psuwara Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 2 hours ago, bicek said: Sadly we can't. House sale still going through and I have a 3 week old baby with no passport as yet. We would jump on a repatriation flight given the chance. But we can't book one until we are a position to relocate and that won't be for a couple more months. But even if we could get on one of those, they are fairly last minute and that's hard to rely on when you have a family of 5 and a pet to relocate, plus all our stuff, a house sale we are trying to time with the move, work commitments, as well as finding and securing temporary accommodation in Australia for when we arrive. This stuff is stressful when flights are reliable. When you don't even know if you'll be able to travel, it's the stuff of nightmares. Yeah, I'd just forget to getting back to Australia this year and see if you can focus on extending your arrival dates. Our flight is on the 12th of July. If something goes wrong and we don't get through, I'll be applying for Russian Temporary Residency and we'll just need to ride things out here, get an extension on our 309 arrival until next year, and organise Citizenship for our little one coming in November this year. Australians should be offered a full apology for the disastrous management of the Vaccine rollout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicek Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 (edited) 55 minutes ago, psuwara said: Yeah, I'd just forget to getting back to Australia this year and see if you can focus on extending your arrival dates. Our flight is on the 12th of July. If something goes wrong and we don't get through, I'll be applying for Russian Temporary Residency and we'll just need to ride things out here, get an extension on our 309 arrival until next year, and organise Citizenship for our little one coming in November this year. Australians should be offered a full apology for the disastrous management of the Vaccine rollout. We can't do that either! My husbands partner visa has to be activated by December otherwise it will be cancelled. Not sure if there is any workaround for that. And that would mean pulling out of our house sale and starting allover again. I don't really know what our options are at this point. It sounds like your flight is just in the nick of time, that's very lucky! I hope it all goes ahead smoothly for you. Edited July 2, 2021 by bicek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerthLondonGirl89 Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 Hi @bicek https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/form-listing/Pages/travel-facilitation-letter-request-form.aspx You can extend the initial entry date for your husbands partner visa by the above link. I think they will extend it for a year from when you apply for the extension, that's what happened with us at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 (edited) 9 hours ago, Gothnet said: So we booked flights to Perth via HK in August just a few days ago, and am now in a bind - HK is not accepting passenger flights from the UK for the whole of July, but the airline (Cathay) are only cancelling July flights... I can't see HK opening up again in time for August.. So we have to decide, do we swallow a £300 per person cancellation fee and then buy more expensive tickets via somewhere else (currently LHR->FCO->DOH->PER) or gamble that the government of Hong Kong are going to decide in the next couple of weeks that the UK is OK again? And if we lose that bet, not be able to get anything? This is all a right pain in the wotsit! I would wait until they cancel you, then you should not pay any fees. Edited July 2, 2021 by Jon the Hat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 So now a wait and see for our SIA flights in September. 50:50 I guess We will be free (unemployed, nowhere to live) to book a DFAT flight in early September however 17 hours direct will be a big stretch for my wife post DVT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicek Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 15 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said: So now a wait and see for our SIA flights in September. 50:50 I guess We will be free (unemployed, nowhere to live) to book a DFAT flight in early September however 17 hours direct will be a big stretch for my wife post DVT. Did you book economy? I'm wondering whether to upgrade to premium, if that gives us better odds... Do you know how far in advance SIA are cancelling flights based on caps? Is it weeks or only days? I'm not sure I can cope with being homeless and unemployed with 3 dependents one of which is school age. Oh and the cat. It will be very costly to be stuck in the UK for months on end waiting for a DFAT or commercial flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 25 minutes ago, bicek said: Did you book economy? I'm wondering whether to upgrade to premium, if that gives us better odds... Do you know how far in advance SIA are cancelling flights based on caps? Is it weeks or only days? I'm not sure I can cope with being homeless and unemployed with 3 dependents one of which is school age. Oh and the cat. It will be very costly to be stuck in the UK for months on end waiting for a DFAT or commercial flight. Yes we are Y Economy. We don't appear to have the option of upgrading at this stage. Yes it would certainly be cheaper than sitting in an AirBnB for months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothnet Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 1 hour ago, Jon the Hat said: I would wait until they cancel you, then you should not pay any fees. I've decided to eat the cost, and try to rebook basically anything now. I agree with the poster further up - I don't think HK are going to open up again, and if I wait until the end of the month then there's just not going to be anything left at all in August. It's already down to either really convoluted routes or spending mind-bending amounts of money on first-class... