been to goa many times using package deal . this november have allready got place to stay so need flight only. do not want to fly to mumbai so does anyone know if we can fly from manchester to dabolim ? we are fine refueling at bharain but no other stops.. pat

pandg,

Your options include:

Monarch Airlines
Thomas Cook Airlines
Thomson Airways

Darren

We are currently looking at travelling to Goa independently and have been onto several websites to obtain cost of flights, however, I have never flown with Air India, Jet or Kingfisher.

Overall, would you say they are all about the same, by which I mean service, timings, IFE, meals, seating etc? Do any of you have any preferences?

Hi Sydney
We are going diy this year .and after many hours on the laptop we plumped for KINGFISHER. Firstly the price was right, the time spent at the airport between sectors ok,2 hours going 4.5 hours on return,luggage allowance 45 yes 45 kgs,34 inch seat pitch and free beer what more do you need hope this is of help
NEIL/KAREN

Thank you, Neil/Karen,

I didn't originally notice that you go out via Bangalore and Mumbai on the way back; we have asked Southall Travel for a quotation to come back via Bangalore although it won't be a problem if we have to come back via Mumbai.

As we will have to travel from Heathrow, I now need to price up parking for two weeks and one night's hotel stay.

Sheila.

Sydney
We also have booked hotel and parking at heathrow arrive 8th nov return 25 nov staying at the rennaisance 4 star £102 for 1 night and 17 days parking. If you only do 15 days parking prices start at £55 for 4 star. We booked ours at GOING PLACES with net flights,i like to book face to face with whats been going on lateley also paid a extra £6 FOR AIRLINE PROTECTION INSURANCE.We also got our tickets there and then
NEIL/KAREN

If you travel through Mumbai, do you get an airport bus to transfer to the domestic terminal or do you have to make your own way via taxi? Also, do you have plenty of time to get from one to the other? If you can go by airport bus, do you pay?

Qatar unveils launch dates for two new India routes

Qatar Airways is bringing forward the launch dates of two new Indian routes - Goa and Amritsar - in time for the winter holiday season.

Scheduled flights to the northern Indian city of Amritsar will be launched on October 11 ahead of Diwali, the religious festival of lights.

Goa flights will be launched two weeks later on October 25, making Qatar the first full-service scheduled international airline flying to the resort.

Both routes will be operated four-times-per-week non-stop from the airline's hub in Doha, connecting with flights from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester.

The two-class Airbus A320s to be used on the route are configured with 12 seats in Business and 132 seats in Economy.

Chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker said: "When we made the route expansion announcement during the ITB Berlin travel show in March, news spread very quickly with a lot of excitement in the market about these highly underserved destinations by international airlines.

"We have since been inundated with calls from the public seeking more information about the launch dates. We are now pleased to confirm the launch times giving Qatar Airways significantly more capacity to India."

Further new routes are planned, including Melbourne, Sydney, and two cities in Europe.


With permission from Travelmole

my daughter & myself are looking for direct flights from Manchester to Goa for Nov: but haven't found any reasonably cheap fares so far can anyone suggest the cheapest airline for us ti use.Cant believe how much the fares are right now.

hi franny my mate has just booked his flights good deal, try united co-op group 01344-891135.

thanx for that info I will certainly look into it.

Has anyone used Air India from the UK to get to Goa?
I am getting a reasonable price with them, but I am not sure what they are like to fly with. Any advise is much appreicated thanks.

Gemma33,

We have a small Air India topic you might be interested in.

Darren

Thanks Darren, will go have a look just now.

Gemma33 if there is not much difference on price between Air India and kingfisher or Jet i would pick The other 2. When i flew last year to India with Jet the check in girl said the flight was fully booked cause Air India had canceled their flight ! Seems they are always doing it.

Thanks so much imho. A very useful piece of information. I certainly wont be using Air India

Hi all have been to goa north and south many times before. flights with t/cook and monarch. due to retire xmas. so would like to go for 2 months or so, any advice for flights as i would not think that t/c or monarch would let you book with that timescale. thanks

hitower2,

The charter carriers wouldn't let you book flights over two months (normally a maximum of 3 weeks) so you're better off looking at the scheduled carriers. For example Emirates, Air India, Kingfisher etc

Darren

many thanks darren would you have a prefrence as to which one to choose.