jock

Hey everyone!

Dublin is my ex-eu airport of choice. Flying from Edinburgh ive got 3 choices. Ive done Ryanair..perfectly good enough but i had hand luggage last time so baggage costs were'nt an issue. Secondly theres the BA route via either LGW or LHR and thirdly theres Aer Lingus regional direct.

Ive not tryed the last two options..and I know from checking that the second option isnt a problem..but obviously will take longer. Its the third im intererested in. The next trip in feb I will have golf clubs and luggage and Wondered if I could use Avios to fly this route? Ba want to charge 4500 avios and 17.50 o/w Edi to Dub. Very reasonable...im wondering if Ei is similar? I take i have to call BA to book this route? Anyone flown this route on the ATR? Not overly fond of turboprops..

lorcancoyle

EI cash fares are so low, and absence of RFS on EI I think, that not sure it makes sense. Wonder if BA will offer connection via LCY now

jcm9000

I cant answer the avios questions but i have used the atrs before and will be again next month for ex-eu positioning. Apart from having to check the carry on which i suppose is fine for point to point flights, they are your typical load em in, go, land, props with the cabin noise that goes with them aka a decent background hum, and i like 2x2 seating even if a bit tight. I far prefer them to sitting on ryanair staring at the safety notices and ways they think we will save ourselves if the aircraft hits the ground at 600mph. Ryanair to me is the last minute back up should the stobart air flight be cancelled or seriously delayed. But then that applies to all ryanair flights for me.

Oh and being cheeky with some useless facts, stobart air is probably the only airline/route with a ba link (or not for that matter!) that our resident legendary god of the skies mr CWS has never flown.... Sorry, couldnt resist! I now await the silent cough as i find he was on it last week....

lhrsfo

Do be aware that EI charges for baggage and a glass of water so, apart from the lack of ads in the seat back, seems to be vying with Ryanair for nastily cheap.

jackowilkinson

I also have a quick ex-EU positioning flight question. (Sorry to jump on this thread!)

I'm starting in OSL, no prizes for guessing which region I'm off to... Plan to fly LHR-OSL positioning, and then start my OSL-LHR-HKG... trip.

Rather than lug 2 checked bags to OSL (a bike box and a suitcase), can I arrive at LHR early AM before BA 762, and check the bags in for BA 25? Then fly to OSL on BA 762 (on a separate booking), and then fly back to LHR on BA 765, and transit onto BA 25 without worrying about bags?

Or would I be better to fly LHR-OSL-LHR, go landside, rush to car park, get bags, and then check in for BA 25?

Thanks :-)

Globaliser

There are varying reports about checking bags for sector 2 only (LHR-HKG) before you have flown sector 1 (OSL-LHR). Some have had this done for them and some have been refused.

One anecdote: We had our bags accepted early at Christmas last year before we flew to AMS and then flew sector 1 (AMS-LHR). They must have liked the comfort and warmth of the early bag store, because they didn't travel on sector 2 with us.

But one thing is clear: Your backup plan would be better if you did not have to rush to the car park between sector 1 and sector 2. You might want to take your bags to check-in before your LHR-OSL and see whether they will be accepted. If they are not, then the backup plan should be to take them to left luggage on the arrivals level. It will then be much faster to reclaim them between OSL-LHR and LHR-HKG if you find you need to - particularly if your OSL-LHR ends up being very late.

Swampz64

I flew LHR-BRU and BRU-LHR- SFO on the same day last week, BA happy to check my bags including golf clubs on to the LHR-SFO leg.

jerry a. laska

As noted by Globaliser and Swampz there are varying experiences. See also this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...e-tickets.html

jackowilkinson

Thanks guys. Makes you wonder if ex-EU fares are worth all the hassle!

I appreciate the advice and will follow up and let you know how it goes.

Similarly, returning, I have stops in SYD and SIN of just over 24 hrs. Presumably its a case of left luggage again?! I can't check bags right through can I?

LTN Phobia

Correct. You cannot check bags through on a connection > 24 hours.

Left luggage at SIN is very cheap. It's on the floor above the departures (landside).

For SYD: http://www.baggagestorage.com.au/index.php/locations

jackowilkinson

Thank you LTN Phobia

nth_utsera_sth_utsera

Just remember where a certain EI CEO used to work...

IAG CEO Willie Walsh: 'I have no designs on Aer Lingus'

Globaliser

It depends on how much money you're saving.

More recently, we've done ex-EUs by doing LCY-AMS-LCY the evening before. It avoids all these baggage hassles.

KARFA

Oh they really are

kingcole974

My family of 4 leave for BKK on an ex EU from AMS tomorrow in J with a one way connection from koh samui back to BKK on our return.

We booked 6 weeks ago in J and spent €6145. I also had to pay £70 in RFS fees and burn 18000 miles to position ourselves to AMS and also spend another 3 hours travelling.

If I had booked From London the price was £18200!!

For me, that is very much worth the hassle. Also, as an added bonus, the extra tier points earned on the AMS LHR sector means that all 4 of us will be silver by the time we get home.