The Cheapest Time to Book Domestic Flights

Virgin Australia 737
A Virgin Australia Boeing 737. Photo: Virgin Australia.

Did you know that the cheapest domestic airfares are available at specific times each week? Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Tigerair all offer cheap domestic flights in weekly sales. These are held at exactly the same time every week, and there are some truly fantastic deals if you look at the right time!

During recent sales, cheap domestic flights were available for as low as $19.95. The deals also sometimes extend to international flights. You can often pick up great flight deals to New Zealand, Fiji or Bali.

Qantas doesn’t have weekly sales, but they do also offer sale fares from time to time.

Here’s what you need to know to secure cheap domestic flights…

Virgin Australia Happy Hour

Virgin Australia’s Happy Hour fares are available every Thursday evening from 4pm to 11pm (AEST). Cheap flights are available on a wide range of different domestic routes each Thursday, although the range of available travel dates is typically limited. Fares during last week’s Happy Hour sale were as low as $67 one-way (e.g. Sydney-Ballina) and flights from the east coast to Perth are regularly on sale for under $200. International flights also feature from time to time. Recently, flights from Brisbane to Dunedin or Wellington were on sale for $189 one-way.

Some of last week's Virgin Australia Happy Hour deals
Some of last week’s Virgin Australia Happy Hour deals

Happy Hour sale fares cannot be used in conjunction with Virgin Australia discount codes.

You can discuss Virgin Australia Happy Hour sales on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Virgin Happy Hour [Thursdays]

 Jetstar Friday Fare Frenzy

Jetstar’s Friday Fare Frenzy takes place each Friday afternoon from 4pm to 8pm (AEST). If you happen to live in New Zealand – or travel there regularly – Jetstar also offers Friday Fare Frenzy deals on its New Zealand website from 4-8pm each Friday, New Zealand time.

Don’t forget that Jetstar also offers a Jetstar Price Beat Guarantee. If you find a similarly-timed flight on a competitor airline that’s cheaper than an equivalent Jetstar flight, Jetstar will beat the fare by 10%. (You can even use Jetstar’s Price Beat Guarantee against a Tigerair Saturday Flight Fever fare.)

Tigerair Saturday Flight Fever

The cheapest fares are usually found during Tigerair’s Saturday Flight Fever sales. These take place on Saturday afternoons from 12-4pm (AEST). There are usually some exceptional deals to be found, such as $19.95 flights from Brisbane to Sydney. But the cheap domestic flights are typically only available on a few routes and a limited range of dates. The number of sale fares available is typically limited too, so check as soon as possible after 12pm on Saturday afternoons.

Recent Tigerair Saturday Flight Fever deals
Recent Tigerair Saturday Flight Fever deals

You can discuss Tigerair Saturday Flight Fever sales on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Tigerair “Saturday Flight Fever”

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.
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