-
Wanted to get some general opinions on the above.
So some info to begin: I have 125K Avios, a Barclays voucher expiring end of Nov and 70k KF miles expiring at the end of this month (which I can pay to extend) and an infant that turns 2 in December. Our closest airport is Manchester.
Wanted to go to Singapore/KL one-way with the Avios but availability looks impossible both from HEL on Finnair and MAN/LHR on BA.
We don’t mind traveling to the Middle East namely Doha and Jeddah. Jeddah is available both in J and F.
Club World for 3 of us is ~79k + £200 with voucher and F is ~90k + £1000 without the voucher.
I know it is a highly subjective question but is the £800 difference worth it? We do not drink so that is not a factor. But I have never tried F before and that is the only real reason (and to avoid the ying-yang seats in J) that I am considering it.
The other option is to travel in Qatar J but availability is thin. Is it possible to stop in Doha for 5 days on a one-way Avios redemption were we to find availability? And is it better to book via Finnair to limit fuel surcharges?
Getting back we are looking to use KF miles. Does anybody happen to know which days/flights they use a widebody A330 aircraft from Istanbul to Manchester on Turkish Airlines?
Thanks in advance!
For those of us whose local airport is MAN, using avios on QR can be very useful – obviously a direct flight from DOH is preferable to the dreaded LHR transit!
If I’ve read this correctly, you only need 2 seats as you’ll be flying before the baby turns 2, so could use the Barclays voucher to upgrade you to CW on the way out, then look at using avios on the direct daytime QR flight to MAN, which is about 7 hours and very doable in economy. I think we paid something like 21k avios plus £60 each which felt like great value, especially as I managed to get exit row seats.
Business class on this route tends to go very fast on that route, so you’d probably struggle to find it this close to tour travel dates.
*If you do decide to go in CW on BA, you’ll need to call BA to add the Manchester connection as the IT can’t cope with it online!
If you can find availability, then the direct flight to Doha would probably be preferable.
But, if you are keen to try First, and don’t fancy paying the £1k in taxes, then you might want to consider starting your journey in Dublin, and booking it with a less than 24h connection at Heathrow. I wouldn’t recommend that with a baby in tow, but if you are flying on BA, then you would have to connect at Heathrow anyway, so it would only be the extra flight to Dublin (booked separately, and hotel if you want to go the night before to consider), but the taxes would probably come down to less than £300 between you, one way.
I recently did something similar, albeit solo, and probably wouldn’t have done it if my wife and daughter had been with me, but it was a great way to experience my first First class flight, and I did it to avoid the old CW seats, and it was a very noticeable improvement in service (and I don’t drink either).
We’re doing something similar to MEX next month, but we’re having a couple of days in Dublin as well and I would not do this itinerary with a small child!
Cost was 92k avios (don’t forget DUB-LHR isn’t a free add-on, unlike UK domestics) and about £480 surcharges for 2 of us with the 241, one way.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Popular articles this week:
