Planning a trip to Europe

[Big Boy]

I've done the Helsinki/Bangkok flight a couple of times with Finnair.

The thing I remember most is the huge blond haired Helga constantly walking up and down the aisle offering freeflow wine. I was on a mercy mission to collect my wife who had fallen ill in Thailand, and did the trip straight from a full day/nights work in Portsmouth and was desperate to get some sleep. It was one of the rare occasions I've had too much to drink on a flight............. it didn't work.

My biggest complaint was the seats. OK, I was very large at the time, but have always coped in cattle class. Their seats were too small for any element of comfort. I didn't get any sleep 2 days later on the return trip either.

The plane was clean, the service efficient and they were on time - what more is there?

[Dannie Boy]

Thanks for all the helpful tips so far.
Still looking for info, so here goes...

The Swissair price has gone up more than 3,500 baht already - so x 2 that makes 7,000!!

Found a flight for 28,500 Bangkok-Helsinki-Munich with Finnair.
Does anybody have experience with Finnair?

When is the best time to book these flights to avoid increases?
Our trip is 7 months away - are prices likely to go up or down in that period?

Found the best prices on Skyscanner and they send me regular updates on prices and offers.
Is it possible to make a provisional booking via these sites or is it better to wait?

As I mentioned in a previous post, it depends to a large extent how flexible you can be with your dates - if they're flexible you may want to take a risk and leave it to nearer the date of travel before booking, but there's still a risk that the cheapest fares will have gone and you will have to pay a premium if there's only a few seats left. If it were me and if I thought the fare on offer now was reasonable, I would book it now.

[Mango]

What are the best sites for booking flights?

[barrys]

As I mentioned in a previous post, it depends to a large extent how flexible you can be with your dates - if they're flexible you may want to take a risk and leave it to nearer the date of travel before booking, but there's still a risk that the cheapest fares will have gone and you will have to pay a premium if there's only a few seats left. If it were me and if I thought the fare on offer now was reasonable, I would book it now.

Hi Dannie Boy,

Thanks a lot for that.
Because of connecting flights to/from Ireland, we can't be that flexible with the dates.
However, I don't really want to pay for the tickets until the gf's visa issues have been sorted.
Do you know if it's possible to make a provisional booking via these websites?

[dtaai-maai]

However, I don't really want to pay for the tickets until the gf's visa issues have been sorted.

Interesting point, and slightly off topic, but any visa issues she might have (which would astonish me, knowing your situation) will probably be greatly helped by having return tickets bought and paid for. A chicken and egg situation that recent travellers in a similar situation might be able to help with.

[lomuamart]

The embassy recommend that you don't but tickets until you know whether you've got the visa. Certainly, my wife didn't book until she was successful on two occasions.
Think it would be down to Imm at the arrival airport to quiz about return flights.

[Big Boy]

That always used to be the UK Embassy's advice. However, I haven't applied for some time, and I acknowledge DM's statement:

A chicken and egg situation that recent travellers in a similar situation might be able to help with.

[Dannie Boy]

As I mentioned in a previous post, it depends to a large extent how flexible you can be with your dates - if they're flexible you may want to take a risk and leave it to nearer the date of travel before booking, but there's still a risk that the cheapest fares will have gone and you will have to pay a premium if there's only a few seats left. If it were me and if I thought the fare on offer now was reasonable, I would book it now.

Hi Dannie Boy,

Thanks a lot for that.
Because of connecting flights to/from Ireland, we can't be that flexible with the dates.
However, I don't really want to pay for the tickets until the gf's visa issues have been sorted.
Do you know if it's possible to make a provisional booking via these websites?

It's a long time since I booked a flight with one of the flight consolidators, but I think they used to let you book a flight but would only hold it for about 4 weeks, so that may not be long enough to resolve the visa issues - I guess you will need to ask?

[arcadianagain]

As someone may have already pointed out one of the main criteria for issuing a visa is the proof of .intention to return, eg, family ties, business interests etc. Once you have landed in mainland Europe with a schengen visa there are no border controls for train/road travel, don`t know about Switzerland though

[pdm3547]

Try Norwegian. They're cheap (£200) to Oslo and you can use that as a base to travel onwards.

[Pleng]

What are the best sites for booking flights?

To be honest, in my experience they're all about the same. I use lastminute.com (no, you don't actually have to book at the last minute) but that's only because it's the first one I used. I go there first to check what price they're quoting, then look around a few other sites and the prices all seem to be pretty much the same, give or take a couple of pounds. I guess they all have pretty much the same agreement with all the airlines - maybe they all search against the same wholesaler, too?

[Dannie Boy]

What are the best sites for booking flights?

To be honest, in my experience they're all about the same. I use lastminute.com (no, you don't actually have to book at the last minute) but that's only because it's the first one I used. I go there first to check what price they're quoting, then look around a few other sites and the prices all seem to be pretty much the same, give or take a couple of pounds. I guess they all have pretty much the same agreement with all the airlines - maybe they all search against the same wholesaler, too?

Most of the major airlines claim that their flights are cheaper booked direct with the airline - I've not checked to see how valid their claim is?

[Pleng]

That's never been my experience, though I haven't flown long haul for a couple of years - they've always been a bit more expensive. But again, we're talking pennies.

I guess the best strategy would be to use a couple of sites to see which airline is quoting cheapest for your particular journey, and then check said airline's site to see if you can get it any cheaper going direct to them.

[STEVE G]

I've found ebookers.com to be the most reliable site in that the prices quoted will actually be obtained if you buy them at that moment, many other sites will quote prices that are low but go up when you actually try to buy them which isn't much use to be honest.
I wouldn't book seven months in advance as many airlines will just quote the standard fare at that point, I normally find that between two and six weeks ahead to be the best time for discounts, except for really busy periods like Christmas. I've recently bought a ticket on Air France and it was still a good price just under two weeks away, the price has just started climbing now.
As for going direct to the airline site, a few of them do sell cheaper by the minimal amount that the internet sellers make but not many and not always the same departures so unless you're really determined to get the absolute cheapest deal, it's not worth the bother to save a few pounds.

[bsdk1960]

Try Norwegian. They're cheap (£200) to Oslo and you can use that as a base to travel onwards.

they are cheap but please read some of the rewiews here

http://www.airlineratings.com/index.php

seems a bit of mixed rewiew with many delayed flights,havent tried them yet since I have a very
tied schedule when I go home for work,so need a reliable connection.

anyone who tried them longhaul, pleace give us a rewiew.