 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi guys,
How much should i be expecting to pay for a return flight to geneva from birmingham/Manchester in half term 2009? Furthermore, when do the budget airlines release the flights?
Thanks!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Keep an eye on here around May/June/July time - Snowheads are pretty good at noting when flights are released for sale. From others' experience, if you can book on the first or second day of release you can get good prices - leave it a week after they've been released and the price jumps
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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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So would you say around June/July time? What will be a sesnsible price? Because they're currently available for £285 with Thomson via FirstChoice.
Thanks for your help 
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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 booked for this halfterm week - flying out this Sat, back a week later. Thomsonfly's were released first and were ridiculously expensive out of Doncaster (my 1st choice), can't remmber how much, but it was steep. I booked EasyJet from Luton on 29th June, and it cost me £140 return. We decided to get on and book rather than wait for E Mids to be released - they don't release all routes the same time.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Last time I flew at half-term I was shocked at how expensive the lo-cost carriers were, right from the moment the tickets went on sale. It was cheaper to fly with BA (or would have been if I hadn't waited until Easyjet had released their prices). The scheduled airlines release their flights about 11 months in advance. As with the lo-cost carriers, the earlier you book the cheaper the flight will be.
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I booked Easyjet LTN-GVA the day they came on line late June & paid £520 for 2 adults & 2 children.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| ............. As with the lo-cost carriers, the earlier you book the cheaper the flight will be. |
Mostly, but not always. There can be later free ski deals, and even reduced seat prices. that said, I usually book as soon as possible.
Looking ahead into 2009, who knows? Fuel prices may be higher - but so may be competition for seat sales.
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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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| achilles wrote: |
| rob@rar wrote: |
| ............. As with the lo-cost carriers, the earlier you book the cheaper the flight will be. |
Mostly, but not always. |
I haven't seen any last minute discounts through the BA website in a long time. I often check a day or two before I fly (then see how many seats are empty). Maybe BA unload their inventory via places like Lastminute.com, but for Geneva flights they don't do big discounts for unsold seats in my experience, sadly.
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Welcome to  s 3thr3e.
My strategy would be to try to book as early as possible and, if you can't get a flight within budget, wait until the next opportunity.
If you're prepared to go to either London or Manchester then you've got a choice of BA or Swiss. BA book 340 days out and Swiss book 11 calendar months out. Get in there pronto and you'll pay less than £100 a flight.
If you look on the BA website you'll see that you can currently book for the beginning of Feb - so you've only got a couple of weeks to go.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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rob@rar, sorry, I was a sloppy with my reply, which was meant to apply to airlines such as easyJet, rather than BA.
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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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| achilles wrote: |
| rob@rar, sorry, I was a sloppy with my reply, which was meant to apply to airlines such as easyJet, rather than BA. |
I see. I don't check Easyjet's prices for last minute deals as much as I do with BA (because I fly with BA most of the time), but occasionally I'll look at Easy's site and there doesn't seem to be much late discounting there either. Am I missing something?
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Just looked. Easyjet Liverpool-Gva tomorrow for a week is about £140 return, E.Mids £170 but from Luton it's about £200 - obviously the routes aren't full, but they don't seem to be good deals for 'lates'. My Luton ticket cost £140 in June and a friend who booked the day before got it about £20 cheaper.
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You know it makes sense.
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Realted tip - have a look at www.skyscanner.net. I've found it quite handy for comparing prices quickly without having to trawl through half a dozen airline sites. Also worth mentioning that Swiss out of London City can be quite good value into GVA even when easyJet etc have gone through the roof.
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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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Better get in quick as all the schools/local authorities have the same week in February off in 2009 - not good for anyone!!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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another vote for scheduled carriers, also the train (for us in the SE) can be cheaper than flying at half term if you add in the transfer costs.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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so £284 return with firstchoice at the moment is not a good price? How long will BA's flights remain cheap after release?
Thanks guys
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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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3thr3e - they will stay at their lowest for maybe a day or two - no more. But probably won't hike up that quickly.
In my experience, procrastination of any sort is seldom an effective way of securing good flight prices and I've now got in to the habit of staying up and booking at a minute past midnight.
