What’s the least damaging way to fly to Australia?
Got a question? Our expert, Simon Calder, can help
Q You have written extensively about the environmental arguments over aviation. So can you advise me on the least damaging way to fly from London to Melbourne in Australia?
Megan C
A Two key variables are: how direct is the flight, and how efficient is the aircraft? In terms of flying no further than you need: the most direct route between London and Melbourne passes over southern Russia, Kazakhstan, southwest China, Tibet, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and southwest Borneo. It is a distance of 10,500 miles, and to limit the distance flown you should stick as close to this as possible.
A big health warning: aircraft rarely fly the shortest “great circle” distance between two points on the surface of the planet. That may be for reasons of weather (taking advantage of favourable winds or avoiding storms); political or security considerations; and cost, because overflying rights can be expensive.
The closest route is Heathrow to Bangkok to Melbourne. Thai Airways flies the efficient Airbus A380 on the first leg and the even better Airbus A350 on the second stretch. Furthermore the two hops are reasonably similar (just under 6,000 miles for the first leg, just over 4,500 for the second). This means that there is not too much fuel being flown very long distances.
In contrast, the Qantas 10 flight from Heathrow via Perth to Melbourne – the only direct, through-plane service – does 9,000 miles on the first leg and 1,700 on the second. So even though it is an efficient Boeing 787, it also burns a prodigious amount of fuel to carry the fuel for later in the journey (not to mention hundreds of inflight meals, a wide range of drinks and extra crew).
About the worst way to get there is via the Pacific, using one of British Airways’ gas-guzzling Boeing 747s dating from the 20th century for the first leg, and a Qantas A380 for the second, very long stretch. The total distance is almost 3,000 miles longer than travelling via Asia.
Q We are due to fly with Tui on 13 December. The company is showing this as being flown by a Boeing 737 Max, which we are very concerned about.
We have to pay £1,200 this week or lose our £400 deposit. Have you any information that can persuade us to pay the final balance – do you think it will really be back in service this year?
Graham G
A Your concerns about this aircraft are shared by many other travellers. The Boeing 737 Max was the aircraft involved in two tragedies that killed a total of 346 people. The crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 were both blamed on an anti-stall protection system triggered by a faulty instrument. It was grounded worldwide shortly after the second accident, involving Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi.
The manufacturer has said the 737 Max should be flying again by October. But before the twin-engined Boeing is allowed to take to the skies, officials in the US and – more relevant for you – Europe, will need to be satisfied that the aircraft has been made safe.
Given the concern about the original certification of the aircraft, safety regulators are going to be extremely rigorous and challenging before the plane is allowed to carry passengers.
For this to happen in the 12 weeks or so before your departure looks unlikely, and so I imagine Tui will use a different kind of aircraft – as it has been doing since the plane was grounded in March.
If I am wrong, and the Boeing 737 Max is flying for Tui on 13 December, I urge you to take the flight. Before the grounding I flew on the plane and found it excellent. And the airline will fly it only if the dangers have been designed out.
Were you to cancel, you could not retrieve your deposit – and similarly if you pay the balance, normal cancellation conditions will apply. Airlines and holiday companies are allowed to deploy any aircraft they wish, so long as it has been certified as safe.
Q I know you like a challenge. Here’s a railway one for you. The two of us (both grown-ups, no rail cards) want to go from London to Windermere on the morning of Friday 15 November, arriving in time for lunch, and returning after lunch on Sunday 17 November. On the National Rail website I was quoted a ridiculous £372 each for an open return, which came down to £107 with a fixed departure outbound on the 8.43am from Euston and a flexible off-peak coming back. I then used the Trainsplit site and brought the cost down to £73 each, with fixed trains in both directions, coming back at 2.49pm. But can you do any better?
Cathy A
A The fact that the two of you could fly from London to New York and back that weekend (on Norwegian, £235 return each) and pay for a couple of nights in a hotel for the cost of an Anytime return to the Lake District and back shows how bonkers the UK rail fare system has become. Only someone on expenses would pay £372 return for a trip of less than 300 miles each way. Committing to a fixed Advance ticket reduces the cost to a much more reasonable number, and you have found a lower-cost deal using a “split-ticketing” website. Split-ticketing is a perfectly legal and respectable way to cut the cost of British rail travel. It exploits the many anomalies in train fares. The basic principle: on many longer-distance journeys, the sum of two (or more) tickets is less than one ticket.
In the case of your £73 quote, though, what Trainsplit is advising is a pretty ropey journey. A slow journey north on Virgin Trains via the West Midlands, rather than the fast line via the Trent Valley. Heading south it requires a change of train at Crewe from Virgin Trains to London Northwestern – on rolling stock described in the rail industry as “outer-suburban” rather than “inter-city”. While no-one likes saving money on travel more than I do, alighting from a fast, comfortable train and standing around in Crewe to wait for a slower service goes against the grain of easy travel.
Instead, do the following. Plan to travel on the 9.30am from Euston, which is when off-peak timings begins and the Two Together railcard, designed exactly for couples like you, comes into play. The annual card costs £30 and gives one-third off most fares after the morning rush. Buy an off-peak return ticket from London to Windermere, costing £74 each, on the day. There is no advantage getting one earlier. If your plans happen to change there will be no cost attached. The ticket entitles you to travel out any time after 9.30am on Friday back any time you like on the Sunday (or, subject to some restrictions, on any other day for a month). Coming home, you could happily stop off in Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield or in many other locations without penalty.
Total outlay, including the cost of the railcard, is £178 rather than the £146 quoted by Trainsplit, but with bags of flexibility and a card valid for the rest of the year
Email your questions to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments