If you’re looking to get away during any of Australia’s upcoming public holidays, booking flights well in advance is often the easiest way to find cheap flights. However, our team of experts and travel writers have put their experience together and come up with a list of tips to save you money the next time you fly no matter when you’re looking to book.
Table of Contents
- 1. Compare Prices Online Through a Search Site
- 2. Search By Destination Unknown
- 3. Dates Should Be Flexible
- 4. Avoid Flying During Peak Season
- 5. Consider Driving or Public Transport
- 6. Work Around a Stopover
- 7. Find Yourself a Domestic Flight
- 8. Avoid Major Airports
- 9. Book Two One-Way Air Fares
- 10. Set an Alert on Your Phone for Cheap Flights
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1. Compare Prices Online Through a Search Site
The first thing you should do when looking for cheap flights is jump onto price comparison websites like Skyscanner or any of the alternatives we’ve listed in our round-up article. These will paint the big picture of how much it’s going to cost you to fly on specific dates of the week, and the price increases on public holidays, and weekends.
If you haven’t planned your holiday yet, check out Luxury Escapes as they have all-inclusive packages that can save you money on airfares and accommodation when bought together. These packages can also save you money on the other end with breakfast, drinks, and activities already included for a set price.
2. Search By Destination Unknown
If you don’t have a destination in mind, flight search sites like those listed above won’t be much help. They’ll only generate prices based on dates of travel and the destination chosen. Instead, if you’re looking for an adventure, input “Everywhere” into websites like Skyscanner and sought by “Price Low to High” and you’ll be able to find yourself a bargain flight.
3. Dates Should Be Flexible
Unless your dates are set-in-stone get flexible because you’ll be able to find tonnes of cheap flight deals. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are and always have been the cheapest days of the week to fly domestically in Australia. While international flights out of the country are best booked on Thursdays and Fridays. We’d also recommend you look on either side of a public holiday as there are plenty of deals to be had once the general population returns to work.
4. Avoid Flying During Peak Season
Speaking of public holidays… if you want cheap flights our experts recommend you skip them altogether. This is especially true for domestic travellers who might be heading on that beach summer holiday in December or interstate to see family over the ANZAC Day long weekend. If you must go on holiday over a long weekend, we recommend the new Kings Birthday Long-weekend that lands in New South Wales, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory on Monday, June 10th, 2024.
5. Consider Driving or Public Transport
If you’re moving between two cities and you’re not running a time-conscious operation, we recommend renting a car and splitting the costs between a few friends or investigating public transport options. Of course, driving is really only a cost-effective method if you can split the costs, however, public transport such as the fast trains in Japan or Amtrak railways in America can save you accommodation costs when you choose to sleep overnight on the train.
6. Work Around a Stopover
When you’re hunting around on websites like Skyscanner you’ll find filters for one or two-stop layovers that are often hundreds of dollars cheaper than direct flights.
7. Find Yourself a Domestic Flight
The same goes for stopovers domestically, so if you don’t mind sitting in an airport for a few hours you can save a couple of hundred dollars. For example, flying from Sydney to Perth (est. $349) and then Perth to Dubai (est. $900) can wind up being cheaper than Sydney to Dubai direct (est. $1,635).
8. Avoid Major Airports
If you’re flying domestically, look at flying into regional airports or adjacent airports to major runways to find cheaper flights. For example, flying from Sydney to Melbourne (Avalon) can be cheaper than the main Melbourne (Tullamarine) major airport.
9. Book Two One-Way Air Fares
Look at booking two different one-way fares to save yourself money. In fact, you can combine the points listed above to fly into one major airport and then back via a smaller airport to save yourself money.
10. Set an Alert on Your Phone for Cheap Flights
Many of the major airline apps can be set for price drop alerts. The same goes for the flight search sites such as Skyscanner and KAYAK.
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