koz

We'll be visiting Europe from Australia next year and will be booking a one way AMS-NCL flight after we finish a cruise. I see that while looking at current fares for flights from now until the end of May next year that the fares are always 202 Euro every day from 24 July, although they are of course higher if I was to book to travel in the next few weeks.

We will need to book a flight for early July 2019. I would appreciate thoughts from others on if you have seen KLM have fare discount sales at different times during the year? If so, are KLM likely to offer fare discounts at some stage on a short haul route like AMS-NCL where there are 4 flights a day, or would it be more likely to only be for long haul flights? If not we probably should book it at the 202 Euro standard fare when it becomes available.

Thanks for any thoughts you can offer.

Joriarty

It's not likely you'll see a decent discount at such short notice, particularly in the peak summer season. Maybe a return ticket is cheaper (just ditch the second leg), or maybe you can find cheap flights to a nearby airport and then take the train to Newcastle. Another option is to take the train all the way from Amsterdam. It might take 5 hours longer door-to-door than a direct flight, but you'll avoid the stress of flying, and likely save a good amount of money.

Believe it or not, there is also a ferry that runs overnight from IJmuiden (near Amsterdam) to Newcastle. Especially if you've got kids in tow, this will likely be the cheapest option. You can book a cabin with beds, and save on a night's accommodation – not a bad option! Don't forget to de-select the vehicle option when checking prices, as I assume you wouldn't want to bring a car on the ferry.

AlicorporateUK

I'd say that is not bad at all for a one-way fare (they tend be fairly pricey as I'm sure you know already, unless you pick a low-cost carrier such as Ryanair or easyJet) and I can't see that price dropping I'm afraid.

G

koz

Thanks to you both for your replies. It's not short notice - I'm planning ahead for a flight in early July next year, which should go on sale in just over a month from now. I see the 202 Euro price for every day from 24 July this year up until late May next year, with higher prices for a lot of dates between now and 23 July so I realise that I shouldn't wait until close to the date we need to travel to book the flight. I've looked a few times over the past few months to see if there is any pattern with pricing but it always looked similar when looking at least a few months out so I had the feeling that the prices for this route will probably not drop but thought it worth asking. We have friends who live near Newcastle who will pick us up at the airport and we will stay overnight with them before boarding another cruise in Newcastle the next day and we are not traveling with children so we do want to book this direct flight.

We already have the cruises booked and yesterday I booked our J Award SYD-HKG-AMS flights with CX as soon as the date we need was released to start our trip. There's no hurry booking the AMS-NCL flight like there was with booking our J Award flight but I like to be organised with our planning.

shotb83

Traditionally one way flights with KLM from NCL-AMS have always been more expensive for than return fares. I have previously only required a one way flight and ended up booking a return as it has been cheaper, then I would just no show my return. I know it sounds crazy but that is how they work. Check it out.

UKtravelbear

It looks like the only airline that offers AMS-NCL direct is KLM. So without competition there is very little possibility of a sale.

You might get slightly cheaper if you look at BA (via LHR) or AF (via CDG) though of course that adds inconvenience.

Doing some random dates on google flights it appears that the 08.35 flight is cheaper than the later flights in the day.

koz

Thanks again for the replies. We plan on booking the 12:30 flight as we'll be arriving back in Amsterdam on a ship that is scheduled to dock at 7am that morning so couldn't book the 08:35 flight. We could book an award flight with BA via LHR using our Qantas points, or pay for BA or AF as you suggested, but since our friends have offered to pick us up and show us around the Newcastle area that afternoon we want to book the direct flight. We have shown them around Sydney several times when they've visited Australia and have been on a few cruises with them but we haven't visited them at home before.

Regarding the suggestion to book a return flight - it comes up 30 Euro cheaper for the return than the single fare so thanks for letting me know that. The only thing is that we plan to pre-pay luggage when we book as it appears that it will be cheaper than paying at the airport and I don't know if we could tell them we want to pay for luggage one way and not the other.

Fabo.sk

Yes, one way luggage is possible.

tigertanaka

+1 for booking a return and “no showing” on the way back, KLM’s one way fares are insane. MME might be an alternative airport (30 miles south of Newcastle) as well.

Play around with the return turn date too as it can often change the fare quite a bit, especially if you add in a Saturday night stay.