Australia with Avios routing / tips / help?

[sinewaves]

Hi all, I wanted to try and get over to Australia end of March or in April using my avios to at least get some of the trip in business, but I literally can’t find a route. We’re happy to go any route really, have been looking via USA/Middle East and Far East and found flights to and from the USA but nothing connecting. Flights out to Dubai/Doha but nothing connecting and basically nothing out Eastwards. Been using BA built in searches and Seatspy. Can anyone suggest anything that might help? Thanks!

[RCHammer]

Might be worth trying the Qatar website for Privilege Club redemptions. They have more destinations and routing and whilst the BA reward search might pick those up it wouldn’t hurt to check directly on Qatar as well, just in case

[RCHammer]

Also try other UK regional airports and EU ones as a departure point

[Super Secret Stuff]

I’m waiting for 241 vouchers are redeemable on qatar, a lot cheaper then

[Rob]

https://www.headforpoints.com/2022/10/14/how-to-get-to-australia-new-zealand-with-avios-points/

[louie]

I think you will find it difficult on any airline. Australians were cooped up at home during Covid and are now taking overseas holidays like there is no tomorrow, at a time when airline capacity is still much lower than pre-Covid due to the reduction in flights to/from China. Thus flight prices are astronomical and availability of award seats extremely low. If you haven’t nabbed something best part of a year out – and even then there are no guarantees – you should buy a lottery ticket if you do find something. Sorry to burst your bubble….

[Colin MacKinnon]

Remember, new 241 gives extra BA availability from Man, New, Edi, Gla, Inv

[louie]

Colin MacKinnon wrote:

Remember, new 241 gives extra BA availability from Man, New, Edi, Gla, Inv

That’s a good point. However, when I looked I could only find extra availability for outbound flights from the non-London airports. Has anyone found there is extra availability flying into the UK?

[sinewaves]

Thanks all. Do other local airports have different availability to LHR? As they (pretty much) all go via LHR I thought it would just be the same..?

@rob thanks I did read that but as far as I can see there is no availability for pretty much this whole year from Doha to Australia..

Noted on new 241 voucher. I actually have a new one and an old one, is there any way of using this to my advantage when there’s three of us, I think not having read Rob’s piece when the new ones came out..

[NorthernLass]

It’s to do with the type of fare – more of these from the regionals just now.

You’re still free to read Rob’s article, lol, but if both vouchers are in your name you can’t use them for 3 of you on the same trip.

[sinewaves]

NorthernLass wrote:

It’s to do with the type of fare – more of these from the regionals just now.

You’re still free to read Rob’s article, lol, but if both vouchers are in your name you can’t use them for 3 of you on the same trip.

Thanks yeah that’s what I thought..

[aseftel]

There’s a handful of seats throughout the week in First from DOH-PER w/c 20/03. Shouldn’t be too hard to find availability to get to DOH in J (on BA at least).

[sinewaves]

aseftel wrote:

There’s a handful of seats throughout the week in First from DOH-PER w/c 20/03. Shouldn’t be too hard to find availability to get to DOH in J (on BA at least).

Interesting thanks you finding them on Qatar or BA out of interest?

[aseftel]

BA – I’d helped someone put together a multi carrier award a couple months ago and remembered that DOH-PER seemed to be a sweet spot for availability. Quite far from east coast Australia of course, but domestic redemption availability on QF was plentiful at the time.

[1958]

I have found lots of availability Singapore / Edinburgh in Club in January 2023. None available to London.
Illogical – but make the most of it.

[yorkshireRich]

Sorry to hijack because I know I wrote a topic with my brief plans a few weeks on going to Aus. I just want to say some of the advice on here is invaluable, as I read most comments most days but it really is a minefield at times. I’ll be adding an infant on which I believe I need to call Qatar to do this, but not BA. I wanted to fly uk to sydney but then maybe just fly straight out of Auckland to Uk. I’m just giving heads up I’ll definitely be asking for advice before I book it in a couple of weeks.

At Least looking at availability and reading some comments, I wouldn’t have to call on Skype at 1am.

[rams]

I had heard you can’t add under 2’s to reward booking on Qatar so let us know how you get on!

[Rob]

sinewaves wrote:

Thanks all. Do other local airports have different availability to LHR? As they (pretty much) all go via LHR I thought it would just be the same..?

The ‘extra’ seats are based on the existence of I-class cheap cash seats. BA makes more of these available if you start outside London and so more likely to see extra CW Avios seats.