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 41 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said: Yes we are Y Economy. We don't appear to have the option of upgrading at this stage. Yes it would certainly be cheaper than sitting in an AirBnB for months. Have now found the "bid for an upgrade" approach on SIA, and made maximum bid to get to premium economy on the first leg in the hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psuwara Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 3 hours ago, bicek said: We can't do that either! My husbands partner visa has to be activated by December otherwise it will be cancelled. Not sure if there is any workaround for that. And that would mean pulling out of our house sale and starting allover again. I don't really know what our options are at this point. It sounds like your flight is just in the nick of time, that's very lucky! I hope it all goes ahead smoothly for you. There is a little respite for your situation. If worst comes to worst, you can always do this : https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/departmental-forms/online-forms/travel-facilitation-letter-request-form Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psuwara Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 52 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said: Have now found the "bid for an upgrade" approach on SIA, and made maximum bid to get to premium economy on the first leg in the hope this helps. See if you can find a flight with a higher intake. SIA I take is Singapore? They may allow you to fly into Sydney or try to fly into Sydney. I wish you all the best of luck!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canbush Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, bicek said: Did you book economy? I'm wondering whether to upgrade to premium, if that gives us better odds... Do you know how far in advance SIA are cancelling flights based on caps? Is it weeks or only days? I'm not sure I can cope with being homeless and unemployed with 3 dependents one of which is school age. Oh and the cat. It will be very costly to be stuck in the UK for months on end waiting for a DFAT or commercial flight. Our experience was a few days I’m afraid. I found SIA pretty hopeless in this respect and didn’t even offer to rebook us. We luckily got a DFAT flight 10 days later as we’d given notice on our rental and already sent everything to the shipper when we were called by them. we were economy by the way. Had we been business class it might have been a different story Edited July 2, 2021 by Canbush 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Canbush said: Our experience was a few days I’m afraid. I found SIA pretty hopeless in this respect and didn’t even offer to rebook us. We luckily got a DFAT flight 10 days later as we’d given notice on our rental and already sent everything to the shipper when we were called by them. we were economy by the way. Had we been business class it might have been a different story Do you recall what level of economy? We are Y which is fully flexible absolute top. I guess it make sod all difference if they don't have the seats Did you ask them to rebook you? I see agents have had success in rebooking their clients with no additional cost. I wonder if one argues effectively enough it can be done. Edited July 2, 2021 by Jon the Hat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greystones Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Hi, has anyone had any experience flying with Emirates? We are coming from Dublin via dubai to brisbane on 29th December. Booked yesterday about an hour before I read intakes had been halved for the rest of the year! Though I'm not sure it would have changed anything. Does the government operate weekly caps or monthly caps also? I'm a little worried now our flights are so late in the month the cap will have been filled already! Thanks all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psuwara Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Some updates from The Age. Looks like most airlines will try to keep caps until 14th as they are. https://www.theage.com.au/national/hunt-warns-against-gouging-as-airfares-soar-ahead-of-new-arrival-caps-20210703-p586j3.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psuwara Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 4 hours ago, Greystones said: Hi, has anyone had any experience flying with Emirates? We are coming from Dublin via dubai to brisbane on 29th December. Booked yesterday about an hour before I read intakes had been halved for the rest of the year! Though I'm not sure it would have changed anything. Does the government operate weekly caps or monthly caps also? I'm a little worried now our flights are so late in the month the cap will have been filled already! Thanks all Of Emirates, Qatar and Etihad, Emirates is probably the least comfortable. But still well above Qantas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greystones Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 2 hours ago, psuwara said: Of Emirates, Qatar and Etihad, Emirates is probably the least comfortable. But still well above Qantas. Hey, thanks for that. Why do you say Emirates are least comfortable, have they been bumping more people of their flights than others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psuwara Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 42 minutes ago, Greystones said: Hey, thanks for that. Why do you say Emirates are least comfortable, have they been bumping more people of their flights than others? The actual seats and service, in particular business class. If you can get Qatar Qsuites, that’s the best, but the 787-9 (layout 2) of the Etihad flights coming from Abu Dhabi are the best bet for the price, but after July 14, the price may go up a