Hello all,

I apologise in advance if this seems like a daft question to ask. I have done a search for similar threads but can't seem to find anything that helps.

Quite simply, I want to book a flight home to Australia for a holiday, departing from Geneva, flying Singapore Airlines (which I know fly via Zurich), and stopping over in Singapore for a few nights on the way. In the UK (where I previously lived) I would simply contact my local travel agent.

Now that I live in Switzerland, I am unsure how to go about booking such a flight, particularly as I don't speak French fluently, so would find it difficult conversing with a Swiss agent. Either way, are there travel agents in Switzerland who I can book through?

I have checked the Singapore Airlines website in Switzerland and note that flights for the period I want to fly are around CHF 3000! If I fly via the UK on the same dates (booking through a UK travel agent), I can get a flight for approx £950 (plus the cost of a cheap flight to the UK). I don't understand why there is such a difference in price.

Can anyone give me some advice on this please? I simply want to book a flight home to see my family, but I obviously don't want to pay more than I need to....and I don't even know how to do it

This should be such a simple thing to do...am I making this all too difficult for myself?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated....thank you in advance!

K

I haven't used an agent since I've been here. I tend to find that the best price is on the airline's own website. Otherwise, I go through one of the cheap tickets websites.

The problem is probably simply the fact that Switzerland is a smaller market. You are always going to get better deals out of London. Particularly to Australia.

Your idea of flying to London to pick up a cheaper flight is probably the best. Previously, I had also looked at flying out of Zurich for that Singapore Airlines flight but the comparitively expensive 2 hour train ride to get there and the more expensive flight made it unworkable.

Out of Geneva I have found Etihad to be a great option. Just one stop in Abu Dhabi, lovely new planes and quite good service. Last November I got a return for 1700Chf. I received an email from them in the last few days advertising a special on their business class tickets to Sydney for less the 3000Chf. That sounded like a good deal to me. Of course, this means you couldn't have your stopover in Singapore.

Good luck.

Go straight to Qantas, or this website was incredibly helpful when I went back last year.

www.opodo.co.uk

Hi there

Its not a silly question and you have not got all worked up over nothing
I have been searching flights to NZ/OZ for the past 3 months and have not found a flight or price that i like

I am also looking to book a flight to Australia and am finding it difficult! I do agree that flights are more expensive when you book through Switzerland so i always try to fly out of germany.

I am planning 2 weeks in November fly into Melbourne and out of Brisbane and the cheapest i have for is about 2000CHF.

About the travel agents i have never gone to them either but 1 day i had time and thought what the heck ill go see what i can get out of them. I was amazed the lady spoke FANTASTIC english and was very helpful! The thing is if you book through the agent you always pay more. So what you can do is get her to search flights and then look the flights up on net and book them there youy will save about 300CHF but not have to worry about reading websites in a different Language.
The Travel agent i went to was KUONI (im from Zurich but there could be one in Geneve)

I thought we cold help each other out a bit

Hope this was helpful

Did you have a look at the link I posted?

There is flights to Melbourne in November return with Emirates for 970 GBP...

Yes i did see that and i converted it to CHF which makes 1600 and then if i find a flight there i looked and can get 1 for 200 but sure i can do cheaper. then i have to do the airport waiting and checkin and all that and in the end for me its not worth it... for me...

I live in Zurich near airport so just better to fly from there as i have to do late night flights so need train connections.

But if i find a great website with good deals i will be glad to pass any of it on But so far best is 2000CHF whis i think is too expensive

It is flying from Zurich airport to Melbourne, approx. 1600 Chf return.

Doing a reservation yourself from GVA with a stopover and an open jaw (yeah, that's airline lingo, but is easy to figure out) will simply be too much for an online site to understand (it'll book separate segments). Try to call the airlines- they speak English. Or even call Opodo or Expedia- they take calls for reservations.

Airport taxes too.

Kuoni is a pretty big travel company and is in at least 40 countries.

Oh really??!! I thought it was from the UK well in that case thanks so much that would be perfect!!!

Thank you everyone, you have no idea how much your advice has helped already!

I have made a start on the suggestions that have been offered. I want to fly in July (I know, peak season). Etihad and Qantas both have flights for around CHF 2500 both departing from Geneva. Hmmm, not as cheap as i would like.

