Tamara Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Like everyone else who moves out here we left behind friends and family. After the years went by we realised that elderly parents were avoiding the trip due to their age,the distance, and the prospect of traveling by themselves especially if one partner had passed away and they were alone. It was a real shame that surviving parents might not ever see grandchildren and great grandchildren and get to visit Australia. I thought that I would share my recent experience with perhaps the result being that your family can visit you, together with others who are in a similar position to themselves. My father in law is 77. He's lived alone for many years after my mother in law passed away 14 years ago. Despite us being here in Adelaide almost 10 years he had never visited...it was just too daunting a trip! Friends of our moved to Adelaide almost 4 years ago. They found themselves in a similar situation whereby a surviving parent would love to visit but the trip alone would just be too much to take on. Solution: We both requested possible dates that they could travel and then put them in contact with each other in the UK. They had never met before.The result was that after a couple of get together's they jointly agreed upon dates, we purchased their tickets this side and everything was put in motion to have them visit for a few weeks. Transport to Manchester airport was arranged, flights to Singapore, a hotel stop over and collection in Adelaide all sorted and after a barrage of calls and questions it was all finalised. The return trip for both of them was likewise arranged on the same date / flight. Everything worked out perfectly and it was such a success that they will be coming out here again. I am sure that this could work for many people who wouldn't want to do the trip alone. Maybe a Travel Companion section on a migration site like this one with a request for a travel partner for approximate dates, location here, UK location etc and see if they can get together in the UK, find out if they are compatible to travel together and family this side can assist with the arrangements. What do you think? Do you or anyone you know have a similar situation where friends or family would love to visit but wouldn't want to do the trip alone? I am not talking about a dating site! Just a get together of people who would get the support from having someone else to share the trip with. My father in law is already planning his next visit!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 A great idea. We had to rush my mum out last week but apart from the travelling the other thing was finding insurance because she is over 70, pre existing conditions and the length of stay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamara Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 On 01/04/2017 at 01:13, The Pom Queen said: A great idea. We had to rush my mum out last week but apart from the travelling the other thing was finding insurance because she is over 70, pre existing conditions and the length of stay. Had the same issue with my father in law too. Once you start listing medical issues the travel insurance starts to get very expensive! In his case the policy was more than his ticket and he's in good health. The follow up on this is that the two travelers had a great time and are planning to travel here again at the end of the year. They are still in contact with each other in the UK (not romantically...just friends!) and the whole experience was a real positive one for them. I am still convinced that more family members would visit if they had a compatible travel companion... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamara Posted November 25, 2017 Author Share Posted November 25, 2017 Just an update. The two travel companions are coming here again next year for 6 weeks. Booked their tickets during the week and they arrive in mid January and they have consulted each other and agreed upon length of stay etc so that they can again travel together. This time they are booked on Emirates. The stop over on the way here is only an hour and 35 minutes so they have been told to ask for the buggy to get them from one terminal to the other. The last time they flew on Singapore airlines so will have to see what they make of this trip! Emirates change to having to pay to book seats is a rip off by the way!! Pay for the tickets and then go online to book seats only to be presented with an additional charge to book a standard seat.....not amused! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 On 25/11/2017 at 22:00, Tamara said: Just an update. The two travel companions are coming here again next year for 6 weeks. Booked their tickets during the week and they arrive in mid January and they have consulted each other and agreed upon length of stay etc so that they can again travel together. This time they are booked on Emirates. The stop over on the way here is only an hour and 35 minutes so they have been told to ask for the buggy to get them from one terminal to the other. The last time they flew on Singapore airlines so will have to see what they make of this trip! Emirates change to having to pay to book seats is a rip off by the way!! Pay for the tickets and then go online to book seats only to be presented with an additional charge to book a standard seat.....not amused! Tamara I must say that we have found the stopover only being an hour or so is a pain -time to go to the loo and get from one side of the airport to another and thats it A buggy is a must We did the Newcastle Dubai Adelaide trip several times direct - stopovers the flight times out are in the middle of the night We have actually gone back to Ncl- Heathrow - Singapore -stop over then Adelaide as we find it suits us being seniors lol Must admit I think its great that they both have found someone to travel with hope they continue to enjoy the trips for years to come 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 You can book seats for free when you check in on line 48 hours before flight. I always do this and have always found seats together. Many people still check in at the airport and blocks of seats are still available then. If you don’t want to check in on line, or can’t for some code share reason, you can call them and book seats. I have done this too. i find airlines always try to get you to pay for stuff like fast track and seats etc. they really don’t make much profit on economy tickets. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamara Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 12 hours ago, rammygirl said: You can book seats for free when you check in on line 48 hours before flight. I always do this and have always found seats together. Many people still check in at the airport and blocks of seats are still available then. If you don’t want to check in on line, or can’t for some code share reason, you can call them and book seats. I have done this too. i find airlines always try to get you to pay for stuff like fast track and seats etc. they really don’t make much profit on economy tickets. Thanks for the info. It's been ages since I last flew on Emirates and they didn't have the standard seat charges then. We are dealing with elderly people here! Trying to convince them that it's ok to wait until 48 hours before their flight until they have seats next to each other won't be easy! The buggy is an absolute must...one of the travelers has mobility issues (both in their late 70's) and that time frame to get to the next flight is real tight! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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