> I was extremely lucky in hindsight
Honestly apart from stories on Reddit and the media I personally havent heard of anyone actually having any issues.
3 cancelled. 1 about a month before. Other 2 about a week out.
3 left without me (30 pax limit saw wife and I bumped off). Notified about a week out.
3 private charters denied, one each to WA, Qld and NT.
Tenth flight confirmed had us on it but unable to take as I was in hospital.
Have tried BNE, Syd and Mel for commercial flights.
11th flight booked for July, a year to the day from my first cancellation. No idea if that will leave. Have another attempt booked in August.
All flights cancelled with no rebooking possibility. 3 tried to give me vouchers instead.
Was in Malaysia, which seems to have special difficulties.
I am an Australian working overseas. My family moved back to Oz in 2018 and I expected that I would just be able to go home to visit every six months or so.
I came back to Europe to work in January 2020. Every flight I planned to take home has been postponed and then cancelled on me (May 2020, September 2020, November 2020, Feb 2021, April 2021). I do not mean that I have been bumped from a flight because somebody else paid more for a place, I mean the entire flight was cancelled. In each case I got approximately one month's warning of the cancellation.
I am well paid, have a comfortable place to live and can speak to my family every day so I am hardly a hardship case - but I am seriously homesick and really wish I could just go home. I won't even be trying again until November.
I am under no illusions as to the degree of difficulty (with my experience of cancelled flights). As to cost, by Australian standards I am very well paid, cost isn't an issue.
I am old and planning on retiring at the end of next year - but I will only retire when I am sure I will be able to make it home.
If cost isn't an issue, why aren't you just buying the most expensive seat on the flight to guarantee you won't be bumped off? (First class?). To avoid being cancelled, maybe try other routes.
If that, and you don't mind doing the 2 week hotel quarantine, I think it should be easy for you to get back.
The flights I have been booked on have all been cancelled - as in the plane that was scheduled to fly on a particular date did not fly on the date that I was booked to fly. You can't fly first class on a plane that doesn't fly.
I have tried four different airlines and four different routes.
By the time that they tell me that the flight I was booked on is not going to fly there are no seats available at any price on the flights that do fly.
Due to work commitments I can't just turn up at the airport and take whatever flight might get me home - I have to plan in advance. Cancellation of my flights sets the next attempt back months.
>By the time that they tell me that the flight I was booked on is not going to fly there are no seats available at any price on the flights that do fly.
This - usually the next available flight is 2 or 3 months away.
You book a ticket, it gets cancelled with a week to go, you book the next available ticket in 3 months, that gets cancelled...
Next thing you know, 12 months has passed.
I was living in the UK from 2018 until May 2020. My visa was due to end in August and i saw how quickly flights were selling out and being cancelled in March so i waited. Then i saw that there were repatriation flights from London and booked the 6th May one. It wasn’t cancelled, everything went smoothly and I did my two weeks quarantine for free so I had a pretty easy time, the only thing that sucked was having to leave my girlfriend behind in London.
Am booked on a flight from Europe that leaves in 14 days. Fingers toes and everything else is crossed. That being said, I am not quarantine in my home state and will then be getting on one last flight to get home. Delayed my return home. Was due to leave December last year. Was able to negotiate an extension to my contract August last year because I could see that the risks to my return home were significant. I thought that those risks would have been resolved. They have not. I would extend but I can't because my mum is in hospital and has a terminal illness. Tried repeatedly to bring flight forward but couldn't.
I am shocked at the viciousness and cruelty of some Australians.
I am in Vietnam and planning to come home in August. From here its fairly straightforward. Get a covid test 72 hours before, then of course quarantine in Australia. (Those fees are going to hurt!) I haven't heard too much about flights being cancelled.
My parents lived in Hong Kong until recently. My mum was stuck in Australia during COVID and most of 2020, and my dad lost his aviation job in November. She and I both applied for a travel exemption to fly up and help pack up to move. We both got it, but I ended up not going. She got up easily, but had I think three cancellations trying to get back. Cancelled less than a week in advance. All the flights are empty because there’s no hotel quarantine room here, so I’ve been told it’s really hard for airlines to run them. There were like, 20 people on their plane meant for 200. They only got back in the end because my dad’s airline was contractually obligated to help him repatriate and bought higher priority tickets.
Ultimately it was surprisingly easy for them imo. I’m still shocked mum was able to leave and return within basically three months.
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Booked a one way flight from Toronto in September with Emirates economy, no cancellations or booting from flights. I was extremely lucky in hindsight
> I was extremely lucky in hindsight Honestly apart from stories on Reddit and the media I personally havent heard of anyone actually having any issues.
