When it comes to flying within Australia, it is essential to book all domestic flights in Australia at least 2 or 3 months before the desired departure time. This is the only way to secure cheap flights. In Australia, there are no last-minute deals for internal flights. The earlier you start searching online the better if you want to grab the cheapest rates for domestic flights.
Moreover, if you plan to travel during peak seasons like Christmas, Easter or on public holidays and school holidays in Australia you shall start your research at least 3-4 months ahead to be able to secure the cheapest domestic flights in Australia.
When to plan and book domestic flights within Australia
Booking domestic flights in Australia should belong to your Frame Australia Itinerary. What I mean with this is that, after purchasing your flight ticket to Australia, the next step is booking all your internal flights and make all arrangement that covers all trip segments of your holiday.
Getting around the country can be expensive if you are not planning carefully, so booking flights in advance is key for saving money on transportation in Australia.
Good research brings flight deals
Sales and domestic flights deals are communicated by all Australian airlines 2-3 month ahead of departure dates and are shown on all flight comparison sites. Good research is crucial if you want to snap a deal. Use good comparison travel websites to keep track of all domestic flights offered in real-time and pick the ones that suit your budget and your itinerary
When is the right time to book flights in Australia?
I have made lots of experience with that and established that 2-3 months is a good time to allow you to fly cheaply. However for school and public holidays like Christmas, Easter Time, Anzac Day, New Year’s Eve etc you need to plan much longer in advance. If you plan to travel to Australia between December and end of January you must book at least 4-5 months ahead if you want to grab a deal. The price of flights will increase the closer you book to the planned flight dates. I recommend starting your flight search online at least 3 months ahead. Early-bird bookings can save you up to 50% of the flight rate.
Setting alerts for cheap domestic flights
Another great way to get notified about deals on cheap domestic flights within Australia is to subscribe to Australian airlines newsletters. Qantas and Virgin Australia are the major airlines’ companies. This allows you to receive weekly updates about flight deals and also be informed about flight sales. Cheap flights are booked out very quickly, so the earlier you book the better rate you get.
How to find cheap Australia domestic flights
When it comes to finding good deals for domestic flights there are a few flight comparison sites that can help you online. Here below you find my favourite sites:
- Wotif
is a very popular site in Australia used by locals. It is one of the most reliable sites that delivers real-time search results for flights throughout the country, for cheap domestic flights in Australia. On the Wotif site, you can also search for flight and hotel packages too. - Virgin Australia
You can also check out Virgin Australia, they have a dedicated flight special Page where you can browse through all current domestic as well as international deals or you can also check their Thursday Happy Hour Page.
If you plan to book 6 or more internal flight legs, then you can consider purchasing an Australia air pass like the Qantas Walkabout Pass.
Jetstar is the most popular low-cost airline in Australia that belongs to the Qantas Group. They have weekly special deals called Friday Frenzy worth checking out.
More comparison sites for domestic flights in Australia
Next to Wotif, there are a few more comparison travel websites that we can recommend when searching online for flights on sale in Australia.
Skyscanner is a well-known platform for comparing flights all over the world; you may give it a go for comparing domestic flights within Australia. However, they might not be so accurate as not all low-coast airlines are included. Next to using Skyscanner is always good to cross-check with a few flight comparison sites.
Kiwi is a less known site but a very powerful website for finding flights both international and domestic. If you haven’t used it yet, try it out now: the website has many search functions and also a few additional bonuses that you will not find in other flight comparison websites.
Both Skyscanner and Kiwi are my favourite tools when searching for cheap flights to Australia.
Useful tips before booking domestic flights in Australia
Before booking your domestic flights in Australia, it’s always better to have a few prices from different platforms and compare them accurately.
Book flights with the same airline
If your incoming flight to Australia allows it, you can also book your domestic flights with the same airline. And there are benefits to booking all flights with the same airline. This allows you to have the same baggage allowances on all booked domestic flights. In Australia, there are many low-cost airlines but their baggage allowances are limited up to 15 kg per person and many of their flights only allow one piece of cabin-luggage. Many flights do not accept checked-in baggage.
Having extra baggage weight means paying extra money when checking in your luggage. To be on the safe side, you’d better use an airline company that can guarantee higher baggage weight allowances. That’s why I prefer booking all domestic flights with Qantas or its low-cost airline Jetstar, as they offer 23 kg max baggage weight on all internal flights in Australia.
Beware of the extra fees from Australian Airlines
All Australian airlines will add fees for paying with credit cards and checking in your baggage. So, make sure you read through the terms and conditions as well as the baggage allowances of each local airlines before booking your flights.
Usually, there is a fee of 10-20 AU dollars for each checked baggage. Qantas and Virgin offer 1 free piece of checked luggage with the purchase of a standard economy flight fare. Recently some airlines have added a bank transfer for booking your domestic flights, so if you are a resident of Australia or have a local bank account you can use it to make a bank transfer when booking a flight and save 8-10 dollars each time.
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Travel Planning Resources and Travel Sites
Here is a full list of great pages that will help you immensely when planning your trip to Australia. Click on the links or on the icons below.
TRIP PLANNING RESOURCES
GET HELP WITH YOUR AUSTRALIA TRIP
