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How To Find The Cheapest Flights to Australia

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A thumb rule for finding the cheapest flights to Australia is to choose when you want to travel, then the destinations you want to visit, and craft your itinerary around those places. One important thing to do is select the airport to arrive in Australia, where your trip starts and ends.

Most of the time, you will use two different Australian cities for your flights to Australia. But no matter whether using the same town or two separate destinations will have no considerable impact on the final price of return airfares to Australia. So now let’s look at how to find the cheapest flight tickets for travelling to Australia.

Flying-to-Australia-Cheap-Flights
How To Book Cheap Flights To Australia

Australia Flights – What You Need To Know

Booking your flight to Australia based on the primary destination you plan to visit is rule no. 1. If you plan to cover a vast area of Australia, starting your trip from one airport and using a different city for your flight back home is advisable. The arrival and departure airports will be the same if your travel itinerary is built on a loop from Sydney to Sydney. Consider these things:

  1. Your flight will last 6-20 hours, depending on where you fly. If you fly from Europe, it will be about 20 hours, and from the US, it will be about the same time.
  2. You must book your flights at least three months before departure, and booking them between three and six months in advance is advisable.
  3. Book your Australia flight when you are 100% sure you can stick to the chosen dates. So, select the date wisely. Alternatively, ensure you have flexible dates/times if you need to change them.
  4. The Cost for an Australian Flight will be between 1000 and 1800 USD or Euro. Prices are higher in summer (July to August, December and January).

When to book Your Australia flight

October to June is the best time to visit southern Australia; cities like Melbourne, Adelaide, or Sydney may get busy. June to September is the best time to get good flight deals. But again, it depends on where you are heading. Northern Australia gets busy during the winter months of May and August, so booking your flights to North Australia in advance is a good idea.

December and Christmas are too busy, and it’s better to avoid travelling to Australia during these times. If you wish to visit Australia this year, book at least 6-9 months in advance to get a good flight deal.

I recommend visiting Australia during the low season, like March-April or September-October. You will not only save money on your flight to Australia, but it will also be of better quality and cheaper overall. This page lets you learn more about the best time of year to go to Australia.

What are the best airlines for cheap flights to Australia

Among the several flight airlines, a few get the best recommendations from travellers for being “good value for your money” and offering excellent service and comfort.

You can view this list here below where you can find:

EmiratesQantasEtihadQatar AirwaysSingapore Airlines
One of the best airlines from Europe to Australia via Dubai International Airport
Australian Airline and Partner of Emirates Flights
Similar to Emirates Airlines for the economy class
Qatar Airways fly via Doha to many Australian Airports with good value for money flight combinations
Excellent airlines that fly via Singapore more expensive than most airlines to Australia

A guide to the best Airlines to Australia from Europe

Emirates is the airline company that, in my opinion, offers the best flight deals from Europe. Regarding value for money, I do not think some airlines can provide their flight offers from Europe. The great advantage is the number of flights to Australia from over 30 European destinations with the stop-over night option in Dubai.

Read more about my Economy Emirates Flight To Australia

Etihad is another good airline company. Their website often has sales, but in terms of destinations from continental Europe, they don’t serve all European airports; they fly only to all major Australian airports. Most Etihad fantastic flight deals are from London airports to Australia.

Read about my Australia Flight With Etihad

Qatar Airways has added more flight destinations to Australia, such as Adelaide. This is another excellent airline worth checking out if you are leaving from Europe, but the best deals are for flights from London to Australia.

Among all listed airline companies flying to Australia, Singapore Airlines is known for its outstanding service and quality flights. I used it several times and was pleased with the flights from Europe to Australia. However, they are 10-20% higher in price than the above airlines. It’s great to add a layover in Singapore before flying into Australia.

Qantas, also known as “the flying kangaroo,” is a premium Australian airline that offers good value flights to Australia in terms of flexibility and choice. It is the official partner of Emirates, so you may have a Qantas-Emirates flight combination in your booked flight.

This is what how I book Domestic Flights in Australia

If you wish to view the ranking of all airline companies that fly to Australia, visit Skytrax.

