Virgin Blue sale: Perth to Christmas Island & Cocos Island flights – April 2010
Budget airline Virgin Blue is to start offering cheap flights from Perth to Christmas Island and Cocos Island – Australia’s Indian Ocean territories – in April 2010.
Virgin Blue route map addition
Australian domestic airline Virgin Blue has an exciting new addition to its route map – Christmas Island.
Crab migration on Christmas Island
The little known territory of Australia is famous for its annual crab migration in October and November, but the Indian Ocean island is hardly a mainstay on the tourism map.
Virgin Blue sale: Perth flights
The new Virgin Blue flights to Christmas Island could provide an affordable way for more travellers to visit the island however – and the airline is offering special one way fares to Christmas Island for from AU$464.
April 2010 Virgin Blue flights
The flights go three times a week from Perth International Airport (note – not domestic), and start on 01 April 2010.
New flights to Cocos Island
Virgin Blue is also due to start flying to Australia’s other Indian Ocean island territory – the Cocos Islands. Flights from Perth to Cocos Island will start on 03 April 2010, and there will also be flights between Cocos Island and Christmas Island.
2010 Melbourne flight sale: Qatar Airways from London for from £639
Fly from London Heathrow to Melbourne, Australia for from just £639. Book online in the 2010 Qatar Airways flight sale, and travel via Doha in the Middle East.
Qatar Airways sale prices
There are some great deals available in the current Qatar Airways sale. Flights from London to Bangalore are available for from £339, while returns from Manchester to Hong Kong cost as little as £408.
Qatar Airways flight sale to Melbourne
However, one great deal in this current Qatar Airways flight sale has slipped under the radar somewhat. The Doha-based airline is offering economy class return flights from London to Melbourne for from just £639.
Melbourne flight sale: April to June 2010
These flights need to be booked before 20 February 2010, and the prices are available for flights between 20 April 2010 and 26 June 2010. All flights involve a short layover in Doha, Qatar and depart from London Heathrow airport.
Opodo discount code: £20 off Australia flight sale prices
Use Opodo discount code to take £20 off Emirates, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic flight sale prices on 2010 travel to Perth, Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane.
Australia flight savings
The ever excellent Moneysavingexpert.com has highlighted a way of saving an extra £20 on the best sales prices for flights to Australia.
Opodo discount code
If you book your flight through Opodo, and use a special discount code, it is possible to reduce the cost of your flights to Australia (or indeed any other country as long as it’s not on a budget airline).
Discount code date
The code is opodo20 and it is valid up to 10 February 2010. Use it smartly with one of the current flight sales – ie. Those being held by Emirates, British Airways or Virgin Atlantic – and you could end up with an extremely cheap flight to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or Brisbane.
Emirates sale extension: UK to Australia flights in April, May & June 2010
Fly to Australia from Gatwick, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Birmingham or Heathrow airports for from £599 return. Flights are all via Dubai in the 2010 Emirates sale.
Emirates sale extension – March 2010
Emirates has extended its flight sale to Australia yet again – with the final booking date now being moved to 01 March 2010.
Emirates sale: Price increase
Emirates has been running its ‘Come Walkabout’ Australia sale for a few months now, and while prices aren’t quite as good as they were (flights to Perth have gone up from £579 to £599 for example), the deals on offer are still excellent.
Emirates sale: UK to Perth flights
Flights to Perth, as usual, are the cheapest. Fly between 20 April 2010 and 30 June 2010, and it is possible to get flights to the Western Australian capital for £599.
Emirates sale: Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane flights
Slightly more expensive are the Emirates sale prices to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – all from £679 for an economy class return. The same booking and travel dates apply.
Emirates sale: UK regional airport departures
As ever, the massive advantage with Emirates is that the airline departs from an unrivalled number of UK airports. Flying via Dubai, Emirates offers one stop flights to Australia from London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle.
Flying with Emirates: Entertainment and baggage allowance
It’s also a pretty good airline to fly with. Personal seat-back screens and a 30kg checked baggage allowance come as standard.
Premium economy flight sale: British Airways from London to Sydney from £1,065
Book cheap premium economy flights from London to Sydney in the 2010 British Airways sale. Prices for premium economy flights to Australia start at £1,065.
2010 British Airways sale extension
With the British Airways flight sale being extended until 09 February 2009, there is now extra time to snap up cheap flights with BA from London to Sydney.
Premium economy flight sale: London to Sydney
I mentioned this for economy class return flights on a previous post, but the sale extension also applies to premium economy travel. Passengers wanting a little extra legroom and comfort can book premium economy flights with BA for just £1,065.
BA sale: 2010 travel dates
This is cheaper than many economy class returns to Australia (although not at the time of year the offer is valid for). To take advantage of this surprisingly good premium economy deal, you need to book before 09 February and travel dates must be between 16 April 2010 and 20 June 2010.
Flight sales to Europe, Asia, America, Africa & Oceania
This site specifically deals with finding cheap flights and stopover options on routes between the UK and Australia. Those wishing to fly elsewhere may be interested in checking out Australiaflightbargains’ sister site – Best Flight Sales.
This site is new, but intends to great flight sale prices to destinations around the world. These will include some nearby to Australia – such as Indonesia, New Zealand and the islands of the South Pacific.
Sydney & Brisbane flight sale: Cathay Pacific London to Australia fares from £599
Book cheap flights to Sydney and Brisbane for from just £599 in Cathay Pacific’s great value flight sale. Flights go via Hong Kong on five star airline.
Cathay Pacific flight sale to Sydney and Brisbane
The cheapest flights in the current Cathay Pacific sale are to Melbourne for £589, but for those prepared to book quickly, bargain deals to Sydney and Brisbane are also available.
Sydney flight sale – May and June 2010
In this Cathay Pacific flight sale – which ends on 03 February 2010 – economy class return flights to Sydney cost from just £599. This price is for travel between 01 May 2010 and 10 June 2010.
Brisbane flight sale from London Heathrow
The same price is available on the same dates for flights to the Queensland capital, Brisbane. All flights depart from London Heathrow airport and involve a short layover in Hong Kong.
Five star airline
I’ve flown with Cathay Pacific before, and would agree with Skytrax that it’s one of the best airlines in the world. Skytrax is an agency that conducts passenger surveys to judge airline quality, and its 2009 rankings had Cathay Pacific amongst only six given a five star rating. The others are Malaysia Airlines, Kingfisher, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways and Asiana.
Great deal
It’s rare to find flights to Sydney and Brisbane this cheap on any of the top-rated airlines, so if you have the flexibility to book before 03 February, you should probably go for it.