I always stop over for a night on the way to Europe but I find the flight from Asia to London or from Sydney to the Middle East too long, so is there a way I could stop over in Asia, then have a further stopover in Abu Dhabi or Dubai? I have points to upgrade to business class with Westpac Altitude Rewards, so if possible I would like an airline on which I could use them. Is this too much to hope for?
- D. Barry, Terrigal.
No problem. Asian stopovers have always been available and the Middle East is now so well served by international carriers that you have a healthy choice there as well. In Asia, the two prime stopover choices are Bangkok and Singapore.
Both Singapore Airlines (singaporeair.com) and Thai Airways (thaiairways.com.au) have stopover deals in their respective bases. In the Middle East, Emirates (emirates.com) and Etihad (etihadairways.com) offer stopovers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively.
You can book a route with any of these airlines that would take you from Australia to Asia to the Middle East and on to Europe, though you might find yourself travelling one sector aboard another carrier on a codeshare flight. If you have a stack of Westpac Altitude Rewards points, you're laughing.
You can use these points to upgrade on any of the majors including Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Qantas, British Airways, Emirates and Etihad.
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