Finding flights

[Kiwi_cruiser]

What websites do you guys use to find flights?

 

We have been looking at a few different cruises all over the world, but finding flights have been a bit of a pain.

 

Before covid we use to use Webjet a bit, but they now have a booking fee, so that rules them out.

 

I know about Skyscanner but they are a pain to use!

[Big Kev]

21 minutes ago, Kiwi_cruiser said:

What websites do you guys use to find flights?

 

We have been looking at a few different cruises all over the world, but finding flights have been a bit of a pain.

 

Before covid we use to use Webjet a bit, but they now have a booking fee, so that rules them out.

 

I know about Skyscanner but they are a pain to use!

We have used ITA software site MATRIX for many years now, and use it as a guide before going to airline site.. ... They do not sell flights, and are used by google etc.

Hope that helps,

 

Sue and Phil

Edited June 20, 2023 by Big Kev

[Cbtours]

9 hours ago, Kiwi_cruiser said:

What websites do you guys use to find flights?

 

We have been looking at a few different cruises all over the world, but finding flights have been a bit of a pain.

 

Before covid we use to use Webjet a bit, but they now have a booking fee, so that rules them out.

 

I know about Skyscanner but they are a pain to use!

Personally I prefer to book my own with the carrier. Research using google? Booking.com? One of those sites. Then go deeper with actual carrier. I check the dates where I can be flexible and save many $$$ doing this. Either side of the date you want to go can save a $1000 many times. That’s enough to get a hotel room with change left over.

then I always want to pick my seat. So hegira I fly, I want to know which flight has least passengers so far. So go to

www.expertflyer.com and create a free account.

then put in your date, flight number etc and it will give you live seating for that flight! If it’s already pretty full, check another time etc.

next tip, airlines have seats blocked that you can’t pre select. (Shown with a cross on the map). At exactly 80 hours before the flight, these seats open! So go in fast and Re select your seat. 
it sounds a bit complicated but it’s not once you go in and check it out.

 

[Sparky74]

15 minutes ago, Cbtours said:

Personally I prefer to book my own with the carrier. Research using google? Booking.com? One of those sites. Then go deeper with actual carrier. I check the dates where I can be flexible and save many $$$ doing this. Either side of the date you want to go can save a $1000 many times. That’s enough to get a hotel room with change left over.

then I always want to pick my seat. So hegira I fly, I want to know which flight has least passengers so far. So go to

www.expertflyer.com and create a free account.

then put in your date, flight number etc and it will give you live seating for that flight! If it’s already pretty full, check another time etc.

next tip, airlines have seats blocked that you can’t pre select. (Shown with a cross on the map). At exactly 80 hours before the flight, these seats open! So go in fast and Re select your seat. 
it sounds a bit complicated but it’s not once you go in and check it out.

 

Look at you being an expert on flights, Irene! 😱🤣🤣🤣

[Cbtours]

Just now, Sparky74 said:

Look at you being an expert on flights, Irene! 😱🤣🤣🤣

I am far more expert on flying than cruising lol.

[reeves35]

Always check with the cruise line if they are offering any bundled deals.  Sometimes, they have great pricing like this week I am flying to Cairns to join Dora and then flying home from Auckland.  Best flights I could find online were about $1300 but P&O did it for $800 each and then gave us a $400 flight credit on top!.

 

Likewise, we are doing river cruise with APT Travelmarvel in August.  They gave free (or included) economy flights as part of the cruise and we upgraded to business class on Singapore Airlines for only $3500.  At the time, the equivalent Singapore Airlines Business Class ticket was selling for over $10,000.

 

In both cases, we were able to pick our dates and for Europe we could choose our arrival and departure points but ,as we are now arriving in London and not Amsterdam, there are no transfers there but we still get transfers in Budapest.

Edited June 20, 2023 by reeves35

[cruiser3775]

I have used Skyscanner previously, but find that Google Flights is easier to navigate. I use the plus or minus 1 day feature, as this often results in a much better price. Matrix is another much more detailed site, but harder to navigate, I think.  However, once you find the flights you want, I find it best to book directly with the airline. 

[ilikeanswers]

I have used many website but lately I have been using Google Flights to see all the options but book with the carrier. Only once have I found a third party website to be cheaper. Unfortunately fees of some sort (booking or payment fees) are popping up everywhere even direct with carriers so it is getting harder to avoid but still even with fees I find booking with the airline cheaper. 

 

If you have an idea of your dates you can set up alerts to let you know if the price drops. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

I use Webjet or similar to get an idea of fares on various airlines then usually book direct with the airline. However if I'm flying to and/or from a cruise, particularly if I just need a one way fare, I've now learnt to check what the cruise line offers. A couple of times I've found one way business class seats cheaper than some economy fares.

[sanne]

This is where a good travel agent is worth their weight in gold. I have an excellent long standing relationship with mine both for booking cruises, land trip and flights. I do all the research as others have mentioned above then contact my agent. Always competitive plus they have access to fares that we don’t see.
 

