Hainan Airlines: Low fares between Sydney - Shenzhen from $618 return

Many moons ago, this blog used to wax lyrical about an amazingly cheap airline, the now-defunct Viva Macau. Back in 2009, it seemed like every other day I was making mention of their rock-bottom fares between Sydney and Southern China – rock-bottom fares which consequently drove them out of business (alongside reports of crap service and antique aircraft).

When they folded, I assumed the era of the cheap Chinese carrier was dead.

Then this morning at the airport, I came across a banner for Hainan Airlines. Their claim to be ‘China’s 5-Star Airline’, combined with the fact that I had never heard of them had my curiosity aroused. So I did a couple of searches and immediately, memories of Viva Macau came flooding back. To cut a long story short, they offer wonderfully cheap flights between Sydney and Shenzhen, China. From here, they fly on to Europe and Canada, but lets keep this matter simple for now.

So, on to the good stuff: between 1 September and 31 October, 2011, fares for direct flights between Sydney and Shenzhen start from $618 return (inc. tax, see above). These fares are plentiful and appear to include weekends and holiday periods, including the Labour Day long weekend in October. Sure, that their booking system is a little slow, a little wonky and won’t return any logical fares beyond December, 2011. But play by the rules and you’re bound to get a cheap flight – book now on Hainan Airlines’ website. Hainan also accepts Paypal.

If you’re wondering what my fascination is with this southern Chinese industrial city is, let me get this straight – it’s Hong Kong, baby, Hong Kong. From Shenzhen, this shopping and cultural mecca is a bit over an hour away by train. Then once you’re ready to move on, Hong Kong is an excellent launch pad to the rest of Asia. Note that you will require a Chinese visa prior to departure.

Finally, I’d like to end the comparisons between Hainan and Viva Macau, except when it comes to price. Based on SKYTRAX passenger reviews, Hainan Airlines rates an 8.9/10 – an exceptional score, even outshining Qantas (who scored 8/10 at the time of writing). Unlike Viva Macau, folks genuinely seem to like flying with Hainan Airlines. So lets hope they enjoy greater prosperity than their low cost, low service cousin.

Have you booked tickets, or flown with Hainan Airlines? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.

Akaroa, New Zealand. Photo: math89 (flickr)

As the weekend very quickly comes to a close, my mind is in hazard-avoidance mode, trying to distract itself from the prospect of 5 days ahead sans a lengthy sleep-in and breakfast at midday. So, it’s time to look towards the next holiday – and if you’re a long-time reader of this poorly-kept blog (thank you!), well, you may reason that I’ve got a lot of things to think about, really.

This upcoming Queens Birthday long weekend (11-13 June) is a brief pleasure – it’s long enough to pack the bags for, but not quite long enough for anyone to really go troppo. However, if you’re keen to capitalise on the high Australian dollar and want to really feel like you’re overseas (instead of over the street), my tip is to give New Zealand a thought.

I’ve been tracking fares between Australia’s east coast and New Zealand over the last few weeks and without a doubt, we’re approaching the end of my ‘good value’ window*. Flights from Sydney to Christchurch begin at a tempting $263 return (inc. tax) with Virgin Blue over the break period, if you’re happy to tack on an extra day at the end. Combine that with accommodation and travel expenses that are considerably below Australian rates and you’ve got your sights on a tour that even the Queen would envy.

Now, I’m not going to skirt around the fact that New Zealand has had its share of troubles lately. Much of Christchurch’s CBD is still off-limits after the February earthquake and the odd tremor is a part of life for many South Islanders. However, as the locals have stressed repeatedly, outside of central Christchurch it’s business as usual – and boy, do they need the business. For a relaxed, earthquake-free weekend away, you can either rent a car or catch a shuttle to the French-influenced town of Akaroa. Just over an hour’s drive south of Christchurch, its main draw is an expansive harbour that is home to endangered (and very cute) Hector’s dolphins. Two hours of swimming with these little guys is a bargain $104 via Viator and the tour operator is keen to stress that warm wetsuits and warmer post-swim showers are provided!

