sunbather

Whenever I've travelled back to the UK before I've not booked until 3 or 4 months before I've travelled. However we are planning on going back at Christmas so that we will be there for my dad's 100th birthday. Is it cheapest to try and book a flight as soon as they are released, or should I wait a few months to try and pick up a deal but then risk there being no availability?

Does anyone know how quickly the xmas flights get booked out?

Thanks for any help. At them moment flights from Perthto London return are coming up at nearly $3K each!!!!!!!!!!!

bcworld

I don't think there are Xmas deals. Flights will be close to full and the airlines know they can sell seats for the highest prices of the year.


In the past I've noticed Singapore Airlines full months in advance for the weekend before Xmas.

$3k each does sound like quite a lot for Perth though.

moneypenny20

Tell him to change his birthday to a more convenient time.

sunbather

hahahahahaha

DadAgain

xmas is a great time to use frequent flyer points.... but there are a few caveats:

1) VERY few seats are released at xmas
2) You have to book them as soon as they are released ( i.e. 330 days in advance - if you wait til 329 days in advance the seasts will be gone)

I got 3 returns BNE-LHR from 14thDec-9thJan for 384,000pts + $1200 taxes.

Alternative cheapest fare would've been a shade under $10k

GarryP

Fundamentally the prices step up from about the 8th Dec, rise upward from there the closer you get to Christmas, fall between Christmas and New Year, then rise again till about the 15th Jan. That's only approximate, since different airlines do different things.

As in another recent thread, the prices of tickets UK>Oz>UK are cheaper than Oz>UK>Oz, which is only any use if you go back to the UK at least once every year. Playing games on this front can yield deals like I just got, UK>Oz leg in June Oz>UK leg very close to Christmas at £780.

My suggestion is to use Kayak to investigate the prices and the variability in those prices - particularly using the "fare charts" (top left). However, unless you are lucky and find a good price deal, you probably aren't going to see any dramatic drops in that period, its just too full. Also, look at strange routes, sometimes there can be good deals on unusual combinations that most travel agents won't check (IIRC going via South Africa or Mauritius for Perth can be one).

With various booking approaches you can see how the seats are going, I'd suggest you need to be booking before July/August for that time period; to not find availability issues on the cheap seats.

bcworld

How did you manage that? QF fuel surcharge alone is $580pp for that trip.

sunbather

Thanks for that. I've been regularly looking, but not all the airlines have released return flight suitable dates yet. I'll keep scouring.