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The Snowheads Flight Club

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi all.

The first version of the flight club was not what some people wanted. However, there have been page and pages on general help about flight tips. EG the change in BA baggage on flight class combinations. etc etc

So rather the the flight club be a thread for flight searching. It is clear that it would be a good thread to pool questions and knowledge on other threads.


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Fri 27-10-17 22:34; edited 1 time in total
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
As a test, I'm just looking for a sanity check on:

Somewhere south (EXT, BRS, CWF, LHR, LGW) > Avoriaz, 24th March to 31st, 1a, 1cb, 1ski.
Plus tfr.

I reckon best is Swiss from LHR>GVA then Skiidygonzalez (with the code posted the other day). Flight times are crap but it's cheap. Would consider a bit more for more convenient flights.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I'm not entirely sure what help you are looking for but would recommend Sky Scanner for any flight booking queries.

https://www.skyscanner.net/
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@bar shaker, a cheap flight/transfer from any of the airports listed. Isn't the point of the thread to get suggestions from people that I may not have thought about?

Basically I want to get from Exeter to Avoriaz as cheaply as possible and, preferably, not have to get up in the middle of the night. Ive looked myself and the only budget option I can see is Swiss, but flight times aren't ideal. If any helpful Snowheads can suggest an alternative that is a better time but isn't much more expensive then I'd be grateful.
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 fizzer
fizzer
Guest
For a moment I read that as fight club. Rather apt....
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
@bar shaker,
Quote:

I'm not entirely sure what help you are looking for

I think @GlasgowCyclops, is offering help with finding flights, rather than asking for help. snowHead
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@intermediate, I think @bar shaker was replying to @SnoodlesMcFlude not@GlasgowCyclops.

That started well!
ski holidays
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Another really easy way of searching for flights is Google Flights which allows you to store planned routes and monitor price changes.
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
GlasgowCyclops wrote:

Rules are. No chit chat.

So, let me get this straight, the first rule of flight club is you do not talk about flight club?
Ooops, sorry /couldn't resist /even though it was predictable
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I'm not sure that this is going as @GlasgowCyclops planned snowHead Either that or I've got the wrong end of the stick. I thought the idea was that people would post about where they want to go (and when) and the sH community (at least, those who enjoy googling flights) would offer up options.

So if someone posted
Quote:
Somewhere south (EXT, BRS, CWF, LHR, LGW) > Avoriaz, 24th March to 31st, 1a, 1cb, 1ski.
Plus tfr.


You might respond:
Quote:
LHR>GVA with Swiss 17:45 outbound 07:30 return £94. With Swiss so you can take skis as your first hold luggage
Transfer with Skiidygonzalez (use code 'PowderPlease') for £90.
Flight times aren't the best but price is good and transfer is shorter than going to Chambery etc.
ski holidays
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
I have previously suggested a separate travel and transfers sub-forum. Currently all such options clutter up the timeline of the others, but I still think a request, unless the title of Flight Club is more self-explanatory, should be an individual thread, otherwise it is too easy for it to become lost in other people's requests.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Oops, miss-read the title as Fight club, thought I would find the usual suspects in here.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I'm willing to be corrected here, but I'm fairly sure there are several websites that do something remarkably similar.....
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Dr John, those websites need to be fed information though (if you mean skyscanner etc). If you live somewhere that it's not straightforward (e.g. Just checking London airports) then those sites work great. But for those of us that are further afield you might not have thought about all the options.

For example, I hadn't thought about checking Cardiff until someone suggested it yesterday. Likewise I was looking at landing in GVA but someone suggested Chambery and having the longer transfer. That's for a simple trip, if you're looking at a more involved flight then I think the idea of putting it out to other Snowheads is a good one.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@SnoodlesMcFlude, putting UK as the departure will list every UK airport flying to the chosen destination
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@Dr John, doesn't really work either, given that I'm not overly interested in flights from Luton, Southend, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh etc.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@SnoodlesMcFlude, perhaps not, but it does list Cardiff.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
@SnoodlesMcFlude, if you use Google Flights you can put in an airport then click the + symbol - it will then bring up a list of alternatives which you can click to add to the list of possibles.
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@Alastair, that's neat (there used to be another site I used that offered that but skyscanner doesn't for some reason).
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Dr John wrote:
I'm willing to be corrected here, but I'm fairly sure there are several websites that do something remarkably similar.....


There are websites like skyscanner. Great. But you try and search for a flight from Gla, edi, inv, Ncl, man and you will be clicking away all day. Also forcing a club in one direction is tricky because many of these sites want you to do club in both.

Also doing an open jaw or a positioning flight ex EU etc etc etc.

Just like some on here can offer advice on skis, some can offer some advice on flights. E.g. Today I sorted my options for Gla-Lhr-icn as an open jaw with return via Hkg and a separate pnr from icn to PVG and a separate from PVG to Hkg and saved about £1700 on the round trip.

An example going to the USA and Canada is that flying via London from Dublin, Oslo or Arlanda can save a lot of money and I'm not sure the average holiday flyer would know about this. Even Admin was amazed that his flight from Milan to Tokyo was cheaper than the rabbits from Heathrow.

