Flighthacker

'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.

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!

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!

Discover Indonesia's wonders with Jetstar. Photo Credit: Fadil Basymeleh

Fancy a last-minute escape to Asia, prior to Christmas? Jetstar have launched their International Sale, offering some exceptionally tasty flights to Asia from a number of Australian cities. Highlights include:

• Melbourne – Bangkok: $309
• Perth – Jakarta: $130
• Sydney – Bali (Denpasar): $330

Plus numerous other international routes. All fares listed are one way and inclusive of taxes. Sale is on now until Tuesday, 6 October, for travel during varying periods between  8 October – 10 December, 2009. Jetstar have also posted their domestic sale fares for this afternoon’s Fare Frenzy, so make sure you take a look and prepare to snap up a cheap flight. Check out Jetstar’s sale page for details. Have a fabulous Labour Day long weekend, Australia!

Important Note: In light of the recent tragedies that have occurred across Asia-Pacific (Typhoon Ketsana, Sumatran earthquake, Samoan tsunami), I would like you to consider donating to the Red Cross or Red Crescent. The spare change that you may throw at a fun trip this Friday will certainly bring respite to the victims of these tragedies, so please consider making a difference - http://donate.ifrc.org/

AirAsia brings Bali closer with $267 return fares. Photo Credit: Michael Dawes

AirAsia has been on a spree of generosity lately, dropping fares across its network by 20%. One of the happy results of this has been that flights to Denpasar, Bali are now well within reach for the west coast, with flights departing Perth now starting from $267 return inclusive of fees and taxes for travel commencing in late January to 27 March, 2010.

If you miss the $267 return fare, the next fare bracket is only $28 more, so there are still numerous opportunities for you to pick up one of these great flights. Check Adioso for availability and find yourself in island paradise!

Hey Reader! I know I’ve been neglecting some of Australia’s great cities in my airfare updates – if you’re after cheap flights for a specific city or route, don’t hesitate to comment in this blog. Your feedback will help make this blog more relevant and hopefully, less Sydney-centric. Secondly, I love hearing from you – many thanks for all your support!

Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia: You can almost see Perth from there. Now $219 one way with Jetstar.

Perth has had a fabulous run of sale fares these last few months and this Kota Kinabalu sale is no exception to the trend. Jetstar is offering fares via Singapore for an exceptional $219 one-way including tax for departures in 2010, hopefully marking the beginning of Jetstar’s offering of post-Christmas sale fares. I hope.

Why do I love Kota Kinabalu? In all honesty, there is nothing to dislike. Kota Kinabalu in Borneo, Malaysia’s eastern province, is a great value holiday destination, offering shopping, snorkelling and a seemingly endless array of outdoor pursuits. Kota Kinabalu’s most famous attraction, Mount Kinabalu, makes for a challenging, yet highly rewarding climb… Especially considering that Mr. Flighthacker popped the question atop the summit in March!

Sale is on now until 18 September, for travel between 24 February – 20 March and 21 April – 29 June, 2010. Check out Jetstar’s sale page for details and to book.

Like myself, you may find yourself on Mount Kinabalu with a bigger rock than you expected!

Tiger Airways goes tax-only: $26 Sydney - Melbourne fares!

Tiger Airways has once more scratched down their fares, announcing yet more $26 (‘tax-only’) flights between Sydney and Melbourne, as well as pretty cheap fares for the rest of their Australian network. Perth folks rejoice – the usual sub-$200 international fares are still in full effect, with Tiger touting $139 fares to Singapore, $166 to Kuala Lumpur and loads more Asian destinations for a similar price point. All fares listed are one-way and include taxes.

Check Adioso for dates and fare availability on the following routes:

• Sydney – Melbourne: http://adioso.com/au/sydney-to-melbourne.html
• Perth – International: http://adioso.com/au/perth-to-international.html

Perth friends: Please note that it may be cheaper to fly from Perth to Kuala Lumpur via AirAsia to get out of the country, as they’re on sale, too.

Sale is on now until Monday, 7th September, for travel between 6 October – 30 November, 2009 (Sydney – Melbourne) and various dates ex Perth. Check Tiger Airways’ sale page for the full list of sale fares and pounce to!

Tiger Airways pounces on the competition. Photo Credit: Alan Chia

Tiger Airways’ sales are so enduring, that I’m very much skeptical that they vend anything but ‘sale’ fares. Extending this thread is their ‘Magic Deals’ sale, with domestic fares starting from a sublime $28 inclusive.

This is a fab sale if you’re seeking fares departing Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth – for example, flights to Sydney from both Melbourne and Adelaide are only $39! For those lucky enough to be in Perth, this sale extends to international destinations, with Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Bangkok selling for under $200 one way inclusive. Sale is on now until 29 August, for travel between 13 October to 10 December.

Check out Tiger Airways sale fares and details. Get on the prowl for great fares!

AirAsia's Big Sale goes international. Australia deports itself.

AirAsia has nipped the whiners in bud by extending their existing ‘Big Sale’ to their entire route network. Tickets from Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur are again $99 including tax, however if you book the Kuala Lumpur – Australia leg separately (ie. as a second one-way segment), it comes to only $51 inclusive for this return leg! [...]