 Poster: A snowHead
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@melandnick, I didn’t even think to look at Ryan Air. That’s a significant saving!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@zikomo, none of the rouges routes I looked at were that cheap. That was at 7:10 (I looked at 6:10 but none showing then). However good to read you got some that cheaply.
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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?
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Am I right in thinking there are two different UK half term weeks again in Feb 2024, with some areas starting Sat 10th and others starting Sat 17th?
Prices for the first week seem a lot worse than the second week at the moment.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@shrew, Hampshire is definitely 10th Feb
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I believe Cambridgeshire is 17th Feb, so we may have struck lucky.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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These HT flight prices, and the crowds in France, are the reason we always went Transatlantic for a week, when Mrs B was a teacher. Better value and less crowded. 
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Thu 9-03-23 11:19; edited 1 time in total
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| zikomo wrote: |
@NickyJ, The flights I booked seemed to be broadly similar to other years for Feb half term and quite reasonable. That said I booked EasyJet and didn't even look at BA etc.
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I just took a look at BA flights to Geneva on the half term dates and they were well over £1000 each! The big shame is that quite a few airlines still haven't released their flights for Feb next year, so it's hard to get a gauge of what's out there.
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| Worth saying that some years I have been a bit lazy and missed the early booking window. But prices have fluctuated both up and down even for the Feb half term, so by keeping an eye on it I have always managed to get reasonably priced flights. There is a definite rhythm to flight bookings that airlines take advantage of, many recognising that there are a volume of people that will book very early for peak dates so some airlines set quite high fares for those dates initially but actually bring them down a bit later on. It's all a bit of a game! |
Totally - I booked our flights at 6am-ish this morning, and by 7am the same flights at the same time were already 50% more expensive. I think you need to be amongst the first to book before the algorithms kick in, otherwise you're probably better off waiting it out.
@NickyJ - they appeared briefly at 6am on the app, but it wouldn't let me progress. Then they all disappeared (while they fixed the issue I guess). And then they all reappeared about 6.15am
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| Upfront seats continue to be much more expensive than in the past. We might skip them this time as tbh I got no advantage at all this year. |
Baggage, seats - it's such a money making scheme. We never book seats, and have always been put together on check-in. Admittedly we have a 11 year old, so they might be forced to do that!
@shrew - yes I think the main week is 10-17th, so if you're the 2nd week that you might be luckier with prices.
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Booked flights from MAN to GVA for the 2nd HT week (but flying out on Friday 16 February .... we will take kids out of school as we have done for the past 6-7 years). Our eldest is now an "adult" (I wish he started behaving as one) - £384 for 3 adults and 1 child. I think that is pretty good going.
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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.
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@Handy Turnip, ah so I was later on release than I thought. Next season we booked Lufthansa on release for a pre-Christmas and due to being A-level year thats it. However always like to look at the what if and the following season no major exams.... year after thar GCSE year.
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@NickyJ, Crazy isn't it. Looking at either Bmth or Soton, the half term is over 3 times the price for pretty much any other date.
Looking like mid/late March for me for 2024.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@SHAP, one route I toyed with for next season (before talking with eldest who said would rather not do Feb half term in run up to A-levels), was Ryanair out of Bournemouth to Venice and then booking somewhere like Arabba
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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.
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| NickyJ wrote: |
| @SHAP, one route I toyed with for next season (before talking with eldest who said would rather not do Feb half term in run up to A-levels), was Ryanair out of Bournemouth to Venice and then booking somewhere like Arabba |
Certainly worth a look. Italy is def on my list.
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I booked around 0845 for the first half term week. Flights outbound on the Saturday were around £100, and I around £40 for the Friday. around £100 for return on Sat 17th. Edinburgh to Milan. Just looked again and they are up a bit at £52 for Fri 9th Feb, £137 for Sat 10th and £170 for Sat 17th. So I was a bit lucky but even as it stands now that's not terrible for the highest demand week. What is annoying is the flight back used to be mid-afternoon which was great as a relaxing end to the holiday. This year the flight was 0920 and they have stick with that, so a very early start t get to the airport on time! I would have booked to return on the Sunday but no flights available.
