[Andy B]

Does anyone know of any particularly cheap places to try and pick up flights to Australia please?

[tomtom]

I booked my works trip to Darwin a few weeks ago... at c.£850 with Singapore.. down from £1k the same time in 2010...

I've been c.5 times in the last 6 or 7 years and I've never managed less than £780... I (now) always try and go with Singapore.. not the cheapest, nor most luxurious ecomomy class (Emirates?) but really decent, well run and good value... Nearly all on the A380's now as well.... (a more pleasant two days in a plane than on a 747..).

Might be worth checking Air NZ - they've been pretty agressive recently...

[Andy B]

Nice one, thank you.

[dave]

Does anyone know of any particularly cheap places to try and pick up flights to Australia please?

Try new zealand.

[Andy B]

and a big thankyou to you too, dickhead.

[dave]

you're welcome.

[r-man]

We went in 2010, 560 quid return - a deal we saw on the net with STA travel (you don't have to be under 25 for all their deals, we weren't). That was flying with Emirates.

[Johnny Brown]

When I went to Taipan for the weekend, my boss advised Emirates - was £800ish. He commutes between Huddersfield and Brisbane every other week so seemed worth listening to.

[Bonjoy]

We used STA travel too

[Bubba]

He commutes between Huddersfield and Brisbane every other week

Fuck that!

[Johnny Brown]

I exaggerate, but only slightly. He didn't think sending me on a quick week of meetings in Singapore, Melbourne, Perth and Dubai was a big deal at any rate.

[Mike Tyson]

Whilst we are on the topic of travelling to Australia, I had a question regards visa application. I Google'd "Australian holiday visa" and followed a link which listed the price as £20 for an instant visa. However, I have found a place that will do it for £6.50 if I can wait 24-72 hours! As I am not going until July I am tempted by the cheaper one (Who wouldn't be!) but as a general rule of thumb, is there a preferred/specific place to obtain ones visa from?

[DaveC]

All Australian visas are issued by Australian Immigration in London at the end of the day so regardless of what you pay a travel agent or the like for the visa, they're going to get the rest off you somewhere else. In other words there is no 'free market' in travel visas...well not a legal one anyway.

[Mike Tyson]

Thanks for that. It just seems rather odd that there is such a vast price range (At first glance).

I don't quite fancy the cheapest looking site, at £6.50 per visa, so will more than likely go through the official immigration website.

[Johnny Brown]

I had no idea I needed one until I checked in after a 24hr stopover in Singapore. I think it was £40, so that's another option.

[tomtom]

Yeah, you just register online - then when they check your passport on arrival its all OK.... etc...
I think the basic tourist/short stay business visa is done this way anyway...

[fatdoc]

When I went to Taipan for the weekend, my boss advised Emirates - was £800ish. He commutes between Huddersfield and Brisbane every other week so seemed worth listening to.

Christ....

[tomtom]

When I went to Taipan for the weekend, my boss advised Emirates - was £800ish. He commutes between Huddersfield and Brisbane every other week so seemed worth listening to.

Christ....

Precisely, Brisbane of all places....