Flights to Geneva/Transfers to Verbier ?

Hi guys,

Im currently looking for a one way flight to Geneva and transfers to Verbier in Jan and im having abit of trouble finding a good deal.

Do you guys know any good (CHEAP!!) airlines that offer a affordable service e.g. ski equipment carrage ?

Cheers.

Swiss often have good prices, as do BA. AFAIK Swiss are not currently charging for skis.

It depends on your definition of a good deal.

We are flying in to Geneva and had an excellent deal with Swiss 23kg luggage and free skis we booked a few weeks back for Christmas week and paid £100 return.

I am not sure about cheap one way, but often it's cheaper to book Swiss or BA return and just don't use the return ticket. Swiss don't charge for skis. EasyJet only looks cheap in adverts, once you add all the associated costs one way will be more expensive then return with the "proper" airline. Also, you are facing less delays with proper airlines. Usually when the weather is adverse (snow etc) EasyJet flights get delayed indefinitely and won't leave until all the regular flights depart. And this is important factor in winter. As for transfers from Airport, just get the train. This is how most people travel here. You wil be in Verbier in 3 hours. Or try to book www.AlpyBus.com. You need to know your arrival time though.

verbier_ski_bum wrote:I am not sure about cheap one way, but often it's cheaper to book Swiss or BA return and just don't use the return ticket.

That used to be the case 5 years ago but both BA and Swiss do good pricing per leg now, so unless you've got a very special deal on a return, one-way is much cheaper.

verbier_ski_bum wrote:EasyJet only looks cheap in adverts, once you add all the associated costs one way will be more expensive then return with the "proper" airline.

That's just not true. The main three to Switzerland (BA, Swiss and EJ) are all pretty competitive, and all effectively use dynamic pricing to some degree so you should always shop around.

We've had trips where BA and Swiss have been cheapest, but our next flights are with EJ as they were half the price for the dates we wanted.

GummyBear - a quick check on 2nd week of January shows BA one-way from 54 pounds, and EasyJet 57 quid (22 for the flight, plus one hold bag, plus ski carriage). Doesn't look too bad? :shock:

I just checked with Swiss, and Jan 23 one way is 430 pounds out of LHR whereas Jan 23-24 return would be 130 - both with insurance. Cheapest rates are hardly ever available with Swiss for one way only. Maybe if you book 6 months in advance - I've never checked as I usually don't, you can get the same rates available for one way as for one leg of the return flight. But skis travel for free, so I guess pricing will be comparable with BA if extra weight is taken into account. As for EJ - I've made my opinion on them based on personal and other people's experiences averaged out over time and unless I travel really light like with one handbag and in risk-free period, I will avoid them whenever possible. 20 pounds of possible savings (at most) are not worth it IMHO. No good value for money. And 20 pounds is usually for people who are willing to spend a sleepless night and depart at silly hours.

verbier_ski_bum wrote:I just checked with Swiss, and Jan 23 one way is 430 pounds out of LHR whereas Jan 23-24 return would be 130 - both with insurance. Cheapest rates are hardly ever available with Swiss for one way only.

Ok, that's interesting - I had that wrong; that certainly applies to Swiss. Score 1 to EasyJet for that then (snowed in a few years ago and had to book a one-way to get home - 19 quid).

verbier_ski_bum wrote:20 pounds of possible savings

Flying Friday early afternoon and returning Tuesday evening - no silly o'clock starts - EasyJet were 150 notes cheaper per seat, booked 6 days in advance.

TBH, they're all pretty good nowadays but EJ's planes are orange ... 8)

Re Transfers: Take a look at the 'Ski Chatter' Thread on 'Geveva>Verbier-LaTzoumaz Transfer' comparing car hire with train/gondola and taxi/minibus. Looks like www.auto-europe.co.uk is a good site for car hire. Go to www.sbb.ch to work out price of train to Le Chable and then add a bit to get the gondola up from the station to Verbier. Minibus is competitive to train if you can fill it with 10x (www.taxialpina.ch is a good example) but taxi looks expensive, even if you can squeeze x4 in. There will probably be charter coaches to Verbier, but perhaps someone else can recommend a site for them? Car hire is OK if you have a parking space but Verbier parking is likely to be expensive. On foot is OK if you're accomodation isn't too far from Médran télécabine.