For those seeing astronomical prices for their routes I would hold on. Normally around late summer is cheaper too book, I think there is a lull in bookings which often sees some bargains pop up. Or look for alternative routes. Don't forget to look at other airlines and also reward flights.
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You know it makes sense.
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And 11:03 EasyJet has emailed me to say those flights have been released!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Assuming Peak dates are best booked in advance and the remainder play a wait and see game?
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No, I suspect not. The off-peak prices just drift up slower than the peak ones. The financial case for self-drive gets stronger every year. I recently flew Gatwick/Turin return and rented a car. Several times I thought longingly of just sitting in my own car, with lots of stuff, trundling along with my own music and audio books. I am going to be doing exactly that later this month, driving to Genoa and picking up grandson for a family holiday in France, then taking him back. Flights to Genoa are so few, and so problematical, that I simply can't be bothered and the cost is comparable. Wear and tear on the car will be considerable, but wear and tear on me not so much. Having no job to race back for, I might stay on in Italy after dropping him off, and do a week's language course.
When I used to hover over the keyboard ready to book easyJet flights, they generally seemed to be published soon after midnight. I always signed up for warning emails and never seemed to get any - Snowheads was more reliable.
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Poster: A snowHead
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[quote="pam w"]
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The financial case for self-drive gets stronger every year. . |
I can never make self drive work.
£600 by the time you include crossing to the continent, overnight stay somewhere, french tolls, fuel, etc. Then being knackered from all the travel!
I would probably have to make it a 11 or 12 day trip with more stop offs, which only pushes the price up.
I would like to buy a motorhome, tour around a bit, park it up, fly home. Fly back & tour around a bit more. Wash & repeat. I guess then I would need to bring it back to the UK every year for an MOT.
So maybe I should buy one in France or some other mainland country & deal with their ownership laws about tax & MOT equivalents.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Gored, I agree it makes more sense for a longer trip. But I don't find driving tiring - certainly not compared with dealing with the hassle of a busy airport. And on a straight drive to the Alps with no weather complications I can do it without an overnight stay. I have to add car hire to my calculations for my upcoming Italy trip, and extra mileage because there are no convenient flights to Genoa. But the main argument for me is my comfort and sanity! I like the idea of a motorhome too, but there are a number of post-Brexit and insurance complications. And parking near main airports is rarely cheap.
Increasingly the cost of transfers from airports to resorts is causing people a lot of headaches - your £600, for two people door to door, can begin to seem like quite good value and for 4 people it's a no brainer.
I have the opportunity to avoid peak weeks, which makes a big difference, with no big traffic worries.
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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?
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Anyone else struggling to check out on easyJet ? Unbelievably slow ...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Yes, I was tempted by the self-drive option - my mentaility was, doing half-term is a one off this year so as long as the prices aren't crazy crazy then we'll go for it. We'll be back to doing Easter again next year, but if we need to do it again in years to come I think I'd aim to go to a different airport than Geneva or do the drive option.
I've driven before and have no issues generally - but the kids are currently at an age where it could be a bit more frustrating that it would be in a few years.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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And at 12:58 the installed app alerts me to these going on sale.
Snowheads far better for giving heads up!!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Handy Turnip, yes, my kids always hated the idea of driving, three of them squished in the back, and preferred to go by coach, which was substantially cheaper. But my local grand-daughters, now aged 10 and 12, have done the drive twice in summer in a rather noisy, over 20 year old, VW T4 camper. It was made 100% clear to them that this was the only way the trip was affordable. they took the family bikes, having discovered how expensive it was to rent mountain bikes. They had the choice - the trip was not compulsory - but they were warned that if they moaned, it would be the last. They were allowed sweets (a special treat in that family) and spent a lot of mental energy working out how many kms between sweets, if they were to last the journey. (Yes, not good for teeth)
They are doing the trip later this month, for a big family ski holiday. They desperately want to go, they know that only the drive makes it affordable, they're up for it. Two other little girls, aged 2 and 5, will also be driving, in a different vehicle, and will undoubtedly moan a bit......
