Osaka - London, Europe to Brisbane

[Deleted member 29185]

Require suggestions as I have no idea.

Baby swanning_it needs to book economy from Osaka to London (May), returning from no fixed EU city to BNE in October/November.
QF points also available. SQ points are available but a well priced whY fare is preferred.

Primary concern - A reasonably respected airline(s) and cheap!

 

[odysseus]

Looks like two one ways are cheapest meeting that criteria.

Eg. MH $599, KIX-LHR, then PAR-BNE MH/BA $655.

Downside is it's not the quickest.

For an uncommon route like that, unlikely to get fantastic deals from major carriers. That's where FF points can be considered as intl one way pricing isn't the best (but points still aren't going to be substantially cheaper in FF value either).

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Looks like two one ways are cheapest meeting that criteria.

Eg. MH $599, KIX-LHR, then PAR-BNE MH/BA $655.

Downside is it's not the quickest.

For an uncommon route like that, unlikely to get fantastic deals from major carriers. That's where FF points can be considered as intl one way pricing isn't the best (but points still aren't going to be substantially cheaper in FF value either).

She has come up with an itinerary of KIX-LHR on QR and QF and then LHR-ICN-BNE on BA and KE for AU$1277, but with an 18 hour layover in Seoul. Both ideas are roughly the same $$ but I must admit I'm uneasy about MH (although I know that is possibly silly).

I was thinking about the ANZ Black offer of 120k QF points for $260 (or whatever it is) which seems to make a cheap points offer, but I don't have much idea about One World redemption's. I know QR, QF and BA are one world but as I recall, there has been a lot of negativity about QR of late.

What do you think about the differences?

Many thanks.

 

[odysseus]

Sorry I missed this earlier.

To give you some numbers:
1) a QF redemption is available from Osaka to London (KIX->DXB-LHR) for 45k points in Economy, plus 16830 JPY (~$215), and currently partially available in May on Emirates A380. Connection time is about 6 hours.

2) a QF redemption is available from Paris to Brisbane (CDG->DXB-BNE) for 60k points in Economy, plus 325 EUR (~$515), and currently well available in Oct/Nov on Emirates A380. Out of London, same points, and 270 GBP (~$485). Connection time is about 2-3 hours.

As all these are the Emirates 380 I'd rate it as preferable above the other flight options discussed. That said, with the numbers you can see there's still a price to pay, and the saving isn't massive i.e. it still comes to ~$700, plus the credit card fee (note there are deals at times that waive the fee).

I didn't get any results returned for BA or QR on the dates I checked. I would say I don't believe any negativity for the customer experience on QR is justified, but it may be a moot point.

Thus, not a huge saving if just looking at cash value, especially as it can reduce flexibility, but if you look at connections, comfort, and peace of mind they also have a value, but is subjective. Some would prefer to use that number of points on other things providing a higher return though.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Many thanks for the info. She has booked and decided to return to AU first , as it was easier to book. Silly idea in my book. Cost ended up being $1800 or so, but she did get QF & BA.

 

[odysseus]

But earns more points. ;-)

Main thing is the passenger is happy with the outcome.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

No. Pax is not happy now that I gave her this info. I said to wait until I got home, but the fare was going up daily, so she grabbed it.

Your info however, was sterling and for that I thank you.