Predictions of when international flights may resume/bans lifted

OATEK said:
While the Feds have quarantine powers, it is the states who will decide whether 14 (as they currently do), or 7 or whatever. As others have said, there are a lot of strings to pull together, and some will commit regardless given that they are determined to travel asap.
Click to expand...
Or they plan to take a few months on the basis that quarantine may be fundamentally changed or abolished when they come back in 3 months or so.
 
justinbrett said:
Qantas, plus:
-Hawaiian
-Air Canada
-Fiji Airways
-Air New Zealand
-JAL
-Etihad
-SirLankan

As of today, seats available in mid December from either Europe or North America destinations. I gave up searching after that, there could be more.
Click to expand...

At what price levels? On Kayak it only seemed to bring up FJ cheap (this was ex-LHR) + limited QF at about $3K (arriving in Australia by 17th in time for Xmas). The rest were much more expensive. I assume that FJ will cancel if caps remain in place, and if the caps don't remain in place, other will open up inventory. so not worth the detour via NAN. I really don't see any reason to book now rather than wait for CX, QR, SQ and EK to open inventory.

If booking now - I'd want to actually reach Australia by the 10th - in case caps /14 day quarantine remain. It's binary. Either they will remain, in which need to be back by 9th or 10th to make Xmas. Or they will be lifted in which case inventory will open up on various carriers and you can book as soon as that happens.
 
dajop said:
At what price levels? On Kayak it only seemed to bring up FJ cheap (this was ex-LHR) + limited QF at about $3K (arriving in Australia by 17th in time for Xmas). The rest were much more expensive. I assume that FJ will cancel if caps remain in place, and if the caps don't remain in place, other will open up inventory. so not worth the detour via NAN. I really don't see any reason to book now rather than wait for CX, QR, SQ and EK to open inventory.

If booking now - I'd want to actually reach Australia by the 10th - in case caps /14 day quarantine remain. It's binary. Either they will remain, in which need to be back by 9th or 10th to make Xmas. Or they will be lifted in which case inventory will open up on various carriers and you can book as soon as that happens.
Click to expand...

JAL can get you LHR-HND-SYD on 06 Dec for $3500 (not overnight in HND so it's permitted transit).

Fiji can get you LAX-NAN-SYD for $859 the same day.

There are flights there, you just have to look.
 
justinbrett said:
JAL can get you LHR-HND-SYD on 06 Dec for $3500 (not overnight in HND so it's permitted transit).

Fiji can get you LAX-NAN-SYD for $859 the same day.

There are flights there, you just have to look.
Click to expand...

Yes, JAL a good option for people who want certainty and are prepared to pay $3500/pax plus the quarantine fees. If home quarantine comes to reality there will be at an instance an extra 18,000 seats a week put into Sydney, and I suspect fares will be considerably lower than that.

FJ - provides certainty of a secure seat if home quarantine comes into reality. But if it doesn't, and the caps remain, FJ will almost certainly be cancelled (they've been selling these sort of fares on and off at different times, at one point during April they were selling fares in Aug/Sep for $700 SIN-MEL, that didn't go ahead). . I still don't see a compelling case for booking now vs waiting for those 18,000 seats to open up.
 
dajop said:
Yes, JAL a good option for people who want certainty and are prepared to pay $3500/pax plus the quarantine fees. If home quarantine comes to reality there will be at an instance an extra 18,000 seats a week put into Sydney, and I suspect fares will be considerably lower than that.

FJ - provides certainty of a secure seat if home quarantine comes into reality. But if it doesn't, and the caps remain, FJ will almost certainly be cancelled (they've been selling these sort of fares on and off at different times, at one point during April they were selling fares in Aug/Sep for $700 SIN-MEL, that didn't go ahead). . I still don't see a compelling case for booking now vs waiting for those 18,000 seats to open up.
Click to expand...

One way fares from Europe & USA to Australia at Christmas have always been expensive.

If you're coming into NSW you have nothing to worry about. If other states, might be safer to plan to stay in NSW first before onwards travel until they provide the level of commitment to opening that NSW has (which has only been strengthened by the new Premier).

