I’m planning a trip soon, and have three questions about flights and stuff.
1 Are “open jaw” tickets much more expensive than regular return ones? I’d like to fly into Edinburgh and out of London.
2 Would it be feasible to fly non-stop from CKS to somewhere in continental Europe, then get a connecting flight to Edinburgh? (I’d like to stay “checked-in” throughout if possible).
3 How about London City Airport? Would the same thing be possible? (In reverse – flying to Europe then getting on a non-stop flight to CKS).
I realise that these are all questions I could ask my travel agent, but I’d really appreciate any tips on this before I get in touch with him, so I have a rough idea of what’s possible.
[quote=“joesax”]I’m planning a trip soon, and have three questions about flights and stuff.
1 Are “open jaw” tickets much more expensive than regular return ones? I’d like to fly into Edinburgh and out of London.[/quote]
Depending on the airline this may not cost anything extra (I did a few “open jaw” flights before and it didn’t cost extra, though not from Taiwan).
Possible I guess but again depending on the airline (and their network).
As above (2.)
Well, given the ever changing flight schedules and routes/destinations of airlines your travel agent can possibly answer those questions with more certainty than anyone else. Just tell them what you want and let them work it out.
For your reference I have done the following, arranged through travel agents in Taiwan:
Taibei - Vienna (EVA Air) - Budapest - Vienna (Austrian Airlines) - London Heathrow (British Airways) - Taibei (EVA Air)
(Maybe it was direct from Budapest to London - I don’t remember for sure).
Taibei - Kuala Lumpur - Vienna, then London Heathrow - Kuala Lumpur - Taibei (Malaysian Airlines all the way except Vienna - Amsterdam by train, Amsterdam - London by bus).
Malaysian Airlines is cheaper than EVA Air but be prepared for long stopovers or hotel stay (included) in Malaysia. On the return trip you should get in contact with Malaysian Airlines in Earl’s Court to make sure you get your hotel stay if needed!
Tickets were booked by my girlfriend with an on-line travel agent. The previous time I went to the UK with Malaysian Airlines I also did it through We Can Travel.
Thanks very much for the replies, Sandman, Rascal and Juba.
I contacted the travel agent and he recommended KLM, because they have a large “Cityhopper” network. He said I’d have to transfer in Bangkok though which is not great. It’s a pain having to go so far south before heading north again.
[quote=“Juba”]Malaysian Airlines is cheaper than EVA Air but be prepared for long stopovers or hotel stay (included) in Malaysia. On the return trip you should get in contact with Malaysian Airlines in Earl’s Court to make sure you get your hotel stay if needed![/quote]I don’t think airlines do the free hotel stay thing any more, do they? I think that stopped a couple of years ago.
Far as I can remember, KLM will have you arriving at Edinburgh bleary-eyed at some godawful time in the morning. Cathay via Frankfurt gets you there at a much more civilized time – last time, I arrived in Edinburgh, went through immigration/baggage reclaim, hired a car for a very leisurely two-hour drive north and arrived at Aviemore just in time for lunch. Very relaxed.
[quote=“sandman”]Far as I can remember, KLM will have you arriving at Edinburgh bleary-eyed at some godawful time in the morning. Cathay via Frankfurt gets you there at a much more civilized time – last time, I arrived in Edinburgh, went through immigration/baggage reclaim, hired a car for a very leisurely two-hour drive north and arrived at Aviemore just in time for lunch. Very relaxed.[/quote]I forgot to mention that the KLM option was via Amsterdam, so there might be a number of those “Cityhopper” flights per day.
Cathay sounds good but I don’t want to fly with them because they’ve given a number of people hassle about having to have an “onward ticket” for the return to Taiwan, even though those people had visas and re-entry permits.
[quote=“Rascal”]Here is a site where you can “play” with different flight arrangements, click ‘Multiple destination’ and then enter Flight #1 as Taipei - Edinburgh and Flight #2 as London - Taipei, preference ‘I prefer nonstops’.[/quote]Thanks, Rascal. I’ll try that out.
