Nuvoletta

Does anyone commute back to the UK for work? If so, do you manage to block book flights? (Ryanair, Easyjet).

It looks as if I'm going to have to head back to 'Blighty' for work. I have a job waiting in the UK, but I'm trying to sort the logistics of getting back and forth. I can work a month and then back for a week and so on. Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome.

indiebird

I know that Angeli does it so if she doesn't come on and check this and you don't get many replies then maybe you could send her a PM.

sheilamarsco

my son commuted for about three months pescara to stansted like you plan he did one week in london and then spent three weeks in italy. it worked quite well the only downside was that the flights to london in the winter left at 6am which meant i had to get up at 4am once a month to drive him to the airport!! thankfully he decided just to stay in london. block booking i don't know about as he just booked three return flights in advance but it was cheaper than commuting from the outskirts of london into the centre.

Midsomer_Peter

No problem here, I often have two or three live Ryanair bookings.
Back in the days of Go and Buzz, one of them advertised one-way flights for 24 pounds during August, so I bought 10 since it was a 5 week month (ah, the blissfull days when the price you saw was the price you paid, and there were no luggage restrictions...)

TestaRossa

My OH has been doing it with varying success for the last 4 years. Depends where you are flying from and into though. If you are near Milan or Rome, piece of cake especially if you then want the London airports. Get's trickier with the smaller cities especially out of season which is November to Easter. You can only block book up to the end of each season too, so not for a whole year with the cheapies, or not where the route ceases over the winter anyway. So in summer for example there is a brilliant Bournemouth to Pisa route but we can't book anything now as it has finished until Easter. HTH

One last thing - if you do block book flights be prepared to have problems with your Credit card!! It seems to trigger security checks more frequently when you are booking alot of flights on-line..!

Nuvoletta

Many thanks. Would be flying from Parma or Bologna, Pisa is to much of a trek over the mountains. I did a bit of research and it seems you can book 3/4flights at a time. We'll see, I've got to work things out...

TestaRossa

My OH has used Bologna on occasion. If it is easy to get to then it has some interesting options depending on where you are flying to. He was only ever able to get there by leaving Florence around one in the morning as we don't have a car and he had to get the last train out and then either doze in the station with the tramps or try and get the airport and do the same.

Mr Posh

I use Rimini or Bologna: I go back every 3-4 weeks to be honest I am thinking of going back less.

We came to Italy to live and so I want to try and stay here more. I am getting P'ed off of traveling:

Would love to Open a school BUT the Italian bureaucracy does my head in. Spoke to a lawyer friend of mine and he said just do it then we will worry about it....FFS what an answer!!!

As I am in the web business I do belive that that is the future here in Italy, online buisness: They were the last country in Europe to take on the mobile phones now they are number one. I am sure it will be the same with the web.

indiebird

They need to start teaching the kids about I.T. at school properly then. When I go back to the UK and see 'Smartboards' in every classroom being used by the teachers and the kids and kids being encouraged to use the internet (within safe parameters of course) and then come back here and see the classrooms it makes me just want to cry. My kids go to a relatively newly built school. They have an 'I.T. Suite' with about 7 aged computers and they do Informatica about once every two-three weeks... Sometimes it feels like you're entering a third-world school when you go inside the schools here. The kids are supposed to be the future... how are they going to compete when they are not used to using existing technology?

angeli

Yep, Indiebird is right, did 5 years of too-ing and fro-ing (approx 10 trips each year). Fly Stansted - Ancona Ryanair.....cheap as chips.as always booked 6 - 8 weeks in advance and opted for the cheaper (not weekend) flights. Was lucky as worked flexi-time and was able to clock up lots of time owing, not easy if sticking to rigid 'contracted' regular hrs. Sorry, cant be more help but hope you get it sorted. I am now working a 6 month uk and 6 months off - cant wait for May to come and summer back home.

Mr Posh

I am now in my 5th year back and forth every 3-4 weeks: how did you find the 6months on and 6 off?

angeli

I ditched the 'proper' job with all the benefits of working for NHS (fool)....and now choose to stand in a vineyard in Monmouthshire caring for the vines...
Fantastic day yesterday, sun shining, birds singing, secateurs snipping but early December was a cool minus 8c and not at all nice....Still, worth it for the 6 months stretch at home.