bit… maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canbush Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 On 02/07/2021 at 20:41, Jon the Hat said: Do you recall what level of economy? We are Y which is fully flexible absolute top. I guess it make sod all difference if they don't have the seats Did you ask them to rebook you? I see agents have had success in rebooking their clients with no additional cost. I wonder if one argues effectively enough it can be done. We were bottom of the pile - W. We went from £590pp to £745pp for Y class to £1194pp DFAT in the course of 10 days - but, we got here ! We did ask them to rebook us, but it took quite a bit of pushing and of course no guarantees. Our problem was the only date they could offer was a month later and we had to be out of the house we were renting within 2 weeks, with lockdown in place and nowhere to go. I’m sure we could have sorted it out but we were so stressed we accepted the DFAT costs just to get back. Haven't regretted it a moment. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 9 hours ago, Canbush said: We were bottom of the pile - W. We went from £590pp to £745pp for Y class to £1194pp DFAT in the course of 10 days - but, we got here ! We did ask them to rebook us, but it took quite a bit of pushing and of course no guarantees. Our problem was the only date they could offer was a month later and we had to be out of the house we were renting within 2 weeks, with lockdown in place and nowhere to go. I’m sure we could have sorted it out but we were so stressed we accepted the DFAT costs just to get back. Haven't regretted it a moment. I was also bottom with Qatar for about £2600 for 4 of us, cancelled. Booked with Singapore Y class for £5000, now bid a further £2000 to upgrade LHR to SIN to Premium economy... If this doesn't work (or we are in September now knowing) I will also book DFAT end of September If I can.. Credit cards are taking a battering at the moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psuwara Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 Etihad made an official statement regarding flight caps: A limited number of seats have been made available by the Australian authorities for flights between Abu Dhabi and Australia with a reduction in seats from 14 July to 31 August to manage the pressure on quarantine facilities. We are working closely with the Australian Government to open up seats where possible. Please check etihad.com/book for availability and to book tickets. From this site : https://www.etihad.com/en/travel-updates/all-destinations-travel-guides Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canbush Posted July 6, 2021 Share Posted July 6, 2021 On 04/07/2021 at 20:51, Jon the Hat said: I was also bottom with Qatar for about £2600 for 4 of us, cancelled. Booked with Singapore Y class for £5000, now bid a further £2000 to upgrade LHR to SIN to Premium economy... If this doesn't work (or we are in September now knowing) I will also book DFAT end of September If I can.. Credit cards are taking a battering at the moment! Best of luck with the flights. If you do end up with DFAT, Howard Springs was fine for us as an older couple - a welcome enforced relaxation after all the stress. We did have to be in separate rooms next to one another, but I believe they were putting in some family rooms. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandM Posted July 6, 2021 Share Posted July 6, 2021 On 02/07/2021 at 04:18, bicek said: Sadly we can't. House sale still going through and I have a 3 week old baby with no passport as yet. We would jump on a repatriation flight given the chance. But we can't book one until we are a position to relocate and that won't be for a couple more months. But even if we could get on one of those, they are fairly last minute and that's hard to rely on when you have a family of 5 and a pet to relocate, plus all our stuff, a house sale we are trying to time with the move, work commitments, as well as finding and securing temporary accommodation in Australia for when we arrive. This stuff is stressful when flights are reliable. When you don't even know if you'll be able to travel, it's the stuff of nightmares. I feel your pain Bieck. I’m due in October (can’t fly after 10th Sept) - we’ve rented our house here out from 5th August - so we HAVE TO fly by then - we’re booked for 23rd July. Fingers and toes all crossed!!!!!!!!!! we’ve both resigned from jobs for the end of this month too. Aaaaaaaaaa!! good luck with your next few months!!! And congrats on little one!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 10 hours ago, LandM said: I feel your pain Bieck. I’m due in October (can’t fly after 10th Sept) - we’ve rented our house here out from 5th August - so we HAVE TO fly by then - we’re booked for 23rd July. Fingers and toes all crossed!!!!!!!!!! we’ve both resigned from jobs for the end of this month too. Aaaaaaaaaa!! good luck with your next few months!!! And congrats on little one!! Have you registered for DFAT flights? Honestly this is probably a better bet. I would say your chance of getting on that plane are slim to none. Could be wrong though as that is pretty soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psuwara Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 19 hours ago, LandM said: I feel your pain Bieck. I’m due in October (can’t fly after 10th Sept) - we’ve rented our house here out from 5th August - so we HAVE TO fly by then - we’re booked for 23rd July. Fingers and toes all crossed!!!!!!!!!! we’ve both resigned from jobs for the end of this month too. Aaaaaaaaaa!! good luck with your next few months!!! And congrats on little one!! If you have business class tickets, you should be ok with Etihad. Other airlines I’m not sure on. To be safe, just upgrade to business class and they’ll fit you in within a 1-2 week window. Qatar however is another story, they bumped my economy tickets 5 times… Persistently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.