Best sale fares to Australia 2012
Which airline sale has the best deals on flights to Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Cairns & Darwin in 2012 - Emirates, Qantas or Cathay Pacific?
Airline sales 2012
Christmas is over, the airline sales are on and with some of the deals on offer, now is almost certainly the best time to book a flight to Australia if you’re planning to visit in 2012.
Emirates special offers to Australia
The deals with the best departure airport options come booking direct via the Emirates website. Emirates offers departures to Australia via Dubai from six UK airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow. The Emirates Australia fare sale ends on 22 January 2012, and the best deals are on flights departing between 09 April and 30 June 2012. The best deals by departure airport are as follows:
Flights from Manchester: £716 to Perth, £828 to Sydney, £808 to Melbourne, £820 to Brisbane.
Flights from Gatwick: £720 to Perth, £802 to Sydney, £782 to Melbourne, £794 to Brisbane.
Flights from Heathrow: £740 to Perth, £822 to Sydney, £802 to Melbourne, £814 to Brisbane.
Flights from Birmingham: £717 to Perth, £829 to Sydney, £809 to Melbourne, £821 to Brisbane.
Flights from Newcastle: £719 to Perth, £832 to Sydney, £812 to Melbourne, £824 to Brisbane.
Flights from Glasgow: £717 to Perth, £849 to Sydney, £829 to Melbourne, £841 to Brisbane.
Cathay Pacific sale fares
However, there are also some good deals available with other airlines. Cathay Pacific has good deals available on flights from London Heathrow to Perth (from £759) and Sydney (from £799) travelling via Hong Kong. To be eligible for the sale prices, flights need to be booked before 31 January 2012.
Cathay Pacific is also offering economy class returns to Cairns, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne for from £819.
The best thing about the Cathay Pacific sale is the potential travel dates. The Sydney deal is only available for travellers going between 09 April 2012 and 20 June 2012, but for the other destinations, you can also travel between 20 August and 30 September 2012 or 01 November and 30 November 2012.
Cheap Qantas flights to Australia
Qantas is also offering special fares – providing you book before January 19th. The best offers are for flights taken between 01 May and 20 June 2012. Return deals from London start at £769 to Perth, £787 to Melbourne, £799 to Sydney, £805 to Adelaide, £806 to Darwin, £813 to Brisbane and £826 to Cairns.
However, good prices are available throughout the year – in general, you can add £75 to £150 on to the cheapest flights for any dates other than a shockingly expensive window between 13 July and 10 August 2012. Again, these deals are available booking online at the Qantas site.
Christmas Day flights to Australia
The cheapest ever business class flights from London to Sydney? China Airlines is selling London to Sydney returns for £1,459 – if you depart late on December 25th.
Cheapest return tickets at Christmas
Traditionally, the most expensive time of year to fly to Australia is in the run up to Christmas. Prices for the cheapest economy class return tickets can leap up above the £1,200 mark a couple of weeks before December 25th.
Cheap Christmas Day flights
However, Christmas Day itself is a different matter. Nobody really wants to fly on Christmas Day, and airlines can hardly stop flights as it completely messes up schedules. Therefore, if you’re prepared to fly on December 25th itself, there are sometimes great deals available.
£1,459 business class return to Sydney
This year, one absolutely knock-out deal – the best I’ve ever seen for a business class flight to Australia – is being offered by China Airlines. Business class return flights from London to Sydney usually cost at least £3,000. But China Airlines is offering them for just £1,459 for those Christmas Day departure.
Free stopover in Taiwan
Go straight through, and you’ll have a few hours’ layover in Taipei before arriving in Sydney at 12.15 on December 27th. However, it’s possible to build in a free stopover in Taiwan if you wish to break the journey. You have to return within six months for the deal to be valid.
Late departure from Heathrow
But what about Christmas? Well, the flights depart from Heathrow at 21.00 – so you can do the family thing, eat your turkey and still get to the airport in plenty of time. It’s worth bearing in mind that public transport options will be unavailable, however.
Where to book?
I found about this through Roundtheworldflights.com – who say the deal is still available. You may be better off going through them and finding return dates that fit your needs rather than struggling with trial and error on the China Airlines site.
Australia flights from Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle & Birmingham
Fly to Australia with Emirates in 2012 for from £749. Economy class fares to Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – with free stopovers in Dubai – on sale now.
Emirates Australia flight sale 2012
Excellent news – Emirates has launched an Australia flight sale with some excellent prices available to Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from six UK airports.
Emirates from UK airports
The Emirates sale – valid for flights in 2012 from Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and Glasgow – includes starting prices of just £749 return.
Perth, Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane deals
The baseline economy fare prices are £749 to Perth, £782 for Melbourne, £794 to Sydney and £802 to Brisbane. These are for flights taken between 9 April 2012 and 30 June 2012, although there are some pretty good deals available outside of this date range too.