If that sounds a little too energetic, there are also wine tours in the Waipara region, or even sneaky day trips to Mt Hutt to taste the beginning of New Zealand’s snow season. While we’re on the topic of snow, I’ve seen Jetstar NZ offering fares between Christchurch and Queenstown for roughly $30 each way. If you ask me, there are certainly advantages to swapping over 5 hours of sketchy driving, for 45 lazy minutes in the air en route to your massif of choice

If you’ve been to New Zealand before, then this excursion across the pond will seem like a bargain no-brainer. However, if you haven’t, then this is a good time to become a fan of New Zealand’s hospitality, winter-warming food and Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords. Even if you miss the latter, it will still be a truly amazing trip.

* A fortnight prior, fares for the same route were $202 return. The price increase since is most probably due to increasing holiday demand, but I’m also keeping an eye on whether the recent Virgin Blue brand and price restructure has had an impact on ‘everyday’ prices.

Word has it that there may be a Qantas/Jetstar points tie-in announced next year.

Make sure you check details first, but the skinny is that interest will be pegged at 10.99% and the card itself will come with a $49 annual fee. So, if you think all those cents accrued will exceed the annual price tag, then it doesn’t seem too rough to me. Hopefully it won’t come with a minimum spend in order to collect points, like that pesky Everyday Rewards/Qantas Frequent Flyer card.

Watch this page for the card’s launch later today.

Tiger Airways - The verdict is out.

Recently I had the pleasure of flying Tiger Airways between Sydney and Melbourne, on my own coin, of course. Prior to the flights, I had been inundated with both positive and negative stories regarding Tiger flights, ranging from, “Oh, you have to walk on the tarmac, ooooh!”, to “Well, it’s $28 a pop”, not to mention exposure to Channel 7′s controversial show, ‘Airways’. Combining these tales with my own experience, I realised that, for all its merits, perhaps Tiger Airways isn’t really for everyone. The following is my breakdown of what to expect on a Tiger flight; hopefully it will help you decide whether Tiger should be your carrier of choice, or if you should invest that extra few dollars to avoid the mobile stairs.

On the Ground

Most of the criticism towards Tiger Airways’ operations have been directed at activities on the ground, such as check-in procedures and crowded boarding areas. I collaborate with these points, as it can’t be denied that Tiger Airways’ check-in queues appear to be consistently long (one of the results of having no web- or self service- check in facilities) and while in queue, the thought persists that you may not make it for their ’45-minutes prior to departure’ cut-off. On the flight to Melbourne (departing Sydney’s domestic airport), there were two check-in agents who were working diligently enough, however one seemed to be engaged for over ten minutes in processing a five-man metal band and their shabby assortment of guitar cases. Fifteen minutes into the wait, people in queue were starting to shift their weight uneasily, looking at watches, perhaps anticipating that an ‘Airways’ cameraman would turn up any moment now…

Which leads me to the return leg, via the legendary Melbourne (Tullamarine) Terminal 4 corral. This time, the ‘Airways’ crew were already standing in wait, like bored vultures with boom mikes. Yes, we had been warned – a placard on the door declared that we were to be filmed – but the fact that the crew were making themselves so obvious, so close to check-in cutoff and in such an enclosed space made for a very uncomfortable atmosphere. Were they really waiting out for the cutoff so they could pounce upon the hysterics of some suburban mum, all in the name of ‘good television’? I willed the queue to hurry – it wasn’t my intention to personally kick-off ‘Airways’ Season 2.

