If there’s ever a topic that gets PEDESTRIAN.TV readers going off like a Big M in the sun, it’s cheap flights.
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You lot go foooooken mental for discounted airfares. Whether it’s getting randy for a $349 flight to Europe or saying Honou-yiew and booking a $259 trip to Hawaii, cheap flights are a highly appreciated gift from God.
While it might seem like airlines throw up sales at will, there’s method to the madness and most of them have set times when they sound the alarm and slash prices like a looned up Zoro.
QANTAS
Qantas, which hosts the last and most fancy terminal at Melbourne airport, is our premium carrier.
Unlike some of the budget airlines in ‘Straya, Qantas don’t host weekly sales. The flying kanga isn’t immune to a hefty sale though.
The best way to stay abreast of their sales is to sign up to their ‘Red email‘ list. They’ll send out info on flight offers as well as hotel deals. If you’re anal about the amount of spam in your inbox, you can customise it so you only get notified about domestic flight deals. Not too shabby.
Their ‘flight deal‘ page is also worth a gander.
VIRGIN
Just saying, Virgin is probably worth it purely for their in-flight snacks. I’ve never had an in-flight snack I didn’t love.
Every Thursday, between 4pm and 8pm, Virgin get into Deal A Drome mode and drops some specials. Before the window opens, they’ll send out an e-mail giving you advanced notice on what’s getting discounted so you can plan accordingly. A bit like uni timetables, only not the worst thing in the damn world.
JETSTAR
The orange-heavy airline is a solid and reliable choice for jetting ’round Aus, and they lurve themselves a cheeky sale. They even have a fun name for it: Friday Fare Frenzy! Nutty!
Like Virgin, between 4pm and 8pm erry Friday selected routes go on sale. Yep, there’s a warning email giving you all the deets too so you won’t get caught with your pants down. Sign up to their price watch service and you might be pleasantly surprised by a bang on deal.
TIGERAIR
Despite some common misconceptions, for the past two years Tiger’s been the most on-time low cost carrier in ‘Straya and has also recorded the lowest cancellation rate of all major domestic airlines.
Best time to book is on Tigerair Tuesday and Saturday Flight Fever (12pm – 4pm). Truth be told, when they do a sale, they do it fucken crazily. They did $9 domestic flights a couple months back. Madness.
Here’s their deal page.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN LOOKING TO FLY HIGH ON THE CHEAP
– Just ’cause the flight is $9 doesn’t mean it’ll end up being $9. There’s usually a tonne of fees on top (baggage, seat selection, heck, some airlines even make you pay to book your flight online even though there’s no other way).– Instead of going straight to each airlines’ individual website, check out flight websites like Skyscanner. Be sure to disable cookies in your browser to go incognito – this way you won’t get stung with intentionally inflated rates next time you check ’em out.– Choose your day to fly wisely. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturday afternoons are often the quietest times and thus the cheapest. The most expensive? Friday and Sunday arvos and nights.– If a more premium airline is only a couple tenners more expensive than the cheapie, consider it. The in-flight experience makes a world of difference to your trip and comfort.– Think about total cost. If you need to get to the airport at peak hour, the taxi is gonna cost you a fair whack more than one in the middle of the day, blowing out your total spend.
Photo: Virgin.
