Summer sale fares to Europe from various airlines

It’s now high summer in Europe and if you’re hanging out for a European holiday or want to escape the southern winter or catch the northern autumn, this may be the time to look at what’s on offer. Many airlines are offering great deals from Australia and South East Asia to various European destinations and while fixed date fares are usually the cheapest on offer, a number of airlines have good prices for open jaw and multi-city tickets.

Some points to note:

• Flights available on 4th August 2015 (checked 2 days beforehand on 2nd August) for comparison purposes.
• As all prices are the best available for the same date, this is not always the best price available. In addition, the closer it is to the time of travel, generally the more you will pay. These general principles may be applied at any time of the year.
• There are some current ‘best fares’ for each city below the table for different dates.
• As all flights were checked initially from a comparison site, which does not accept bookings, it is necessary for you to go to the airline’s website or your preferred travel agent, so you can match (or better) the price.
• It became clear that certain airlines came up more often in the grid and some of the more established airlines came up very few times or not at all. If you are a frequent flyer of these airlines, you may be able to get a better deal than the fares shown.
• Fare prices are quoted in local currency of the originating city.
• There is sometimes a large variation between fares 2 days apart, sometimes even the next day. Mid-week flights to/from some locations may be lower but for other combinations, weekend fares may be the best.
• The time of day is also important. Redeye fares are usually hard to beat if there are a number of choices available on that day.
• If you are able to see fares for a month, or even a week either side of your preferred date, you may see that certain days seem to have better prices, so it you are not obliged to take the date you want, you may be able to save quite a bit even by moving your dates slightly.
• Airports like Darwin have fewer choices of airlines and services per week, which means that changing dates by even a little can get you a big difference in price. e.g. Darwin / Madrid on 4^th August will cost AU$2698, but on 8^th Aug it is available for AU$1856, same airline, different routing. You can also save about AU$900 on a trip to Rome by delaying for 2 days.
• Do your chosen dates fall within heavily travelled times – school holidays or festivals? Are they usually more travelled by business or leisure travellers?
• Do you need to travel to that particular destination? Is there a lower fare available to a nearby airport?

Sample fares:

If you are willing to choose another day within the next month, you can get a much cheaper flight.

Some examples:

• Singapore to London on 18^th August SG$907 Malaysia Airlines, via Kuala Lumpur
• Kuala Lumpur to Frankfurt on 2^nd September MYR2363 Etihad Airways, via Abu Dhabi
• Sydney to Rome on 2^nd September AU$1292 Air India, via Delhi and Milan
• Melbourne to Madrid on 20^th August AU$1679 Etihad, via Dubai
• Brisbane to Frankfurt on 16^th August AU$1595 Etihad, via Dubai
• Adelaide to London  on 24^th August AU$255 Cathay Pacific codeshare, via Hong Kong
• Perth to Madrid on 10^th August AU$1452 Etihad, via Dubai
• Darwin to Frankfurt on 3^rd September AU$1747 Etihad, via Brisbane or Perth & Dubai (This one is really a ‘long way round for a short-cut’, but the savings are significant!)
• Auckland to Rome on 3^rd September NZ$1613 Air India codeshare, via Melbourne & Delhi
• Hong Kong to Frankfurt on 31^st August HK$5671 Air China, via Beijing
• Bangkok to London on 11^th August Baht32,770 Eva Air, direct

Other airlines to try

These airlines didn’t come up as offering the best prices for any of our selected routes on the date given unless as part of a codesharing partnership, but they do often offer good pricing for different dates, especially if they are not school holiday or festival periods when you plan to travel. Click on the links to open the respective airline website in your own country.

Lufthansa  Round-trip fares including all taxes, fees and surcharges are available from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam RM2487 (from Brisbane, AUD1559), London RM2999 (from Melbourne, AUD1599), or perhaps Manchester for RM2862 (from Sydney, AUD1769), with many other destinations on offer. Lufthansa flies in to Frankfurt, from where you transfer to your onward destination.

Conditions: Flights must be purchased at least 7 days in advance, for a minimum stay of 6 days, maximum 12 months. Date and route changes may be made for €130.

Please note: The Lufthansa winter schedule will change flight times beginning 26 October 2015, you may download the schedule from this page.

KLM  Kuala Lumpur to Paris RM5143 (from Perth, AUD1784), Lisbon RM3033 (from Sydney, AUD3176), or perhaps Nice for RM3029 (from Adelaide, AUD2719)  ** Some sectors may be on partner airlines  (From Australia use this LINK)

Air France  All-In return fares include all taxes and surcharges but may be subject to currency fluctuations. They are available for booking until 10th August, for travel until 31st Dec (from Kuala Lumpur 11 December) and are valid for a stay of one year (from Kuala Lumpur 2 months). Cancellation and rebooking are available for a fee. Fares out of Kuala Lumpur are also valid on KLM.

Some of the fares available include round-trip tickets including all taxes, fees and surcharges from Kuala Lumpur to Paris RM2872 (from Perth, AUD1676), Lisbon RM3023 (from Sydney, AUD1651), or perhaps Nice for RM3023 (from Adelaide, AUD1665)  ** Some sectors may be on partner airlines

Once you have a ticket for an Air France flight, you can download Air France Digital Media from anywhere in the world from 30 hours before your flight until departure time for viewing before, during and after your flight.  The Air France Press app enables you to use your tablet or your smartphone to download one or more newspapers and magazines from a free selection of French and international media.

Qantas   are currently offering sale fares on Economy seats on their website.  ** Some sectors may be on partner airlines  ** Qantas does not offer services out of Kuala Lumpur except for Frequent Flyers. Look for fares from Singapore, you can use Jetstar or one of Qantas Oneworld partners for the KUL/SIN leg.

Air New Zealand  You can get a last minute return ticket for 4th August from Auckland to Paris or Frankfurt from NZ$1539.   ** Air New Zealand doesn’t fly direct to Europe, but operates to Paris and Frankfurt via Singapore in a codeshare with Singapore Airlines or to Paris via Los Angeles code shared with Air France and Frankfurt with Lufthansa.

Singapore Airlines Return tickets are available from Singapore on 4th August to Paris SG$2244 and from Sydney, AUD1888 via Singapore, using Singapore Airlines.

Cathay Pacific  is offering a new route Hong Kong to Düsseldorf, starting on 1st September and is offering introductory return fares of HK$4,990 for stays between 2 days and 2 months. Flights must be booked before 7th September 2015, for travel between 1st September and 31st May 2016.

And what looked like the cheapest on offer?

Among other stand-outs, the cheapest fare Kuala Lumpur/Paris Return  was RM1845 (all in fare, change fees apply, maximum stay 3 months, stopovers in Hanoi each way allowed) on Vietnam Airlines.