I once looked at a cheap and good flight to Paris with Vietnam Airlines. It was so cheap you could pick up the other legs of your trip as extras and still be under the original budget. Vietnam Airlines are great.
Sorry, doesn’t work so well (edited my post before I saw your response). Try this site instead: expedia.com/ Click ‘Flexible dates’ for more options incl. multiple destinations.
It returns CI (China Airlines) + LH (Lufthansa) or BMI (British Midlands) flights TPE - FRA - EDI and LHR - FRA - TPE as the best option (1 stop only), if you dare to fly CI that is.
Never had trouble with Cathay, in fact I haven’t had any reason to complain so far and they once provided me with a personal escort when the connecting flight was waiting (just for me ).
I’m pretty sure KLM will do Taipei-Schiphol-Edinburgh(last leg on Haggis Air or summut) without too much trouble. I’m looking at the same sort of trip but destination Dublin.
AFAIK KLM doesn’t fly directly from Taipei to Amsterdam, instead they make an ‘intermediate stop’ (KLM terminology) in Bangkok. It’s the same plane / flight number and hence why it may appear as a direct flight.
[quote=“Rascal”]AFAIK KLM doesn’t fly directly from Taipei, instead they make an ‘intermediate’ stop in Bangkok (same plane, hence why it may appear as a non-stop flight).[/quote]Right. Just spoke to the travel agent and he confirmed this.
Still, going KLM all the way seems like a good combination of economy and convenience.
KLM is usually more expensive, the air hostesses are fatter, older, uglier, and not very service minded, and last time the captain left Taipei in a plane with technical problems, instead of getting it fixed.
When we arrived in BKK, they told us that the plane had developed “several technical issues”, and gave us a stopover for a few hours, with only a sandwich and a coke to keep us alive. If that happens with Thai you at least get a 4 star hotel room, making your wait quite bearable.
AFAIK KLM doesn’t fly directly from Taipei to Amsterdam, instead they make an ‘intermediate stop’ (KLM terminology) in Bangkok. It’s the same plane / flight number and hence why it may appear as a direct flight.[/quote]
I hate it when they do this! I got caught on Cathay HK to Rome once with an invisible two hours(refueling) in Zurich locked in the plane because the terminal isn’t open at 4am :fume:
KLM is usually more expensive, the air hostesses are fatter, older, uglier, and not very service minded, and last time the captain left Taipei in a plane with technical problems, instead of getting it fixed.
When we arrived in BKK, they told us that the plane had developed “several technical issues”, and gave us a stopover for a few hours, with only a sandwich and a coke to keep us alive. If that happens with Thai you at least get a 4 star hotel room, making your wait quite bearable.[/quote]
I’ll agree with you on the flight attendants, but I can’t say I have been overly impressed with the service on Thai. I really have a hard time believing that they will put you up in a 4 star hotel for a few hour delay. Have you really had this happen?
My girlfriend and I enjoyed a free overnight stay in Kuala Lumpur on the way back from the UK last summer. Mind you, we actually went to the Malaysia Airlines offices in Vienna (across the road from the Staatsoper) and London (Earl’s Court) to make sure we got what we needed. I did that on the previous occasion, too, to request a daytime hotel rest during a long stopover on the way back from London (the travel agent fixed it for the outward flight). The daytime hotel stay was long enough for two meals, a shower and a bit of shut-eye.
My girlfriend and I enjoyed a free overnight stay in Kuala Lumpur on the way back from the UK last summer. Mind you, we actually went to the Malaysia Airlines offices in Vienna (across the road from the Staatsoper) and London (Earl’s Court) to make sure we got what we needed. I did that on the previous occasion, too, to request a daytime hotel rest during a long stopover on the way back from London (the travel agent fixed it for the outward flight). The daytime hotel stay was long enough for two meals, a shower and a bit of shut-eye.[/quote]Oh right, thanks. Malaysia Airlines did provide a daytime hotel stay for me four years ago, but I thought that had stopped since fuel prices went up. Good to hear they still do it.
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