Long haul flight change

[Crazymaisienumber9]

Hi just a query. I have booked a long haul flight, it has a stopover in hong kong for several days to get to melbourne australia with stopover of several days there. Then I have a flight booked from melbourne to brisbane . Finally staying with a friend for 2 weeks before flying back to uk with no stopovers.
But after making the original booking my friend I'm staying with while there told me to book a flight instead to ballina which is much closer to her than brisbane. It is a cheap one way flight, and obviously separate to the original booking.

The original booking was made all under one company (with mainly BA flights and their subsidiaries as the airlines) so this flight to ballina is separate. But I am wondering if I don't use the last leg of my inbound flight, as it were, under this booking does it mess up/negate my return flight to the uk? I have rung BA who have said, via the booking company, it may incur costs to change. Of course. Just checking anyway ..any advice welcome. Thanks in advance.

Are all the flights booked on one ticket? If yes then should you no-show for one leg then your subsequent flights will be cancelled. So don’t do that! Depending on the T&Cs of your booking you may be able to cancel/change that flight but it could work out very expensive as the entire ticket will have to be reissued. Did you book via an agency? If yes then they should be able to tell you if it’s possible to cancel that leg and the costs involved. Unless you’ve got a fully-flexible ticket though I think you might just have to stick with flying to Brisbane though.

I agree with the above, but have you looked into an additional flight from Brisbane to Ballina? That may be the same as the cost of changing the flights anyway.

I agree you could mess up the flights if you don't take the booked flight on the itinerary.

Did you call the company who made the bookings for you? What was their advice?

Where does your friend live and how we're you going to get to her house from Brisbane? Although it's longer and another expense you could explore a bus trip or hiring a car from Brisbane.

If I understand your post correctly you will be flying back out of Brisbane on your trip back? If that is the case and this was me I would still fly into Brisbane and either take a bus or hire a car or even explore the regional railway to your friends. Brisbane is nice this time of year.

Alternatively can your friend come up to Brisbane to spend time with you?

were

Actually I have just realised it is only just over a 2 hour drive from Brisbane to Ballina. Very doable for your friend to come to you or you to go to your friend's. You could even spend a bit of time in Brisbane together and then a bit of time in Ballina together.

Thanks for the replies. Once at Ballina my friend who lives 30 minutes away was going to collect me. She has a disabled son so travelling for 2 hours each way is a bit of an ask. Oddly the flight from brisbane to ballina would take 5 plus hours (and I mean plus ....up to the 20 s) because it flies via Sydney . So a bit of a palaver. I have considered the bus or train thing but for some reason she is reluctant ...so I wondered if the buses were sub par or something ...also it does take 4 hours. I've contacted her and she said she would come get me but I feel bad and honestly dont want to put her out. Also I have to go to brisbane to fly home and she and I were going to spend a few days in brisbane before I left.

Don't get a flight via Sydney that's just ridiculous for a two hour car journey. What did the agent who booked your trip suggest? Why not hire a car and drive to Ballina?

You need to take the full itinerary

Can you hire a car?

You can get a shuttle bus from Brisbane Airport to Ballina. I would think the travel time would be just under 3 hours.

Go via road from Brisbane to Ballina, you can hire a car at either end as Ballina is a tourism hub so easy. Save you ages in time and money

OP, I thought you were going to ask how to amend your booking so you no longer stop over in Hong Kong, that would be more of a concern to me at the moment. In fact, you might be able to use the Hong Kong situation to change your entire booking.

Look up prices for one way car hire. You can go via Gold Coast, Burleigh etc, and stop off along the way to add to the experience! Drop off at Ballina or Byron Bay. Avis are usually pretty good, if you're happy with a small sized car to keep the cost down.

Take a bus from Brisbane to Ballina. Simple. They are perfectly comfortable.