Security screening at Sydney and Melbourne was stock-standard, as security should be. The gates at each respective terminal, however, were miles apart in terms of comfort to passengers. So, lets talk about terminals. Sydney domestic T2 is shared with all the other domestic carriers – Qantas, Virgin Blue, Rex, Jetstar – meaning that you enjoy facilities of a standard befitting premium-fare passengers. This is not the case with Melbourne’s Tiger-exclusive Tullamarine Terminal 4, which resembles, well, a busy weekend at Bunnings Warehouse. Look, I won’t knock it too hard – it keeps out the weather and is of the same construction as the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal in Kuala Lumpur (LCCT). But that said, it is a budget commission – the plastic seats are hard, there aren’t enough of them (especially when people sleep across four abreast), people crouch/lie/pray on the dense carpet and the arcade machines have come to die (if they haven’t already).

People sit so closely in Terminal 4 – back to back – that you can catch snippets of low-cost conversation:

“I spent nine years in boarding school… Think of all that family time I missed… nine years…”

“Ya couldn’t have said it any louder, luv!”

A girl sits in the shadow of her Henleys-jock boyfriend, so blue it makes her spray-tan look a less than complimentary grey. A ground staffer announces delays to Tiger flights bound for Sydney and Canberra. He wavers, sounds uncertain.

Moving onto boarding the aircraft, it’ll break it to you gently – boarding is via the front and rear stairs. If you have a problem with climbing stairs for reasons other than age or disability, then honestly, discount travel is not for you. In fact, I recommend staying in bed.

That said, mobile stairs do pose an interesting problem in Melbourne, which is as famous for its volatile weather as it is for its Chapel St ragtrade. Both on arrival and departure, we were met on the naked tarmac with bone-chilling gusts of wind. I pulled my coat around me in a stranglehold.

Melbourne’s T4 baggage carousel is sheltered, but not from the wind. I met a cockatoo once, who lived in a similar enclosure.

In the Sky

Well, this is what you pay for – the romance of flying, skirting the elements for the price of a DVD. And at this task, Tiger Airways is perfectly adept. However, in the spirit of discount, there are a few caveats – snacks have to be paid for, the seat pitch is not for basketballers and when the seat in front of you reclines, it momentarily seems like you’re going to be cradling the seatback in your lap. But for an hour of cheaply-priced flight (or in my case, 47c per minute), it’s completely acceptable.

I picked up a well-worn copy of Tiger Tales, their inflight magazine. It’s one of Ink Publishing’s better in-flight magazines. I wanted to tear out the destination guides and an interesting article on Mt Kinabalu. Someone had already beaten me to a third of the cover, after all.

The flight attendants are all amiable and confident. They all looked full of Spring, unlike the Jetstar insomniacs I had met when trans-Tasman last month. One gives a fellow a stern, but fair rap for using his phone while the plane is refuelling. I’d want that FA on my raft if we were ever to ditch into Lake Burley Griffin.

On the Phone

Important Note (29/09/09): Tiger Airways’ call centre is based in the Philippines. Due to the recent catastrophic events following Typhoon Ondoy, telecommunications’ services have been thrown out of whack, as well as the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. If you are trying to contact Tiger Airways, visit their Call Centre Update page for details.

I love talking to the Tiger Airways’ call centre staff. I don’t really like waiting 10-15 minutes for the pleasure of it. And I wish they could do something more for me. But there’s one rule on a $28 fare and that’s that it will cost you another $28 to book a new ticket. Want to change your flight time/date/name on ticket? Too bad – that will cost you $50 per person, per sector. A new ticket will generally cost you less than that. And that’s what the call centre will tell you – more politely, of course.

In Conclusion…

I may really like to knock around what is a very competitive new airline on the Australian travel scene, but Tiger Airways met my optimistic expectations. Yes, Melbourne’s Terminal 4 is a bit droll and having the ‘Airways’ film crew on the wings sure makes one reach for the antiperspirant, but in the air, they’re fine. So, here’s the wrap:

Why you should fly Tiger Airways:

• Flights are consistently cheap, starting from $28 between Sydney and Melbourne;
• They have a great in-flight magazine (hah!);
• They fly to Tullamarine, not Avalon;
• They fly. As in, they stay in the air. Singapore Airlines’ 49% stake ensures this.