If it is not for you then fine. However I hope some people may get some benefit
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You'll need to Register first of course.
SnoodlesMcFlude wrote:
As a test, I'm just looking for a sanity check on:

Somewhere south (EXT, BRS, CWF, LHR, LGW) > Avoriaz, 24th March to 31st, 1a, 1cb, 1ski.
Plus tfr.

I reckon best is Swiss from LHR>GVA then Skiidygonzalez (with the code posted the other day). Flight times are crap but it's cheap. Would consider a bit more for more convenient flights.


There is one option for £90 with bad timings but probably the best is for £117 is

London (LHR) to Zurich (ZRH) — Sat, Mar 24
Swiss 345
Dep: 6:00 am
Arr: 8:40 am
1h 40m
Airbus A321
Economy (K)


Layover in ZRH

0h 50m

Zurich (ZRH) to Geneva (GVA) — Sat, Mar 24
Swiss 2804
Dep: 9:30 am
Arr: 10:20 am
0h 50m
Airbus A321
Economy (K)

Geneva (GVA) to London (LHR) — Sat, Mar 31


Geneva (GVA) to Zurich (ZRH) — Sat, Mar 31
Swiss 2817
Dep: 5:50 pm
Arr: 6:40 pm
0h 50m
Embraer RJ-190
Economy (K)

OPERATED BY HELVETIC
Layover in ZRH

2h 15m

Zurich (ZRH) to London (LHR) — Sat, Mar 31
Swiss 340
Dep: 8:55 pm
Arr: 9:40 pm
1h 45m
Airbus A321
Economy (K)



Or for £130 you can go on FRIday and return on Sunday.


London (LHR) to Geneva (GVA) — Fri, Mar 23

Swiss 359
Dep: 7:00 am
Arr: 9:35 am
1h 35m
Bombardier CS300
Economy (K)

OPERATED BY SWISS GLOBAL



Geneva (GVA) to London (LHR) — Sun, Apr 1

Swiss 358
Dep: 8:50 pm
Arr: 9:30 pm
1h 40m
Bombardier CS300
Economy (S)


However, since the outbound connection in ZRH is tight (not for you but for your bags) you may want to go out on Friday evening.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Alastair wrote:
@SnoodlesMcFlude, if you use Google Flights you can put in an airport then click the + symbol - it will then bring up a list of alternatives which you can click to add to the list of possibles.


And this is an example of how SH can learn things. I use Matrix myself (the back end to Google flights and Kayak).
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
GlasgowCyclops wrote:
I use Matrix myself


Me too for a complex itinerary such as you have just booked (also an ex-EU flyer here!) but Matrix isn't the most user friendly piece of software and takes a bit of getting used to Shocked (I'm sure I'll get there one day). I find Google Flights is quicker and easier to use for simple short-haul comparisons.
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
SnoodlesMcFlude wrote:
@bar shaker, a cheap flight/transfer from any of the airports listed. Isn't the point of the thread to get suggestions from people that I may not have thought about?

Basically I want to get from Exeter to Avoriaz as cheaply as possible and, preferably, not have to get up in the middle of the night. Ive looked myself and the only budget option I can see is Swiss, but flight times aren't ideal. If any helpful Snowheads can suggest an alternative that is a better time but isn't much more expensive then I'd be grateful.


If you move the sliders on the LHS of the Skyscanner page, you can move your priorities.

The problem with personal recommendations, is that they are obsolete in hours. I was looking at flights to Mallorca in May, for a friend's birthday. She announced that she had booked to fly from Sarfend, which is handy for us. By the time I looked at booking 4 hours later, flights had gone up by over £200 where as the STN option was still only £17 more than she had paid. The flight times are within 5 minutes out and rtn.

So whilst we could keep GlasgowCyclops in full time employment searching for slight alternatives, unless you pressed the button immediately, the info would be obsolete.

The other problem is that prime time flights aren't cheap and the longer you leave booking, the more expensive they get.
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No offence, but this is a massive waste of everyone's effort! Most have remarked that the prices often change, but surely it's not beyond the skills of people to use flight comparison websites and look at the different date and airport options.

[/endgrump]
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@SnoodlesMcFlude If you can use public transport then flying out of STN or LTN and back to LHR is your cheapest option and has good flight times.

Using the same airport show LGW to be your best base and this is about £100 more.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Badbobby wrote:
No offence, but this is a massive waste of everyone's effort! Most have remarked that the prices often change, but surely it's not beyond the skills of people to use flight comparison websites and look at the different date and airport options.

[/endgrump]


I totally agree.

Especially when you also factor in that some people will look to save every penny, even if it means multiple flight stops/aircraft changes and hours getting there and back, whilst others will want the simplest and quickest journey, from door to door.

Far too many variables to make any meaningful recommendations on a bulletin board.

