up the whole family while you are at it!

For the record, I got a Heathrow/Singapore/Sydney/Canberra flight for GBP1400 (BA/Quantas). A bit more than I was hoping to pay, but the stop-overs are very short (less than 3 hours each). Also, I managed to enroll and get frequent-flier points at the same time. And I bought it through Co-Op travel, thus getting 15 quids worth of membership points!

Thanks again for the tips and pointers.

Syd to Can I used to go QF due to the frequency of flights. Plenty seem to get cancelled if there are not enough public servants flying.