 Poster: A snowHead
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I know this is an obvious thing to talk about, but is anyone shocked at the flight prices for Easter this year?
Pretty much every route to the alps is £500pp, I can't remember it being that high. For a family of 6 its eyewatering!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I suspect a lot of airlines start cutting back their ski routes at end March to move into more "summery" destinations so you get a holiday weekend with high demand and restricted supply
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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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@wyattjnr, you can wait and see if the price goes down. I had the same issue booking new year flights, but held my nerve and got them for about €160pp return, inc. bags in the end.
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| countryman wrote: |
| I suspect a lot of airlines start cutting back their ski routes at end March to move into more "summery" destinations so you get a holiday weekend with high demand and restricted supply |
In my experience it’s exactly this. There’s about 60 flights LON-GVA on a Saturday in Feb, vs 30 flights on the same date 6 weeks later.
By Easter, many traditional holiday destinations (Greece Spain Portugal Balearics etc) are getting popular and the aircraft are more profitably used on those routes, which means much more limited ski availability.
If you wait, one of the things happens:
Prices go down
Prices go up
The flight you wanted sells out entirely
I’ve had all three experiences, but I’ve had the third more than the first, when it’s a limited availability weekend. Airline yield management has become extremely good.
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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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| Quote: |
For a family of 6 its eyewatering!
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It certainly is. Are you in a position to consider driving?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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If you can find a flight that is. The airlines cut back dramatically at the end of march. In fact when coming out for Easter the last couple years my son has found the only route to Geneva involves changing in Amsterdam. My friend uses Frankfurt which is also handy for Innsbruck and Venice.
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Just checked, there are WIZZ flights from LTN to MXP for £119 Sat 28th Mar- Sat 4th Apr. Timings aren't great, but you could probably stay somewhere cheaper than resort prices near airport on first and last night.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@luigi, oddly I’ve found that Milan doesn’t have lots of flights. My wife used to fly there a lot for work and found she’d have to drive to Luton for flights. The last couple times I’ve flown to Milan I’ve had to drive to Heathrow adding a couple hours to the journey time.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@johnE, might depend which airport in Milan, there are 3. If she needed a business flight to Linate she might have had to go to LHR or LCY.
Apparently there are 117 flights a day from London airports to Milan airports, according to Google AI.
But obviously we don't know where the OP can fly from yet, might be Belfast or something?? 
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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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I thought there were only 2 Milan airports: Malpensa and Linate. She flew to Malpensa. I see that RyanAir offer a £171 flight to Orio al Serio, (where is that?) from Birmingham for Easter and have a flight a day. EasyJet do 3 flights a week at the end of March. The rest require a change somewhere.
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Apparently there are 117 flights a day from London airports to Milan airports, according to Google AI.
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10 direct flights a day from Heathrow I see. How does google AI define London Airports?
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Could be worse, could be Yorkshire Airways 
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You know it makes sense.
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| johnE wrote: |
| I see that RyanAir offer a £171 flight to Orio al Serio, (where is that?) ? |
Bergamo, I’ve just booked that for Feb and will drive the family to Val Gardena for the week.
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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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| wyattjnr wrote: |
I know this is an obvious thing to talk about, but is anyone shocked at the flight prices for Easter this year?
Pretty much every route to the alps is £500pp, I can't remember it being that high. For a family of 6 its eyewatering! |
Seems reasonable compared to half term. At one point a few months ago easy jet to Innsbruck was £1500pp, Salzburg was £800.
For a laugh I got a quote for a private jet. £18000 for 6-8 seat options which doesn't seem that bad in comparison!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Take a look at Munich too. People don't think of it as a ski airport so prices much more 'normal' that the obvious ones like Geneva or Innsbruck - and lots of Austrian resorts a 2hr to 2.5hr drive away/some rechargeable by train too.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
| found flights London to Oslo for £50 for those dates (28 Mar - 4 Apr), Lyon £120, Memmingen £109, Munich £145, Zurich £146, Basel £119, even Innsbruck & Salzburg well under £200... |
Plus Stansted to Klagenfurt for about £120 pp return with Ryanair.
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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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| johnE wrote: |
I thought there were only 2 Milan airports: Malpensa and Linate. She flew to Malpensa. I see that RyanAir offer a £171 flight to Orio al Serio, (where is that?) from Birmingham for Easter and have a flight a day. EasyJet do 3 flights a week at the end of March. The rest require a change somewhere.
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Apparently there are 117 flights a day from London airports to Milan airports, according to Google AI.
