Jetstar Price increase from 2024 Christmas period check?

[PLANT]

So last year Booked in November 2024 Melbourne to Brisbane return....2 one way tickets with 15/20kg luggage.....$290. Total Weekday travel within Tues- Thursday. Dec-Jan Jetstar lite

Just booked in September for same period Melb -Brisbane Dec-Jan round trip with 15/30kg heavier bag on return... leaving a Friday(Doh)
$432 Jetstar lite

1. Have prices increased that much?
2. If I waited would fare been less in Nov
3. CHATGPT said book now..... as fares would increase.

I see dates in October $99 no luggage each way.
I used Google flights and Skyscanner incognito mode.. Booked Friday during the day.

Also the Quick fix does not get you a refund if you want to change the day(lower fare) within the first hour of booking.

 

[henrus]

1. Have prices increased that much?

My guess is that the previous year could have been booked during a sale but even with that a Friday compared to a Tuesday makes a big difference. In December the cheapest Friday MEL-BNE oneway starts at $143 whereas $121 on a Tuesday and even better $100 on a Wednesday.

Throughout the year Jetstar has sales and this year I even got some MEL-BNE, BNE-SYD and SYD-MEL Jetstar flights for $29 each way (no luggage included).

2. If I waited would fare been less in Nov

Hard for anyone to say, it's possible they could have another sale but unlikely. December/January is a busy time and flights are priced according to supply and demand. Last week BNE-MEL on Jetstar oneway no luggage was going for over $600 due to the AFL final.

3. CHATGPT said book now..... as fares would increase.

Despite what you may have seen on social media (and yes I've seen a lot of fake posts), Chatgpt has no ongoing live link to flight price tracking and in fact it's sources are static websites, blogs or peoples comments online. Google flights is much more reliable where tracking can be switched on for a route and you get an email notification.


Even after I gave it specific dates and airline it still struggled: