The Ins and Outs of Flights to Australia

Many of the major international airlines offer daily flights to Australia and Melbourne. But because of Australia’s remote location, they tend to be not as competitively priced as in other parts of the world.

Availability and prices for Australia flights are affected by the holiday seasons.

During peak seasons Australia can still be the island that it is hard to get in and out of – especially if you want to travel on a last minute whim.

Peak season for flights to Australia is during the northern hemisphere summer, June to August, and during the Australian holiday season around Christmas and January. Tickets are most expensive around those times and tend to be booked out in advance.

Flight to Melbourne Australia

Melbourne International Airport is small and friendly and a great place to come in and out of the country. Melbourne is also overtaking Sydney in popularity as a tourist destination and has a lot to offer for any taste and style.

If you are after cheap flights to Melbourne this will take some planning ahead - especially for travel during peak times.

Even in our age of fast communications, Australia is still a long way from the rest of the world. Flights are long and can be arduous, especially in a cramped economy class designed for people with short legs.

In flying between Australia and Europe, and to some extend the US, you have to deal with jet lag and allow for some time to fully adjust to the reversed day-night cycles. Taking my children to Europe they usually happily get up about 2 am, and go to bed at 5 pm for a few days before they settle into the new time zone.

I find breaking up the long flight for a few days in Asia or Hawaii a great option if you have the time. It definitely helps to reduce jet lag.

When planning your flights to Australia, you can search and compare prices from over 100 different sites with one click here. Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airline, Thai Airways, China Airlines are some of the popular carriers, which you can book online.

However, if you are planning to travel beyond Melbourne and around Australia, you probably want to also book some internal flights or hire a car. Loaded with your price information it may pay to let a travel agent arrange your bookings and to have them include domestic flights, car hire or a hotel deal – you may get these cheaper if you book them as part of a package from overseas.

Yet, sometimes you’ve go to work it anyway you can. My motto is never to take ‘no’ for an answer – there is always another way to get a flight. Ringing the airlines directly is another option, in which you are able to access some flights that even the agents don’t get their hands on.

Domestic Airlines Australia

There are a number of carriers that offer a domestic flight Australia, and to your advantage, they compete against each other.

You can get low-cost domestic flights between the major cities, but flights into the outback or remote areas tend to cost more.

For cheap airfares Melbourne domestic flights are as competitive as those out of Sydney. They are cheaper if you book a week or two ahead. But even last minute flights are not a problem.

You can book directly with the airlines online, by phone or through a travel agent.

Australian domestic airlines are Virgin Blue Airlines, Jetstar Airways, Qantas Airways and a recent, very cost effective alternative, Tiger Airways, which even flies to Alice Springs at a very reasonable price.

Melbourne Airports

There are a number of Melbourne airports. Most airlines fly out of the main Tullamarine Melbourne airport, but this is not the only one.

The list of Melbourne smaller airports some domestic carriers fly out also includes Avalon airport. This is further out of town but flights can be cheaper from there.

The most hassle free transport from either airport to your hotel - and back is with the Melbourne airport shuttle .

But both airports also have reasonably priced regular transport to the city - the Skybus from Tullarmarine and the Sunbus from Avolon.

When arranging your flights to Australia, it pays to shop around for the best deals.