When to go?

[Aussiebird]

1 hour ago, Lavers said:

I'd have thought that we would just be frog marched from one aircraft to the next.

I've read mixed reviews about qaurantine so I'm hoping that it's not to bad, although it's going to be hard locked in a small room with 2 kids.

A few reviews said that you could upgrade your food for a fee and buy alcohol if you wanted.

I will struggle with not having fresh air as I'm use to running or cycling most days.

Please keep everyone posted when you have booked your flights, be interesting to see how much they cost?

I suppose 2 weeks quarantine will go quickly, at least you will be in Oz!

[Toots]

5 hours ago, Lavers said:

I'd have thought that we would just be frog marched from one aircraft to the next.

I've read mixed reviews about qaurantine so I'm hoping that it's not to bad, although it's going to be hard locked in a small room with 2 kids.

A few reviews said that you could upgrade your food for a fee and buy alcohol if you wanted.

I will struggle with not having fresh air as I'm use to running or cycling most days.

No it won't be fun and games especially with 2 children.  I've read all sort of things about the rooms but it's just for two weeks.  I've also read people have suffered from anxiety and depression  during quarantine and will suffer from the trauma for years.  Those people need to get a tight grip.  It's for two weeks not two months.  That said, it's certainly not pleasant at all and I hope you manage to get a room with a balcony - just for a bit of air and hopefully the time will fly by for you.  

[Marisawright]

5 hours ago, Toots said:

No it won't be fun and games especially with 2 children.  I've read all sort of things about the rooms but it's just for two weeks.

Exactly.  There was one woman who was interviewed on the ABC, moaning about how traumatised she was, because she and her husband had been confined in a hotel room for two weeks.  She did seem very upset and I felt sorry for her, until the interviewer asked which hotel she'd been in.  

It was the Intercontinental in  Sydney. 

[Lavers]

6 hours ago, Toots said:

No it won't be fun and games especially with 2 children.  I've read all sort of things about the rooms but it's just for two weeks.  I've also read people have suffered from anxiety and depression  during quarantine and will suffer from the trauma for years.  Those people need to get a tight grip.  It's for two weeks not two months.  That said, it's certainly not pleasant at all and I hope you manage to get a room with a balcony - just for a bit of air and hopefully the time will fly by for you.  

Im hoping that with 2 kids they put us in the penthouse suite .... on a serious note though it is what it is, and as you say it is only 2 weeks then we have the rest of our lives to look forward too.

People now what it involves and the surrounding circumstances, but some just like to moan.

[Toots]

2 hours ago, Lavers said:

Im hoping that with 2 kids they put us in the penthouse suite .... on a serious note though it is what it is, and as you say it is only 2 weeks then we have the rest of our lives to look forward too.

People now what it involves and the surrounding circumstances, but some just like to moan.

You'll be fine.   How much longer have you left in the UK?

[Lavers]

37 minutes ago, Toots said:

You'll be fine.   How much longer have you left in the UK?

Just waiting for my daughters passport to come back then will look at flights.

Planning on 24th June with flights Qatar at £2900, although 1st July is showing Singapore airlines at £1600. Whether them flights go ahead or not I don't now.

In all honesty I would rather fly to Singapore and get the longest flight out of the way 1st.

[AliQ]

1 hour ago, Lavers said:

In all honesty I would rather fly to Singapore and get the longest flight out of the way 1st.

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.

[Aussiebird]

1 hour ago, Lavers said:

Just waiting for my daughters passport to come back then will look at flights.

Planning on 24th June with flights Qatar at £2900, although 1st July is showing Singapore airlines at £1600. Whether them flights go ahead or not I don't now.

In all honesty I would rather fly to Singapore and get the longest flight out of the way 1st.

What if you book a flight and pay for it, but it doesn't fly on the date chosen? If they are showing are they a guaranteed flight to Australia?

I'm a bit confused with flights at the moment!

[Lavers]

22 minutes ago, Aussiebird said:

What if you book a flight and pay for it, but it doesn't fly on the date chosen? If they are showing are they a guaranteed flight to Australia?

I'm a bit confused with flights at the moment!

Most of the airlines are allowing you to move your dates free of charge under the circumstances.

