| Tips for looking for flights 16:57 - Sep 6 with 2678 views | Coastalblue |
I know we've got a few regular travellers on here, any tips on looking for flights?
Heading to Africa next year (October) and intending to start looking for flights soon, am aware there's a risk of prices being influenced by previous searches. Any tips from the hive mind? |  |
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| Tips for looking for flights on 09:19 - Sep 7 with 632 views | WeWereZombies |
| Tips for looking for flights on 00:39 - Sep 7 by ParisBlue |
Having flown to South Africa many times, I've always gone via dubai with Emirates, much better overall experience than flying direct.
I'd second booking direct with the airline, not a third party. If anything goes wrong you'll have much more luck dealing with the airline direct (I once got a free business class return flight to dubai after Emirates bumped me and re-routed me via Air France) [Post edited 7 Sep 0:40]
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Just had a quick squint at Skyscanner (because I find it the easiest comparison site to use) and for London flights to Johannesburg you can go direct with British Airways or Virgin between eleven and a quarter and twelve hours, seventeen or eighteen hours with a change in Doha or Dubai cannot compete with that. I want to be as fresh as I can be when I pick up a hire car in Oliver Tambo and head for the Drakensburgs.
I did once fly with Qatar but I found that the experience of having to walk through the rampant commercialism of Doha airside and then not find anywhere to sit down (eventually we slumped to the floor like everyone else) quite tiring on top of the extra flight time, so that the perceived special treatment faded into insignificance.
Flew to Kenya with Ethiopian Airways eleven years ago, that was an experience but not altogether unpleasant (but as soon as I could get my back of the seat screen to work I just watched whatever was on and touched nothing - my daughter was miffed that I had watched 'The Fault In Our Stars' and told me old men shouldn't be watching it...) and I noticed on this morning's search that Rwanda Air do return flights via Kigali to Johannesburg for £620 - tempting. [Post edited 7 Sep 9:21]
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| Tips for looking for flights on 12:13 - Sep 7 with 519 views | earlsgreenblue |
| Tips for looking for flights on 08:02 - Sep 7 by noggin |
I'll be in India then. What are your plans? |
Kolkata for 2 nights inbound, 10 nights in Havelock Island, then 5 nights Kolkata outbound..Sunderban tiger spotting, you’ve got my number I think, let me know if your about that area. |  | | |
| Tips for looking for flights on 12:16 - Sep 7 with 517 views | earlsgreenblue |
| Tips for looking for flights on 09:18 - Sep 7 by noggin |
I booked my e-visa through VisaHQ as I was struggling with the official site. They were very efficient and I received my visa within a few days. I didn't have to show proof of flights.
Edit: Just noticed you're talking about Australia visa, not India. [Post edited 7 Sep 9:20]
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A visa to India isn’t generally difficult using the online platform, I get them back within 24-48hrs. | | | |
| Tips for looking for flights on 12:31 - Sep 7 with 497 views | TIB |
Generally best to book directly through the airline operator for protection.
For Africa, they’ll be a number of Middle Eastern operators like Emirates, Etihad, Qatar with options for you. Etihad are currently offering 1 and 2 night layovers for free in 5* star hotels on your outbound or return which could be a nice addition to break up the journey and add something a little different in.
If the bank balance allows, VistaJet worth a look  |  |
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| Tips for looking for flights on 12:43 - Sep 7 with 485 views | SuperKieranMcKenna |
| Tips for looking for flights on 22:58 - Sep 6 by ElderGrizzly |
I fly anywhere between 80 and 100 times a year for work.
Our advice is always book direct, as the airlines will not help if booked with an agent.
Of course some agents will be better than others and might help, but if you are cancelled on at 10pm in the US, the agent is unlikely to help you as not considered an out of hours emergency by most. The airline will and is legally obliged to.
Just my experience though [Post edited 6 Sep 22:59]
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“I fly anywhere between 80 and 100 times a year for work.”
Ambulance on standby for NthQld… | | | |
| Tips for looking for flights on 13:55 - Sep 7 with 454 views | mellowblue |
Flight pricing pee me off when you have a family member in education, so you are forced to book flights during school holidays. I booked a holiday in Lanzarote for the Whitsun bank holiday week. Looking at flights now they are literally about 5 times higher than a school term week about that time and a staggering 10 times the price of a random week in November.
I know it has always been the case, but it is going to extremes now. Understandable why parents take their children out of school for holidays. | | | |
| Tips for looking for flights on 14:55 - Sep 7 with 424 views | noggin |
| Tips for looking for flights on 12:16 - Sep 7 by earlsgreenblue |
A visa to India isn’t generally difficult using the online platform, I get them back within 24-48hrs. |
I couldn't upload the photos but that's because I'm hopeless with technology. |  |
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| Tips for looking for flights on 15:23 - Sep 7 with 401 views | Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
| Tips for looking for flights on 12:43 - Sep 7 by SuperKieranMcKenna |
“I fly anywhere between 80 and 100 times a year for work.”
