nancypants

Globaliser

One difficulty is that cheap fares are very market dependent. So Norway to Australia fares may be cheaper than UK to Australia fares. But this has little if any bearing on whether Australia to Norway fares might be cheaper than Australia to UK fares. You need to have some speciaist knowledge of the Australian market to have a good handle on that, and we just don't have that many members who know enough about it.

The other difficulty is that for someone starting in Australia, the equivalent of the cheap Norway to Australia fares might well be to start in Dili or Bali or Manila. Again, knowing whether Timor-Leste to UK, Indonesia to UK or Philippines to UK fares are much cheaper than Australia to UK fares really needs a level of specialist knowledge that we don't have here.

But the Australian-based forums are likely to have much more knowledge - hence the suggestion that was made. It was practical, not unfriendly.

nancypants

Globaliser

There's more than that. You have a connection in London, which comes with additional risks. Your OSL-LHR might be so late that you miss your long-haul flight even though you made it to OSL in time, and that could cause you difficulties. If you take your checked bags to OSL, then it could get mishandled on the way there. Or the bag might get mishandled at LHR during the connection. Or if you don't take the checked bag to OSL at all, you may get back to LHR too late to retrieve it and check it in. These risks are all small, but they exist - and they are all additional risks over and above simply starting your trip in London.

This is why I repeatedly say here that ex-EU is not the answer to every question. Ex-EU is not the answer for everyone, and it is not the answer for every trip. If you decide to do one, you need to do it with your eyes wide open and with an appreciation of all the points at which the trip could go wrong, and you need to be able to deal with the consequences. And ideally, you need to think through all the possible problems in advance, and not only start thinking when a problem rears its head.

dalianmedical

Keep your eye on expedia from SYD/Oslo via SIN/Moscow/Stockholm on SQ for around 3400usd return but recently been raised but worth checking often. It is a SAS ticket but SQ metal except for Oslo sector/regards

Dave Noble

I would use something like ITA ( matrix.itasoftware.com) and put in searches for business class from various locations in Europe - see which carrier has the best prices

Alternatively I would look at buying AA miles. 170,000 miles currently costs GBP2,548 (approc) and redeeming on Etihad which tends to have plenty of award availability. There will be GBP272 taxes to add to that for a journey starting from London. Start in somewhere like Amsterdam and it will plummet to GBP132

1st class would work out at GBP3540 plus tax

tomdelay

Modo

As a former Londoner now living in The Lakes I find Ex EU an awful lot more relaxing than travelling through London Ex MAN/EDI/GLA.

Within OW connecting via HEL or DOH is much more relaxed than going through LHR. Unfortunately the OW deals ex Scandi on QR seem to have dried up since early July. I'm hoping they return soon otherwise I'm seriously considering shifting alliance. The SQ deal in the premium fares thread can be had via CPH/FRA as well as DME. It can also price similarly to most Australian cities.

https://www.google.nl/flights#flt=AR...9*2.EUR.237659

trooper

Mid March/Mid April SIN-OSL can be done for $3500-3700 each on QR..... even less on TK but I assume you are after OW.

Keep it Riel

There are stacks of options if you don't mind multiple flights and have adequate time available I recently structured something similar from LON and considered great fares to PER and SYD on MH ex DEL and the great AUH to CGK Srilankan fare covers a chunk of the distance. I ended up with an ex-EU from Oslo out to BKK and back from SIN with avios positioning to OSL and separate flights into and out of Aus.

Mapman

Others have already made suggestions for ways to avoid FX fees for the ticket purchase and of course these are also useful for saving the fees on all international purchases during your trip(s). I use Curve which allows charges to be made internationally to a number of your UK domestic cards that you set up in the Curve Wallet (but not Amex). Monzo is another choice, although this is a bank account with no FX fees so requires you to have sufficient cash in your account to cover purchases.

Qatar Airways also offers a cash rebate via Topcashback. I have benefited from rebates of 2.5% on lots of QR fares purchased using Topcashback (plus lots of other things from RAC membership to household insurance).

Your attention was piqued when one poster talked of the possible downsides of an ex-EU routing. I echo the advice that if you build in enough leeway you mitigate risk. There are threads that talk about this but perhaps I might summarise what my experiences have been, using ex-EU on BA and on QR?

It is possible to do a back-to-back turn round if you're on a BA ticket from some European airports to a long-haul destination and have hand-baggage only (unlikely for your three/four week trip to Oz). See the Wiki at: Back-to-back / Immediate Turnarounds at BA Destinations. However, should your flights be cancelled, you may be in trouble. I'd generally avoid the stress of this and go the day before and spend a night or, if your flight from Europe is late in the day, I'd aim for an early flight from the UK.

This applies to flights on QR from a European airport. I have done these with success from ARN, FRA, HEL and PSA. The timing of the flight to where your first long haul sector departs will depend on your appetite for risk. In winter, you need to build in more possible IRROPS recovery time - snow, fog, storms can all play havoc with the best laid plans. In summer, with the exception of strikes, margins could be reduced.

As an example, for a trip ex-ARN at the end of this month with a 2235 departure, I'm on the 1320 fro LHR arriving ARN at 1655. If this is delayed, I've got a decent amount of time spare. If it's cancelled, the later BA flight is scheduled to get in to ARN with about enough time to allow me to catch the QR flight to SIN (I sincerely hope I'm now not tempting fate...). So, weigh up the cost of an overnight against the overall saving of the long haul. If you're saving £2.5k compared to a UK departure, spending £150 on an overnight doesn't eat into the saving very much. If the saving is only £300, then the maths of stress+overnight probably don't add up.

I've also dragged colleagues and the other half on a variety of ex-EUs. When QR offered a double whammy of launch fares for flights from Pisa and to Auckland, I took advantage of these and snared PSA-AKL/AKL-FRA for about £1k a piece up the front of the plane. We flew to PSA the day before the QR flights and had a pleasant evening and day in the city. The only downside was that the left luggage office at PSA closed just as our flight from LHR was arriving so we had to lug the large holiday cases to the hotel which wasn't part of the plan - particularly since our hotel in the centre of Pisa didn't have a lift! This is a small example of things that can disrupt even the most detailed planning. Otherwise the trip went well and the saving of £6k on flights from London was astonishing.

I would submit that once you've tried ex-EU and totted up potential savings (not to mention extra TPs to get you to a higher BAEC membership level), you will want to continue. Happy to answer any questions...

dalianmedical

To Tom Delay
CI has excellent J service and hard product and ground service and Taipei is relatively quiet and seamless transfers and ok lounge and it seems like a good deal to Australia.

Misco60

My risk appetite is very low so I always book my positioning flight for the previous day, or even sooner (but I'm retired and can do that). The cities that most often produce the best fares are also great places to visit in their own right, and it reduces the stress involved in a back-to-back.

However, you do then have to factor the cost of hotels, meals and transfers into your calculated savings.

Mapman

I'd echo the endorsement for CI. I've used them for LGW-TPE/TPE-VIE and was impressed. Comfortable J cabin, food OK, service OK (but not quite the same feel as BA or QR), IFE limited choice. Wouldn't object to going on further than Taipei with them.

Swanhunter