Why you shouldn’t fly Tiger Airways:

• No web- or self service- check-in; queues can be long and worrisome;
• Boarding and disembarking involves walking on stairs and tarmac (potentially into Melbourne weather);
• You have agoraphobia – Melbourne (Tullamarine) Terminal 4 can get pretty crowded;
• You’re a tall person and the seat-pitch is saying, ‘no’.

Make sure you share your Tiger Airways’ experiences – good and bad – on this blog, as I’d love to hear from you. Happy flying!

A striking red dust storm blankets Sydney. Photo Credit: tolomea

For the first time in living memory, Sydney has been hit by an apocalypse-red dust storm, paired with gale-force winds and a whole lot of environmental anxiety. This has caused chaos on both the ground and in the air, causing numerous flights to be redirected to Melbourne and Brisbane airports and creating major delays for passengers arriving to or departing from Sydney Airport. Even I encountered a significant delay this morning, while determining whether I wanted to walk through a painted reproduction from the final chapter of a children’s Bible. Finally, I closed my eyes and stepped outside – it couldn’t be any worse than in the Emirates, if they were to ever have a cold day, right?

If they ever had a day this cool in Dubai, I’m sure there would be chaos, too. But that was beside the point.

Onto the practical stuff:

• As of the time of writing, Sydney Airport’s website has been put out of order due to the influx of enquiries regarding flight delays
• Significant delays are to also be encountered at Brisbane airport, due to the arrival of redirected flights
• Qantas has announced that they will be refunding or rescheduling passengers on affected flights
• Jetstar will be rescheduling passengers on affected flights until Friday
• No word from Tiger Airways and Virgin Blue – call your airline if you are concerned about potential delays on flights departing in the next 24 hours

Well, the skies are starting to clear now over Sydney in a fascinating transition, from the morning’s blaze of grapefruit red, to a dull orange-yellow, to cottage cheese and finally, a sliver of blue. Check out this amazing Sydney dust storm photo set on Flickr.

What a dramatic, final day to my twenty-fifth year!

Fly into your perfect hotel room. Photo Credit: James Yu

First of all, I’m not a travel agent. In fact, I’m a graphic designer who primarily constructs email and websites with some degree of competency and plans holidays with zest and grand design. However, unlike my travel agent friends, I don’t have access to magnificent tools or connections, so when it comes to finding the right hotel, I use the same resources as everyone else – travel websites.

As a result of the fat-fingered $124 Bali sale last week, I’ve taken it upon myself to find quality accommodation for my five guests. So to save yourself some time on your next trip, here are a few tips from my experiences on how to get a hotel at your destination that will put both your mind and wallet at ease.

1. Consult TripAdvisor.com – Forget the rest – TripAdvisor.com IS the leaderboard to consult on quality hotels worldwide. Not only is it the most comprehensive database of destination and hotel reviews online, but its forums are always jumping to respond to new questions. Generally I’ll take the hotels in the top 25th percentile and make a shortlist, based on my budget and preferred location. TripAdvisor also provides average room prices, based on what they’ve found on partner hotel aggregates, thus streamlining the process of finding that perfect hotel and booking a room.

If you’ve found a hotel that isn’t near the top of the leaderboard, yet has some decent reviews, here’s my rule of thumb – make sure the hotel is in the top 50% (eg. in the top 100 of 200 hotels available) and has received a thumbs up by at least 50% of guests. If still in doubt, put down the extra money and get one of the hotel’s better rooms (if available). Don’t just fall for the cheapest hotel available – you may not remember your stay in a decent hotel, but you certainly won’t forget a dump.

