Any good deals going at the moment ??

[jonnyivy]

Hi folks,.... I was wondering if any members know where to go to book good flights at the moment. As I aint been in the market place for a while I notice my usual carriers are way more expensive now and the likes of Emirates are by far the cheapest now.
Planning on flying over around early October and returning end of October.
Problem is we are based in Scotland with nearest airports being Newcastle or Edinburgh.
Dont really fancy going through Manila but would prefer direct into Cebu.

Any ideas please ??

Jonny

[stevewool]

Skyscanner try and see what they are offering first,

[SimonH]

Ok, I'm a bit confused

You say Emirates are the cheapest now but you want to fly into Cebu. You are aware that Emirates fly directly into to Cebu aren't you?

[jonnyivy]

Yup,...I am aware the Emirates goes directly into Cebu,... what I meant was that cheaper options usually mean going via Manila but I would rather avoid that route.
Cathay, Qatar and the likes are a lot more expensive.
Travel Trolley are showing cheapest flights at £1598 total for the family..

[grahamw48]

I'd stick with Emirates (as long as they don't get into a bloody war with their neighbours ! ).

Can't be beaten at the price. Train through to Manchester... hire a car, or have a pal run you there ?

Otherwise you're lumbered with expensive KLM from an airport closer to you, changing planes in Amsterdam, then on to Taipei (I think), then Manila. I've used them in the past when they flew straight into Manila... via Bangkok, I seem to remember, but now, seems a bit of an expensive faff.

[Ako Si Jamie]

The cheapest I've seen (apart from the low grade airlines) is around the £450 mark. Qatar & Singapore Airlines from Heathrow to Clark in the autumn.

[robbie bobby]

Emirates are a codeshare partner with Flybe so just check your nearest airport they fly from and book through Skyscanner or Emirates site.

I'm going in Oct and tbh I got pretty much the same price flying from Guernsey-Bhx-Dxb-ceb than if I booked it from Birmingham alone.1500 quid for a family of 4 return.I even managed to book an extra free seat bcoz it was so cheap and I will just leave it empty so no random stranger will be next to any of us. I got a free pick of the seats too thanks to the kind person in Dubai who gave me a bit of wrong info and having complained and them listened to the call all is now well.

[SimonH]

The cheapest I've seen (apart from the low grade airlines) is around the £450 mark. Qatar & Singapore Airlines from Heathrow to Clark in the autumn.

Qatar would be the last airline I would fly with at the moment

[stevewool]

Never having flown with Emirates , what are thy like looking at flights from Birmingham into Dubai on there A380 of which i have never flown on either.

[SimonH]

Never having flown with Emirates , what are thy like looking at flights from Birmingham into Dubai on there A380 of which i have never flown on either.

I've never flown with any other airline to the Philippines, always on time and great service in my opinion

[stevewool]

Thanks Simon, holiday next Saturday for 2 weeks , nothing booked the world is our oyster but every time i say what about this , its a look you get and you know is not right, so i have been told to surprise her, shall it be or be or could be or play safe

[Ako Si Jamie]

Saw a price of £450ish with Philippine Airlines in November but the return flight is 3 hours longer.

Something to do with NAIA congestion perhaps?

[Trefor]

Saw a price of £450ish with Philippine Airlines in November but the return flight is 3 hours longer.

Something to do with NAIA congestion perhaps?

Nope, MNL delays may have some effect but the flight is longer. I hated the return MNL > LHR leg when we did it, seemed to take forever. Partly down to wind direction and partly down to the route they take - less countries crossed = less money on fees to that country (for those who don't know, when airlines overfly a country they pay a fee, like a toll).

Another vote for Emirates for general convenience of UK airports and in-air service (WiFi, movies, seats, planes).

[jonnyivy]

So Robbie Bobby,... we could meet for a dram in Marshall's Irish bar in October then !!!

Good price at £1595 for the 4 of us, same as yourselves,.... Newcastle to Cebu.
I heard the return flight is not so good,..flies from Cebu to Clark, sit on plane for 2 hours then on to 10 hour flight to Dubai, then 6 hours stoppover !!....Hope kids get a decent sleep somewhere along the way ..

[Slip]

May be going end of September for two weeks coming back Middle of October.
It all depends on Harlene's FLR. As soon as that's done, she may go home with our daughter when her Mum finally goes back mid September. I will follow two weeks later and the three of us come back together.

I've seen good prices so far. Just not sure what airport I wish to choose yet....

[jonnyivy]

If I can just give members a wee heads up on booking their flights,..well maybe not everybody looks for the cheapest flight offered, but here's what happened to me today.
I have been watching the prices for Emirates for a week now,..they are advertised on a site called Travel Trolley (linked to a lot of search engines) and the price they show are about £100 cheaper than the next dearest.... I was just ready to press the pay now button when I thought I'd better check this company out...so I read some reports on them. There was a bit of a mixed bag of info and reviews, but mainly folk were saying to beware of their non-existing prices,..they let you book the flight then phone or email you to tell you there has been an increase in the price and they want more money. Of course you can get a refund but it takes 6-10 days to be returned.
With this in mind I telephoned their customer services, having the itinery in front of me on-screen to dictate the dates etc..... not surprisingly he said that price was out of date... and all the other dates around my travel plans ????.. they were all out of date too !!! the actual price was £130 MORE than the airlines direct price !!!

Hope that helps someone make a phone-call first before pressing their pay now button.

Jonny

[grahamw48]

Good info mate.

Quite correct... I learned that from reading the comments and reviews too.

The main reason I always book direct with the airline now.... after getting quotes from Skyscanner and/or Kayak.
Maybe 50 quid more, but at least I know that is the REAL price, and my money ... well, credit card... should be safe with a company that owns 300 aircraft.

[Slip]

I always use a site called netflights. Never had a problem. When you go to book the flights it books direct with the airline. Used them about half a dozen times to various destinations so far.

[Ako Si Jamie]

If I can just give members a wee heads up on booking their flights,..well maybe not everybody looks for the cheapest flight offered, but here's what happened to me today.
I have been watching the prices for Emirates for a week now,..they are advertised on a site called Travel Trolley (linked to a lot of search engines) and the price they show are about £100 cheaper than the next dearest.... I was just ready to press the pay now button when I thought I'd better check this company out...so I read some reports on them. There was a bit of a mixed bag of info and reviews, but mainly folk were saying to beware of their non-existing prices,..they let you book the flight then phone or email you to tell you there has been an increase in the price and they want more money. Of course you can get a refund but it takes 6-10 days to be returned.
With this in mind I telephoned their customer services, having the itinery in front of me on-screen to dictate the dates etc..... not surprisingly he said that price was out of date... and all the other dates around my travel plans ????.. they were all out of date too !!! the actual price was £130 MORE than the airlines direct price !!!

Hope that helps someone make a phone-call first before pressing their pay now button.

Jonny

I used Travel Trolley back in 2015 and I didn't have a problem. Maybe this is a new tactic for them although the ageing trick of bumping up the price is old as the hills. If I use them again I'll phone them up first to check the price is current.

[Ako Si Jamie]

They're owned by Southall Travel btw!

[Harry T]

They're owned by Southall Travel btw!

As are Fly Sharp who I have used in the past without any problem:

https://www.flysharp.com/

[bigmarco]

Just booked Etihad for a trip at the end of July. First time in about 12/13 trips that I'll be going via the middle east which doesn't fill me with excitement. £300 more each to travel in July as we paid in March/April

[stevewool]

Just booked flights Birmingham to Barcelona for a few days then onwards to Palma​ for a week then back to Birmingham £476 for two of us.