I think Qatar is if you book before sept this year then you can move your date free of charge over the next 12 months.

The only thing im cautious about is booking my Airbnb as the cancellation policy is shite. It says that you can cancel 2 days before your due and get a refund, the dodgy bit is that you lose the 1st 30days plus the service fee but im only booking  for 5 weeks so I basically lose it all.

Edited May 26, 2020 by Lavers

[Nemesis]

19 hours ago, Lavers said:

I'd have thought that we would just be frog marched from one aircraft to the next.

I've read mixed reviews about qaurantine so I'm hoping that it's not to bad, although it's going to be hard locked in a small room with 2 kids.

A few reviews said that you could upgrade your food for a fee and buy alcohol if you wanted.

I will struggle with not having fresh air as I'm use to running or cycling most days.

A lot of it depends on the hotel you are in. One friend who was quarantined in Sydney had a great room, good food, and could get deliveries from ubereats and local bottle shops.

Another in a different Sydney hotel, at the same time, got small meals that would be a disgrace to a cheap airline, and was only allowed to order extra food from the hotel menu, at inflated prices. No alcohol except from the hotel again, at the similar high prices. He even had a row with the hotel management when he tried to get Chemist Warehouse to deliver essential toiletries to him.  Took the intervention of the police on duty there to get the management to see sense. 

[Lavers]

9 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

A lot of it depends on the hotel you are in. One friend who was quarantined in Sydney had a great room, good food, and could get deliveries from ubereats and local bottle shops.

Another in a different Sydney hotel, at the same time, got small meals that would be a disgrace to a cheap airline, and was only allowed to order extra food from the hotel menu, at inflated prices. No alcohol except from the hotel again, at the similar high prices. He even had a row with the hotel management when he tried to get Chemist Warehouse to deliver essential toiletries to him.  Took the intervention of the police on duty there to get the management to see sense. 

Hopefully we don't do too bad, but I bet at the start of corona everyone was panicking so hopefully it has all settled down a bit.

Small food portions may not be a bad thing though as I have put on a little lockdown weight 

[Nemesis]

9 hours ago, Lavers said:

Hopefully we don't do too bad, but I bet at the start of corona everyone was panicking so hopefully it has all settled down a bit.

Small food portions may not be a bad thing though as I have put on a little lockdown weight 

LOL- I  should add that these experiences were only 2 weeks ago. 

[Lavers]

4 hours ago, Nemesis said:

LOL- I  should add that these experiences were only 2 weeks ago. 

Ahh ok, nevermind what will be will be theres not a lot I can do it about.

When we arrive it will be near midnight (if flights are on time) would that count as night 1, or would the 14 days start the day after?

I did see something explaining it all but I cant seem to find it again.

[elderberry]

25 minutes ago, Lavers said:

Ahh ok, nevermind what will be will be theres not a lot I can do it about.

When we arrive it will be near midnight (if flights are on time) would that count as night 1, or would the 14 days start the day after?

I did see something explaining it all but I cant seem to find it again.

At least once you arrive it'll take a few days to get over the jetlag, so by the time you're taring your hair out hopefully only have a week left of quarantine. I believe Singapore Airlines have only just started flying back here now as with Emirates, bit more competition and the costs should come down a bit. 

I'd bring some playing cards, maybe a board game...anything to take away the boredom. At least it'll be getting dark early so spending a lot of time sleeping may be an option

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by elderberry

[Nemesis]

16 hours ago, Lavers said:

Ahh ok, nevermind what will be will be theres not a lot I can do it about.

When we arrive it will be near midnight (if flights are on time) would that count as night 1, or would the 14 days start the day after?

I did see something explaining it all but I cant seem to find it again.

Depends on the police or whoever is in charge of releasing you.One of my friends was told he would not be "free" until the afternoon, which was too late to fly to hs home state so he then had to book and pay for an extra night - only to find that on the day before "freedom" the police just said "sod off mate and told hm he could leave any time after midnight!

Load up your ipad or whatever with ebooks - he has never read so much in his life!

[Paul1Perth]

On 25/05/2020 at 23:44, Aussiebird said:

How do you go about quarantine though? Who knows that you are flying over with regards to your flight etc.....How much has to be paid to go into quarantine? 

