Cheap Christmas flights to Australia: How to find best December 2010 travel deals
Guide to getting the best flight sale prices in December 2010 and January 2011. How to find the cheapest travel deals for spending Christmas and New Year in Australia.
Tomorrow (Sunday 24th January), I shall be talking to Simon Calder on LBC radio’s travel clinic. Tune in from about 3pm to hear me explain how to get the best travel deals to Australia over the Christmas period.
But for those who can’t (or can’t be bothered) to tune in, here is my brief guide to spending Christmas and New Year in Australia without breaking the bank.
What is a good price for a flight to Australia in December 2010?
As a general rule of thumb, Christmas flights to Australia generally get more expensive as the year progresses. It is peak season, and most airlines know that their flights at this time of year will be full. Therefore, flight sale prices are never going to apply to departures during this period, and prices are usually ramped up as December gets nearer.
Therefore, if you can find an economy class return flight to Australia for under £1,000 over the Christmas and New Year period, you should seriously think about snapping it up instantly. They rarely get cheaper than that.
Cheapest flights to Australia – Christmas and New Year 2010
Buying flights to Australia over the Christmas period can be an absolute minefield. Each set of potential travel dates can throw up another best price – and they’re often with different airlines through different travel agencies. The best deal for one set of travel dates can be over double that for alternative dates.
I did a few searches for London to Sydney return flights with Travelsupermarket.com, using a random selection of dates. The cheapest results below should illustrate the point…
04 December 2010 to 01 January 2011 – £861.10 (Air China via Netflights.com)
07 December 2010 to 28 December 2010 – £739.75 (Air China via Holiday Genie)
06 December 2010 to 03 January 2011 – £978.10 (Etihad Airways via Netflights.com)
09 December 2010 to 06 January 2011 – £844.10 (Air China via Netflights.com)
11 December 2010 to 05 January 2011 – £1,050.26 (Singapore Airlines via Ebookers)
12 December 2010 to 07 January 2011 – £1,075.26 (Singapore Airlines via Ebookers)
14 December 2010 to 10 January 2011 – £1,316.10 (Cathay Pacific via Netflights.com)
16 December 2010 to 30 December 2010 – £739.75 (Air China via Holiday Genie)
16 December 2010 to 06 January 2011 – £929.10 (Air China via Netflights.com)
19 December 2010 to 09 January 2011 – £1,336.10 (Cathay Pacific via Netflights.com)
20 December 2010 to 03 January 2011 – £1,646.97 (Qantas)
20 December 2010 to 17 January 2011 – £1,331.10 (Cathay Pacific via Opodo)
UK to Australia Christmas flights – how to get the cheapest deals
These results do show a few patterns, however. The first golden rule is to try and take as much time off work as possible. The earlier you can leave in December and the later you can return in January, the cheaper your flight is likely to be.
There is a cut-off point in mid-December (around the 12th or 13th) where prices leap up by at least £200 to £300. You should certainly be attempting to leave before then.
The other key thing to note is that if you go out to Australia for Christmas, then return for New Year, there are enormous savings to be made. That, of course, means missing out on the New Year fireworks which may be one of the reasons for going in the first place.
Christmas flight deals to Perth
Another way to trim a bit off the price of a UK to Australia flight at Christmas is to fly to Perth rather than Sydney. It’s just as sunny – if not more so – but it doesn’t quite have the same atmosphere over the festive period (much as it would like to pretend it does). But flights from the UK to Perth are generally around £75 to £125 cheaper than they are to Sydney – largely because it’s closer.
Why you should wait to book: Airline advance booking calendars
Having said all this, if you’re flexible with dates and prepared to take a bit of a gamble, it’s probably worth waiting a month or two before booking.
Most airlines work on a twelve month calendar, and thus their systems can accommodate searches for December departures and January returns.
But not all airlines seem to. Korean Airlines and Malaysian Airlines, in particular, seem to work 11 months ahead. This means their Christmas and New Year prices aren’t showing up when you search.
Why you should wait to book: The budget airline option
Other airlines that haven’t got booking options this far in advance yet include the budget airlines that fly to Australia – in particular Air Asia X, Jetstar and Tiger Airways.
I’ve explained the options for using budget airlines to Australia before. Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok are the main hubs with connections to both the UK and Australia. A return flight from one of them to Australia can cost from around £150 to £400. Expect to pay nearer the upper range around Christmas time.
Once the prices for Christmas flights with these budget airlines are put online, it’s possible that it may work out cheaper to fly to the Asian hub, then take the budget flight to Australia.
Again, I’ve done a few searches with Travel Supermarket for flights to Singapore on similar dates:
06 December 2010 to 03 January 2011 – £636.60 (Qatar Airways via Opodo)
14 December 2010 to 10 January 2011 – £682.17 (KLM via Opodo)
19 December 2010 to 09 January 2011 – £757.76 (KLM via Netflights.com)
Clearly, if a budget airline flight to Australia can be had for around £150 to £200 each way, there may be a substantial saving to be made here.
Why you should wait to book: Qatar Airways to Sydney
Another reason to hold off booking a Christmas flight to Australia for now is that a new player is due to start competing on the London to Sydney route. Qatar Airways has already announced that it intends to start flights to Sydney via Doha – but it hasn’t announced when.
In 2009, Qatar Airways operated its first flights to Melbourne just before Christmas. And because the airline wanted to ensure full seats on the planes, prices were well below those of established competitors on the route.
The same may end up applying for flights to Sydney. If they also start just before Christmas, you can be the prices will be cheaper.
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[...] doing the research into my Christmas flights to Australia guide, I did come across one incredible deal which bears repeating [...]