Flights into Manchester/Glasgow

[Argus]

For family reasons, I fear I must shortly slip and proceed from Oz to Liverpool (ugh) and the place of my ancestors (Ayrshire).

It's been a while since my last personal trip. It seems that the only airlines that now fly from Sydney to Manchester/Glasgow and return, with only one stop each way, are Emirates and Ethidad. And only Emirates flys to Glasgow.

Being of canny Scots extraction, and reluctant to let more than the absolute minimum number of moths ooot of mae sporran for personal trips, I'm trying to find the best value for my hard earned spondulak. My thinking is to fly to Manchester and hire a car. But which airline?

Any views on the cattle class qualities of Emirates and Ethidad (or any other carrier that flies to Manchester from Sydney via a hub), would be most welcome, and gratefully appreciated.

[superjet777]

Have flown with Emirates once, was fairly impressed. Great new In Flight Entertainment system, crew on my flight were very good altho I've heard the service can be very variable depending on the crew you get.

One thing I would say is that the flights into Manchester are ALWAYS late. I regularly pick my girlfriend up off the EK17 (lunchtime arrival) and EK19 (evening arrival) and she has only been on time once. Regularly 1-2hrs late. So, if booking with them, add a couple of hours onto the scheduled arrival time for a more likely time!

SJ777

[MrSoft]

Argus, in cattle class I would favour Etihad. Seat width is better on the Etihad A332. Very good IFE, not as huge a range as Emirates but still ample. Emirates has 3-4-3 seating on its 777 equipment into Man which is hateful; Emirates legroom is better (34" I think) but I thought it felt very cramped. Mind you I am on the stocky side ahem. Etihad should almost certainly be cheaper, so your sporran will thank you too.

[lexxity]

There's always Singapore to look at too or what about Qatar?

[Avman]

Lexxity, they are good but I don't think SIA fall in the "cheap" category.

[zijiji]

I've flown Emirates a few times so would recommend them over Ethihad.

When you arrive in Manchester, the journey to Liverpool shouldn't take more than about 1 hour depending on where in Liverpool you need to get to. When you hire a car, I'd suggest getting one with sat-nav if you can which will stop you getting lost!

[abL1011]

If you choose Emirates, be aware their direct flight (SYD-DXB) is operated by an Airbus A340-500 (at least it was in March 2007 when I flew that route). The seat pitch in cattle class is pretty unbearable, about 31 inch with more seat recline than other airlines seem to have, meaning I had to endure 14 hours of the seat in front resting on my knees. Their 777-300ERs (which operate via BKK) are much better , 34 inch or so, and the pairs of seats at the rear of the aircraft seem to have even more space.

[Donkey497]

Haven't flown on Emirates, but have with Etihad & found them to be superior to SIA. Ended up flying LHR-AUD-KUL on Etihad in Business class for about 25% less than SIA's cattle class.

If you're heading to Glasgow, Emirates might well be a good choice. A few of my workmates have flown to/from Glasgow on Emirates & they rckoned that they were pretty good & relatively cheap as well.

Just remember that if you're planning on flying to liverpool or Glasgow and driving the rest of the journey bewen Liverpool & Ayrshire the cost of fuel in the UK is now officially hellish at over Oz$2.25 / litre for petrol and >Oz$2.40 for diesel. LPG probably isn't really an option as there are very few LPG cars for hire and the infrastructure is pretty patchy.

[Argus]

Thanks everybody for your helpful comments.

Must admit I'd overlooked SIA and QATAR.

According to web sites, cheapest fare is QATAR but downside is two en-route stops.

Emirates, Etihad and SIA have one en-route stop, and are broadly similar, 'Y' fare wise, give or take $A100. Ethidad has a longer lay over at an airport not noted for its creature comforts.

The clincher for me is that SIA offer the A380 on the SYD-SIN leg around the dates I want to travel. Must be worth trying, if only for the experience.

Thanks for the comments about UK petrol prices. I'll opt for a Ford Ka or something similar.

Assistance greatly appreciated.

[SLF@LBA]

You seem to be only considering west bound flights ex Australia - there is the alternative of going eastbound.

Have a look at some of the round-the-world fares that are available (notably Oneworld QF/BA/AA given that you may want to do some flying around the UK which could be included in a r-t-w ticket) sometimes these fares compare favourably with point to point AUS-UK-AUS fares.

Also these tend to be far less restrictive should you need to change travel dates.

[jubilee]

If you dont need a car try virgin trains to Glasgow. Indirect service from Liverpool and direct service from Warrington - Preston - Manchester.

Avoid weekends though, due to ongoing engineering works. Some of the fares are pretty cheap as well.

AND BEFORE ANYBODY TELLS ME I KNOW THIS IS NOT A TRAIN SITE
Regards
Jub

[al446]

Good suggestion Jubilee, apart from other considerations have yet to hear of a train being left up on bricks.

[cdtaylor_nats]

As you are going to Ayrshire why not fly to Dublin or a Southern/Eastern European airport, then fly to Prestwick with Ryanair or another loco.

[Argus]

cdtaylor_nats, SLF@LBA, Jubilee and al446

Thanks.

On further enquiries, looks like the cheapest 'J' class is JAL at $A6680 (includes a discount for 'mature' aged Pax). Downside is that it includes an overnight stop at Narita in each direction, making for a longer, albeit more sedate, trip.

Best buy still seems to be Singapore 'Y', SYD-SIN-MAN-SIN-SYD with minimal layovers for $A2553 including taxes, plus $A47 per day for a Ford Fiesta.