InVinoVeritas

Although by no means comprehensive or scientific I have found the best time to book my flights to/from Europe is about a month before flying. I am usually flying Emirates to Nice.

If I look earlier than two months before then a lot of flight options (especially the shorter connections times) are missing. Between two months and one before the prices seem to go down. Between one month before and the date of travel the prices seem to go up.

Anyone else notice any pattern to this?

ex reg

The optimum is 53 days.
Cheap flights: compare the cheapest flights - MSE

Gunnar45

I think that even if there are some general 'rules', there are also individual offers of the different airlines to consider.
But chosing to travel on Tuesdays or Wednesdays is generally cheaper.

I am generally checking pricing quite early, even if it increases the risks of plans going wrong, etc.

This year I booked our June flights to Europe already in January.
Qatar Airways had a sale then and prices have not been so low after that.

We have flown with QA for the last three years and found their prices to be the best.
Emirates or Etihad seem to be more favourable when the trip starts in Europe.

Earlier we flew with GF but they have sadly stopped flying from KL, so one would have to go to BKK. Their C-class pricing was unbeatable, so for those considering this, it may be worthwhile to go via BKK.....

ex reg

We've just flown Vietnam Air Business Class, Sing/HR.
OK you have a couple of hours stopover in Vietnam and the plane is oldish, being replaced by the new 787 in June, but for the price it's unbeatable.

We tried this flight just to see what it was like but we'll use it again.

OriginalSunshine

BA KLIA-LHR-KLIA B/c July is currently around 10k MYR, no stopovers, no feeling cranky. Worth it imho

JC3

More like 15K MYR in business/club according to ba.com and skyscanner.net.
Where did you find your 10K MYR price OS?

JC3

JC3

I like to use comparison websites such as Kayak.co.uk or Skyscanner.net to identify a few different options, and a target price. I like their filtering tools that allow you to select the number of stops, the departure times, the total journey duration, the airlines etc. I also check the ‘connect in airport’ time, preferring two to three hours if possible.

Having identified a few options, I find it’s often worthwhile going to the airlines' own websites and checking the price by date. Some airlines have very clear date/price grids helping you to choose the best value flights, and I can often beat my target price by changing my dates slightly. I’m happy to pay extra for the timings I want. I hate departing or arriving in rush hour, or arriving too early to check-in to my hotel for example.

About time we had an Airlines thread on here (here’s a tip from a friend – 46kg baggage allowance for Economy passengers with Egypt Air, that's if you need 46kg!).

And a SE Asia Hotel Deals thread would be handy. I've found as MM2H’ers we usually qualify for special ‘Malaysia & Singapore Residents Only Rates’ , and you can get better rates with Agoda via HSBC, for example.

JC3

Nakrob

Air Asia 50% sale on now. But as with all heavily advertised Air Asia promotions it's very limited so you need to be extremely flexible to benefit.

bakedbean

That's a good idea Shall I get the Mods to make this topic a Sticky? What shall we call it? Good Flight Deals? or what?

JC3

Yes please BB.

Topic name: Flights and flying ?

JC3

OriginalSunshine

Ba.com

I bought the tickets three weeks ago (30th April) for mid July.

A month earlier the price was 15k, so 10k seemed a bargain.

JC3

Oh. So not in fact "currently around 10k MYR" after all then!

JC3

InVinoVeritas

For anyone using Emirates and changing flights in Dubai, it works out much cheaper to fly economy and then lay-over in Dubai to get some shut-eye.

The best way to do this is to find a lay-over of at least 10 hours and stay at the Dubai International airport hotel which is airside so no immigration and just a 5-10 minute walk. The hotel will collect you at the arrival gate and deliver you to the departure gate for the onward flight. If you make an early-bird booking direct with the hotel it costs around €120 per 24-hour period for a double room; an extra bed is €25 and the room is 30-35 m2.

There are 3 hotels and the Concourse B hotel is normally nearest your gates.

JC3

That's a good tip.

A few years ago as a family we got stuck airside at Dubai for 24 hours due to a fault with our return BA flight to London with no access to our baggage as it had been checked in. We had to get off the flight and return to the terminal. We were then put up in one of the airside hotels by BA, but couldn't go landside.

All OK, but finding new underwear to buy airside at Dubai proved challenging. Lesson learnt, and I now always take a second shirt and pants in my hand baggage, even on the return flight home, just in case.

At first BA said we would have to wait 48 hours for the next available flight. That was until I discovered they had 6 unsold seats in Business Class the following day. I went ballistic, created merry hell, and got us all upgraded. Bloody cheapskates!

JC3

Gunnar45

Qatar Airways has a promotion on Economy fares.
Purchase before May 30 and travel before Nov 30
London MYR 3094:-