I need to look further at the option of flying out of London and booking a cheap flight from here. I was quoted just under £1000 return for this option plus the flight from Geneva to London return, which is definitely better than the above options.

The problem with this plan is that I would fly into one of the regional airports (Gatwick for example) and would then have to get the train/tube to Heathrow. The additional time this would take to ensure that I was at Heathrow 2 hours in advance would make it a little unbearable for me.

I am a terrible long haul flyer (I suffer awful jetlag) so anything that I can do to minimise the travel/commuting time is my preference.

Hmmm, must do further research on this.

Thanks again to everyone for clarifying my queries and for your suggestions.

K

Only wanted to add that the flights went through the roof after December, and we were advised that if we want peak season then we need to book 12 months ahead, as soon as the flights are opened...

Another option would be transit through Amsterdam or Frankfurt...we did Sydney-Amsterdam-Rome and it increased our flying time only 3-4 hours over a direct flight...

As for jetlag, I recommend staying awake as long as you can on the first flight, sleeping on the second flight and trying to arrive around lunchtime into Sydney, and then sitting in the sun, enjoying the clean air and the blue sky, and go to sleep at a 'reasonable' hour that evening...

When we came over to Zurich I managed a reasonable amount of sleep and it took me about 5 days to adjust, whereas my two older children and husband spent way too much time playing computer games on the plane, and they adjusted almost straight away...

Hi,

I just use www.kayak.com put in where you want to fly from and to. It will then search all the airline web sites as well as travel sites and give you a list of the best alternatives. Once you find a flight you like if you click on it then it will take you to the appropriate web site and web page where you can purchase the flight. It gives prices in $'s but don't let that put you off.

I also use www.expedia.com and www.travelocity.com and for hotels I use www.booking.com and sometimes www.hotels.com. In order to check for good seats on the plane I use www.seatguru.com and in order to get an idea of what a hotel is like I use www.tripfinder.com

Once I have the trip sorted out I then use www.tripit.com in order to compile the complete itintery as all you have to do is send each of the travel confirmations to plans@tripit.com

I hope that all helps, it is how I booked a trip to Australia and Singapore that we made earlier this year.

Have fun
Martin

Since you're making a stopover in Singapore, try booking a return flight to Singapore with SQ or other carriers and while you're in Singapore, try booking another flight which takes you to Australia.

http://www.jetstar.com/vf/en/index.aspx
www.airfares.com.sg

Have you tried ebookers.ch and putting in a Multi-city destination? It seems like this would cover your needs.

I wonder if www.skyscanner.net might help you too?? Good luck!

BA flys from geneva to Heathrow - so you wouldnt need to transfer airports - and the flights can be quite cheap if you book in advance.

Yes, i recently discovered this thanks to one of the suggestions above. This option could definitely help me to avoid the London public transport commute! Thanks Itzoe

I was getting myself into quite a state worrying about how to go about booking a flight home. Strange, but I guess understandable, how the complication of a language/culture barrier renders an otherwise competent person (that would be me) quite useless on something that should be so straightforward.

Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to reply and for your very helpful responses. The fact that I am feeling a little homesick at the moment makes it all the more comforting to know that when stuck for advice, I can ask the EF'ers

Thanks all. xxx

I've found lastminute the cheapest for Singapore Airlines flights in the past. They go from GVA to Frankfurt with Lufthansa (urk) then onto Singapore from there, with a choice of Aussie destinations obviously.

I guess I'm lucky in that I've never felt homesick - I just imagine going home than then thinking: "Oh bugger, I'm not done yet - I want to be back there now," although I always do enjoy catching up with people when I do have to go home for weddings/funerals/big-number birthdays. I hope you feel less homesick soon.

CHF 2000 to Oz sounds like a good price. Book it before it goes.

We always end up paying CHF 2600 plus per person. I've been going back every year for the last 10 years. This year, with 2 kids we are getting the relatives to visit us instead.

I would also pay extra just to avoid heathrow. Missed our connecting flight there once due to flight connections security queues. I recommend via Frankfurt instead.

This may only be semi-helpful, but looks like STA Travel have deals for £399 from London to Sydney, so whilst the buggering around with connecting flights may be more, that price is pretty darn good.... http://uk.cheap-flights.travelzoo.co...um=email_top20