steve99

Did anyone else see that Bestflights.com.au are now offering UK originated flights for sale in OZ in AUD. (ie first leg is Lon to Perth)
From 6th Sept through to 9th Dec you can fly to Perth from London for $1039 plus about $180 tax (thats about 530gbp) seems pretty good to me.
Does this now mean we can do the same from over here and book through a UK agent with the first leg being Perth to London? and hopefully pay more realistic prices?
Anyone seen any UK agents advertising this yet?
Steve

SuperSeagulls

I think you may also be able to book flights, Oz - London - Oz, via Travelocity.

SS

NickyC

You've always been able to book (and pay in Aus $) for flights that originate in the UK. I booked and paid for my mother to travel London/Sydney/London in 1988 throught a Sydney travel agent. I paid the UK pound fare converted to Australian dollars at the current exchange rate.

Anyone, anywhere can book a flight from anywhere to anywhere. I can book a flight from New York to Timbuktu and pay the fare in Australian dollars.

The problem is the fare that you are charged. Flights that originate in Australia cost the same whether you book and pay for it in Sydney or London. You pay the same fare just converted to your local currency. You will not pay the cheap fares that might be available if you are travelling in the opposite direction (because you are not travelling in the opposite direction!).

steve99

I wasnt aware you could do that, there were previous threads on here, where people in Australia had tried to book with UK based agents for flights originating in Australia and were told it wasnt possible to do that.
Until today ive never seen any Australian agent advertising flights originating from the UK. I've booked domestic flights within the US and Aus from the UK but never international flights originating from a different country to the one im booking from.

I agree the fare is the problem, that's were im hoping things might be changing.
Why should exactly the same flights with the same airline on the same day cost about half as much again just because they originate in Australia rather than the UK?
Its not a case of it being cheap in the opposite direction, there are never any cheap fares going Aus to UK, compared to the other way around.

Yet when you look at the Bestflights.com.au offer today thats at least 10% cheaper than same UK based booking.
So i'm hoping that as the UK agents are potentially going to lose business if Aus based agents are selling what would traditional be "their patch" for less the UK agents will do the same and start to offer Aus originated flights at lower fares than we can get them for over here. With hopefully flight prices coming down and ending up at a comparable level regardless of where you book and which direction you travel in first.
I wont hold my breath

NickyC

Don't think the online travel sites have offered the facility for very long - but it's something that travel agents have always been able to do. You have to be able to buy a flight that might originate in another country - otherwise how would you get home from a one-way cruise, for example?

The ZUJI site here now allows you to search for flights originating the UK. I got a horrible shock at the difference in prices when I was researching flights recently Syd/Lon/Syd with them. I inadvertantly entered Lon/Syd/Lon on one occasion and thought I'd won the lottery, when it quoted me a fare about half the price I thought I was up for!
Know exactly how you feel - couldn't agree more!