Airfare

GooseyGoose

Has anyone purchased airfare yet? I think this would be a really fun trip, so I've been trying to estimate the cost for me and my wife. We live in Boston, and the cheapest airfare I can find is around 2200 per ticket. Has anyone been able to find cheaper fares? Has anyone traveled to Australia before and can comment generally about the experience?

zerzhul

Heels posted in the FAQ thread (I think) that PAX is working on some airfare discounts for non-Aus attendees. Maybe wait for some more info for that?

tokyodove

i flew to seattle from australia for pax prime in 2011 and if i recall i spent ~2k on the flights. i just went through edreams.com and checked out the prices and 2.2k for boston-melbourne is what im seeing as well. the flight from LA to sydney/melbourne is a killer, 14 hours if i remember correctly, thats probably going to be the hardest part.

when you ask about the experience i assume you mean in terms of customs/ease of getting from the airport to your hotel etc.
compared to america our immigration is really relaxed. just use the golden rule and you'll be fine. i like to pride myself on telling people the australians are friendly, and for the most part we are. the only thing that they're strict on is bringing in food/plant material.

zerochosen

I might be talking out my bum, but try checking the cost of flying into Sydney and getting a connecting flight seperately. Sydney is the major international airport, and a domestic flight from there to Melbourne should take a bit over an hour and cost under $100 each way if you get a good deal. This also gives you a chance to check out the touristy stuff at Sydney (Opera House, Harbor bridge, Taronga Zoo, Museum of Modern Dropbears etc.) if you want to stagger your trip a bit. Book a few months ahead though, there are always sales but you can't always get a cheap flight on the day you need it!

www.webjet.com.au is a good place to compare costs, but I usually find the cheapest flight on this and then book directly through the cheapest airline via their website to avoid the 3rd party booking fee (I'm cheap, I know )

Danacyrus

Around the $2000 mark is generally a really good price for AUS-USA, but Since you're going further south, probably another 100-200. When I went to GC, Via LA, it was $1960 return. So yeah look around And Webjet is definitely a good place to start for the flights, although I have to say, my travel agent was a legend, and got me cheaper flights than I could get online :P.

fieldafar

FYI, Qantas, Virgin Australia and United fly from Los Angeles to Melbourne.

I also use Skyscanner.com.au and Wego.com.au for comparing fares, but I always book with the airline direct.

Lorahalo

I believe Virgin Australia also fly out of Houston now.

Yug

We're working on organising some discounted fairs at the moment, especially for the international travellers. Will keep everyone posted!

FPFr0sty

Us here in melb have our own international airport, last I looked, theres connecting flight from singapore almost 4 times a day.

Reverend Snide

zerochosen wrote: »

I might be talking out my bum, but try checking the cost of flying into Sydney and getting a connecting flight seperately. Sydney is the major international airport, and a domestic flight from there to Melbourne should take a bit over an hour and cost under $100 each way if you get a good deal.

This, because both LAX-SYD and SYD-MEL are busy and highly competitive.

There are four airlines flying LAX-SYD direct (Delta, United, Qantas and Virgin Australia). It's not quite as cheap as it used to be, but I managed to do my first PAX Prime run in 2009 on Qantas for under $1000 return.

The Sydney-Melbourne run is one of the busiest air routes in the world and has four airlines fighting for passengers (Qantas, Virgin Australia, Tiger and Jetstar). It's about a one-hour flight and there are flights leaving every half-hour during the day.

As of the time of this post Virgin Australia's fare for that weekend for SYD-MEL is $109 (USD$113) each way as of today; Qantas wants $129 (USD$133) and that's with no particular specials or promotions, just an advance booking.

Jetstar has fares as little as $35 (USD$36!!) but fly to a different airport, Melbourne Avalon (AVV), instead. You'll need to factor in a little extra transit time on the airport shuttle to get into Melbourne proper.

Lorahalo wrote: »

I believe Virgin Australia also fly out of Houston now.

Not quite- Qantas flies non-stop to SYD out of Dallas-Fort Worth, though.

fieldafar

If you don't mind connecting, then you can definitely book connecting flights, via Sydney or New Zealand, as more airlines fly to those areas (and have partners that continue onto MEL)

http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/experience/airline-partners/delta-air-lines/
http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/experience/airline-partners/air-new-zealand/
http://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/dyn/partners/airline/american-airlines

KateEdwards

I've just found the most amazing discount thing for domestic Australian fares! Thought I'd tell you fine people:

http://www.jetstar.com/au/en/what-we-offer/our-guarantees/price-beat-guarantee

Price Beat Guarantee
If you find a published internet airfare on another airline that is lower than the lowest available comparable Jetstar fare on Jetstar.com, call us to book with Jetstar and we will beat the other airline's fare by 10% (provided we can verify the lower fare when you call to book). The comparable fare must be for a one way direct flight on the same route at a comparable time.

Holy crap. I'm doing this every time I fly.

zerochosen

I'd be surprised if anyone ever beats Jetstar's price in the first place... they are as budget as can be

FPFr0sty

Budget.. but still better then tiger :P

Alexnader

zerochosen wrote: »

I'd be surprised if anyone ever beats Jetstar's price in the first place... they are as budget as can be

Tiger airways did a sale that ended yesterday, $40 each way between SYD and MEL not including check in luggage. I'm looking forward to spending an hour squeezing my 6'4'' frame into the small wire cage that I'm assuming will be my seat for the flight.

zerochosen

The only way Tiger could be any worse is if there were actual tigers.

FatSoDa

QFT

zerochosen wrote: »

The only way Tiger could be any worse is if there were actual tigers.

Danacyrus

I think that'd make it awesome

FPFr0sty

@Alex; On the plus side, your flight will be 500feet lower then the recommended flight plan, so a shorter distance for your cage to fall ; blasted 3rd party apps not updating.

Vapok

FPFr0sty wrote: »

@Alex; On the plus side, your flight will be 500feet lower then the recommended flight plan, so a shorter distance for your cage to fall ; blasted 3rd party apps not updating.

Actually, his cage will reach terminal velocity before reaching the ground, so the 500 feet shorter distance is kind of moot.

Danacyrus wrote: »

I think that'd make it awesome

Agreed! Talk about a roaring good time!

zerochosen

Today's physics and advanced tiger dynamics classes brought to you by Vapok

Phnomenon

If you're really keen on getting to Australia the cheapest way possible and have some flexibility over travel dates (and don't mind long stopovers at random airports), I'd recommend putting a competition up on https://flightfox.com/ - it pays someone to do the flight hacking on your behalf. If you're looking for something still cheap, but more direct, try http://adioso.com

Alongside the carriers that fly to Australia, it's also worth signing up for email deals from any of the airlines that fly direct to any of the big Asian hub airports - Tokyo, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong - generally you can pick up a cheap flight from any of those airports to Australia on Jetstar/AirAsia/Tiger/Scoot, if you don't mind a stopover.

CuZZa

FYI guys - Virgin Australia is having a big sale on right now, I managed to get my flights for PAXAus for $380 return ex Perth. HIGHLY RECOMMEND GETTING IN ON THIS.

Now to work out where to sleep.

zerochosen

Go Riverside - looks like a lot of us are staying there

DragonBear

QANTAS now has fares ex Perth $189 for that period. Not as cheap as Virgin but huge leg room. We're all booked in exit row seats both ways :-)

thegh0sts

bollocks i booked with jetstar....oh well!