We always fly business overseas, just returned from South Africa. My husband became unwell the last few days. I emailed my TA to research changing our flight if need be and to arrange wheelchair assistance. This would have been very difficult for me to do in the middle of the bush with limited wifi and no reliable phone service. Plus ringing airlines directly has had its fair share of problems lately. Giving the job to my TA took away a lot of the stress particularly when I was so concerned with my husbands health.

 

Just a different view. 

[Aussieflyer]

4 hours ago, sanne said:

This is where a good travel agent is worth their weight in gold. I have an excellent long standing relationship with mine both for booking cruises, land trip and flights. I do all the research as others have mentioned above then contact my agent. Always competitive plus they have access to fares that we don’t see.
 

We always fly business overseas, just returned from South Africa. My husband became unwell the last few days. I emailed my TA to research changing our flight if need be and to arrange wheelchair assistance. This would have been very difficult for me to do in the middle of the bush with limited wifi and no reliable phone service. Plus ringing airlines directly has had its fair share of problems lately. Giving the job to my TA took away a lot of the stress particularly when I was so concerned with my husbands health.

 

Just a different view. 

Hope your husband is OK and that if you needed to change any flights etc things went smoothly - a worry you can do without.

[sanne]

On 6/21/2023 at 4:52 PM, Aussieflyer said:

Hope your husband is OK and that if you needed to change any flights etc things went smoothly - a worry you can do without.

Thank you, luckily he was ok to fly home on our original flights but needed wheelchair assistance as he was very weak. My lovely TA organised it all for us. 

[Porky55]

On 6/20/2023 at 9:48 PM, Kiwi_cruiser said:

What websites do you guys use to find flights?

 

We have been looking at a few different cruises all over the world, but finding flights have been a bit of a pain.

 

Before covid we use to use Webjet a bit, but they now have a booking fee, so that rules them out.

 

I know about Skyscanner but they are a pain to use!

We are with CBtours - check Webjet, Skyscanner, TripAdvisor, Expedia, etc. and then go to the airline  direct. There are a few things to watch this way though; on overseas flights I have always gotten the best price and seats by booking early - like as soon as dates open. This can be between 9 to 11 months before the date. Then times - we fly to Europe every year as our son lives there and last thing we want is flying for forty hours - which really means wasted hours hanging around in airports.
 

We prefer Singapore as the flight to Amsterdam is a total of around 24 hrs usually.  This gives us 21/2 hours in Singapore (would never have less than this after a dreadful connecting flight a few years ago of just 3/4 hrs 😰 - frantic). Etihad is also a favourite. Need to add we always fly Business as we have worked hard to be able to.
 

"Research"  is the key. Only you know what you can afford, the Class you want to fly and the time you are happy to use / lose. And always check the T&Cs of your bookings - must always be able to cancel or change with minimum $$. Flying from Australia, cruising and our ages make this imperative.
 

Can I add that the times we used TAs they were ALWAYS more expensive than the flights I could book myself. ( At least get quotes from TA and then compare what you can do yourself).  And when Covid hit, we had business flights booked with Singapore Air and received all our money back within two days of notifying them - two days!! And … if things go wrong, I can handle them myself.

 

Cheers, Rose

Edited June 22, 2023 by Porky55

[Sparky74]

Business Class

 

I’ve never been able to afford business class myself although I have a sister and an aunt who refuse to fly in economy for overseas trips. I have, however, had the extreme good fortune to be upgraded twice in my life. 😁

In 2006 when returning from my first trip to the UK. I was travelling alone and Royal Brunei stuffed me around (long story) and to placate me they upgraded me from Brunei to Sydney. I decided then that I could get used to Business Class!

 

The other time was when DW & I flew from Newcastle to Norfolk Island in 2008. We were seated on the small aircraft when the flight attendant asked us if we would mind moving forward two rows because of the weight distribution on the plane. We were more than happy to move into the more spacious seats!

 

I remember someone saying years ago (perhaps it was in this forum) that instead of flying business class, they would break their journey and stay a night in a five star hotel. It was more cost effective and they felt it gave them a better travel experience. When DW & I went to the UK in 2015 we broke our return journey with a week in Hong Kong but we stayed in affordable AirBnB, not a 5 star hotel. After many weeks of busy sightseeing it was great to relax and recover from jet lag before heading home and back to work. 
 

Friends of mine, an adventurous family, plan layovers of 10 hours or more and leave the airport to explore the city, treating it like a port of call on a cruise. 
 

We all have different needs and priorities: comfort, budget, time… As others have said do your research, listen to all the advice and opinions, but at the end of the day, you do you.

 

Happy travels!

 

[Porky55]

1 hour ago, Sparky74 said:

We all have different needs and priorities: comfort, budget, time… As others have said do your research, listen to all the advice and opinions, but at the end of the day, you do you.

 

Happy travels!

Couldn't agree more with what you have said. We have reached a point in our life that we can afford 'Both' business class flights and 5 Star Hotels. And lots of cruising. 
 

