Getting home to Australia.

[Wooddar]

Hi. Hope you can help. We have been permitted to visit Uk in July / Aug for compassionate grounds but I am concerned on getting back even though we have confirmed dates. I understand there is a cap and it’s primarily the airlines who decide who flies. Any experiences with e.g Ethaid flying economy and which day of week is best to return. ?

 

[mviy]

Please see this existing thread: Travelling to Australia During COVID-19 (Discussion)

That thread is frequented by madrooster amongst others and is probably the best place to ask this kind of question. In his guide he recommends Etihad as one of the better airlines to book for coming home.

Note for the outbound journey from Australia heading over to the UK, Singapore Airlines may have been better as Singapore is on the UK's Green List.

 

[cove]

Friends of ours are ticketed on Qatar in about 2 weeks time but they are flying in business class to avoid getting bumped. It is more money but greater certainty of getting back to Australia

 

[Wooddar]

Hi. Hope you can help. We have been permitted to visit Uk in July / Aug for compassionate grounds but I am concerned on getting back even though we have confirmed dates. I understand there is a cap and it’s primarily the airlines who decide who flies. Any experiences with e.g Ethaid flying economy and which day of week is best to return. ?

@redrooster

 

[Mattg]

@redrooster

Do you perhaps mean @madrooster?

 

[Wooddar]

 

[Wooddar]

@redrooster

We are 3 . 2 adults and 1 child of 8. All dual citizenship.

 

[mannej]

@redrooster

My Red Rooster royalty is doing ok at the moment!

 

[dajop]

View attachment 249749My Red Rooster royalty is doing ok at the moment!

Looking good for Rex Gold status? (Rex’s expansion into jet services was funded by PAG which came with 2 board seats. PAG own Craveable Brand’s which own Red Rooster....)

 

[madrooster]

Hi. Hope you can help. We have been permitted to visit Uk in July / Aug for compassionate grounds but I am concerned on getting back even though we have confirmed dates. I understand there is a cap and it’s primarily the airlines who decide who flies. Any experiences with e.g Ethaid flying economy and which day of week is best to return. ?

I'd avoid all 3 middle eastern carriers at the moment if you are looking for a return ticket, due to the UK restrictions against the UAE/Qatar.

Ideally you'd want to be on Singapore Airlines to the UK, although you don't have to be on Singapore Airlines on the return back to Australia. If you have fixed dates etc. / tight timeframes then you may want to talk to an agent for advice/booking but please ensure it is an agent that has been dealing extensively with international travel since March 2020.

 

[AIRwin]

View attachment 249749My Red Rooster royalty is doing ok at the moment!

Don't kill the Golden goose/rooster...

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi. Hope you can help. We have been permitted to visit Uk in July / Aug for compassionate grounds but I am concerned on getting back even though we have confirmed dates. I understand there is a cap and it’s primarily the airlines who decide who flies. Any experiences with e.g Ethaid flying economy and which day of week is best to return. ?

The caps are the issue here. If the caps remain stable, you should expect to fly as planned. The tricky part - and no one can really predict - is if the states or Federal Government reduce the caps or impose travel bans. It's only then that the airlines have to reduce passenger numbers and those on the cheapest fares might be the first to get bumped.

I agree taking Singapore Airlines... they have lots of flights to lots of cities in Australia. If caps get reduced, you may have a better chance of getting on a new flight.

 

[Mattg]

The caps are the issue here. If the caps remain stable, you should expect to fly as planned. The tricky part - and no one can really predict - is if the states or Federal Government reduce the caps or impose travel bans. It's only then that the airlines have to reduce passenger numbers and those on the cheapest fares might be the first to get bumped.

I agree taking Singapore Airlines... they have lots of flights to lots of cities in Australia. If caps get reduced, you may have a better chance of getting on a new flight.

Yes, and Singapore Airlines also has a good record of "booking to the caps", i.e. not overselling based on the current caps.

FWIW, the Japanese airlines (ANA and JAL) have also proven reasonably reliable.

 

[dajop]

Also if travelling in economy on Singapore Airlines worth considering returning into ADL if you can’t get back to your desired arrival city. There is a higher ratio of pax/flight accounting for the number of flights and the SA cap.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Also if travelling in economy on Singapore Airlines worth considering returning into ADL if you can’t get back to your desired arrival city. There is a higher ratio of pax/flight accounting for the number of flights and the SA cap.

Interesting that the flights were wide open from London to Adelaide... for many weeks in a row. But when I checked a couple of days ago the availability was mostly gone, at least for ‘close in’ departures.

 

[mviy]

If I had been allowed to travel last year, flying back to Adelaide to visit relatives was one of my preferred options.

 

[dajop]

Interesting that the flights were wide open from London to Adelaide... for many weeks in a row. But when I checked a couple of days ago the availability was mostly gone, at least for ‘close in’ departures.

Yes have noticed that too. Likewise just a week or so ago, Scoot were selling relatively lowly priced $950 economy seats into MEL from SIN on some flights within the following 3 weeks. (Which sounds like a lot compared to 2019 standard of $200, but usual price these days is $1300). But these flights are all full now for several weeks, no seats not even the $1600 ScootBiz seats.

I have 2 theories why:

1) Overseas Australians coming back for a mid year visit (half way between Christmas’s)
2) The repatriation flights from India that have been going into all capitals are reducing the caps on the commercial flights.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yes have noticed that too. Likewise just a week or so ago, Scoot were selling relatively lowly priced $950 economy seats into MEL from SIN on some flights within the following 3 weeks. (Which sounds like a lot compared to 2019 standard of $200, but usual price these days is $1300). But these flights are all full now for several weeks, no seats not even the $1600 ScootBiz seats.

I have 2 theories why:

1) Overseas Australians coming back for a mid year visit (half way between Christmas’s)
2) The repatriation flights from India that have been going into all capitals are reducing the caps on the commercial flights.

Good points. There could be a third... which is the High Commission telling Aussies to book their own flight to ADL rather than wait around for a repatriation flight.

 

[Wooddar]

I'd avoid all 3 middle eastern carriers at the moment if you are looking for a return ticket, due to the UK restrictions against the UAE/Qatar.

Ideally you'd want to be on Singapore Airlines to the UK, although you don't have to be on Singapore Airlines on the return back to Australia. If you have fixed dates etc. / tight timeframes then you may want to talk to an agent for advice/booking but please ensure it is an agent that has been dealing extensively with international travel since March 2020.

Sorry. If I confused the story I am only transiting. Via Doha as I plan to travel ethaid from Sydney to London. Does that change the advice re Middle East ?

 

[AIRwin]

Via Doha as I plan to travel ethaid from Sydney to London. Does that change the advice re Middle East ?

No the UK restrictions apply even for transits. By the way, Etihad flies via Abu Dhabi not Doha which is the hub for Qatar Airways...