Ambulance on standby for NthQld… |
Rookie numbers! |  |
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| Tips for looking for flights on 00:53 - Sep 8 with 304 views | armchaircritic59 |
| Tips for looking for flights on 17:15 - Sep 6 by Wacko |
Use a flight comparison or AI who will search for you. When you’re ready, book direct from the airline |
Only book direct with the airline myself. Flight comparison sites like Skyscanner, give you a decent overview. So pretty much agree! |  | | |
| Tips for looking for flights on 11:37 - Sep 8 with 228 views | WeWereZombies |
| Tips for looking for flights on 00:53 - Sep 8 by armchaircritic59 |
Only book direct with the airline myself. Flight comparison sites like Skyscanner, give you a decent overview. So pretty much agree! |
This thread is beginning to make me wonder if I should take this approach, especially if I can get some sort of discount or freebie for VIP lounges - trying to make hanging around on crowded commercialised concourses with crappy seating something from my past now I am in my seventies. But the idea of spending half a day extra on a plane and then getting hooked into a couple of free nights in Dubai but no doubt being tapped for meals and going out from one air-conditioned place to another - no. That's time I can spend in a 4x4 on dirt roads across savannah.
Coming back to the OP, they didn't say where in Africa. Central and West Africa can be almost unbearably hot in the daytime (although that's getting true for Europe in the summer too now) and flights often arrive in the middle of the night. Something to be planned for in terms of finding a hotel with twenty four hour reception and for what time you will be leaving the United Kingdom. This is a thread that needs Lagos... | |
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| Tips for looking for flights on 12:05 - Sep 8 with 213 views | ParisBlue |
| Tips for looking for flights on 11:37 - Sep 8 by WeWereZombies |
This thread is beginning to make me wonder if I should take this approach, especially if I can get some sort of discount or freebie for VIP lounges - trying to make hanging around on crowded commercialised concourses with crappy seating something from my past now I am in my seventies. But the idea of spending half a day extra on a plane and then getting hooked into a couple of free nights in Dubai but no doubt being tapped for meals and going out from one air-conditioned place to another - no. That's time I can spend in a 4x4 on dirt roads across savannah.
Coming back to the OP, they didn't say where in Africa. Central and West Africa can be almost unbearably hot in the daytime (although that's getting true for Europe in the summer too now) and flights often arrive in the middle of the night. Something to be planned for in terms of finding a hotel with twenty four hour reception and for what time you will be leaving the United Kingdom. This is a thread that needs Lagos... |
If you want freebie lounges then apply for an amex gold card. 4 lounge passes a year, via Priority Pass. No fee for 12 months (cancel the card before the annual fee is billed) |  |
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| Tips for looking for flights on 12:12 - Sep 8 with 203 views | CrockerITFC |
Agree with all of the posters saying to book direct via the airline. I usually use Skyscanner to find the best option then book those flights on the airline's website. It kind of depends where in Africa you're travelling to as to what the best option is. Last year I flew to East Africa via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. Istanbul probably is the European airport with the most flights to different African countries. |  | | |
| Tips for looking for flights on 12:28 - Sep 8 with 188 views | ParisBlue |
| Tips for looking for flights on 12:12 - Sep 8 by CrockerITFC |
Agree with all of the posters saying to book direct via the airline. I usually use Skyscanner to find the best option then book those flights on the airline's website. It kind of depends where in Africa you're travelling to as to what the best option is. Last year I flew to East Africa via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. Istanbul probably is the European airport with the most flights to different African countries. |
Always book with the airline direct. I've found Google flights to be preferable to skyscanner.
Worth searching for discount/promo codes. Can sometimes save a few pound on the airfare. | |
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| Tips for looking for flights on 12:39 - Sep 8 with 171 views | WeWereZombies |
| Tips for looking for flights on 12:05 - Sep 8 by ParisBlue |
If you want freebie lounges then apply for an amex gold card. 4 lounge passes a year, via Priority Pass. No fee for 12 months (cancel the card before the annual fee is billed) |
I was queuing for the lift to even ask if I could pay to go into an airport lounge in San José (Costa Rica) and when I got out they asked if I had a black MasterCard - i did (nothing fancy, just a Santander World Credit) and got into one of the lounges, no alcohol though but all I could eat and a nice place to sit - I could have just wandered in off the street and got all that. | |
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| Tips for looking for flights on 12:43 - Sep 8 with 167 views | WeWereZombies |
| Tips for looking for flights on 12:12 - Sep 8 by CrockerITFC |
Agree with all of the posters saying to book direct via the airline. I usually use Skyscanner to find the best option then book those flights on the airline's website. It kind of depends where in Africa you're travelling to as to what the best option is. Last year I flew to East Africa via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. Istanbul probably is the European airport with the most flights to different African countries. |
Now Istanbul is somewhere worthy of a couple of nights stopover. | |
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| Tips for looking for flights on 14:21 - Sep 8 with 119 views | CrockerITFC |
| Tips for looking for flights on 12:43 - Sep 8 by WeWereZombies |
Now Istanbul is somewhere worthy of a couple of nights stopover. |
100%, it's a good reason to fly through there imo | | | |
| Tips for looking for flights on 15:10 - Sep 8 with 95 views | yorkshireblue |
It’s illegal for previous searches to influence the price you see. Anyone who tells you other wise and think it’s some sort of ‘gotcha’ over ‘the man’ is an idiot.
For long haul, it’s often cheaper if your ‘departure’ airport is not in the UK with the savings far exceeding the cost of a flight to say Dublin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen etc. I know someone with family in the far east, and they save thousands for the cost of a Ryanair flight to somewhere else as their departure airport. Obviously you run the risk of what happens if that initial short is cancelled. To mitigate risk, they may fly to wherever the day before and spend the night, rather than the day of their main flight. |  | | |
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