Cheap domestic flights within Australia. How do they work out pricing?

Question

We have fly from Brisbane to Adelaide on a certain date in February. Do they release cheaper pricing closer to the date or sell the cheap seats first (ie, now) and know that business people will pay full fare later & fill the plane up? I guess my question is, do I buy my ticket now or wait and hope the prices do not get any higher? I hav watched them increase over the last 2 months.

Thanks guys - i am already signed up with various websites. I have been told to buy now because prices are only going to go up closer to the flight date & also have been told to wait and see ..........So.. who knows??!!

Answer 1

I always buy mine well in advance. They are usually cheaper then. I try to wait for a sale to come up and then buy. For example, i got us 2 return tickets from Newcastle to the Gold Coast in February for $188 (a bargain). I bought them about 2 months ago, but have bought as early as a year in advance previously.

The best thing to do is to sign up to the Jetstar & Virgin Blue email newsletters, then keep an eye out for some great deals that come up for the areas you need.

Hope this helps!!

Answer 2

Airline tickets vary so much - I've watched fares from Cairns > Brisbane > NZ change as much as 5 times in one day! It all depends on how many seats are left in a place.
Have you looked at lunch time on Virgin's airlines website. They do happy hour prices to grab a bargain. http://virginblue.com.au/

I would personally hold off for a while to grab a cheaper fare - I mean Feb is SO long away..

Sign up to the airlines email deals too, about 1-2 a month you'll get an email from them letting you know the latest specials. I've signed up with Virgin and Qantas.

Webjet http://www.webjet.com.au is another one to look at - if you put in a search criteria on a flight it will check all airlines for the best deal. Don’t book through them though as they charge a $20 booking fee, instead see what is the cheapest or best one for you, then find/match that flight on the airlines website.