When it comes to flying within Australia, booking all domestic flights in Australia at least 2 or 3 months before the desired departure time is essential. 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, plan to travel during peak seasons like Christmas, Easter, public holidays, and school holidays in Australia. You shall start your research at least 3-4 months to secure Australia’s cheapest domestic flights.
When to plan and book domestic flights within Australia
Booking domestic flights in Australia should belong to your Frame Australia Itinerary. What I mean by this is that after purchasing your flight ticket to Australia, the next step is booking all your internal flights and making arrangements that cover all trip segments of your holiday.
Getting around the Australian country can be expensive if you are not planning carefully, so booking flights in advance is critical for saving money on transportation in Australia.
Good research brings flight deals.
Sales and domestic flight deals are communicated by all Australian airlines 2-3 months 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 had lots of experience with that and established that 2-3 months is a good time to allow you to fly cheaply. However, you need to plan much longer in advance for school and public holidays like Christmas, Easter Time, Anzac Day, New Year’s Eve, etc. If you plan to travel to Australia between December and the end of January, you must book at least 4-5 months ahead 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 airline companies. This lets you receive weekly updates about flight deals and 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 finding good deals for domestic flights, a few flight comparison sites can help you online. Here below, you see my favourite places:
- Wotif
It is one of the most reliable sites that delivers real-time search results for flights nationwide, for cheap domestic flights in Australia. On the Wotif site, you can also search for flight and hotel packages. - Virgin Australia
You can also check out Virgin Australia, they have a dedicated flight particular Page where you can browse through all current domestic and international deals, or you can also check their Thursday Happy Hour Page.
If you book six or more internal flight legs, 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 worldwide; you may give it a go for comparing domestic flights within Australia. However, they might not be so accurate as not all low-cost 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 compelling website for finding international and domestic flights. If you haven’t used it yet, try it out now: the website has many search functions and a few additional bonuses you will not find on other flight comparison websites.
Skyscanner and Kiwi are my favourite tools when searching for cheap flights to Australia.
Helpful 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 domestic flights with the same airline. And there are benefits to booking all flights with the same airline. This will enable 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 to 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 safe, 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, read through each local airline’s terms and conditions and baggage allowances for Australia before booking your flights.
Usually, there is a fee of 10-20 AU dollars for each checked baggage. Qantas and Virgin offer one free piece of checked luggage by purchasing 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 complete list of great pages that will help you immensely when planning your trip to Australia. Click on the links or the icons below.
BOOK YOUR AUSTRALIA TRIP