Someone has to go down to Genoa to pick up the Italian lad. His father (my son) proposed to fly down and rent a car, and kindly offered me the seat in the car with the 2 and 5 year old. I selflessly offered to drive on my own, instead, and do the pick up. 
There simply is no easy way to get a family to the Alps for a week. When flying was a cheap day of misery it wasn't so bad. Now it's an expensive day of misery.
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| pam w wrote: |
| When flying was a cheap day of misery it wasn't so bad. Now it's an expensive day of misery. |
So very true!
I think that approach makes a lot of sense, and I know that if we said it was driving & skiing, or no skiing at all, then I'm sure they would go for it.
Our eldest is getting confident in parallel, and that seems to have coincided with her moving from 'really like' to 'love skiing'. The youngest should move from snow plough to fully parallel by the end of our next trip, so am hoping he will move to the 'love' skiing camp too. And at that point, I think we could say that we were walking to the Alps, and they'd still be up for it!!!
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No bargains for next year
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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.
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No Edinburgh to Venice showing
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| Gufo wrote: |
| No Edinburgh to Venice showing |
I noticed that too 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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the heyday of cheap flights from everywhere to everywhere didn't last long, did it?
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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.
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Midweek January return for about £60. Still pretty good.
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I'm pretty sure I had an email from EasyJet today saying next winter booking is OPEN
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You know it makes sense.
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@DrLawn, they are, was just on the App earlier but now on their website as well.
i booked a return flight to Geneva at Christmas on the App first thing for £91 but that is without any kind of baggage i will do that later sometime.
now just need to look at where to go, am thinking of Chamonix instead of the 3v's, although i have needed to drive through it a couple of times from Meribel to Verbier, i have never skied there.
it will be a solo trip as it looks like my daughters will be spending Christmas with my ex
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Cheers @terrygasson, I didnt think I'd actually pressed the button on that post above..
Weird ... I have not tried the EasyJet website for a while now ...it never seemed to work for me ... but fine on the phone. 
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Poster: A snowHead
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I got flights from Belfast to Geneva over new years for £450 for 3 of us. Got a 5 year old on her potential first ski trip, just need to decide where to go that will be snowsure and suitable now. Checked the same flights this morning and they are over £1200, so I'm happy enough.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Very disappointed at the apparent complete lack of flights from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ncl (or basically anywhere N of Manchester) to Austria or Italy next winter; is there anyone in the know on this? Any chance they’ll add some later? Or are our Scottish friends definitely going to have to do non-direct 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?
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Last year we had our Edin Ven flights with EJ cancelled in early November having booked only a couple of weeks before. Re booked with Ryanair to Treviso. Worked really well with both flights on time Ryanair have yet to publish for next winter. Think we will stick with them once and if schedule is set
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@swoafs, I'd been keeping an eye our for Edinburgh to Innsbruck.
There's at Jet2 on a Saturday but isn't until afternoon- got it this year and didn't get to resort until 10pm. Was ok as staying in hotel and had skis but we were looking at self catering for next year and someone coming doesn't have their own skis so they wouldn't be able to get rentals until first ski day. Long story short now going somewhere else
There is a TUI flight at better time on a saturday from Edinburgh to Innsbruck but expensive
Not fancying indirect.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I've always found the easyJet website fast and effective.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Good to know Gufo! Anyone any idea when Ryanair likely to release winter 2024 flights?
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Anyone know whether EasyJet are releasing their winter 2025 flights tomorrow? Do I need to set an alarm? 
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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.
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Was about to post that the EJ website is only showing flights until November for me, then I realised I'm reading an old thread.
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FAQ