There's simply no going back now, especially now the cases are dropping exactly as predicted. The modelling looks good and they'll continue to trust it.
 
In the NAB just now paying funds for house purchase. In walks woman - mask less and a young man. She explained she had just picked him up from med hotel. He had just arrived from Vietnam and was a student. How the heck did he get approval let alone a flight? And why wasn’t she wearing a mask! The student was. Interesting watching the NAB banker take a step back as maskless woman explained he’d just arrived from a med hotel too.
 
Pushka said:
In the NAB just now paying funds for house purchase. In walks woman - mask less and a young man. She explained she had just picked him up from med hotel. He had just arrived from Vietnam and was a student. How the heck did he get approval let alone a flight? And why wasn’t she wearing a mask! The student was. Interesting watching the NAB banker take a step back as maskless woman explained he’d just arrived from a med hotel too.
Click to expand...
Well it is Adelaide.:rolleyes:😞
 
very limited options as well for inbound flights in Jan into SYD
only option really is QF (which would involve another carrier - like AF - from ports like CDG into SIN)
agree that prices will drop with a lot more options from Europe into AUS once CX/SQ/EK/QR/EY release inventory
 
justinbrett said:
One way fares from Europe & USA to Australia at Christmas have always been expensive.

If you're coming into NSW you have nothing to worry about. If other states, might be safer to plan to stay in NSW first before onwards travel until they provide the level of commitment to opening that NSW has (which has only been strengthened by the new Premier).
it.
Click to expand...

$3.5K one way economy is not a normal fare, even for Xmas. It is a pandemic limited capacity fare that has been there (on and off, depending on what the current cap is) throughout the pandemic. JL will probably lower that if caps are removed.

But why not wait? There are at least 4 major carriers (EK, SQ, CX and QR) and some minor ones (TR) from Asia/Europe and 2 major carriers from US (UA/DL) flying virtually empty planes into Australia every day. And I bet AA could relaunch quickly too. When they release 18,000 seats a week into Sydney alone (without foreign travellers allowed and I suspect very few of those wanting to depart AU wanting to return at least a week before Xmas) that will provide a significant amount of capacity and should see some much more competitive airfares. I really see minimal downside to waiting.
 
Last edited:
Pushka said:
🤬
Click to expand...

At least it is permitting international arrivals and home quarantine - even if it's twice as long.

QLD and WA probably won't even have that.
 
Last edited:
justinbrett said:
At least it is permitting international arrivals and home quarantine - even if it's just as long.

QLD and WA probably won't even have that.
Click to expand...
True. If NSW Vic borders are open and no hotspots visited then maybe home quarantine in an AirBnB interstate...they still want to protect the lack of community spread. "Too much to lose". I see a karma bus on the horizon then he's nothing left to lose. Covid Zero Unicorn.
 
Last edited:
Check out the latest credit card signup bonus point offers
Read our AFF credit card guides and start earning more points now.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

ayushamity said:
www.abc.net.au

WA Premier Mark McGowan holds firm setting overseas travel date, baulks at home quarantine

The WA Premier says he won't be rushed into welcoming international travellers back into the state, and would set a date once WA reached a vaccination rate between 80 and 90 per cent.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au

Well we always knew this..
Click to expand...
Amazing that in that article it says that WA has a vaccine Commander who is working on a vaccine mandate for schoolies.
I would suggest that he forget that and spend all of his time working out how to increase the States Miserable vaccination rate.
 
ayushamity said:
www.abc.net.au

WA Premier Mark McGowan holds firm setting overseas travel date, baulks at home quarantine

The WA Premier says he won't be rushed into welcoming international travellers back into the state, and would set a date once WA reached a vaccination rate between 80 and 90 per cent.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au

Well we always knew this..
Click to expand...
There’s a full on war occurring on social media in WA between people who want to be safe and people who don’t like being locked in. Every day closer to Christmas the frustration is mounting, and then you have airlines like QF announcing their withdrawal of international service. Once the NSW border is open (thanks Dom!) the pressure will go to a whole new level…
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.

Recent Posts

Currently Active Users

... and 16 more.
Total: 312 (members: 66, guests: 246)
Back
Top