Best way to get to Vaasa Finland?

[nutwood]

I've been asked to submit a quote to spend a week in Vaasa, helping out on a project and I'm hoping for some suggestions as to the most efficient way to get there in comfort. I know there's at least one other business quoting on this work so I can't go crazy but if it's a choice of flying the cheapest way or losing the job, I'd rather stay home!
I'm concerned about spending 24 hours flying and then trying to appear intelligent. I know my way about the domestic flights but have very limited international experience. I'm WP with Qantas so would prefer to stick with them, unless there are very good reasons not to.

 

[docjames]

Have a look at AY (Finnair) fares to HEL. Depending on your dates, they were recently offering a cheap RTW J fare (~$5600) which I took advantage of. You’ll need a TA to book it. Try and get on the A350 rather than the A330 (the J seat is better). You can fly QF on the legs into/out of Aus. There is a recent thread on the the AY rtw fares.

See this thread:
AY RTW Sale


The other option to keep costs down would be a mixed class fare (Y to SIN/BKK/HKG then J to HEL). You’d need a TA to quote that for you in most likelihood.

The other option would be to find a sale fare to a nearby location and do the long haul in J then “hop” to finland in Y / LCC.

Copenhagen from return $4164 flying Singapore Airlines Business Class

 

[nutwood]

Many thanks for that. Am I correct in saying the best approach is to price up MEL - SIN as a Qantas return. Then consider SIN to HEL as a separate problem?
My concern is that I have to put a quote forward so have to work on flights that I have a reasonable expectation of being able to book. Normally, when I do this domestically, I simply base my quote on the Qantas flex flight price as it'd be unusual that I'm unable to book at that price.

 

[Lynda2475]

The Finnair RTW is a great deal, but given this is a work trip you may not have time to travel RTW.

Finnair (Qantas partner) will be able to sell you a MEL- VAA return ticket in J, and you can earn QFF points and status credits. As to whether it is cheaper to book return or MEL-SIN + SIN-HEL + HEL-VAA would require a little googling.

Using random dates in May (out 3rd may back 15 May) cheapest price seem to be for $5559: MEL - SIN on Qantas, SIN - HEL on Finnair, HEL - VAA on Norra and same in reverse.

Other dates in May were as high as $8k return. In recent bids I've reviewed at work, most seemed to allow about $10k pp for J fares; the latest consultants had engagement fees+ % of those for expenses capped at X %.

 

[docjames]

That’s a good price for the MEL-SIN-HEL-VAA option.

A decent TA will give you within 24hrs (usually same-day) options for your preferred travel dates, and can often “hold” that option for a period of time (depends on the fare rules).

Will give you a figure to use for the quote, and obviously you can “add a contingency” to the cost so depending on the timelines involved and fare availability will be somewhat “protected” if your preferred options expires.

 

[nutwood]

Thanks for the advice. I've got a plan now and I'll see how I go. Sounds as though the best approach is use a TA, if it looks like it's going to happen.