BA and the Ashes [England cricket matches in Australia]
 

Just nursing my sadness at the increasing likelihood of my much planned and looked forward to trip to SA for the Lions being canned, and I’ve decided to cheer myself up by fantasising about going to the Ashes.

BA are selling flights to Sydney for late December (and November it seems). I’m assuming these will only go ahead if Australia opens its borders but I’ve really no idea whether that’s realistic at this stage. Will BA be flying the England team down there? Anyone else making plans? Wide open availability for Avios for internal routes too. QF business class domestic can be extortionate so a good use of miles.

Given the approach taken at federal and state level by the Australian government to tackle COVID I would suggest your chances of making it down under for the Ashes are zero, or pretty close to it. Unless you are a returning Australian passport holder in which case you might be waiting some time but should make it back. Sadly 😕

I’ve taken the plunge on flights in January knowing that I can take a voucher if they don’t fly.

Test match dates won’t be announced until March, but they will not be in the usual late November to early January window as the T20 WC in India doesn’t finish until mid-November and Australia are scheduled to play a test against Afghanistan before the Ashes.

Slightly off topic, but knowing there will likely be much interest on here, the Barmy Army Facebook page is full of discussion about the Ashes.

Go for it. If Australia and UK vax plans hit the targets there just might be a chance . Not a big chance but a chance. Obviously cover yourself every way on refunds if it comes to it and the possibility of 10 days in a travelodge on return. Gd luck

I had pencilled myself in for Barbados in March ‘23, which is slightly more likely than Australia this year. Having been down under for the victory in 2010/11 I am not in a hurry to go back there and see us lose!

I think booking international sporting events is a big risk. Even if travel is possible will there be capacity crowds? If not then tickets will be even more hard to come by than they usually are in Sydney for example.

I've bitten the bullet and booked some flights. The domestic Avios ones are, of course, fully refundable and I don't pay booking fees on them. My working assumption is that BA will only go ahead with BA15/16 LHR SIN SYD if Australia has reopened its borders. It's reasonably easy to get good flex rates on hotels in the big cities right now, with the exception of NYE....

Is the boxing day test always at the MCG? I'm thinking of doing likewise and taking the plunge for late Dec to early Jan.

Traditionally the order is BNE, ADL,PER,MEL (boxing day), SYD (3rd Jan).

If the normal mid Nov start date is delayed due to fixture congestion, I would think that MEL & SYD would stay as normal and the first 3 will get rescheduled.

I managed to grab avios flights for the ashes next year in club (DUB LON DOH HKG SYD) yes bit of a work around on flight!!! it’s the only way personally I’d be making bookings at the moment handing over as little cash as possible. I can’t see me getting there which I’m gonna be a little disappointed with as it’s one thing on the bucket list I need to get ticked off

As much as I'd love to go to Australia, and have moved flights three times before finally cancelling, I think most folk will be comfortably sitting on their sofas at home with their First Class crockery daydreaming about being there!

The later the series finishes, the more chance of actually getting there to see some cricket. Expect the final test to be late Jan/early Feb.

and here I was hoping to get to India to watch the upcoming matches.... had this planned ever since they announced the series.... oh well .. watch at home with have access to my own bathroom

Australia is starting its vaccination program in February and aims to complete it by October. While I don't believe that any country will be back to normal by then (I still believe that masks, social distancing, and such measures will still be required in a years time), I cannot see countries like Australia being able to keep its borders closed once the vaccination program is nearing completion. In parallel, the therapeutic approaches to treating Covid are improving constantly.

The caveat here is of course unless something dramatic changes (such as a more significant mutation). If everything goes to plan I cannot see that the Australian Government will be able to justify keeping its borders closed once the risk of significant mortality has been significantly reduced. Australians and particularly those who rely on travel and tourism for their income will want borders reopened, especially as the end of the vaccination program will mark the start of their peak summer season. Yes, there will still probably be requirements to have tests done, but I think there is a good chance that borders will reopen.

I have flights booked at the end of November and at present am 80% confident these will go ahead. But I am booking everything as flexible and holding off making any arrangements that cannot be booked flexibly.

That might be in doubt as they havn't announced if / whom is going to cover it yet have they? Rumours of Disney+!

Earlier this week I booked GLA > LHR > SYD and return for over Christmas and New Year. Not for the Ashes but I’ll certainly try my best to get to a couple of days if I get out there and if the cricket is on.

I’ve booked with the expectation my flight will be cancelled so anything more than that is a bonus. I’ve added in an overnight and hotel at LHR on the way out so that means it’s a BAH booking so it’s only a deposit I’ve had to pay at the moment. Even at the that the deposit has been paid using a FTV from last summer.