2. Compare your shortlist to what’s available on the hotel booking sites – The prices listed through TripAdvisor’s partners aren’t necessarily the best prices, so it pays to shop around. Hotel booking sites and aggregates generally collect hotel prices from a number of sources and often have independent consumer reviews of their own. More often than not, the prices listed are better than what the hotels can offer through their own websites! Here’s a shortlist of the sites to visit:

• Wego.com – Wego encompasses the most comprehensive search engine of hotels and hotel booking sites, plus their interface is pretty hot, too. That said, you cannot book hotels directly through Wego, it simply directs you to the hotel booking site with the best available price on offer. Wego also provides airfares in a similar fashion. Definitely on the top of a travel-planner’s list.
• HotelsCombined.com – Like Wego, this site allows you to canvas a number of hotel booking sites and choose the most competitive price. HotelsCombined covers a number of hotel sites that Wego doesn’t, so it’s a good idea to try both and compare.
• AsiaRooms.com – AsiaRooms has recently had a major redesign, which on one hand has improved their interface, but on the other, prevented users from filtering out hotels based on the number of guests or rooms you require. For example, I commonly search for triple (three-person) rooms, as they’re far more economical than purchasing two rooms when shopping around for friends and family. Sadly, you can no longer do this, but AsiaRooms assures me that they will restore this feature in the near future. Once you’ve located the hotel of your choice, AsiaRooms provides a secure booking facility and their response times are fairly fast, too.
• Wotif.com – For hotel bookings within the next 3 months, Wotif is the site to visit.  Not only are the prices very competitive, but their booking interface is up there amongst the best. In fact, Wotif has licensed their hotel and flight accommodation system to lastminute.com.au, one of Australia’s more popular travel and leisure sites.

3. What about HotelClub? Expedia? - Often the smaller hotel booking sites are more responsive than international monoliths like HotelClub. My own case study is that I wasted five days attempting to book rooms that did not really exist via HotelClub. Despite their standard “Instant Confirmation” response time being 24 hours, they took about 36 hours to respond to my first hotel booking, then about three days to respond to my second request. Both bookings failed due to the hotels having no available rooms, despite the second hotel being recommended to me personally by HotelClub as an alternative.

Smaller hotel booking sites can also provide much cheaper rates and strangely, rooms that other sites can’t provide. My own happy story is that I discovered EasyClickTravel.com and booked three hotel rooms in Bali for $45 USD per night each, whereas the advertised “Internet Rate” on the hotel’s official site was $60 USD per night. EasyClickTravel confirmed the availability of the rooms within 24 hours, while other hotel booking sites not display available rooms for the hotel at all. Shop around – the differences in price and room availability on different hotel booking sites can be quite amazing.

Finally, do provide your feedback regarding hotel sites – this list is by no means exhaustive and when it comes to booking that perfect room, there are many ways to skin a cat. Happy holidays!

Race to Adelaide with Lance! Photo Credit: Anita Ritenour

Flying to Adelaide

Adelaide is more accessible than ever, as it is serviced by all of Australia’s major low-cost carriers (Jetstar, Tiger Airways and Virgin Blue) at very affordable fares. For example, Tiger Airways flies Sydney to Adelaide twice-daily for $49 and Melbourne to Adelaide for $39 each way for the duration of the Tour. For international guests, Adelaide also entertains discount flights from a handful of Asian and Pacific cities.

As of August, Adioso has not indexed fares to Adelaide, however if you’re planning to book a ticket closer to the date, do check Adioso for details.

Staying in Adelaide

View Larger Map

The great news – Adelaide’s CBD is relatively compact, so staying in the city will keep you near all the action during the first (Tour Down Under Classic, Rymill Park) and final stages of the tour. The bad news – affordable accommodation currently seems to be in short supply, so here’s a shortlist of hotels that won’t break the budget:

• Hostel 109 – 109 Carrington St, Adelaide – from $25 (dorm)
• Majestic Minima – 146 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide - from $99
• Breakfree Directors Studio – 259 Gouger Street, Adelaide - from $118
• Quest Mansions Apartments – 21 Pulteney Street, Adelaide - from $145

Make sure you also check TripAdvisor for hotel reviews before you book. Enjoy the Tour before Le Tour!

