AliQ

Hi, we booked with Singapore Airlines, from Manchester, and we fly first week in August. Good luck and safe travels

Loopylu, I totally understand and we too love the countryside walks and historic homes etc. (but NOT the crowds and traffic ! ) We've been back in the UK for nearly two years now, but find life in the UK, at times, very frustrating. We are flying back to Australia soon and can't wait. It's all about life style choices and thank goodness we all like different things in life. I think people who have been able to gain dual citizenship are very lucky indeed.

Wow, that's cheap, I'd grab those seats at that price.

Yes you can take those. We used an international removalist company so they wrapped & shipped ours. Sorry, no idea what they used though.

We used a company, no way would I have organised shipping our cat ourselves. There is a lot to do, organise, and the timing must be right. When using a pet export company you know your little one is looked after every step of the way and monitored at stop overs. That in itself is worth paying for.

I would pay for the one supplied by the shipping company. There are so many requirements for the cat carrier, such as gauge of the wire and dimensions of the mesh etc etc. it's not worth taking the risk. When we shipped our cat, we paid for the shipping company supplied one, it's safer and will not get rejected by the airline. Also in the scheme of things, the cost of the carrier is nothing compared to the cost of shipping a pet.

Hi, Insureandgo. I arranged this over the phone instead of online as I wanted to ask them a few questions etc. They were very helpful.

Hi, if you really want to go, then go. I totally understand your fears & frustrations, and moving costs money whatever is going on in the world, but at the end of the day, if you want to live in lovely Australia, get up and go. We've spent (lost) many £££ with our moves , but at the end of the day, you need to be happy where you live and happy with your decision. Good luck

True, but it is what it is at the moment. It's a gamble. We will have moved out of our rental, sold our car and all our goods packed & gone for shipping, so if our flight does not go, well, we'll have to just bunk down somewhere until the next available flight. However, flights are currently taking off, none cancelled recently that I am aware of, so I think it is looking positive.

It's just a case of searching each airline's website, entering your date, then seeing what comes up. But due to low demand I think only a few airlines are flying to Australia. Emirates, Qatar and Singapore have flights, not sure about the others though. As for whether they actually do fly on the booked day, that's impossible to guarantee right now but I certainly hope ours does otherwise we're a bit stuck !

We've already booked, flying with Singapore Airlines. Flown long haul many times with various airlines, but we like the customer service with Singapore Airlines, and Singapore airport is so easy to navigate.

We're flying first week of August to Brisbane. If we flew during July, the flight goes to Sydney first then onto Brisbane (Singapore Airlines). It's well worth watching the airlines schedule closely, they appear to change very quickly.

Flights and travel insurance now booked. We fly first week of August. Looking forward to returning home

Hi Joanne, been here in the UK for a full year now (plus a six month stint before) but we're heading back to Australia as soon as we can.

Hi Wanderer Returns, we're going to the Sunshine Coast, great idea to share a container but our timings may not suit each other. We've picked our company and going into a shared container, we don't have a lot of furniture etc this time round, we've done some very serious culling.

100% agree !

Hi Joanne, sorry to hear you are having so much trouble. That's very strange as I've taken out one way - not single trip - a few times over the past two years. Do not take out a single trip policy because if you needed to make a claim, your policy would be invalid, dangerous position to find yourself in. We're in the process of doing the same thing, but UK to Australia, some companies are selling one way here, maybe you could use the services of an insurance broker ? could be more expensive but worth it for the reassurance !

As rammygirl states, most agencies cover one way travel. But on their websites, you rarely see a one way option tick box, you just need to enter dates to cover the time span on your journey, say 48 hours to be on the safe side. Due to the current virus situation, I would call them first just to check they will provide cover to the UK if your travel ban is still in place and explain your situation. When we lived in Australia, I used Covermore for our trips many times, easy to use website and they are also good at covering pre existing conditions.

Hi Wanderer Returns, sorry to hear your move is not going too well, it's very stressful selling & moving. Enjoy Queensland, we're in the process of trying to return, hope to get there within the next eight weeks or so. I wish you well and I hope your house sells very very soon.

I agree. I've made that trip many times over the years, it suits us best to do that. We're flying with Singapore Airlines, but to Brisbane. We're just going to wait to see how the flights proceed first part of June, then if they depart as per schedule, we'll fly end of July. Good luck Lavers.

I'm sorry you took my reply the wrong way, I did not indicate in any way that you are an idiot. Just passing on my experience from two moves across the world, that's all.

If you are taking a furnished "holiday" rental for just two months then that's ok. I was under the impression that you were taking a proper rental home unseen, on a contract, of which they are usually on a minimum term of six months.

Hi Sunseeker, are you planning to secure a rental before viewing it then ? If so, please don't. We got stung doing that (our position at the time led us to take a property unseen) it was a very very unpleasant experience and one I'd never ever repeat.

Singapore Airlines are increasing their flights to Australia from June 30th, not to all States, but Brisbane is now included from that date. We'll confirm the date for our flights within the next couple of weeks or so.

We're currently living in the Derbyshire Dales, we can easily spend ten pounds on parking if we visit different places in one day, and we have a resident's parking permit too (very limited hours for free parking)