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10 direct flights a day from Heathrow I see. How does google AI define London Airports? |
Is 10 a day not enough then?? 
At a guess...the AI was looking at any of LHR, LGW, LCY, SEN, STN, LTN to any of MXP, LIN, BGY...so lots of potential combinations, but then AI isn't infallible
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airports_of_London
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airports_of_Milan
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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10 a day from an airport 120 miles away! I go when the person paying for the flight says I must but if i was paying I’d go somewhere else. Or just change in Amsterdam. I suspect google ai included indirect flights. And why not. Sorry but Milan is not an easy flight.
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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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Lots of assumptions here that the OP is London based!  Manc (or the North) have great flights to Malpensa and Bergamo. Add Munich to that too. BUT for Easter we can't get to Innsbruck, Salzburg or Turin.
As said above the daily, business airports are the best
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Admittedly not Easter or school holidays, but I’ve just booked 8 x return flights for two people to Faro for next year with easyJet.
Total cost £1100
Average price £34 pp each way.
Not bad.
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@johnE, @Gaz_H, I think we're all talking at cross-purposes, depending on our locations...and as the OP hasn't returned and we still don't know where they're located, it's all a bit pointless really
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BHX>Toulouse 29th - 5th, £104 total for a family of four. Granted, the flight times are very late both sides and that price is without luggage, but for Andorra that could work.
If you're in Scotland then Glasgow and Edinburgh flights to Geneva are £150pp, that's pretty good I'd say.
Gatwick to Munich or £120pp, perfect for Austrian resorts.
Will agree with the OP that many of the most popular routes do look expensive at the moment
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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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| Specialman wrote: |
BHX>Toulouse 29th - 5th, £104 total for a family of four. Granted, the flight times are very late both sides and that price is without luggage, but for Andorra that could work.
If you're in Scotland then Glasgow and Edinburgh flights to Geneva are £150pp, that's pretty good I'd say.
Gatwick to Munich or £120pp, perfect for Austrian resorts.
Will agree with the OP that many of the most popular routes do look expensive at the moment |
I'm guessing the OP was looking at the one route that they normally take to GVA...but we've shown there are lots of options out there if you think a bit laterally...though it does depend where the OP is located as to what might be viable.
I have driven 4hrs+ to Manchester for £16pp return HT flights while the London departures were £300pp. That year the country was split North/South over two weeks at Feb HT, so it was worth the extra drive to a NW airport for a £1k+ saving for a family of 4.
Evening flights can work OK...I've sometimes driven an hour, stayed in a hotel with breakfast at 7am and driven up to resort next morning. Still on the slopes without much delay 
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Wed 31-12-25 10:17; edited 2 times in total
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@luigi, indeed. The op had a point about airlines slashing flights towards the end of the ski season and the subsequent rise in prices. Other posters offered other alternatives but of course these made assumptions as to where the op was travelling from.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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A previous enquiry saus 'As long as the flight can depart from Gatwick'. The OP might have moved of course
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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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| luigi wrote: |
| ....I have driven 4hrs+ to Manchester for £16pp return HT flights while the London departures were £300pp. That year the country was split North/South over two weeks at Feb HT, so it was worth the extra drive to a NW airport for a £1k+ saving for a family of 4... |
Exactly. Just got to be as flexible as possible.
Last two Christmas trips we've done, it's been easier to drive from Rugby to Manchester and Gatwick respectively, pay £100 for the hotel and still be £400 cheaper than if we'd have flown form our local airport (Birmingham).
I look at a 3hr radius when I'm doing searches, so Bristol, Leeds even Cardiff aren't ruled-out, although if you've had a long day then a big drive home can be a bit soul sapping (you just have to remember the great time you've had) 
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Flexibility is obviously key. But once you've driven three hours each way to an airport, and add the (at least) two hours checkin before the flight and the necessarily long transfer time back to departure airport, and possibly significant delay to clear immigration on arrival...... you can drive a VERY long way south towards the mountains. Judging by posts on snowheads many people fail to factor in the cost of transfers, especially if they are accustomed to tour operator packages. And the timing of transfers is sometimes a pain, too - often having to get up at horrible o'clock to allow plenty of time for delays along the way.
It's a pity there aren't more efficient coach services. We did coach a couple of times in the distant past - a fairly painless and economical way of getting two extra transfer Saturday days skiing. Yes, it takes quite a time (especially when British drivers turn out to have very little idea how to deal with the snowchains they had to fit whilst still down on the valley road somewhere around Moutiers!) but modern coaches are pretty comfortable.
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