Weekend flight options for owners working in the UK

[ConfusedBuyer]

Hi all,

I have found it quite frustrating trying to find flights from any London airport (I gave up on Luton, which is my preferred departure point), that fly out Friday evening or Saturday morning, and returning Sunday night back to the same airport.

I know it is off season, but surely it would make some sense for the airlines to offer these sorts of flights to cater for the working community.

Has anyone got any experience of this, and are you aware of any flight options that I may have missed?

Thanks

[mur1963]

I always use http://www.skyscanner.net Find the flights you want and follow the link to the airline. Prices are very occassionally out of date but always gives a good idea

[djprescott]

Hi all,

I have found it quite frustrating trying to find flights from any London airport (I gave up on Luton, which is my preferred departure point), that fly out Friday evening or Saturday morning, and returning Sunday night back to the same airport.

I know it is off season, but surely it would make some sense for the airlines to offer these sorts of flights to cater for the working community.

Has anyone got any experience of this, and are you aware of any flight options that I may have missed?

Thanks

It would make sense assuming the airline can make money out of such routes. One of the barriers is the cost to the airlines of hiring additional crews due to pilots being 'out of hours' and that is very expensive. Also it means that the aircraft are then in the wrong positions for the weekday achedules.
BA Cityflyer had routes to Faro to cater for weekend travellers last year but not sure if they are doing that route this year.

[Farol]

What you are really looking for is an airline that flies twice daily 7 days per week. Even in the summer this is a very big ask. In the winter I would be amazed if you could find one, especially from your chosen airport.

You may stand a chance by going outbound with one airline and returning with another. Alternatively see what you could get via Lisbon.

[ConfusedBuyer]

Thanks. Yes - I do use SkyScanner and have been looking to fly with different airlines, but it generally means coming back to a different airport from whence you came from.

Lisbon is an interesting option I hadnt considered. There seem to be more options there. Google maps seems to think its about 2 hours 30 to Carvoeiro from there. How are the roads and are they toll?

I had assumed that due to the number of Brits with villas down in the Algarve, there would be plenty of flights available - especially for those catering for the weekend traveller. Are the vast majority of people over here retired? There must be a fair number who just fly over for the weekend?

[sunman]

I'm going to stop short of calling foul on all this but I'm wondering if it's all one big wind up?

at the least it's very naive;

without knowing who flies down here and how often, what sort of people reside or visit, not researching all the neighbourhoods in the area, choosing a decrepit villa with a leaky pool when there are lots of value perfectly nice one's all over the place & merrily putting one's maximum 300k plus on the table based on this lack of research and knowledge is pushing the limits of reasonable belief

I have no idea why you've chosen Carvoeiro out of the whole Iberian Peninsular CB but if it's just a matter of owning a villa in the sun then Spain has a lot more on offer at cheaper prices and requiring little or no work, they're basically accepting any sort of bid in Murcia for instance.

[widge]

I'm going to stop short of calling foul on all this but I'm wondering if it's all one big wind up?

at the least it's very naive;

without knowing who flies down here and how often, what sort of people reside or visit, not researching all the neighbourhoods in the area, choosing a decrepit villa with a leaky pool when there are lots of value perfectly nice one's all over the place & merrily putting one's maximum 300k plus on the table based on this lack of research and knowledge is pushing the limits of reasonable belief

I have no idea why you've chosen Carvoeiro out of the whole Iberian Peninsular CB but if it's just a matter of owning a villa in the sun then Spain has a lot more on offer at cheaper prices and requiring little or no work, they're basically accepting any sort of bid in Murcia for instance.

Maybe he / she is not a "buyer" just confused?

[DVBRO]

Sunman, after reading all the posts from CB I tend to agree with you. Can't believe that no research has been done!

[ConfusedBuyer]

Thanks for you input Sunman. I did have an idea of who flies down here, but was surprised simply that there are no flights late Friday and Sunday specifically for people who work in the UK.

I did look at Spain initially, but was put off by the quality of beaches, the sales taxes and the untold issues that you run into with regards to the various illegal building projects that have taken place. I have also been informed by many people that the Portuguese are much more welcoming than the Spanish to foreign owners, and that most people speak English.

I chose Carvoeiro because I liked the look of it as soon as I saw it. I explored the town, restaurants, and beaches and liked what I saw.

Anyway, thanks for your rather rude and belittling note. I would suggest that if you can't at least be civil, then maybe it's best you don't bother posting any replies to me.

[EMM]

There used to be more and flights with better times, we could fly from Bristol on Friday night and back again on Sunday night but those days are long gone.
The airlines are out to make money not to provide flights to suit our needs.
To be fair to the comments of others , if being able to fly back and forward at weekends was an essential then finding out who and when should have been part of any initial research.
You should find better service when the summer schedules start .

[ConfusedBuyer]

To be honest, weekend flights weren't foremost in my mind. The villas is for summer rentals and for use for my friends and family for weekly (or more usage). I only started to consider the idea of maybe flying over for the weekend when I started to appreciate how cheap you can get flights for, and the fact that for the first couple of months, I would want to come down to supervise work on the property.

[widge]

Having done a couple of fairly large projects over the last couple of years I would strongly advise against calling at weekends to supervise. It would be a complete waste of time & money !!

[LICY]

Have you tried Stanstead? We always fly from Gatwick, being our local. EJ have flights every day, with, a good deal less over the few months of winter. However we fly out early evening at 17.20 or soon it will be 18.30 from memory. That way I take off an afternoon. We also get their last flight back. This time of the year it will be either 20.40 or about 21.40. During the summer EJ (from Gatwick) have about 5 flights a day (return of course). Anyway I love CVO and so will you. I had a property years ago in Spain. It was sold at a time they started to introduce taxes that they failed to actually inform home owners until you had a fine. Got fed up with it, guess its much the same. Don't compare CVO/Algarve with the Costas, as I feel the reason I love Portugal and didn't want a deal in Spain was because it is so much nicer.

[pointersister]

CB when you get stuck into working on your new and exciting project, you will probably want to be in Carvoeiro as much as you possibly can. It is great to hear that buyers are still coming to the area. The more the merrier. I agree with your comments, if you have nothing positive and constructive to say, just keep quiet. We have our place in Carvoeiro since 2010 and love it. We have met such brilliant people who have added to our lives in so many ways that I can't begin to tell you. So ignore the negative comments and enjoy the exciting journey that you are travelling on. Life is short so just seize the moment.

[LICY]

CB when you get stuck into working on your new and exciting project, you will probably want to be in Carvoeiro as much as you possibly can. It is great to hear that buyers are still coming to the area. The more the merrier. I agree with your comments, if you have nothing positive and constructive to say, just keep quiet. We have our place in Carvoeiro since 2010 and love it. We have met such brilliant people who have added to our lives in so many ways that I can't begin to tell you. So ignore the negative comments and enjoy the exciting journey that you are travelling on. Life is short so just seize the moment.

I agree! TBH there are many great people on the forum CB so do not be put off. Widge for example is an absolutely love as is Pickwick. Bruce Wallis isn't too bad either. Anyway you will meet some of us real soon!