Barcelona June 2018

[erina143]

I know this is a noob question but be patient with me please.
Big anniversary coming up next year so doing a med cruise Barcelona to Venice. Flying Business ( I am 2 m tall and the thought of a flight to Europe in Economy scares me ) seems Sing Air via Sing stopover for 24 hours is best way there and back. Qantas is 40% more expensive and I dont think the China Airlines would suit us.
Alternatives?
Flights not yet on sale - do I keep watch in the next couple of weeks and grab when open or do prices come down after say 2 months ?
Thankyou for any help.

 

[equus]

Maybe consider Qatar. Depending on the day of the week, they would appear to offer open jaw SYD-BCN//FCO-SYD (assuming you fly back out of Rome). Depending on what pans out with QR, that gives you a OW option. Pricing seems comparable to the SQ range, rather than QF/EK level.

 

[erina143]

Not sure i trust a stop in Qatar.
Rather than fly into Barcelona, another city that might offer better value?? Apart from the cruise we are totally flexible.

 

[Meggsy]

Cathay via Hong Kong both ways is an alternative for you as is Etihad via Abu Dhabi. If the price is right for you grab it when available. Sometimes waiting for sales also means availability disappears.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

You could always fly QF to SYD/SIN/SYD and purchase exit row seating then purchase a cheap J class return ex SIN into BCN and out of VCE of whatever city you end up in. The J class ticket ex Asia may be around $2k - $3K return AUD.

 

[erina143]

2 questions:
Qatar Airlines - just read a glowing J class review in Herald. Given the regional tensions would you fly Qatar?
Purchase flights SIB to BCN - just go to airlines normal site and research / purchase? Nothing special to do for purchasing in Aust for travel completely outside Aust? As you can tell I am a not-so-frequent flyer.
Thanks for the help

 

[vetrade]

2 questions:
Qatar Airlines - just read a glowing J class review in Herald. Given the regional tensions would you fly Qatar?
Purchase flights SIB to BCN - just go to airlines normal site and research / purchase? Nothing special to do for purchasing in Aust for travel completely outside Aust? As you can tell I am a not-so-frequent flyer.
Thanks for the help

Qatar is an excellent airline and there wouldn't be a problem flying with them unless you wanted to travel to one of the ME countries which have banned them. Have flown J with them multiple times and always a high standard; and as well their J lounge in DOH is one of the best in the world.
Suggest you search for flights with skyscanner.com.au - this will give you multiple airline options and prices. You can check with the airlines' websites as well and compare because sometimes skyscanner doesn't show up all the options the airline websites do. If you have a stopover in SIN and search the SQ website suggest you search the individual legs separately to see what possible combinations of flights are available - sometimes the combinations of flights they show up can omit options that can be hundreds of dollars cheaper pp.
Watch what currency you will be charged in if you book from an OS site such as SQ which charges in $SIN - the card currency conversion fees can be steep sometimes. Same problem if the prices are quoted in $USD

 

[erina143]

Qatar is an excellent airline and there wouldn't be a problem flying with them unless you wanted to travel to one of the ME countries which have banned them. Have flown J with them multiple times and always a high standard; and as well their J lounge in DOH is one of the best in the world.
Suggest you search for flights with skyscanner.com.au - this will give you multiple airline options and prices. You can check with the airlines' websites as well and compare because sometimes skyscanner doesn't show up all the options the airline websites do. If you have a stopover in SIN and search the SQ website suggest you search the individual legs separately to see what possible combinations of flights are available - sometimes the combinations of flights they show up can omit options that can be hundreds of dollars cheaper pp.
Watch what currency you will be charged in if you book from an OS site such as SQ which charges in $SIN - the card currency conversion fees can be steep sometimes. Same problem if the prices are quoted in $USD

Skyscanner takes me to various online booking sites once flights are selected. Are these overseas booking sites ok to deal with? I am aware of watching which currency they quote in but just nervous dealing with (say) a uk site when i am in Aust. 2. Pax flying J is a lot of $ so want to be comfy.
My current selection is CX but i note fly365 seems cheaper than CX direct. How is that done ?
Thanks