In need of cheap flights to London over Xmas!

[Guest Curry Lover]

We're hoping to go back to the UK for Christmas this year and were wondering if anyone can recommend any websites or travel agents to contact for the cheapest flights? I know that it's peak season and the most expensive time of year to travel but just wondered if anyone had found good deals with specific companies in the past? Is it best to book online with the airlines direct or are travel agents better? The best we can find at the moment is about $8000 for 2 adults, 1 child and 1 infant - does this sound about right? Would really appreciate any help or advice!

 

Many thanks!

[Rachiegarlo]

That sounds about right. It is cheaper to deal with the airline online, but you also have to pay then. Sometimes airlines that don't fly out of adelaide are cheaper, like etihad which flies from Eastern states to Abu Dhabi and then from there you fly to Heathgrot or Manchester direct. Check out this company www.bestflights.com.au

they have a lot of specials then. Also bear in mind that flights before christmas fill up. To get my girls to UK just before Christmas with Singapore Airlines I had to fly them to Perth first as they have 3 flights to Singapore a day whereas we only have 1.

[Guest Jo&Phil]

Xmas can be nice and expensive .... the airlines love all those desperate customers who can't afford to wait for a cheaper price!

Good options for research include:

www.webject.com.au - look at lots of airlines at a glance

www.trailfinders.com.au (based in Sydney but UK company, I think)

Also going with Singapore Airlines or Malaysian Airlines is handy as they fly out of Adelaide and via Singapore or Kuala Lumper into Europe ........ also their economy class seats to SIN and KL are 2-5-2 configuration which are a bit more roomy

There are also good connections and prices Sydney to Paris (over SIN) with Air France and then it's pretty cheap and easy to do Paris-anywhere in UK. The cheaper fares here are a bit few and far between but the folks at Trailfinders found this out for us.

[Guest TC for short]

Just be advised - stay away from Garuda. They may get you as far as Indonesia but beyond that you'll be codesharing on someone else beacause at the moment they are not welcome in Europe due safety.

 

There is a low-cost airline running between HKG and, if I remember correctly, MAN. Possibly LHR too. Can't remember the name just now but Google is your friend!

 

TC

[Rachiegarlo]

I'd stay away from Garuda full stop anywhere....... Same with aeroflot......my son watches way too much crash investigation......

[Guest Curry Lover]

Many thanks all for your advice. Have been looking at jetabroad.com.au, which seems a good site and was coming out with the cheapest price and also tried Trailfinders as we used them a lot in the UK but they seem slightly more expensive. Have hopefully found a good deal through Flight Centre with Malaysian airlines and are just waiting on confirmation. It's made more complicated by the fact that the baby isn't due until October so has to be added onto our ticket at a later date!

[Guest TC for short]

Make very sure the airline is aware of this at an early point as you'll need a bulkhead seat and aircot.

[Guest Curry Lover]

Thanks, yes, apparently you can only ever request a basinet and they are allocated to the youngest infants first. As we'll be travelling with a 6-8 week old this hopefully won't be a problem!