Flighthacker

Emirates: Fares to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore for $700 return

Ok, so this is not some $508 Jetstar deal, for for a full-service airline, Emirates‘ rates are just great. For the travel period of 28 June – 30 November 2011, fares from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur are on sale for $695 return and to Singapore for $701 return, including tax. On other booking websites, these fares are available until 30 June.

There are loads of fares available on Emirates’ website and thankfully, their booking system is one of the better ones for finding a bargain fare. So if Melbournites weren’t already spoilt for choice with fares, then scoot over to Emirates’ website – they sure are now.

Melbourne to Singapore on Jetstar, from $508 return

If you’re planning an Asian escape, there’s not many places quite like Singapore to use as a launchpad into the rest of the region. As the hub for Tiger Airways and a key destination for discount airlines like Air Asia and Cebu Pacific, it’s exceptionally well connected – not to mention, simply a pleasant place to visit for a few days.

To celebrate the upping of their frequency between Melbourne (Tullamarine) and Singapore to daily via their A330 fleet, Jetstar have quietly released bargain fares for the travel period of 19 July – 31 August, 2011. Starting at $508 return including tax (even during peak times, ie. weekends), it’s a real steal, only comparable to Air Asia’s ‘big sale’ fares to Kuala Lumpur.

As someone who finds Sydney’s winter to be a little too chilly for comfort, I’m personally very tempted to skip south to Melbourne, then north in pursuit of a strong Singapore Sling (or two). The good news is that if you’re like me and reside outside of  Melbourne, it is possible in some instances to book fares from your nearest airport, to Singapore in a single booking (and presumably have your luggage transited between connecting flights). However, if you’re travelling light and have time to burn, it’s well worth shopping around flights spanning the Sydney (or wherever you are) – Melbourne legs separately, as you may be able to save money by either selecting different flight times, or going with another carrier.

See you in SG!

'Big Sale', tiny fares to Asia and beyond.

If you’re Asia-bound between 6 February – 20 June next year, then you can’t afford to miss Air Asia’s ‘Big Sale’. With tickets to Kuala Lumpur starting from $150 ex Perth and $200 for Gold Coast/Melbourne it really does pay to plan your travel ahead of time.

For those going further afield, there are fares from Perth to London for less than $400 one way (inc. tax) and Australia’s east coast to the same for $100 more. I’ll post further updates this evening, but until then, it’s time for you to get your bargain on! Take a look at AirAsia’s ‘Big Sale’ promo page for fares and conditions.

Note: AirAsia have a ‘waiting room’ system in place to deal with demand – you will be put in a queue for a minimum of 15 seconds before the site will search for fares.

These sale fares should have you hanging out for Macau. Photo Credit: Henrik Berger Jørgensen

Viva Macau may not be the most classy airline, but it sure does offer the punters a cheap fare to China. For the next 3 days, they’re offering direct flights between Sydney and Macau for $700 return, including tax! Direct flights also depart Melbourne for about $20 less each way.

Sale is on now until 14 January, for travel between 1 March – 24 October, 2010. Take a look at Viva Macau’s promo newsletter for details.

Need another holiday? Singapore on sale for less than $450 return

Jetstar has dropped the prices for all its routes to Singapore, meaning that you can pick up some unbelievable return fares, including:

• Melbourne return from $386
• Sydney return from $446

All fares are including tax. Departures are in late Feb – March. The full round-up of dates and fares can be found on Adioso.

I predict that we’re going to be seeing a lot more cut-price fares as January & February bring the usual retail lull. So, there’s no rush to spend your Christmas money all at once – by the end of January, there’s certainly going to be more where this came from.

Happy new year, everyone! I wish you all great adventures and more coin to spend on cocktails in 2010.

