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Flights to Australia - reliability?


ADM21

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Alan Lam one of the most in touch travel agents posted again on one of the groups that certainly Singapore and Qatar has emptied entire flights, so Business or even First class is not guarantee.  I guess they might be keener to get you moved onto another flight.

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20 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

Alan Lam one of the most in touch travel agents posted again on one of the groups that certainly Singapore and Qatar has emptied entire flights, so Business or even First class is not guarantee.  I guess they might be keener to get you moved onto another flight.

The first/business passengers who get rebooked onto remaining flights will be able to bump off any economy passengers who are already on those flights.

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1 hour ago, Morpheus said:

Our flights with Qatar Airways on the 17th July to Perth have been cancelled, just received a notification an hour ago. Is there other reliable airlines which is currently operating flights from the UK to Australia?  

Go with Etihad, if you can book a business class ticket.

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Many thanks for the info. To register with DFAT flights, do we just need to fill into the online forms and wait? or do we need to call them, or someone else to confirm? our next Saturday flights to Perth have just been cancelled today and trying to see if we can still travel in the next few days.

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On 06/07/2021 at 01:51, Canbush said:

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.  

Many thanks for the info. To register with DFAT flights, do we just need to fill into the online forms and wait? or do we need to call them, or someone else to confirm? our next Saturday flights to Perth have just been cancelled today and trying to see if we can still travel in the next few days

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1 hour ago, Morpheus said:

Many thanks for the info. To register with DFAT flights, do we just need to fill into the online forms and wait? or do we need to call them, or someone else to confirm? our next Saturday flights to Perth have just been cancelled today and trying to see if we can still travel in the next few days

Yes just register online. I don't think there is a number you can call. I am registered and I periodically get email alerts with a link to book flights for dates they release. Maybe once every 6 weeks I get an email, they're not that regular. They are promising to put more flights up as a result of the caps. I am thinking now that might be the most likely way to get into Australia with the fallout of this flight cap. I'm due to fly in early October with Singapore. 

I had an email last month from DFAT regarding a flight from London to Darwin on 21st July. No idea if this is fully booked, maybe sign up and see if they contact you?

I hope you manage to sort flights out. 

Edited by bicek
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On 02/07/2021 at 10:40, 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.

Would there be any risk in them canceling one leg of the flight (economy) and not cancelling the other one, forcing you to cancel the lot? Or have you known instances where this has worked (just upgrading one leg)? I need to get back onto the Facebook groups to see what people have successfully done to secure their flights... haven't been on there in a while as got a bit comfortable thinking we'd be ok! until now...

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2 hours ago, Morpheus said:

Many thanks for the info. To register with DFAT flights, do we just need to fill into the online forms and wait? or do we need to call them, or someone else to confirm? our next Saturday flights to Perth have just been cancelled today and trying to see if we can still travel in the next few days

I've just had another email this morning from DFAT with a link to 23rd July flights, so these still have seats! Best of luck!

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On 08/07/2021 at 08:33, Jon the Hat said:

Alan Lam one of the most in touch travel agents posted again on one of the groups that certainly Singapore and Qatar has emptied entire flights, so Business or even First class is not guarantee.  I guess they might be keener to get you moved onto another flight.

I expect you're right. Rather than reduce numbers per flight they will just fly even fewer planes. I'll be checking the flight schedules in next few weeks to see which flights are actually going ahead. Might give an indication for Sept/Oct flights whether ours are likely to be cancelled or not. 

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DFAT flights are pretty much a no go for us anyway. Since DFAT connecting flights and VISAs have been impossible to coordinate. Just recently Germany shut down the border with Russia, then a week after opened it with self isolation periods. Its just still so unpredictable.

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8 hours ago, Morpheus said:

Many thanks for the info. To register with DFAT flights, do we just need to fill into the online forms and wait? or do we need to call them, or someone else to confirm? our next Saturday flights to Perth have just been cancelled today and trying to see if we can still travel in the next few days

We registered online, then updated when we had flights cancelled to say we needed help getting home.  We then waited for the next release of DFAT flights to be emailed to us with an invitation to book.  You have to be very quick when the email comes in - they are booked out very fast.  Emails were coming through about once a month at the beginning of the year.

best of luck for Perth. We got here 10 weeks ago and actively started looking for a house to rent three weeks back.  Finding rentals very difficult.  We’re lucky to have friends putting us up at the moment, but need to find somewhere more permanent by mid-august when I start my new job.