Hopefully we are all helping Kiwi_cruiser 😁

 

Rose

Edited June 23, 2023 by Porky55

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, Sparky74 said:

Business Class

 

I’ve never been able to afford business class myself although I have a sister and an aunt who refuse to fly in economy for overseas trips. I have, however, had the extreme good fortune to be upgraded twice in my life. 😁

In 2006 when returning from my first trip to the UK. I was travelling alone and Royal Brunei stuffed me around (long story) and to placate me they upgraded me from Brunei to Sydney. I decided then that I could get used to Business Class!

 

The other time was when DW & I flew from Newcastle to Norfolk Island in 2008. We were seated on the small aircraft when the flight attendant asked us if we would mind moving forward two rows because of the weight distribution on the plane. We were more than happy to move into the more spacious seats!

 

I remember someone saying years ago (perhaps it was in this forum) that instead of flying business class, they would break their journey and stay a night in a five star hotel. It was more cost effective and they felt it gave them a better travel experience. When DW & I went to the UK in 2015 we broke our return journey with a week in Hong Kong but we stayed in affordable AirBnB, not a 5 star hotel. After many weeks of busy sightseeing it was great to relax and recover from jet lag before heading home and back to work. 
 

Friends of mine, an adventurous family, plan layovers of 10 hours or more and leave the airport to explore the city, treating it like a port of call on a cruise. 
 

We all have different needs and priorities: comfort, budget, time… As others have said do your research, listen to all the advice and opinions, but at the end of the day, you do you.

 

Happy travels!

 

Unfortunately overnight stops don't solve the problem of creaky, painful knees in cramped economy seats on those 12+ hour flights. A couple of times in the past I could barely walk off the plane. 

 

So for us it soon might be the end of international cruises as adding business class onto cruise fares will make it too expensive. 

[sanne]

For most of my international business flights I have managed to get award flights using QF points. It helps that we always had cruise/travel in place more than 365 days ahead so as soon as those seats were released we booked them. 
 

I educated myself a long time ago on how to maximise my QF points and it has saved me thousands of dollars a year on flight costs plus we were able to fly business once PE and E were proving to be challenging.   
 

 

[Korimako]

Since reading this tip in a magazine years ago, we have always followed it. 

Fly Business Class - if you don't your kids will!!

[MMDown Under]

26 minutes ago, Korimako said:

Since reading this tip in a magazine years ago, we have always followed it. 

Fly Business Class - if you don't your kids will!!

What I enjoy about flying business class now, is now I need it!  I didn't need it when I was younger flying with a family of four. 

[sanne]

1 hour ago, Korimako said:

Since reading this tip in a magazine years ago, we have always followed it. 

Fly Business Class - if you don't your kids will!!

Agree 100%.
 

I also book family holidays that they could not afford at this time in their life with mortgages, school fees etc… safaris in South Africa, luxury cruising etc.  Spending their inheritance  on quality time together, memories that last way past when we’re gone. 

[MMDown Under]

4 minutes ago, sanne said:

Agree 100%.
 

I also book family holidays that they could not afford at this time in their life with mortgages, school fees etc… safaris in South Africa, luxury cruising etc.  Spending their inheritance  on quality time together, memories that last way past when we’re gone. 

I agree.  I paid for a cruise for each of my daughters, but they don't enjoy cruising as much as I do.  However, both have inherited my love of independent travel. We enjoy camping together.

[ilikeanswers]

On 6/23/2023 at 9:28 AM, Sparky74 said:

I remember someone saying years ago (perhaps it was in this forum) that instead of flying business class, they would break their journey and stay a night in a five star hotel. It was more cost effective and they felt it gave them a better travel experience. 

 

I do the break up the journey as well though not in a five star hotel😄. It is the only way for me to feel rested when I reach destination. I can't afford business class either but one time I did get an upgrade with Etihad and found I still couldn't sleep in those lie flat beds as the whole environment wasn't really geared to restfulness so I prefer the breaking up of the flight journey anyway. 

[Sparky74]

Cruising is the only way to fly!
🤣🤣🤣

[cruiser3775]

I've just been pointed towards a terrific service if you have a long layover at an airport somewhere between two legs of a flight. It is dayuse.com

You can input the destination and it will show you nearby hotels that offer day use of a room for a period of time, from maybe 2 hours to 10 hours.

I am using it for a long layover en route to the US, which I chose because I preferred two shorter flight legs. Of course, that means you have to leave the airport, so you need to check the visa requirements.

[OzKiwiJJ]

54 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

I've just been pointed towards a terrific service if you have a long layover at an airport somewhere between two legs of a flight. It is dayuse.com

You can input the destination and it will show you nearby hotels that offer day use of a room for a period of time, from maybe 2 hours to 10 hours.

I am using it for a long layover en route to the US, which I chose because I preferred two shorter flight legs. Of course, that means you have to leave the airport, so you need to check the visa requirements.

We did that in Singapore when we had an eight hour layover between flights. There is an airside hotel there with a pool so we spent the afternoon poolside then retired to our room for a short rest and showers.