For more information:

• Tour Down Under Official Website – http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/
• South Australia Official Website – http://www.southaustralia.com/
• Lance Armstrong on Twitter – http://twitter.com/lancearmstronG

Pack light, outta sight! Photo Credit: SlipStreamJC

Hand Luggage Only (HLO) travel seems to be a perennial topic across countless travel sites and forums, especially now that pretty much every low-cost airline has provided it as a fare-saving option. Often the questions raised include the following:

• I’ve booked a discount flight and waived the check-in baggage fee, how am I going to carry everything I need?
• I’m tired of lugging a suitcase around, can I fit everything into a carry-on bag instead; or
• Honestly, how do you carry-on only folks do it?

In so far as I’m no expert on the sublime art of bag-packing, I was recently faced with the precarious situation of packing for a week-long ski trip, with only 10kg carry-on allowance to my name. Thankfully, I’ve been a long-time convert to cabin-only (due to a profound phobia of baggage carousels), so here are some lessons learnt from my ski jaunt and some other practical tips for packing more into less.

Know your Rights

Each airline has their own exactions regarding the maximum weight and dimensions of carry-on luggage. For example, Jetstar’s policy for Australian flights is as follows:

• Max. weight: 10kg (one main item of cabin baggage + one small bag)
• Max. dimensions: 56cm (length), 36cm (height) & 23cm (depth) for an overnight bag, laptop bag or briefcase

Virgin Blue follows a similar suit with:

• Max. weight: 7kg (one main item of cabin baggage + one suit bag/small bag/briefcase)
• Max. dimensions: 48cm (length), 34cm (height) & 23cm (depth)

What this all roughly means is a medium-sized duffel/overnight bag that can fit into the overhead locker, plus a smaller bag for slipping under the seat in front of you. For the ladies, the choice of bag for the latter is obvious – one of those oversized boho handbags always works a charm. For the gentlemen amongst us, a manbag, messenger bag or briefcase is ideal, the more pockets for stash the merrier. A few words of caution – Solid roller bags are usually excessively heavy for their size. Ditch them. That said, any shoulder bag that weighs more than 8kg will become a real burden to carry through a long terminal, so you’re well advised to keep within the limits stated above.

What to Pack

Now you have your duffel bag and your small-but-mighty hand/man bag, it’s time to pack what you need for the trip. Here are some tips:

• Pack your toiletries and any liquids in a mesh/plastic bag in one of the outside pockets. This will make it easy to remove for security checks (and save your gear from a potential shampoo-bottle explosion). Don’t forget the 100mL liquid limit on international flights.
• Purchase at least one compression stuff sack for putting all your clothes and crushable items in. You can buy these at Kathmandu stores from around $15 up and can shrink a remarkable amount of gear in them. Consider purchasing a second one for dirty laundry, if you’re squeemish about storing your used knickers in the same space as your pristine t-shirts.
• Count your clothes. Estimate how many days you will be away from a laundry and pack accordingly. Pick items that mix and match well (and don’t require ironing). That said, I always end up wearing black on tour
• For cold climates, bring a down jacket. Down in particular provides a lot of warmth for little weight. Perhaps more importantly, down jackets crush down remarkably well in a compression sack.
• Only count on bringing one pair of shoes, being the pair you’re wearing. If you’re lucky, you might be able to stuff a pair of thongs/slippers or canvas shoes into your bag. For my ski trip I lived in one pair of snow/apres boots for the entire week!
• Fasten your jumper/jacket to the outside of your bag if you don’t intend to wear it on the plane.
• Stuff your small electronics, books and gew-gaws in your smaller bag. See illustration above for all the amazing goodies you can fit in. If you’re too manly for small hand-luggage, carry your gear on your person. Watch this video if you’re truly interested in how much crazy stuff you can fit into a trusty pair of baggy pants! I don’t endorse carrying firearms on aircraft, though…
• If planning to shop, only shop for flat/crushable items. Ye be warned!