Edited by Canbush
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19 minutes ago, Canbush said:

We registered online, then updated when we had flights cancelled to say we needed help getting home.  We then waited for the next release of DFAT flights to be emailed to us with an invitation to book.  You have to be very quick when the email comes in - they are booked out very fast.  Emails were coming through about once a month at the beginning of the year.

best of luck for Perth. We got here 10 weeks ago and actively started looking for a house to rent three weeks back.  Finding rentals very difficult.  We’re lucky to have friends putting us up at the moment, but need to find somewhere more permanent by mid-august when I start my new job.

If you don't mind me asking whereabouts are you trying to rent? Are you finding good ones are gone quick or there aren't any good ones?

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6 hours ago, Canbush said:

best of luck for Perth. We got here 10 weeks ago and actively started looking for a house to rent three weeks back.  Finding rentals very difficult.  We’re lucky to have friends putting us up at the moment, but need to find somewhere more permanent by mid-august when I start my new job.

Is it tricky trying to rent when you haven't started work yet? We're just wondering if it's even possible, or whether you have to pay a large sum up front to secure it (ie. 6 months up front or something). The rental market in Melbourne is pretty competitive too I hear, we're fairly nervous about that bit. We're booked into some airbnbs initially and then planning to rent once we can find somewhere. We're hoping we won't be stuck paying extortionate amounts for holiday rentals whilst we find somewhere a little more permanent!

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I did a quick search and it looks like all the DFAT flights for July are now sold out. They were snapped up pretty quick then I guess. They've said uptake has been low on recent flights but that clearly isn't the case...?

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6 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

If you don't mind me asking whereabouts are you trying to rent? Are you finding good ones are gone quick or there aren't any good ones?

We did look at the newer northern suburbs in areas such as Ellenbrook, and the coastal developments going up to Yanchep, but it all seemed a bit soulless to us.  In the end we’re focusing north of the river around Wembley through to the coast.  Certainly good properties around, they just go fast, and hence rents are spiralling.  

The data is a bit old, but we find its worth keeping an eye on this site when looking at suburbs -  https://www.perthcrimemap.com - Perth has the usual city problems.  Its just an indicator, and there are always nice parts of rougher areas, but having been burgled here before and having the house trashed we like to give it a thought.  Mind you when we lived here before we were in South Perth, a relatively good area.

It really depends on where you’ll be working, what sort of environment you like (hills, old neighbourhoods, beach/river nearby),  and how much road noise you are happy with.  Have a look at https://reiwa.com.au and https://www.domain.com.au - they are the two main rental sources.  Don’t expect much help from estate agents.

pete

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, bicek said:

Is it tricky trying to rent when you haven't started work yet? We're just wondering if it's even possible, or whether you have to pay a large sum up front to secure it (ie. 6 months up front or something). The rental market in Melbourne is pretty competitive too I hear, we're fairly nervous about that bit. We're booked into some airbnbs initially and then planning to rent once we can find somewhere. We're hoping we won't be stuck paying extortionate amounts for holiday rentals whilst we find somewhere a little more permanent!

We are lucky that I’ve been able to keep working part-time remotely with my old UK job and then I have the new job to move pretty well straight into.  Showing you have an income or resurces is important, and for Perth anyway you seem to need two personal references and a contact to your old landlord/agent in the UK. I can post a copy  of a typical Perth tenancy application so you can see what they ask for if that helps.  

airbnbs aren’t cheap, but then again rents are expensive and its worth taking a bit of time in choosing an area.  If you’re heading to Melbourne then North East/Eastern suburbs have good travel links into the CBD and have some real village feels that Perth lacks.

Edited by Canbush
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1 hour ago, bicek said:

I did a quick search and it looks like all the DFAT flights for July are now sold out. They were snapped up pretty quick then I guess. They've said uptake has been low on recent flights but that clearly isn't the case...?

They had a bit of a slow down in bookings I understand, but the new changes will almost certainly return it to full flights.  The government is already scheduling additional flights so the expectation is they’ll need them.