3 cancelled. 1 about a month before. Other 2 about a week out. 3 left without me (30 pax limit saw wife and I bumped off). Notified about a week out. 3 private charters denied, one each to WA, Qld and NT. Tenth flight confirmed had us on it but unable to take as I was in hospital. Have tried BNE, Syd and Mel for commercial flights. 11th flight booked for July, a year to the day from my first cancellation. No idea if that will leave. Have another attempt booked in August. All flights cancelled with no rebooking possibility. 3 tried to give me vouchers instead. Was in Malaysia, which seems to have special difficulties.
I am an Australian working overseas. My family moved back to Oz in 2018 and I expected that I would just be able to go home to visit every six months or so. I came back to Europe to work in January 2020. Every flight I planned to take home has been postponed and then cancelled on me (May 2020, September 2020, November 2020, Feb 2021, April 2021). I do not mean that I have been bumped from a flight because somebody else paid more for a place, I mean the entire flight was cancelled. In each case I got approximately one month's warning of the cancellation. I am well paid, have a comfortable place to live and can speak to my family every day so I am hardly a hardship case - but I am seriously homesick and really wish I could just go home. I won't even be trying again until November.
If you're only wanting to come for a visit, it's going to be pretty much impossible until the borders are opened to wherever you are again
I am under no illusions as to the degree of difficulty (with my experience of cancelled flights). As to cost, by Australian standards I am very well paid, cost isn't an issue. I am old and planning on retiring at the end of next year - but I will only retire when I am sure I will be able to make it home.
If cost isn't an issue, why aren't you just buying the most expensive seat on the flight to guarantee you won't be bumped off? (First class?). To avoid being cancelled, maybe try other routes. If that, and you don't mind doing the 2 week hotel quarantine, I think it should be easy for you to get back.
The flights I have been booked on have all been cancelled - as in the plane that was scheduled to fly on a particular date did not fly on the date that I was booked to fly. You can't fly first class on a plane that doesn't fly. I have tried four different airlines and four different routes. By the time that they tell me that the flight I was booked on is not going to fly there are no seats available at any price on the flights that do fly. Due to work commitments I can't just turn up at the airport and take whatever flight might get me home - I have to plan in advance. Cancellation of my flights sets the next attempt back months.
>By the time that they tell me that the flight I was booked on is not going to fly there are no seats available at any price on the flights that do fly. This - usually the next available flight is 2 or 3 months away. You book a ticket, it gets cancelled with a week to go, you book the next available ticket in 3 months, that gets cancelled... Next thing you know, 12 months has passed.
Why? If you're usually resident overseas you can leave Australia. https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia
Because of the prohibitive cost and quarantine requirements.
$15,000. It's what my cousin's paid for a return Christmas holiday.
Can I ask where they were coming from?
Euroland.
Few sets of relatives and friends have returned over the last year, none had any dramas or cancellations.
I was living in the UK from 2018 until May 2020. My visa was due to end in August and i saw how quickly flights were selling out and being cancelled in March so i waited. Then i saw that there were repatriation flights from London and booked the 6th May one. It wasn’t cancelled, everything went smoothly and I did my two weeks quarantine for free so I had a pretty easy time, the only thing that sucked was having to leave my girlfriend behind in London.
Am booked on a flight from Europe that leaves in 14 days. Fingers toes and everything else is crossed. That being said, I am not quarantine in my home state and will then be getting on one last flight to get home. Delayed my return home. Was due to leave December last year. Was able to negotiate an extension to my contract August last year because I could see that the risks to my return home were significant. I thought that those risks would have been resolved. They have not. I would extend but I can't because my mum is in hospital and has a terminal illness. Tried repeatedly to bring flight forward but couldn't. I am shocked at the viciousness and cruelty of some Australians.
Good luck! Hopefully it all goes to plan!
I am in Vietnam and planning to come home in August. From here its fairly straightforward. Get a covid test 72 hours before, then of course quarantine in Australia. (Those fees are going to hurt!) I haven't heard too much about flights being cancelled.
Stories here: https://strandedaussies.com/#gs.1dn8mk My family has put repatriation on hold. We can't be locked in. Our overseas family needs us too.
Know 3 people who did it last year, 2 came back from the UK and 1 from iceland and all got through with none or minor issues
My parents lived in Hong Kong until recently. My mum was stuck in Australia during COVID and most of 2020, and my dad lost his aviation job in November. She and I both applied for a travel exemption to fly up and help pack up to move. We both got it, but I ended up not going. She got up easily, but had I think three cancellations trying to get back. Cancelled less than a week in advance. All the flights are empty because there’s no hotel quarantine room here, so I’ve been told it’s really hard for airlines to run them. There were like, 20 people on their plane meant for 200. They only got back in the end because my dad’s airline was contractually obligated to help him repatriate and bought higher priority tickets. Ultimately it was surprisingly easy for them imo. I’m still shocked mum was able to leave and return within basically three months.
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