Cheapest fligths to Brisbane?

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simongr

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Hi all
I am trying to plan a weekend trip to Brisbane for my wife and I flying Friday 29 Sep (evening) and returning Sun 1 Oct (evening). I have about 80,000 QFF points so am happy to use them but I can seem to find a set or return economy flights that are less than about $750 (flying Qantas - happy to pay an extra $100 or so to fly qantas due to being Qantas gold so easire checkin, qantas club etc.).

This seems like a horrendous amount of money to pay and am wondering if people know of somewhere to get a better deal - if we could get $400ish for the two of us it would be a no-brainer whereas at the moment its touch and go whether we travel.

Cheers
S
 
I think that might be a long weekend - hard to find cheap flights then.
 
Flying from Sydney - and that explains the cost of flights - being the weekend - no wonder I couldnt even find any award seats.... maybe have to speak to mrs sim to see whether we extend the trip by a few days (mind you might also depend on some potential significant meetings the following week).

CHeers

S

P.s. Can you tell I dont fly much non-business? Last domestic ticket I bought was $600 retrun to Melb on business...
 
Anna said:
I think that might be a long weekend - hard to find cheap flights then.
Its not a long weekend in Brisbane, but is the middle of the school holidays. And Friday nights are always busy between SYD and BNE. You will enerally find cheaper fares if you can depart earlier in the day rather than after 5pm on a Friday.
 
Mrs Sim = Teacher so we have to leave after 5PM - so basically we are screwed...
 
simongr said:
Mrs Sim = Teacher so we have to leave after 5PM - so basically we are screwed...

Or really really early on Saturday morning, saves one night of accommodation that way, but makes for a long day.
 
NM said:
Its not a long weekend in Brisbane, but is the middle of the school holidays.
Not just school holidays. Actually is a long weekend in Sydney. Mon 2nd Oct is Labour Day.

May explain added difficulty in obtaining award seats or cheap fares ex-SYD that weekend.
 
simongr said:
Hi all
I am trying to plan a weekend trip to Brisbane for my wife and I flying Friday 29 Sep (evening) and returning Sun 1 Oct (evening). I have about 80,000 QFF points so am happy to use them but I can seem to find a set or return economy flights that are less than about $750 (flying Qantas - happy to pay an extra $100 or so to fly qantas due to being Qantas gold so easire checkin, qantas club etc.).

This seems like a horrendous amount of money to pay and am wondering if people know of somewhere to get a better deal - if we could get $400ish for the two of us it would be a no-brainer whereas at the moment its touch and go whether we travel.
Simon - why not fly Virgin Blue? I've just checked online and can see Blue Saver fares (the lowest) for between $159 and $169 each for the evening of 29 Sep and between $99 and $149 for the return on evening of 1 Oct. So you could both travel from $516.00 all up on the dates you want.

Use web check-in with bag drop facility to reduce your check-in time, and for $30 a head each you can purchase lounge access in either SYD or BNE or both. And earn Velocity FF points you can use later.
 
simongr said:
I have about 80,000 QFF points so am happy to use them but I can seem to find a set or return economy flights that are less than about $750 (flying Qantas - happy to pay an extra $100 or so to fly qantas due to being Qantas gold so easire checkin, qantas club etc.).

This seems like a horrendous amount of money to pay and am wondering if people know of somewhere to get a better deal - if we could get $400ish for the two of us it would be a no-brainer whereas at the moment its touch and go whether we travel.
The normal return airfare SYD-BNE on QF for 2 people is $460.

There is availability right now for 2 people on QF556 Fri 29th Sep departing SYD 21:05 arriving BNE 22:35 @ $169/pp and on QF557 or QF559 Sun 1st Oct departing BNE 20:15 or 20:40 arriving SYD 21:45 or 22:10 @ $115/pp for a return airfare for 2 people of $568.

Only $108 more than normal QF red e-deal at non-peak times.
 
Apologies all - I checked with mrs sim last night and its in fact 23/9..... which gives me a much cheaper deal - still flying Saturday morning though - but all up on QF (using expedia.com.au) its about $479 including booking fees - and saving one night's accommodation is not too bad :)

Sorry for the cough up guys :(

S
 
Good to see the problems sorted.

FWIW, Friday evenings are the busiest times for Qantas; this is followed by Monday mornings /Sunday evenings.

Award availability is extremely rare at these times. So are the cheapest red e-deals; do a dummy booking for any particular Friday in June; you will see those flights which Qantas expect to be able to sell at a premium.

e.g. For Friday June 22nd MEL-SYD there are no red e-deals at all between 2:00 pm and 7:30pm and no super-savers between 4pm and 6:00pm. This may change over the next few months depending upon variances in sales/demand. It is unlikely there will be any award seats available for these flights between now and then,
 
On the up side now mrs sim will be able to enjoy the benefits of travelling with someone with QF gold status so she will feel a little more special on her trip (and will finally get to see what the QC is really like) and she will get to be chauffeured to/from the airport (only about $40 total more than the cab given I will pay cash rather than personal).

The weird part for me will be getting home from AKL on the Friday night and then flying agian Saturday morning...
 
simongr said:
The weird part for me will be getting home from AKL on the Friday night and then flying agian Saturday morning...

What is wierd about that, unless you are flying back to where you just come from (sometimes not even then).
 
Its weird for me because my travel has historically been long term - i.e. 2 weeks here or there rather than quick succession travel - I am just getting used to that now :) Still all a little much for me :)
 
When you have your third visit to Australia in under a week is when immigration starts looking at you strangely :D
 
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