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Decent price for a good airline. It seems a lot of the bigger 'premium' full service airlines like Etihad, Qatar, Emirates are having early bird sales for their February flights.
Etihad Airlines: Sydney to Dublin Return from $915 (Jan to Feb) @ FlightScout
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And moist.
Ireland is wet most of the time with varying degrees of cold. Its why the pubs etc are so good.
Seeing plenty of February sales around makes me wonder - does anyone know what's the best time to book July flights to Europe?
My experience is this there is no set "best time". Depending on demand, competition, world events etc. prices tend to fluctuate a lot. Airlines usually release cheap fares in small batches. Do plenty of research to find out what a good price is for the period you want to go and then set up alerts at least 6 months out with services like Skyscanner, Kayak etc. Be ready to pull the trigger when the price matches your target. Also realise that July is peak tourist season in most of Europe so chances are very slim of getting really cheap airfares then.
To be honest, whenever they do an offer. I booked November last year for September this year. July generally isn’t cheap and gets more expensive the longer you leave it.
that's a cheap flight because its the worst time to go
and you're forced to go twice
ZOMG Broden's back. Is it the real one?
great investigative work there.
Still more famous than jv
Thanks OP, bought 10.
Great price on a gateway flight to Europe. Would consider paying the extra $100 for Emirates, BA or QANTAS. Etihad has really gone downhill the last few years. My recent experience comparing them to Emirates, was Etihad seemed like a budget airline compared to Emirates. Food was fair but leg space is really small
I flew Emirates to the UK in April and it was horrible in my case. Air Asia on steroids. The latest trip to Turkey was with Qatar which was awesome. A day and night difference after Emirates.
wow thats a worry. Maybe Emirates are sliding also. I will say lately the best airline I have flown was China Airlines. Plane was new, leg room was great and ice cream for breakfast lol.
Flew business class with Emirates, we managed to get enough points, but got to admit I wasn't as impressed as I thought I should be. I would've been pretty snarky if I'd ponied up the extra thousands for this. Lie flat was really good but the food wasn't that great and the planes were a bit tired and old. The section from Dubai to Brussels was probably the best as the plane was newer and we had fewer people in business. Haven't flown Virgin economy overseas but their business class was fantastic.
My main gripe with Etihad was the last time we flew with them the seat was very uncomfortable. I’m 5ft tall (short) so leg room isn’t an issue but the back support was terrible. I had a sore back for days and I couldn’t get comfortable to sleep so I got pretty bad jet lag.
For those considering this deal, Etihad has over the past year or so made some big cuts in terms of service on its flights. This is due to the airline struggling financially due to making some poor investment choices. The airline also lost its 5 star skytrax rating this year.
As such, in economy their food portions have reduced in size, and they now require you to pay for food/drinks outside of the seat meal times.
I also found their newer seats to not be that comfortable,
In my opinion, on such a long flight, i would prefer to pay a few hundred extra and fly Emirates, Singapore, or Cathay and have an enjoyable flight experience.
Yes, in Economy this airline is more like Jetstar. I couldn't believe in between small meals you have to pay for drinks and food!
PS Skytrax ratings don’t mean anything. They are just the result of airlines paying for consulting from Skytrax. The more you pay the higher your rating. The airlines pay them for the audits, and then they have to pay Skytrax for the 'Consulting' afterwards to help them 'develop and improve' their score. Those who buy the most consulting get the best marks. 1 2
There are some “surprising” ratings. Garuda 5 stars, Aeroflot 4 stars?
Someone been paying the review people rather than spending it on improving the airline itself.
Garuda are very good. Have used them for Bali holidays over the last few years. A far cry from what they were back in the 90s.
@Brianqpr: I could see some improvement but do you really think they are 5 stars - especially given the airlines that were given 4 stars?
Ireland and N.Ireland in good weather are one of the most beautiful places I've been to. A lovely country to road trip and B&B your way around. I was lucky enough to enjoy ~2 weeks of sunshine in their Spring a few years ago, which the locals kept remarking on as a miracle.
I'm currently in London, flew from Melbourne via Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Noticed a few things, the crew on the first leg was pretty miserable and the plane was an older 777. Food service was ok but the drinks service was mainly water outside meals. A380 to London was more comfortable with a UK crew. There was enough food so didn't order from the paid snack menu. No amenity kit offered.
IFE was ok, they have live sport including the Premier league and rugby World cup which helped pass the time. The flights were on time and the airport at Abu Dhabi is much improved since I first used about 15 years ago, but still a bit chaotic.
I'd rank them worse than Singapore, Emirates and Qatar all of whom I'd pay $150 more for. Better than all the Chinese airlines who compete at this price point though.
Coldish and very wet then isn’t it ?