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13 minutes ago, Canbush said:

We are lucky that I’ve been able to keep working part-time remotely with my old UK job and then I have the new job to move pretty well straight into.  Showing you have an income or resurces is important, and for Perth anyway you seem to need two personal references and a contact to your old landlord/agent in the UK. I can post a copy  of a typical Perth tenancy application so you can see what they ask for if that helps.  

airbnbs aren’t cheap, but then again rents are expensive and its worth taking a bit of time in choosing an area.  If you’re heading to Melbourne then North East/Eastern suburbs have good travel links into the CBD and have some real village feels that Perth lacks.

Typical tenancy application form …

REIWA-Application-for-Tenancy.pdf

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1 hour ago, bicek said:

Is it tricky trying to rent when you haven't started work yet? We're just wondering if it's even possible, or whether you have to pay a large sum up front to secure it (ie. 6 months up front or something). The rental market in Melbourne is pretty competitive too I hear, we're fairly nervous about that bit. We're booked into some airbnbs initially and then planning to rent once we can find somewhere. We're hoping we won't be stuck paying extortionate amounts for holiday rentals whilst we find somewhere a little more permanent!

Lots of vacant apartments in Melbourne right now, because Melbourne is such an education-based city - so many landlords rented to students, and there aren't any!   Likewise there are lots of AirBnB's standing empty so they are charging less than usual.  Of course student flats and AirBnB's  tend to be small, so it depends how big your family is.  If you can squeeze into a one-bedroom flat for a while, you shouldn't have any trouble.  

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8 hours ago, Canbush said:

We did look at the newer northern suburbs in areas such as Ellenbrook, and the coastal developments going up to Yanchep, but it all seemed a bit soulless to us.  In the end we’re focusing north of the river around Wembley through to the coast.  Certainly good properties around, they just go fast, and hence rents are spiralling.  

The data is a bit old, but we find its worth keeping an eye on this site when looking at suburbs -  https://www.perthcrimemap.com - Perth has the usual city problems.  Its just an indicator, and there are always nice parts of rougher areas, but having been burgled here before and having the house trashed we like to give it a thought.  Mind you when we lived here before we were in South Perth, a relatively good area.

It really depends on where you’ll be working, what sort of environment you like (hills, old neighbourhoods, beach/river nearby),  and how much road noise you are happy with.  Have a look at https://reiwa.com.au and https://www.domain.com.au - they are the two main rental sources.  Don’t expect much help from estate agents.

pete

Thanks Pete

Were trying to focus on the better high schools, so monitoring Suburbs around applecross, rossmoyne and maybe churchlands.  All expensive of course.  We lived in applecross last time we were in Perth.

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1 hour ago, Jon the Hat said:

Thanks Pete

Were trying to focus on the better high schools, so monitoring Suburbs around applecross, rossmoyne and maybe churchlands.  All expensive of course.  We lived in applecross last time we were in Perth.

Nice areas. We’ve been looking around there ourselves as well as Claremont, Dalkeith and Nedlands. My brother-in-law lives in APplecross and his children went to Penrose and Wesley - all did well. You are looking at higher rents, but I feel it’s worth it for the feel of the areas and easy access to the CBD. Certainly good schools on the area. Might be worth looking at Alfred Cove, parts of Bicton and East Fremantle as well. Other side of the Canning Highway there are some nice properties now near the river in Salters Point/Manning but they don’t come up for rent that often. 

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11 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Lots of vacant apartments in Melbourne right now, because Melbourne is such an education-based city - so many landlords rented to students, and there aren't any!   Likewise there are lots of AirBnB's standing empty so they are charging less than usual.  Of course student flats and AirBnB's  tend to be small, so it depends how big your family is.  If you can squeeze into a one-bedroom flat for a while, you shouldn't have any trouble.  

Melbourne rental market is a buyers market, entire buildings are almost empty.

We have decided to stay with family instead of renting.

Passed our PCR test ! That was one anxious wait as the Delta variant explodes around Europe.

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We made it to Australia. Have to say, the arrival process was pretty gruelling. 
 

Everyone was very welcoming but at the end it was ruined by a big man with a thick French accent having a go at me for thinking I was treating him like a helper. When I never asked for his help at all and he was really rude to us as I tried to recover our 110kg worth bags on to the bus to the hotel.

Currently in the centre of the city, into our second day of the quarantine period.

So far it’s been pretty quiet. But I don’t see how I’ll get much work done.

Etihad Airways really made the trip wonderful!

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