Flight Sales and Discount Airfares: When to book, where and how to get that deal in Australia

Buy your tickets with low-cost carriers at the right time and save money. Photo Credit: Martin Gommel

Everyone will tell you – Earlybird specials are dead. So when exactly is the best time to book that budget holiday and how? Here are some lessons I’ve learnt from tracking sales and booking fares, so don’t let anyone bully you into buying an airfare 10 months in advance!

When to buy a bargain airfare (and the travel dates to target)

Here are some tips on when to book that Holy Grail cheap flight:

Book 1-4 months ahead. As a rule of thumb, discount airlines seem to release their choice sale fares 1-4 months prior to their travel period. For example, you should start looking in July if you plan on travelling in August to November. The exception to this rule are discount airlines like AirAsia, who often sell sale fares for travel periods up to 10 months ahead. Balance the risks against the price – you may end up paying roughly $50 – $100 more for a sale fare between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur by skipping the first or second sale that comes around, however at least you will have a greater sense of security by booking closer to your intended travel date.

Stick to ‘shoulder periods’ and avoid holidays. When booking fares in Australia, the travel periods to avoid are from 15 November – 31 January (Christmas), 27 March – 31 April (Easter) and Australian school and public holidays (depending on where you’re travelling to, of course). Conversely, I have also found that awesome sales and fares seem to appear just after major holidays (eg. Christmas), as if to compensate for that post-holiday dip. February – March and July – early November seem to be blessed with an abundance of sale fares, so as per tip #1, start shopping around from July onwards for sale fares in November, or even as far afield as February and March.

That said… If you’re after a particularly popular, yet non-holiday period such as the Winter ski months in Queenstown, New Zealand, the rules can go out the window. For example, Jetstar’s notorious $160 return fares to Christchurch in July/August, 2009 went on sale at the beginning of December, 2008 (Note: this was also the launch of the new SYD – CHC route, there were sales in the following months, too). If you’re into seasonal activities like skiing, look into what an “average” fare is like and use discretion, not rules, to decide when it’s the right time to buy.

Look for Tuesday and Wednesday (mid-week) airfares. Commonsense will dictate that the most popular time to fly are weekends. Be flexible and look for mid-week fares – airfares for Tuesdays are almost consistently cheaper than weekend flights and even opting to fly back on a Monday morning instead of a Sunday night can save you a considerable amount of money. An exception to this rule is Tiger Airways, who commonly release sale fares on Saturdays, however you will have to book fast to get them!

Buy your web fares in the morning, or late at night. Unless the sale is blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, you’re best booking online when the least amount of people are hitting the airline’s website as well. To save yourself the stress of a potentially slow online booking process, check and select fares first thing in the morning, or well into the evening. Lunch and dinner are times to avoid. Get the jump on Asian sales as well – if an AirAsia sale starts at midnight (Malaysian time), just get up early the following morning – you will be at least 2 hours ahead of the rush (unless you’re in Perth… Sorry, fellas).

Where to find and book a discount fare

In so much as purchasing fares online is all the rage, don’t forget your friendly travel agent – they’re still in business for a reason!

Book one-way and short/medium haul trips online, long-haul, complex and round the world tickets with your travel agent. If you’re planning a quick trip from Sydney to Melbourne, the days of coughing up the big bling to your travel agent are well over. Do the research and shop around online for flights to domestic and short to mid-distance international destinations, too. A great site to check is Adioso, an airfare comparison site for discount carriers, both here and abroad. Also check this site (Flighthacker) regularly… It’s my serious hobby, after all!

That said, once you add multiple hops to your itinerary, or travel beyond  Asia and the Pacific, the value in purchasing multiple point-to-point fares with discount carriers diminishes considerably. Shop around online and compare fares with your travel agent. Some will even match fares available via Australian-registered online businesses (eg. Webjet, Zuji.com.au), so you can be secure in knowing you have found a good deal and have the personal service of an agent to match.

Finally, consider your travel needs – if you need a ticket with flexible dates, have specific requests or simply need creature comforts during a long flight, book a full-fare airline ticket with your travel agent. If all you need is the equivalent of a bus ride, then buy a discount fare online. You get what you pay for.

How to find out about cheap fares and sales

Subscribe to airline email newsletters, follow airlines on Twitter, or… Check this blog, of course! I’m already subscribed to a whole bunch of newsletters and follow multiple airlines on Twitter, so you don’t need to do the legwork. However, if you’re particularly interested in that cheap flight to Malaysia, subscribe to AirAsia’s email newsletter. Check AirNinja for carriers that fly to your desired destination and make sure you sign up for your favourite airlines’ sales and offers.

Check out alternative routes. Is Sydney to Hong Kong too expensive? Check out fares from Sydney to Macau, then transit to Hong Kong. You may be very surprised at the price differences. Also, target nearby holiday destinations or alternate airports. In Asia, it is often cheaper to fly into a tourist-town like Phuket, then transfer to a low-cost flight to reach your final destination. Particularly in Europe, many discount airlines fly into “alternate” airports that service a particular city, so research what other options are available with AirNinja and Adioso.

Visit Australian online forums and bargain sites. Established sites like the Australian Frequent Flyer Community can provide oodles of insider advice. OzBargain commonly features sales just as they break. Find a community you like and subscribe to their email newsletters, RSS or follow them on Twitter.

Ask around. Talk to your travel agent, friends/family and send me a Tweet. It may sound obvious, but often the best tips are home-grown!

Finally…

None of this is a hard and fast, so send me your top tips and I’ll update this article accordingly. Now, make your friends jealous and buy that dirt-cheap airfare!