At the Airport

• Expect to have your bag weighed. ‘Nuff said.
• Buy drinks at the gate (ie. after the customs & security check) for international flights – any liquids exceeding 100mL prior to this point will be confiscated. On one particular low-cost carrier, I slipped a 2L bottle of water into my bag in front of a flight attendant – there was an expressionless, wan acknowledgement, an understanding. Neither of us wanted to pay for water on this flight, obviously. That said, I tried the same at Bangkok Airport and had to board the flight with a very full bladder.
• Try to board in good time, before all the overhead locker space is taken. The only time I’ve been threatened with the dolly (being the carry-on bag scale) is when my legitimately-sized bag had trouble fitting amongst everyone else’s stuff.
• Enjoy your righteousness over all those jetlagged people lining the baggage carousel at the other end. 15 minutes saved jostling for a luggage cart is 15 minutes extra in the hotel hot-tub. Ahh… The only way to fly.

Thanks for reading. Do you have any killer tips you would like to add to this list? Add a comment below!

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!

Photo Credit: slack13

Well, when I’m not writing, performing the day-job or watching Tour de France, I seem to be doing one thing quite successfully – booking holidays for other people. So when I do get the pleasure of booking a trip for myself, I have the bargain radar well honed  and those specials be quakin’ in their boots.

The mission: Fill a 5-day, 6-night itinerary with fun (and not too pricey), Winter things to do in Christchurch and Queenstown, New Zealand. With a fistful of Australian dollars, this wasn’t to hard at all (all prices are in AUD).

Night 1 – Christchurch: Arrive late in Queenstown on Jetstar, $300 return. Crash out at the Ibis Christchurch (I managed to rustle up this one up a few months ago using the infamous HotelClub hack, usual retail $100 pn). Check the Accor Hotels website as you can get good deals on centrally-located hotels and resorts.

Day 2 – Christchurch/Queenstown: Explore Christchurch on foot/by tram. Fly down to Queenstown via Jetstar (was Qantas, $140 return), settle in at the Novotel Queenstown Lakeside (another hack special, $127 pn rrp). That night, ride the Queenstown Gondola and enjoy dinner ($57).

Day 3 – The Remarkables / Queenstown: Ski madness at The Remarkables! Two-day adult starter packs (including 2-days of gear hire, lift passes, lessons and bus transfers to Queenstown) can be purchased online direct from the resort for $210. A 50-minute drive out of Queenstown, The Remarkables are cheaper, quieter and have more beginners’ runs than Coronet Peak. Transfer to Queenstown, enjoy the apres and crash out.

Day 4 – The Remarkables / Queenstown: Day 2 of falling over awkwardly at The Remarkables. Once well damaged, transfer to Queenstown, enjoy a local dinner, then check-in at the Queenstown Onsen. Listed by TripAdvisor as the #1 activity in Queenstown, you can book a hot pool for up to 4 people at any time of the year – a perfect treat for ski-battered limbs. Prices start from $25 for an hour of slow-cook bliss.

Day 5 – Milford Sound: An early start to join the Milford Sound day-tour, courtesy of NakedBus.com. NakedBus offer the cheapest Milford Sound day-tours ex. Queenstown hands-down, starting from $70. Personally I paid $100, which is still great value, as it includes Milford Sound transfers by bus and a 1oo-minute boat cruise. Tour returns to Queenstown at 7:15pm, at which point, I’ll certainly be in a good mood to gloat over my photos over dinner and crash.

Day 6 – Queenstown/Christchurch: Time for last-minute shopping and sightseeing. Fly Jetstar back to Christchurch, settle back at the Ibis Christchurch, dinner at the Pinnacle Restaurant atop the Christchurch Gondola (yes, another gondola, $10 plus dinner). Fight the sleepies. Fly out early the following morning, end of tour. Phew!

I hope some of you find this itinerary to be useful when planning your own South Island short-breaks. If you’re one of over one-million Aussies that have visited New Zealand in the last 12 months, please do share your experiences – I’ll be heading over there in two weeks, so y’all have something to teach me.

Watch out, New Zealand! Flighthacker is coming!