[Paul and Linda]

Hi just called a travel agent (calling me back) to enquire about prices etc for flying one way to NZ sometime in ausgust. Does anyone know if they will be able to help me or do I really need to be quite specific on the leaving date, before they can give me any help?

[wayne]

We just bought 3 one ways for August 8th Singapore Airlines £605 each,still plenty of dates avaliable

[Paul and Linda]

Hi Wayne,
Phew that's seems a little pricey compared to when I looked earlier on in the year with NZAir at 430 each.

Although not really when you think what you are getting (especially compared to flipping shipping fees), plus only a month before departure, and it's what our travel agent just said her mother paid last september for a return trip (apparently at this late date there often isn't much difference between one way and return)

Does that include all your taxes etc.?

Ideally we would have wanted to pay 1800 for 2 adults 2 children

Did you go through a travel agent?

What about your route, timings etc, PM me if you feel like it, I'm a freak for details, won't settle until I find out what the in flight meals are (already checked the movies) :laugh Joking.

But still any details we can share to make the trips a little more comfy on the brain would be appreciated

Cheers

Paul

[markkellaway]

Paul,

If you want to compare various prices for different dates go somewhere like Travelocity (www.travelocity.co.uk) and look for the flights there for the whole of August. I've just booked our tickets for the 11th for £1530, but was lucky that they introduced some different fares for some reason, I was expecting to pay £1800 (already had seats reserved at this price). This is for 2 adults and 2 children.

If you want to fly in August and get the best prices better start thinking about booking soon. Note that Air New Zealand will hold seats for 2 weeks if you phone them direct, without needing to pay a deposit.

Mark. :P

[Paul and Linda]

Cheers mate, will give that a go tonight, bandwidth at work is narrower than a gnat's hind leg.

[markkellaway]

Paul,

Just looked on Air NZ for 24th August, 2 Adults plus 2 kids to Wellington comes to £1692, the same trip on the 11th of August comes to £2126.

I would say you should book pretty soon. ;)

Mark. :P

[Paul and Linda]

I would love to mark, but I can't put my resignation in yet due to us deciding to wait for the house to complete (4 to 5 weeks hopefully), Although i suppose I could pick a date, if it comes off i've saved money if it doesn't I'll just have to reschedule.

What do you think?

[markkellaway]

Paul,

A difficult one, we have held the flights for 2 weeks in the hope that we can exchange on the house, then pay for the tickets. If you wait for the house to complete it depends if you have somewhere to stay afterwards, and how much that will cost.

If you are expecting to exchange soon I would reserve the tickets by phoning Air NZ, then pay after the exchange. For the sale to fall through AFTER exchange would be incredibly unlucky, and you would probably be able to claim back the cancellation fee from the buyer if that happened. The cheaper tickets from Air NZ are not date moveable on one ways, and are subject to a £150 cancellation fee per ticket.

Hope that makes sense,

Mark :P

[wayne]

Yes that is high seeing that i bought the same seat for my eldest son to fly out in June same flight everything for only £420 something to do with fuel surcharges and seasonal demand the flights get cheaper again on the 15th august

[Paul and Linda]

Mark

We are still a few weeks off from getting an exchange date, so we'll probably leave it for now. Such an akward thing this ol' emigration thing, timings are essential and also a nightmare!

[wayne]

Paul that was using my staff discount through the campus travel centre, you probably could find cheaper but we like to use Singapore Airlines as the service is so good the transfer is easy and yes that price included all taxes

[wayne]

Paul we fliy out 22.15 from heathrow monday 8th aug and arrive in Auckland weds 10th aug at 10.30 am with a two hour stopover in Singapore

[markkellaway]

Paul,

Remember the luggage allowance though, may make the difference for you. 64 kg each versus 20 on Singapore. Balance this against the LA transit lounge (2 hours, no big deal) and the lack of seat back video (bigger deal, but you'll only be doing it once. :mrgreen: ).

