Flying to Oz – 10 top tips
Fly during the week
During peak periods: the weekend and school holidays, the cost of the price of a flight ticket increases considerably, so if you can it’s best to depart and return during the week, during the school term – you won’t believe how much money this can save you – and more than likely your accommodation will be cheaper too.
Purchase early
Long haul airlines tend to offer the lowest prices on 21 day advance tickets. However, in many cases advance purchase fares can often be secured in as little as 14 or 7 days ahead of your departure date. If you wait until fewer than 7 days, you’re unlikely to find a good deal.
Not too early
If you are attempting to book months in advance and you can’t find the fare you want, be patient.
Flexible times
Even if you’re unable to change your dates, consider changing your flight times. Most flight booking sites have an “anytime” option for flight times, and that often produces cheaper flights at less popular times of the day.
Airline sites, last minute deals
Folk lore has it that airlines issue last minute Web fares between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, and they’re often good for travel for that weekend. They usually require you to leave on a Saturday and return Monday or Tuesday. This is usually best for main hub airports so great if you’re close, if not don’t forget that what you save here may be added on the first part of your journey.
Pick up the phone
You know sometimes when you get the world’s most helpful person on the phone and all of your troubles disappear… It works for flights sometimes as well. Don’t forget to do your research online first to know what a good deal looks like and if they’re not able to shift on price then shoot for the upgrade, someone has to get it!
Avoid buying a seat for your luggage
Cheap tickets have rigid restrictions not least your luggage allowance. Airlines can charge upwards of £30 a kilo so those presents could cost twice as much if you’re not careful. Maximise your cabin baggage (which will only be weighed if it looks big or heavy) and weigh before your go to the airport – this traveller paid £200 excess (on a £300 budget ticket) for his son’s sitar when retuning from India… it would have cost half that to Fedex it!
Extra Leg Space
Be careful when asking for extra leg space, the chances are you could be placed next to the toilet area on the plane, and you will then have to endure the constant queue of people standing next to you waiting for the toilet while you try to sleep. Just let them know that you do not want to sit next to a toilet.
Jet Lag
Can mess you up! make sure that you adopt the ‘rhythms’ of your Australian destination to help adjust, so set your watch to the Oz time as soon as you are on board. Flights east generally cause worse symptoms than those westbound. A made up rule of thumb is that the number of days needed to recover is equal to two thirds of the time zones crossed, but this is pretty defeatist! If you arrive early morning then don’t sleep until local bed time better to go to bed tired than alert!
Become a frequent Flyer
You’re flying half way round the world so join your airline’s frequent flyer program and bank those miles, in many cases it’s enough for a domestic flight or better still and upgrade next time you fly!