You may remember a couple of weeks ago on Tuesday Travels I spoke about my tickets arriving. In the post I spoke briefly about how I went about choosing my tickets and booking them. It was quite a drawn out experience, mainly because I left getting my visa quite late (you can also read my top tips for getting your visa if you're a bit confused about the whole process) and I looked into every option. I realise not everyone will have the time to do that so I thought I'd give you my top tips to getting the tickets you really want, and more to the point need.
1) Know Where You Want To Land
Not every airline flies to every major airport in Australia. Some fly to Sydney and Perth, some to Brisbane and Sydney some only to Sydney, among other combinations. If you want to land in Sydney for whatever reason, there's no point looking at flights with airlines that only fly to Perth. Check that first otherwise you could spend some time looking at flight options that aren't even available to you.
For me this was quite complicated, originally I was going to fly to Perth and then fly back from Sydney. However, due to constraints on Jack's return flight this wasn't possible so I'm now flying to and from Brisbane. Every time I decided to fly to a different city, the airline I was looking at flying with changed. It's not the simplest of places to fly to as it's so vast you want to be certain that were you're flying too is where you're happy to spend a fair amount of time initially.
2) Shop Around
This probably should have been number one because I can't stress enough how important this is. I booked who I booked through because it was the same travel agent Jack used and it was therefore, simpler for the return situation. However, I did look elsewhere first.
I initially went to my local high street travel agents, this was mainly to get some ideas. I wasn't going with any intention to book but I'm so glad I went. The quote I got for the flights I wanted was £300 more than the quote I got from anywhere else. This is why you should shop around. Don't worry about having to wait a week longer, if you're saving sums of money such as £300 it doesn't matter.
I ended up book with Trailfinders over the phone, but they do have stores across the country. It was really simple and the people I spoke to where brilliant. I'd definitely recommend them. I felt very confident that they knew what they were talking about, and I've contacted them a couple of times since booking and they've been able to find my reference in seconds and sorted my question just as quickly.
STA, however, are also another company I looked at booking with. They offered me exactly the same quote as Trailfinders did and they were just as helpful. They again have stores across the country and are available over the phone and by e-mail. I would recommend, them I just felt more confident booking with Trailfinders mainly due to personal reasons. I also felt the contact I had with them was better than I got with STA.
3) Expedia
If you're not sure which airlines fly to Australia, or which airlines fly to the city of your choice check out Expedia. Great for two reasons. You get all options available to you on one page. Every airline that flies to that city will be there. They're also listed from lowest to highest price so you can find airlines that suit your budget really easily. I wouldn't recommend booking with them as I feel when it's such a long flight and so far away having contact with your travel agent is a must for various reasons. Expedia will also give you details of any stops you will have to make on your journey, so if you want to do a night stop over or just a few hours you'll be able to easily find which airlines offer which.
So they're my three top tips for choosing your tickets. At the end of the day it is personal choice and personal circumstances come into it a lot. However, these tips should cover all bases especially if, like me, this is your first time booking flights for yourself or even if it's just your first time heading off to Australia. It is daunting, let's be honest, it's the other side of the world. But finding the right travel agent and the right airline is really comforting.
I hope these help any of you confused souls out, I was certainly confused when I set out to book my tickets. There are so many choices it's very easy to get lost, but I think these tips should help a little. So, happy ticket buying.
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