My son flew in from the Eastern states to work FIFO offshore, out of Perth. They were very strict letting people off the plane about 6 at a time, checking paperwork thoroughly and he had to isolate with us overnight then 2 weeks in Karatha before going to the rig.

An international flight landed about the same time and there were busses waiting to take them all to qurantine in town. We saw all the busses on the freeway with a big police escort.

Things are changing the whole time though and relaxing somewhat. I would imagine that the international travel will be the last thing relaxed though. I can't see the free quarantine being much longer, if people are coming in I think you'll probably have to pay for it. If you're desperate though the airports pretty quite at the moment. Jobs might be harder to come by for a while too.

[Lavers]

Airbnb booked Kidman park does anyone know what it's like around there.

Just need my daughters passport then time for the flights

[Paul1Perth]

On 26/05/2020 at 16:38, Lavers said:

Just waiting for my daughters passport to come back then will look at flights.

Planning on 24th June with flights Qatar at £2900, although 1st July is showing Singapore airlines at £1600. Whether them flights go ahead or not I don't now.

In all honesty I would rather fly to Singapore and get the longest flight out of the way 1st.

If you end up with a stopover in Singapore there's a bar and swimming pool on the airport roof. I'm sure a lot of people don't know about it as it never seems that busy.

We had flights booked with them back to the UK a few years back and they took off our connecting flight out of Singapore. No warning, just cancelled it. When we complained about the 10 hour stopover they gave us a room at the airport hotel and we went up to the pool and bar for a few hours. There were some people off the same flight who didn't complain sat up there with their luggage. They were pretty pissed when I told them we'd got a room.

[FOL]

On 26/05/2020 at 18:24, Lavers said:

The only thing im cautious about is booking my Airbnb as the cancellation policy is shite. It says that you can cancel 2 days before your due and get a refund, the dodgy bit is that you lose the 1st 30days plus the service fee but im only booking  for 5 weeks so I basically lose it all.

Arem't there heeeaps od airbnbs and rentals vacant now? No tourism at all. You already have 2 weeks quaraintine acxommodation. I would book an airbnb then as you know the exact date you get out.

[Reboz]

On 25/05/2020 at 09:45, Aussiebird said:

He Reboz,

I have juct checked Perth Airport online, it is open, restrictions for food outlets etc....in place, WA borders are closed to flights within Australia, unless essential workers.... flights into WA from outside Australia and permitted but 14 day quarantine will take place, like yourselves, we are exempt from completing a form online to travel to Australia, but flights are few and far between.  Please let me know if you find any and book soon?  We have to sell our home first so wont be booking flights for a while, just hope things dont get worse and we cant sell!! Great you have sold anyway and are in a better position to continue with your plans.  How have your family reacted to you still going ahead? We are expecting a war probably!! X

Hi we are still holding out at the moment and waiting to see if there are any more flights released this week....got fingers crossed we can find one that flys directly into Perth. We are planning if possible to fly the first week of July. Gutted Rottnest island is not going to be somewhere to quarantine any more as I have 2 young boys and the thought of being in a hotel room fills me with dread! Will let you know once we’ve got some flights! Family are ok about us going ahead with flights! Probably because they are fed up of us all living with them now keep me updated with your developments. X

[AliQ]

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.

[Aussiebird]

1 hour ago, AliQ said:

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.

Are you just looking at certain airlines for flights to Australia? 

[AliQ]

6 minutes ago, Aussiebird said:

Are you just looking at certain airlines for flights to Australia? 

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.

Edited June 3, 2020 by AliQ

[Aussiebird]

30 minutes ago, AliQ said:

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 have flown with them several times too, but what I meant was are there only certain airlines flying to Australia from the UK?  Are they special flights which are only on the website when they are guaranteed to fly on specific dates?

Are flights to Australia only flying certain routes too?

Thank you xx

[Lavers]

Last month it was only really Qatar airlines flying, there seems to be more this month. Emirates is one of them then some of the smaller airlines.

Last week Singapore was showing as flying from 1st July at a nice price. The other day the price went up then disappeared altogether.

If you look at skyscanner it will show who Is flying at the minute. If you look at next months schedule then I dont think that is certain at the minute.