Tips for the best flight deals to Australia

According to an estimate, only 30% of travellers online book their flights to Australia. Over 2/3, ask a travel agency for the best flight fare or package. I know it feels overwhelming initially, but when you have a list of tools to search for and go through the process a few times, it’s very easy to learn, and you can find great deals yourself. You don’t need a travel agent to be able to find cheap flights nowadays.

Rules for Finding the Best Flight Deals to Australia

These simple rules will help you search more productively, thus saving tons of hours wading through all the online information you stumble upon.

  • Start your flight search early
    A golden rule is to start between 4-6 months for low-season flights and 10-12 months for peak-season flights. Australia’s peak season is between December and January and July to August if you live in the northern hemisphere because of the school holidays in Europe and the US; this inflates airfares to Australia. Peak-season flights to Australia can be 50% higher during the low season.  Your chances of getting a good flight deal are much higher if you start researching a good time ahead, and you can spread your search over weeks, thus avoiding pressure.
  • Always use more flight comparison sites
    The best way to find a cheap flight is to do cross-searches online. This means you need to use 3-4 search engines simultaneously. I would pick 3 of the best ones. Once you go through the process, take screenshots of the best deals and check those flights again on the airlines’ sites. At times, you may find a better deal on the airline’s site, and at times, airlines may be more expensive. So it’s worth going through the process.
  • Book Your Australia Flights over the weekend
    Contrary to what has been believed over many years, Tuesday is no longer the best day to book a cheap flight. But if you book on Saturday or, even better, on a Sunday, your chances of striking a better flight deal are higher. If you start a good time ahead, you can also set up a price alert on Google Flights or on Skyscanner.
  • Be flexible with your flight dates
    Being flexible with flight dates is one key factor for getting the best Australia flight deal. The more flexible you are with departure and return dates, the better.  If you, instead, are on a tight time frame and can only travel on specific dates, I recommend setting up an alert at least six months ahead, and the search engine will deliver a notification via email when the flight prices drop for the desired route. Hoppen is an excellent resource if you prefer using an app instead.

Which Flight Comparison Websites to for Australia

A few flight booking sites can help you compare flight fares. Here are some of the most user-friendly and real-time search results you can use for your Australian flights.

Skyscanner

Skyscanner: one of the best comparison sites for international flights. It is very easy to use and has a top-notch layout. I have been using this platform for a few years, and it is among my favourites.

 

Google Flights is another great tool that allows you to check the prices of all flights to Australia. Google shows it more monthly, and when you click on the date, you are automatically directed to those relevant flights.

Kiwi

Kiwi Flights is less known among all sites but has the most varied functionality. Although its design is not that user-friendly, it offers many options and tools to search for cheap flight fares. You can also build your flight combinations by using the flight chart that automatically shows the best available airfares for all destinations and searches among the entered date range. Kiwi, however, is an OTA (online travel agent), not a search engine, which means if you book a flight with them, you get more services like check-in, guaranteed connections, etc., included in the fare.

Momondo

Momondo is the most intuitive and user-friendly (and my favourite) search engine for comparing flights worldwide. Enter destinations and dates, and you will get a clear overview with a price chart for each day. If you are flexible on the dates, it’s easy to identify the cheapest fare. It works in a similar way to Skyscanner, whereas Momondo may be more straightforward and delivers everything at a glance; in Skyscanner, you need to go through more clicks to get all the information.

More tips for booking Online Flights to Australia

Depending on where you are leaving from, how flexible your schedule is, where you are going, and how you will be getting around, the price for your airfare to Australia may vary considerably. And because of the travel distance, the flight ticket may be the most significant expense of the whole trip, so it is wise to shop around a good time ahead and look for a good flight deal to find the best Australia flight deals.

More info about Australian City Airports

No matter where you are flying from and how long you stay in Australia, you will move within the country, too, and you may want to check how to get there and what options are available.

The main airports in Australia are:

Sydney (NSW)
Melbourne (Victoria)
Adelaide (South Australia)
Perth (Western Australia)
Hobart (Tasmania)
Brisbane (Queensland)
Cairns (North Tropical Queensland) Gold Coast
Darwin, Alice Springs, (Northern Territory)

More Info on these pages:

Cheap domestic flights in Australia
Travel Sites and Planning Resources
Australia Travel Planning Guides

Go to Rocky Travel

First published in 2010, last updated in April 2024.

Tips for Finding the Cheapest Flights To Australia

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