Perth. It's a long way, baby. Credit: Flickr user Ole Reidar Johansen

If you thought Adelaide had all the luck yesterday, well today is Melbourne’s day. Tiger Airways has excellent fares ex. Melbourne, including the Sydney $10 mid-week special, $20 fares to Brisbane (both one-way) and $206 return fares to Perth, including tax! Most departures are in March. Considering the price of Perth fares, it’s worth flying in from other capital cities to take advantage of this cheap round trip. I’ll be darned if I find a one-way fare for this price.

Check Adioso for a round-up of the cheap flights available from Melbourne. Full details feature on Tiger Airways’ sale page. This sale ends Thursday night. It’s great to be back, by the way. Thank you for hanging in there!

Fly low to Tokyo! Photo Credit: Ali Nishan (Flickr)

Planning an international break next year? Or a ski trip to Japan’s legendary powder in February? Jetstar have released some amazing fares across their entire network, including international destinations! My favourites are as follows:

• Sydney – Tokyo for $590 return
• Gold Coast – Tokyo for $472 return
• Sydney – Bangkok (via Melbourne) for $575 return
• Well, any of the Japan fares ex. Australia… They’re all fabulous!

All fares listed  above are for Jetstar Light fares and are inclusive of tax. Travel periods are 10 November – 14 December 2009, 28 January – 23 March, 2010 and 20 April – 20 June, 2010. That said, check from February onwards for the cheapest and most plentiful fares and our friends at Adioso.com to find that bargain!

Oodles of routes are on sale, for both domestic and international travel, so check Jetstar’s sale page for the latest. Banzai!

Get Kevin out of Canberra on the cheap. Photo Credit: stage88 (Flickr)

Passed Lake George one too many times in the car? Your playlist no longer cutting the drive across flat and boring, either side of Goulburn McDonalds? You will be glad to know that Virgin Blue are offering $48 one-way fares between Sydney and Canberra, including tax! There are also a number of other hot tickets to Australian destinations (including Melbourne) as part of Virgin Blue’s 48-hour promotion. Sale is on now until midnight, Thursday, 8 October, for travel between 3 November – 17 December, 2009.

Check out Virgin Blue’s sale page for details and Adioso for availability. Get into it before the pollies do!

Kuala Lumpur at a nice price with AirAsia. Photo Credit: onggon (Flickr)

AirAsia X has released a rather unusual batch of sale fares for travel in 2010, with fares departing Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia starting from a laughable $52 a pop one way, prior to tax. Post fees and taxes, the return fare comes to $238 departing Gold Coast and Perth and $298 from Melbourne.

This may not be AirAsia’s cheapest sale, but we live in what is truly a buyer’s market – getting to Malaysia for less than $300 is not a price to shirk from. Strangely enough, this fare has not been announced by AirAsia (who currently have a sale advertised, but not at these low prices).

Travel period for these solid fares is from 20 January to late July, 2010.

Check Adioso for the cheapest fares from Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth to Kuala Lumpur – http://adioso.com/au/australia-to-international.html

Happy Mooncake Festival, everyone!

Melbourne to Singapore for $400 return inclusive. This is madness.

Hi folks, it isn’t often that a fare has a habitual tightwad like me falling out of the flight deck, but Emirates’ $400 Melbourne – Singapore release just can’t be missed. Pair it with cheap flights from Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane and you have a real situation on the east coast.

Our friends at Best Flights have the skinny:

You will fly with Emirates from Melbourne to Singapore.

There is a minimum stay away of 3 days and a maximum stay away of 30 days.

Travel period is 1 October – 23 November. All travel must conclude by the 30th November 2009.

Please note no inbound travel is permitted from Singapore to Melbourne between 01st October-20th October 2009. Full payment is required at time of booking. Sale ends 19th October 2009.

That said, you can book directly with Emirates via their site – http://fly.emirates.com

$400 return to Singapore isn’t going to be a regular feature on the block, so if you’re considering a trip to Singapore, run. For sale chatter, check out OzBargain. Singapore wants YOU!

Update (07/10/10): OzBargain link updated to new thread, including accommodation.