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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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it is a game of observing the pricing. We lost it last year and didnt get the best price
They fluctuate all the time. At one point for 4 people LTN-TRN it was £550 and that is what we paid which was about a week after they had been released. They rose to £700 and then dropped to £350 for all of us.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
| its easy to see how far ahead you can book on their websites. |
The websites are no use at all in telling you when the next set of schedules is going to be released, and neither is easyJet's system whereby you register and they send you an email. The most reliable way, by far, is to keep an eye on Snowheads; there's always someone on the button. I booked sun/sun half term returns for friends last year, within 20 minutes of the flights being released (and yes, I read it on Snowheads, though I had checked the easyJet website earlier in the day). The flights were about £60 return; they had tripled 36 hours later, when I got the official easyJet email!
Sunday/Sunday is cheaper and easier, but of course practically all the accommodation in France is let Sat/Sat. That family was coming to our apartment, hence Sunday flights. Some English owners rent out Sun/Sun, which is going to be heaps better. Even better is to go some other time; half term next year is going to be even more of a nightmare than usual. It's a bit of a risk booking Sun/Sun before you have sourced your accommodation.
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I know that everyone wants to get to Geneva BUT - depending on which resort you are going to - it is sometimes worth considering Ryanair to Turin or Milan Bergamo. Flights for a few pence (plus tax) aren't unknown at half term, New Year etc.
From Turin, it's an easy motorway run (under 2 hours) to the Mt Blanc Tunnel for Chamonix, Portes du Soleil etc and even Espace Killy, Paradiski and 3 Vallees are do-able if you're prepared to drive for about 4 hrs, which isn't too unrealistic.
Milan Bergamo often has the cheapest fares - ridiculously cheap on lots of occasiosn but adds about an hour's drive to the Turin times.
If you want to plan a France ski holiday round a Turin arrival you are spoiled for choice with unheard of (but some big) areas in the Maurienne Valley - about 90 mins drive. There are over 20 ski areas in the valley. Have a look at St Francois Longchamp (linked to Valmorel), Valloire or the gondola from Prorel which links into the 3 Valleys at Val Thorens.
Then there is Serre Chevalier (90 mins from Turin, 2.5hrs from Bergamo). Massive area and great skiing.
OR, if you want to avoid the French half term crowds, why not ski in Italy? It is generally nothing like the swarming pistes of France at peak times
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mountainaddict, I agree with the sentiments about Turin. Cheap flights near lots of ski resorts.
Montgenevre is another resort, which is 1 hour 15 from Turin.
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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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| rob@rar wrote: |
| achilles wrote: |
| rob@rar, sorry, I was a sloppy with my reply, which was meant to apply to airlines such as easyJet, rather than BA. |
I see. I don't check Easyjet's prices for last minute deals as much as I do with BA (because I fly with BA most of the time), but occasionally I'll look at Easy's site and there doesn't seem to be much late discounting there either. Am I missing something? |
Prices usually go up with time, but they can dip for a bit - though I don't think it's usual. More often, there can be a special deal introduced for free ski carriage - and the offer is not retrospective.
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It's uncommon for easyJet prices to go down significantly - far more common for them to rise, especially in peak times. If they drop, and you are on the ball, you can get a refund of the difference in the form of a credit against future trips. For half term with easyJet there is no sensible argument against booking in the first ten minutes.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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pam w, agreed.
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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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Ok guys ive read all your comments and they have been very helpful. However i dont think i will be in a position in just over a week to book a return, although the BA flights look as though they will be very cheap.
As a guide could someone please advise me what i should not be paying more than for return flights? Looking at booking around May time? From experience?
Thanks
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3thr3e, the easyJet flights will not be available till after May. Summer, sometime. Maybe July? Can't remember exactly when it was, last year. Have you got accommodation booked? If you can find something with a Sunday changeover, go for it now. You'll get a better choice of flights and a far easier transfer in and out of resort. It's good to have a range of airports (e.g. you might find flights into Grenoble, or Turin, or Zurich, or Geneva, varying in price quite a bit. There's no such thing as "what you shouldn't pay more than". You'll have to be very fast on the button to get flights for less than £100 return. Any more than, say, £180 and I'd be looking to drive!
As a very, very, rough guide I reckon that a car journey will cost you around £400 - £450 return, if you do an overnight in a cheapish place and don't drive a gas guzzler. However, driving at half term can be a bit grim.
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FAQ
then connecting by train to St Gervais. But as 