where to land in Europe ?

[mjp66]

Hi Everyone

My first post, so forgive my amatuerish lingo. Making a late decision to take the family (4 adults) to Europe from mid Dec15 to mid Jan16. Want to spend time in both Ireland and Italy for family reasons, but we don't really care where we land or return back to SYD from. Have 500,000 pts with AMEX and 250,000 with QFF, and am a QC member etc, but not really loyal to any airline. Looking for some advice on how to reduce costs by using points, and also picking the cheapest airports/routes. Sorry its such a broad question, but just starting to look into it, and any help or direction from the experienced FF community would greatly help
. Thanks

 

[moa999]

IF looking to use FF points, then suggest a few long calls with the QF Call Centre to find availability to any airport - as Xmas is a popular time for redemptions and you are leaving it very late (most book FF tickets 12 months in advance)
With the EK alliance, you do have a lot more options

 

[RooFlyer]

I agree with moa999 in respect of calling QF for availability. Be aware however of the major pitfall of using QFF points for flights (I assume you are looking at Economy?) is the high additional cash costs levied by the airline. I've lost track a bit since they moved the pea under the thimbles re the fuel surcharge, but the mantra used to be that you may pay the same or maybe less for the cheapest economy fully cash fare versus points plus the 'additional charges' Qantas would charge you. When you call, get an estimate of the number of points required AND additional charges the airline will levy.

Sometimes airlines like Lufthansa or Finnair will offer a fare where you pay to get from (say) SYD and then to HKG or SIN or BKK (on QF for AY; TG for LH) and then to either FRA or HEL (respectively) on their own metal, then the onward flight to your final destination in Europe is no extra. From HEL or FRA you could get to almost every significant airport in Europe.

A good travel agent may be useful to find these types of deals (I'm not referring to places like Flight Centre here).

Thai often have competitive fares to Europe.

I'd say beware the Gulf airlines in Economy - crowded and worse service than most airlines; unless of course you are all good sleepers and a low price is a deal-maker.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Most people using points book 6 to 12 months out. So good luck finding anything at that time of the year for a family. But if you're completely flexible you may have some luck.

 

[OATEK]

I agree with Rooflyer, that the "extra" leg on flights with Finnair can be great. As an example, you could look at SYD-xx_-HEL-FCO on the way out, and DUB-HEL-xx_-SYD coming back. This gives you great flexibility, and xx_ could be BKK, SIN or HKG, and is treated as a return or round trip fare. You can also usually get a stop-over on the way to/from in one of the Asian ports. You just use the multi-city booking option to see what they offer. Enter the outgoing flight as say Sydney to Rome, and the incoming flight Dublin to Sydney, and Finnair will throw up a range of options via Asia and through Helsinki.

If you see a good option for the return portion via HKG or SIN and fancy a stopover, start the search again and make the return leg two segments (eg DUB-HKG, HKG-SYD) on different days depending on how long you want to stop off. Worth having a good look now, as time is running out.

 

[bsb]

Time of the year might (will) be tough, esp the return, but maybe pay for Jetstar or Thai to BKK and try and use Finnair (lots of choice for arrival port), Sri Lankan (to ROM or CDG) points from there. You'll probably need to call QF and be prepared to be flexible. Otherwise pay for flights on a Chinese carrier - use a travel agent to find the best deal you never know what they can find

 

[andye]

I think it unlikely at that time of year but MH often have multiple reward seats. They are only available to Enrich members but you can sign up and search. If they do have flights you want they are an Amex partner. Since they devalued, they are not the bargain they once were. They dont fly direct to Italy or Ireland.

 

[Stanley Lambchop]

If you can get a cheapish fare to HKG, CX often have better availability on reward seats. I managed to get 4 return seats from HKG to LHR in December (CX) and back in January (BA) about a month ago. I then just bought paid seats from SYD-HKG to complete the trip.

 

[craven morehead]

If you can get a cheapish fare to HKG, CX often have better availability on reward seats. I managed to get 4 return seats from HKG to LHR in December (CX) and back in January (BA) about a month ago. I then just bought paid seats from SYD-HKG to complete the trip.

4 seats in which class ?

 

[Franky]

Hi Everyone

My first post, so forgive my amatuerish lingo. Making a late decision to take the family (4 adults) to Europe from mid Dec15 to mid Jan16. Want to spend time in both Ireland and Italy for family reasons, but we don't really care where we land or return back to SYD from. Have 500,000 pts with AMEX and 250,000 with QFF, and am a QC member etc, but not really loyal to any airline. Looking for some advice on how to reduce costs by using points, and also picking the cheapest airports/routes. Sorry its such a broad question, but just starting to look into it, and any help or direction from the experienced FF community would greatly help
. Thanks

mjp66 - we had a similar late requirement to fly to Europe/UK in June this year. There was nothing available out of Perth, however we picked up 2XJ seats on QF points Singapore to Dusseldorf which is a OW hub city, and very central in Europe. Also snared 2XF BA seats on AA points back LON-SIN. All we then needed was a couple of Scoot flights to connect in Singapore both ways. What I found was that I had to be looking quite often at all the options (or lack of them from Perth), and also kept an eye on the major ports in SE Asia.

 

[Stanley Lambchop]

4 seats in which class ?

Y - travelling with SWMBO and 2 junior Lambchops

 

[amaroo]

We're travelling the same dates, roughly the same destinations, in the same family group. All booked around12 months ago.

I think you should be ok to get whY seats. J and F require long term planning for a family of 4.

Happy travels!

 

[Dr Ralph]

Were you successful mjp66 with your booking?

 

[Collie]

Both Etihad (Virgin partner) and Emirates (Qantas partner) fly direct into Dublin from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. You avoid the hassle of a major hub, like a Heathrow or CDG particularly at the busy time of year. Also 1 stop makes it the shortest route to Ireland, Just a 2 hour stopover normally. I normally go Etihad and have found them pretty good every time. Even got live sport at 40k feet on my way back in Aug in economy. Pretty sure they fly direct to a few cities in Italy too so could fly into 1 and out of the the other. Xmas is great in Dublin, a great buzz in the city with the Xmas lights, buskers on Grafton st (even Bono & Glen Hansard have been known to make an appearance on Xmas eve for charity) and that general feel good factor. After a tough few years, Dublin is absolutely buzzing again. Great craic in the pubs in Dec

very jealous, enjoy