Cheaper flights to Australia from the US West Coast
March 15th, 2009 by Tim Uden
In previous posts I’ve mentioned the high prices for trans-Pacific airfares - typically the 14-hour flight between Sydney and LA costs considerably more than the much longer 24-hour flight between Sydney and London. These high prices are due to the cosy triopoly between Air New Zealand, Qantas and United; however the USA-Australia route is becoming more competitive with Delta and V Australia starting trans-Pacific flights.
We’re starting to see some results of this competition already with lower prices from US West Coast to Australia and New Zealand, however these are just promotional fares so you’ll need to act fast to get a cheap flight.
Qantas have cut their prices by up to 60% with return flights from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney going for USD $598 and return flights from New York for $798. This special deal is only on sale from today until Friday 20 March.
V Australia also has cheap fares from Los Angeles to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. V Australia’s promotional fares are USD $655. This special fare is valid for travel between 1 March and 15 June and is only on sale until midnight tomorrow night (16 March 2009).
Air New Zealand also has a two country deal with flights from the US West Coast to both Australia and New Zealand for USD $798. This fare is good for travel between 1 May and 21 September.
The above fares are inclusive of fuel surcharge but don’t include taxes and fees, which add another USD $150-250 to the total fare.
If you’re going to take advantage of these special fares to Australia or New Zealand, you can buy a copy of the BUG Australia or BUG New Zealand guidebook from the Book Depository. The Book Depository has both titles in stock and offers free worldwide delivery, including to Canada and the United States.