Cheap Emirates fares – booking deadline
Full details and prices are available on the Emirates website, and there’s a pleasantly user-friendly window for booking the deals too. Bookings need to be made by 22 January 2012 via the Emirates site.
Free stopover in Dubai
If you fancy breaking the journey, there’s more good news. The deals include a free stopover in Dubai each way should you wish to take a couple of days between flight legs and explore the Middle East’s capital of blingy buildings.
Fly to Australia for under £600
Flights from London Heathrow and Manchester to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia now on sale with Etihad. Prices start at unbelievably low £567.
Flights to Australia | Flash sale 2011
Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad has just launched a flash sale that includes the best prices on flights to Australia that I’ve seen in years. Booking dates are limited, as are travel dates, but if you’re wanting to go to Australia by the end of the year, the time to book is indisputably NOW.
London to Sydney for £649
Etihad is offering flights from London Heathrow to Sydney for from just £649. This needs to be booked by 04 November 2011, and is for flights taken between 05 November 2011 and 14 December 2011.
Heathrow to Melbourne flights from £567
The Etihad Melbourne flights are even cheaper – from £567. That’s probably the cheapest I’ve ever seen a return flight to Melbourne.
Cheapest flights from Manchester to Australia
What’s more, there are fantastic deals from Manchester airport – again flying with Etihad via Abu Dhabi. Using the same booking and departure dates, economy class return flights to Melbourne start at £577. And you’ll only have to play slightly more – £644 – to get to Sydney. Bookings should be made through the Etihad website, and sharpish – there will be limited availability.
Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Cairns & Adelaide flight offers
Book flights to Australia for as little as £645 in Crystal Travel sale. Great deals available with China Airlines, Air China, Korean Air, Royal Brunei, Qantas & Etihad.
Crystal Travel Australia flight sale
Travel agent Crystal Travel is currently advertising a number of highly tempting deals on flights to Australia, and with a number of airlines.
These deals include:
London Heathrow to Sydney via Taipei with China Airlines – from £645
London Heathrow to Sydney via Beijing with Air China – from £765
London Heathrow to Melbourne via Seoul with Korean Air – from £779
London Heathrow to Melbourne via Abu Dhabi with Etihad – from £781
London Heathrow to Melbourne via Brunei with Royal Brunei – from £788
London Heathrow to Sydney via Abu Dhabi with Etihad – from £803
London Heathrow to Brisbane via Abu Dhabi with Etihad – from £827
London Heathrow to Perth via Singapore with Qantas – from £851
London Heathrow to Adelaide via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific – from £887
London Heathrow to Cairns via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific – from £890
Validity dates are slightly different for each deal, so check the Australia deals section of the Crystal Travel site for further details
Emirates flights to Australia | London Gatwick sale 2012
Fly to Australia for as little as £774 in 2012 with Emirates sale flights. Economy class return deals available to Perth, Sydney, Brisbane & Melbourne.
Emirates Australia flight sale
Middle Eastern airline Emirates has currently got some good prices on offer for flights to Australia from the UK, but it’s worth taking a look at Emirates flights booked through online travel agencies such as Netflights.
Gatwick to Perth flight sale
On the Netflights site at the moment, there are currently some pretty good prices on flights to major Australian cities from London Gatwick Airport with Emirates. These include Gatwick to Perth flights for from £774 and Gatwick to Brisbane flights for from £838.
Emirates flight deals | Sydney and Melbourne
Flights to Melbourne and Sydney are also available in this Netflights sale. London to Melbourne flights start at £824, while London to Sydney flights are available for from £836.
Emirates sale | Travel dates
All of these flights are via Emirates’ hub in Dubai, and need to be booked by 1 November 2011. The valid dates for travel are between 16 April 2012 and 30 June 2012.
Etihad flight sale | Cheap Sydney & Melbourne flights 2012
Discount flights from London and Manchester to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia are currently available in the Etihad sale. Prices from £749 return.
Etihad sale | Sydney and Melbourne flight deals
UAE-based airline Etihad is currently in the middle of a big promotional sale, and as part of it, there are some seriously discounted seats on flights to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia.
London to Melbourne flight sale
The best deal on offer in the Etihad sale is on flights from London Heathrow airport to Melbourne. Etihad is selling seats on departures between 15 January and 30 June 2012 for from as little as £749.
Manchester to Melbourne discount flights
Prices from Manchester to Melbourne aren’t all that much more expensive – Etihad is selling tickets for the same dates for from £766. These prices are only available by booking online at the Etihad website before the sale ends on 30 September 2011.
London to Sydney flight deals
The same dates apply to the offer on London to Sydney flights. Etihad is offering return tickets on the Heathrow to Sydney route for from £786. As with the flights to Melbourne, these involve a short layover and change of planes in Abu Dhabi.