Use the flight price checkers and play around with your own priorities... then book immediately when you find a deal that works.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@bar shaker, after first flying in the wrong direction for 45 minutes and chaining planes
ski holidays
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@bar shaker, besides the fact that I hate public transport, STN and LTN are too far away to be convenient

I was only posting as a 'test' and the Swiss flight from LHR is still the best option.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@Badbobby, it's only using the time of those that want to help, no one is forcing somebody to look up flights for them and no one is looking up flights without being aware that skyscanner exists.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
One thing to be aware of is that most carriers now sell seats based on demand, and on what they perceive as interest in the flight, so asking here whether the £90 return from LGW to SZG on EasyJet can be bettered by using another London airport could mean that 10 people go and search for flights, which includes EasyJet, so when they all come back and confirm that your £90 offer is the best available and you go back to book it, the flurry of what looks like interest in flights to SZG from London means that your offer is now £130...
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
As an aside, and ALMOST back OT, for, for example, bash flights - and I know you can't be a TO before goldballs gets his knickers in a twist - if you use "BA group booking" for 10+ seats, you get a substantial discount.

Eg 10 of us flying LHR to ZUH Sat to Sat, mid morning (so no crack-of-dawn wake up) £120 each ret. All taxes and baggage allowance inc. Best offer when booking 9 or less - £156

Now my purpose for being on this thread becomes clear - transfers from Zurich to Ischgl for 10 - thinking 2x large vehicle hires (e.g. S-Max) . But anyone else got any other ideas?
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Arctic Roll wrote:
As an aside, and ALMOST back OT, for, for example, bash flights - and I know you can't be a TO before goldballs gets his knickers in a twist - if you use "BA group booking" for 10+ seats, you get a substantial discount.

Eg 10 of us flying LHR to ZUH Sat to Sat, mid morning (so no crack-of-dawn wake up) £120 each ret. All taxes and baggage allowance inc. Best offer when booking 9 or less - £156

Now my purpose for being on this thread becomes clear - transfers from Zurich to Ischgl for 10 - thinking 2x large vehicle hires (e.g. S-Max) . But anyone else got any other ideas?


Really good point and idea. Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy

Perhaps this thread is not for the frequent flyers or even the people going from London to GVA. However, perhaps it would be useful for say a family of four going to the USA or Canada or Japan etc etc. Happy
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
Anyway, at the threat of this turning into another brexit-length thread about how I'm wasting my time. I'm not a TO and since most think I'm wasting my time and everyone on the internet can easily find fares themselves I'll see you all on the BASH pages where "No One Ever" asks for help with flights. Happy
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Hi all.

The first version of the flight club was not what some people wanted. However, there have been page and pages on general help about flight tips. EG the change in BA baggage on flight class combinations. etc etc

So rather the the flight club be a thread for flight searching. It is clear that it would be a good thread to pool questions and knowledge on other threads.
ski holidays
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
As you say @GlasgowCyclops, this could be a valuable thread for people looking for beat value, which frequently isn't obvious or logical.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I think keeping to general shared tips and ideas may be a good idea less this become the SCGB post2. Very Happy
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I think it's a good idea as a thread, and I'm surprised that so many people are comfortable in their own ability to use existing tools to get the cheapest option.

If you go more than once in a season from London airports, including school hols (any of us with kids!) then it is unlikely that the standard options (Skyscanner, google flights etc) are giving you the cheapest price. If you don't believe me, try me... give me your flights and price paid, and I'll see if I can beat it.

E.g. I could book for Xmas/ny, Feb half term and Easter for £110 return per flight on average with bags LGW/GVA. you won't find that on Skyscanner!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@GlasgowCyclops, I noticed in the EoSB thread you said it's generally cheaper to book on the BA site and use Avios points to reduce the cost, I've done a little flight searching and to me it appears to be better to book the Avios flights if you can, I don't fly that often so quite possible I'm missing something obvious, doing the maths wrong or just didn't understand what you meant in the other thread Embarassed

LHR - GVA Sat, 14 Apr
Dep 6:45
Arr: 9:20

GVA - LHR Sat, 21 Apr
Dep 21:20
Arr: 21:55

On the BA site if you choose Economy Plus the cost is £113.5 you can reduce that by £40 with 5500 Avios (earning 250 Avios in rewards) that works out to £73.50 cash and costing you 131.25 Avios per £ saved.
If you choose Business class the cost is £354.50 you can reduce that by £70 with 10000 Avios (earning 1500 Avios in rewards) that works out to £284.50 cash and costing you 121.4 A/£

Whereas if you book through the Avios site Economy costs £35 + 8500 Avios, I calculate that as costing 108.2 A/£
Booking Business £50 + 16750 Avios looks to be by far the best bang for your Avios point at 55 A/£

Not sure all that makes sense or not. Confused
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I should have said it is sometimes cheaper so check both and it depends on the level of AVIOS. EG my EOSB flights for two GLA-GVA. Looking for Avios redemption I looked at the flights and it was 31,000 avios plus £180 for two (£90 each) in economy.

Going to a normal booking and using AVIOS to reduce the price. I was offered 28k AVIOS to reduce the total cost to £160 (£80 each).


Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Sat 28-10-17 10:47; edited 1 time in total
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