Mark. :P

[debnjohn]

Paul,
and the lack of seat back video :mrgreen: ).

Mark. :P

I read somewhere that Air NZ was upgrading its' fleet. Does anyone know if it is possible to check on in-flight entertainment availability?
Cheers,
John

[wayne]

Oh yes I get double allowance on singapore as I have a migrants visa the rest of the family get the standard as they have NZpassports :clap

[debnjohn]

Oh yes I get double allowance on singapore as I have a migrants visa the rest of the family get the standard as they have NZpassports :clapWhere did you get this information, Wayne? Is it published anywhere?
I'd really like to travel with SIA, but the 20 kilos is dissuading me

John

[markkellaway]

Hi,

Upgraded in-flight entertainment won't be available from Heathrow until November. :wah

Sorry John. :uhoh

I'd read somewhere that Singapore were refusing to give anyone extra allowance during the summer period, was that wrong?

Mark. :P

[JJG]

Paul,

Just looked on Air NZ for 24th August, 2 Adults plus 2 kids to Wellington comes to £1692, the same trip on the 11th of August comes to £2126.

I would say you should book pretty soon. ;)

Mark. :P

I was told by a travel agent friend that many of the airlines change their prices on or about the 15th August hence the price difference.

[wayne]

20 kilo's??my son flew out in june with 24 kilos no prob , when I bought my ticket I was asked if I was migrating as it was a one way ticket and when I said yes I was asked if I had a migrants visa and if I could prove it I would be entitled to double baggage allowance , no big deal to me as we rarely have more than 15 kilos anyway all the stuff is going out in the container , and we will buy clothes and stuffwhen we get there,I will just have a folder of documents my camera and a change of clothes or 2 :cool

[Jo and Andy]

We are looking to move in October, if the house sells, is it worth booking moveable tickets now.

We are also hoping to perhaps have a week stopover, (letting the rest of our luggage get a bit closer to NZ), and recharge our batteries before we start. Will this affect our luggage allowance?

Don't know which way to fly really, but just spoke to someone who has lived in NZ for 11 years and someone from Aus and they say they never go via LA as the change over is so difficult.

The list of things to do never gets shorter does it.

JO

[kiwidebs]

Having done the trip to NZ via LA (BA/Quantas) , Hong Kong (Cathay), Korea (Korean Airlines) and Singapore (SA) - I would say the best flights I've ever had in my life were on SA, closely followed by Cathay. I swore I would never fly BA or Quantas again after that trip home - and the LA transit lounge was dire. And Korean was definately an experience! Just my opinion folks.
I've decided when we go it will be SA and stuff the extra luggage. I'll just wear my baggy shorts for a week in Singapore :eek .

HTH
Debs

[Jo and Andy]

Debs

Are you looking at having a holiday on your way over too.

[kiwidebs]

We'll def stop in Singapore for two to three days. It's a really long trip for anyone but would be really hard on my son - he's a fidget and doesn't know how to sit still for more than two seconds at a time. We stopped in Singapore when we came back from NZ last time, when Gemma was 9 months old, and we loved it. We want to do Sentosa Island (which we missed last time) and go back to the zoo - maybe do the night tour at the zoo this time! It's a fab place and lots to do.
Are you guys thinking about stopping on the way?

Debs

[Jo and Andy]

Yes, Andy wants to have a weeks break on the way over, our belongings will be a little bit closer etc and should have our batteries charged, not sure if my nerves will handle it, may be good though.

We may have to move without having sold the house, Andy told his work as they were going to be making some redundancies and he didn't want anyone else to be affected, told them he hope to move in October and would help find someone else, They have and they start in September ? so thats burning our bridges. I am sure all will go well, not many houses around ours for sale at the moment, but then the market is generally slow. Fingers crossed.

Still so much to do, must get some more shipping quotes, but who to choose?

With the flights is it easy to sort out the stopover and does it affect your luggage allowance?

Thanks