travel out of santiago to Vienna

[gimpywalker]

Hello everyone--I am a new member, just signed up now to ask this question--I am starting my camino in SJPdP at the end of August/14 and God willing will arrive at Santiago the first two weeks of October. I want to fly to Vienna to visit family before heading back home to Canada, but as I don't know the exact dates I will be arriving in Santiago I can't really prebook tickets...I have seen airfares from less than 100 Euros to upwards of a $1000 Canadian dollars for this flight. So I can be ready financially, can anyone tell me what this flight may cost if I book on arrival in Santiago? I thought I would take several days and maybe continue on to Finisterre, but book the trip on arrival, a few days wait for a cheaper flight will give me time to sightsee and make the trip to the ocean. Thanks very much for your help...

 

[whariwharangi]

I would suggest seeing what it would cost to fly today. That will give a reasonable estimate. Travel demand should be lower early October so prices would also be a bit lower.

Look to the discount airlines. Transavia, EasyJet, Ryanair and others. They are always cheaper and on the order of a couple hundred bucks vice a thousand for a mainstream airline.

See the airport site for service providers.

Santiago Airport (SCQ) Labacolla
http://www.aena-aeropuertos.es/csee/Satellite/Aeropuerto-Santiago/en/Santiago.html

 

[mspath]

gimpywalker,

Welcome to the Forum!

According to Rome2Rio.com the following airlines all fly from Santiago to Vienna -
Iberia, Vueling, Swiss, Ryanair, Air China, Air Europa, and Niki. Google each for schedule and prices. In all probability Ryanair might be among the cheapest way to go.

Happy planning and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[C clearly]

As suggested before, look up the cost to travel in the next few days (i.e. find the cost of flights reserved only a day or two in advance (but they'll be higher than they would be in October), then look at the cost for flights reserved well in advance, and find out the fee to make a change later. Compare the fare difference with the cost of making a change. You might decide it is worth booking now on your best-guess date and run the risk of paying the change fee in addition to the fare difference.

If you wait to book, you are guaranteed to pay the higher fare. If you book now, you will be better off if your timing is right, but you risk paying the change fee in addition to the higher fare, if your timing is off.

This is a dilemma I've had, too. It is risk management and there is no right answer. The airlines are doing exactly the same thing in their pricing - trying to determine how their customers will respond to price differences.

As an aside, I never complain about air fares being too high. They are SOOO cheap (relative to incomes, etc.) compared to my youth. However, I still do try to get the cheapest fare possible!

- Clare

 

[Whalleyranger]

You can also look for flights to Bratislava. It's over the border in Slovakia but only about 30km away from Vienna and some low cost airlines use Bratislava as an alternative.

 

[gimpywalker]

Wow thanks for all the responses. I actually thought as I posted earlier that I should check prices as if I were flying tomorrow...that should give me the best idea. I have heard nasty things about Ryan air but Niki air seems pretty reasonable too. Thank you all for your help

 

[tyrrek]

This is quite an awkward one because the low cost airlines don't serve Vienna very well. There are no direct flights from Santiago or the other Galician airports to Vienna.

You can book all the way from SdC to Vienna connecting in Madrid or Barcelona etc. by using Expedia or similar sites. This isn't the cheapest option (up to £500 at very short notice), but at least you should arrive the same day, you can usually check your bags straight through, and you're protected if there's a delay and you miss your connection. There may be some other airlines that don't appear on Expedia that could do the whole trip in one booking. (I'm not sure if Vueling show on Expedia or not.)

The cheap option is probably to book the flights separately yourself using low cost airlines or Expedia or both. You can get good deals that way but it's your responsibility to make sure you're there on time for both flights. For example, this Saturday you could fly from Santiago to Barcelona (Ryanair booked direct) for around £45, and the following morning fly from Barcelona to Vienna with Air China for £85.50 (Expedia). The snag, of course, is that you have to pay for a night in Barcelona, but it's still cheaper than £500.

If you end up booking well in advance I'm sure the Expedia flights would be much cheaper, but then you lose the flexibility at the end of your Camino.