Hi
We are considering going to Europe/Italy for a 4/5 week holiday
Quite flexible with dates even if it means travelling on Xmas day to get cheaper flights.
Have a stack of Qantas points with bronze status so that’s an option
Is it best to hold out or start booking now - lowest prices I seen around are $2200
Thanks
I agree, I think it is just a joke post.
Maybe report it?
Xmas day itself is often cheaper for flights, because most people want to arrive before then and don't travel on that day.
because most people want to arrive before then
that would only apply to Christians…
Secret Santa ticket I think
link is paywalled
i guess to be fair i've only ever been going to Melbourne or Taiwan for the weeks on either side of xmas - and Taiwan is especially always hard / expensive to book for that end of the year (in my experience, even with a dedicated travel agent).
We went a year ago. The cheapest flights were very early in December, returning early January. After about the 10th of Dec, flights basically doubled.
At that time, cheaper destinations were Munich, Zurich and Amsterdam.
After about the 10th of Dec, flights basically doubled.
School holidays starts then…
As said, you need to go before or after school holidays. Otherwise you are just playing around the edges, maybe save $100 going one day vs the next day; but you are still paying $100s more than when it isnt school holidays.
Dont forget random airlines like Turkish Air or travelling via China. Trade off time of journey for cheaper flights (not that Turkish air takes that much longer). Going to Europe be prepared to fly into the cheapest destination and starting from there ie dont just pick 'rome' and only look at flights to rome. Try Amsterdam or Athens etc - obviously nothing too far out of the way.
Hope you like winter!
Don’t like it, I love it
$2200 isnt bad for Xmas period to EU. Anything after mid December is a nightmare. You may find a discount flying into Athens or Rome seeing as your coming from Sydney but I wouldn't anticipate anything sub $2k.
Cursory search
Dec 10 - Jan 13 - Paris, Prague, Copenhagen all around $1980
Dec 16 - Jan 13 - Athens and Copenhagen $1980
If you can leave early Dec and return around Jan 6, prices drop.
London - $2k
Thanks - what search function do you use ?
Iv been seeing flights in ozbargain posts for June around 1k - making me curious if we would see these prices in early December 3 months out
Straight up Google Flights.
Start there - Sydney > Europe then drill down once you see dates and cities that look good.
Sites like Kayak show you green/red for price fluctuations on dates which can also help.
As for pricing, it'll only get worse. December is a peak period for Europe
More options:
Syd > FCO Nov 29 Jan 4 (ON layover in Seoul) $1741
Nov 27 Jan 1 $1517 ON layover in Taiwan
Dec 10 Jan 14 $1936 ON layover Seoul
If you're willing to fly for 12-24 hours longer. No Qantas points with SIA unfortunately.
Singapore Airlines Round-The-World Flights (Open Jaw) via Manchester & Houston: Ex PER, ADL, SYD, CNS, DRW, MEL, BNE from $1,809
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/834223
I saw that thanks - hate flying so not for us unfortunately
Can leave early December so was hoping to get a pre school holidays departure which should be around that price point anyway I would of thought
Taiwan's china airlines (I think that's them) often have good specials, with the bonus of being able to break up the flight in Taipei. From memory, they have destinations in Amsterdam, Frankfurt and… Copenhagen? Pre COVID I flew to Germany for Xmas-new year business for less than 4k. Flights won't start appearing until April probably, with specials later.
Qantas at that time is going to be tough especially with points
I've been to Europe the last 2 years in Dec/Jan, and unfortunately had to go during school holidays.
I found the prices just kept going up throughout the year, so best to book early. Last year I booked quite late (July) and was able to save a bit by flying on 24 Dec. (Seems some airlines are cheaper on 24/25 Dec but not others)
Who do you book with? And where you looking at early December as well ?
We are able to leave early December just outside regular school holiday as an option so I’m hoping this can help us snag a discount
I used the usual sites to check prices and set alerts (skyscanner, google flights, iwantthatflight etc) and then booked direct with the airlines (Brunei and Emirates)
I had to wait until school was finished so leaving early was not an option unfortunately
Keep checking classic rewards. They pop up randomly and daily.
Look out of Sydney and Brisbane etc as well. Be flexible about where you fly in/out from. It will be hard but it is possible to find classic rewards. Might be worth grabbing a VA card/cards for the bonus points. Can then look at Etihad, Singapore etc.
?????