When's best time to come?

[SteveyC]

Now we're making steps forward again with the process, we've turned our attention to when to come over. Obviously there must be loads of factors but I reckon the bggest will be cost. If we come as soon as house completes then we could be looking at bang in the middle of peak season meaning higher flight prices.

When do you think flights will be cheapest and what other factors should be considered when designating a date for the big move? Whatcha reckon peeps?

[netchicken]

Dunno, but I am looking for flights to europe for April next year, and by far the cheapest are http://fly.emirates.com/airSrcMain.jsp

Try them for your cheap flights first, you may be suprised, they are up to $600 NZ cheaper than others ($1440 christchurch to frankfurt)

[jamesthecarman]

Now is a good time :icon_cool:

But seriously....

I reckon just before Easter. It's not really peak season any more (though I don't have stats/prices to back that up) though the weather is pretty decent.

Though somehow Easter weekend always has some bad weather. And it's the beginning of the "cold/wet" season.

Another reason that time of year to come out: it will feel a lot like home!! Cold/rainy/damp. Mmmmm. :icon_razz:



[i:d756f85bb0](talking to the Brit's, not those from Florida.....oh, if your from Florida, the winter here is, hmm, strange. And you get to learn a lot about houses and their lack of central heating/insulation then too. And you'll learn what the term "chinese laundry" means and that a "dryer" doesn't exist....you'll also learn what "hypathermia" is (I don't think I spelled it right, but hey, I'm from Florida) and that they don't know what "heat stroke" is here.....which is what makes it so sweet here. You learn about their hazards....err, culture....and you get to tell them about ours)[/i:d756f85bb0]

[MotherBear]

[quote:5d5ef28f92="SteveyC"]When do you think flights will be cheapest and what other factors should be considered when designating a date for the big move?[/quote:5d5ef28f92]

Why don't you have a word with the travel agents now and see if they can give you an idea when would be the cheapest time to travel? Often it's the case that, the further you book ahead, the cheaper the price. Prices go up the nearer you are to your chosen flight date.

I don't know where you'd be staying if your house sells and you're not flying off immediately. If you're having to rent accommodation, you'd need to weigh up the difference between the rent you'd be paying against the cost of the flight. It might be false economy to stay in rented accommodation while waiting for cheaper air tickets.

[SteveyC]

MB, Yeah but no. It doesn't really have bearing on rental time as while I'm renting I will be working thus being able to pay the rent. Arguably it's the other way round as we'll be saving (hopefully) whilst we're renting as with some proceeeds from house we'll have paid of debts leaving more disposable income. We're quite flexible really tho, obviously we can get a short term let if we come out later in the year but if we do come say around Easter then it will almost be worth staying with friends/family for a couple of months saving even more money and hassle of getting short term tennancy.

Steve when you're price searching do you go straight to airlines generally or do you have favourite flight search engines, which ones? Travel Agents are a nono for me, how can they offer competetive flights, when someones gotta pay there wages. I don't wanna pay them unless you've discovered the contrary in your meanderings MB.

[MotherBear]

I've found that going direct to the airlines is usually more expensive. We've booked through a travel agent here and it's costing us 426 Omani riyals, whereas, looking online at Thai Air's site (who we're flying with), the same flights are costing over 1,000 riyals. I've heard this before as well, although I really can't understand why it would be. If you cut out the middle man, the fares should be cheaper, but for some reason they aren't.

It could have something to do with the agents getting their paws on block bookings for cheap and passing on some discount to their customers, whereas if you, as an individual, book direct with the airline, it appears you get charged the full whack.

[SteveyC]

The other thing I thought of is whether you can save money by booking flights from another country and getting a cheap flight to that destination. We have got to go to Holland before we leave and say goodbye to relatives that we may not see for a while, so thought about maybe an easyjet flight out there for 60 quid then much bigger saving on flying from Amsterdam onwards.

[Glenda]

I don't know what online sites others use but we've used

www.expedia.co.uk
www.travelbag.co.uk
www.travelocity.co.uk
www.ebookers.co.uk

I would have thought February would have been cheaper than around Easter, Easter being a busier time for flights. The kids are back at school late Jan/early Feb so accommodation is more readily available. Bear in mind that 6 Feb is Waitangi Day and a public holiday.

::):

[SteveyC]

Hmmm is February still peak summer seaon in terms of tourists tho?

I'm thinking April 3rd if everything progresses, but might depend on short term let availability here in the UK or whether we can stays with friends or family for a short while instead.

Hehe I know it's bad I shouldn't plan so much but I can't help it, I get too excited regardless of the fact the house hasn't even nearly sold. :icon_sad:

[nattydread]

we're probably going to be on the move in March.

Not sure if this is PEAK peak or low peak ..
we , unfortunately (yeah right!), will have no choice..
We'll be coming as soon as we are ready..

(WOOHOO!!)