Australian Airlines

[chloe kitty]

I will be flying from Sydney and Cairns in a few months.  Is there any low-cost airline that would service that route?? Thank you.

[Aussieflyer]

The best airline will depend on how much luggage you are wanting/needing to take. The LCC airlines are often cheaper on first look but once you start adding extras like checked baggage, seat selection and food, fares increase quite a lot.

Looking at Virgin Australia, Jetstar or Qantas for flights between Cairns and Sydney.

Suggest you check their websites for indicative pricing.

[Chiliburn]

https://www.jetstar.com/au/en/home?adults=1&children=0&flexible=1&flight-type=2&infants=0&origin=SYD&tab=1

[MMDown Under]

8 minutes ago, chloe kitty said:

I will be flying from Sydney and Cairns in a few months.  Is there any low-cost airline that would service that route?? Thank you.

jetstar.com

virginaustralia.com

 

which airline are you flying to australia with?

[buchhalm]

4 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

jetstar.com

virginaustralia.com

 

which airline are you flying to australia with?

Exactly.

Even with a stopover in SYD, your overseas luggage allowance will apply to a domestic flight if it is ON THE SAME TICKET  and PNR

[icat2000]

Sure you can catch the Bogan Missle aka Jetstar. Same can apply for the domestic routes.

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by icat2000

[arxcards]

Currently, there are no low-cost airlines in Australia. But yes, Jetstar is the cheaper option.

[spersephone]

The problem with Jetstar is you get nothing, and pay for everything. You are also likely to get your flight cancelled. I prefer Virgin. 

[Docker123]

It will be interesting to see what impact Bonza will have if it can get its permits to fly. Fare structures and routes seem different, hopefully in a good way.

 

A friend, previously a cabin manager, is now at Bonza. He is very positive.

 

[SinbadThePorter]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Currently, there are no low-cost airlines in Australia. But yes, Jetstar is the cheaper option.

 

Things would get interesting if they let Air New Zealand or Singapore Airlines fly domestically.

[icat2000]

30 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Things would get interesting if they let Air New Zealand or Singapore Airlines fly domestically.

Will never happen. Just not sustainable. Tiger Airways went.

Edited January 10, 2023 by icat2000

[Aussieflyer]

15 hours ago, buchhalm said:

Exactly.

Even with a stopover in SYD, your overseas luggage allowance will apply to a domestic flight if it is ON THE SAME TICKET  and PNR

Though only as a transit stop on the way, not if cleaning customs.

[Bubbeh]

2 hours ago, spersephone said:

The problem with Jetstar is you get nothing, and pay for everything. You are also likely to get your flight cancelled. I prefer Virgin. 

The kids bought us a holiday to Bali in 2019. We booked for June 2020.  Hello COVID!!!  This holiday (flights, hotels, airport parking etc etc) has been fully paid by them and cannot be rescheduled (2020 to 2021, 2021 to 2022.to 2023) again.  We had flights with Garuda but guess what?  Garuda is not flying out of Perth and we'd have to fly to Sydney first????  Same with Virgin.  Our only option was Jetstar.  OMG!  We've booked and can only hope for the best.  By the time we'd booked the flights and baggage and food and seats, it's cost more than our original Garuda flights by a significant amount - for which we've been told to wait up to 8 months for a refund.  Ugh!   Please don't let anyone in thongs, singlet, stubbies or budgie smugglers and with a first name ending in 'O' sit between us.

[SinbadThePorter]

49 minutes ago, icat2000 said:

Will never happen. Just not sustainable. Tiger Airways went.

 

Neither were Qantas, Virgin or Rex when they dipped into taxpayer pockets.

 

But you are right, it won't happen.

[chloe kitty]

23 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

jetstar.com

virginaustralia.com

 

which airline are you flying to australia with?

United

[Galesa]

19 hours ago, icat2000 said:

Will never happen. Just not sustainable. Tiger Airways went.

And can you imagine the "lobbying" against such a move by the protected species that is Qantas.

[icat2000]

2 hours ago, Galesa said:

And can you imagine the "lobbying" against such a move by the protected species that is Qantas.

Exactly. Same with Air NZ in New Zealand too. 

[cruiser3775]

Jetstar may look cheaper at first sight, but remember you have to pay for all the extras, like luggage and food and the choice to have flexible dates.

Work your way through a dummy booking with them till you get to the payment part, so you can see the actual cost. It might not be any cheaper than Virgin.

[birdylady]

Question about Qantas luggage allowance if anyone knows.  We will be flying home  to the US from Sydney on Qantas with a premium economy ticket.  The way they have it written is you can have 1 carryon (up to 22 inches) and a personal item (like purse or laptop) or 2 carry ons up to 19 each.  Does anyone know strict Qantas is is measuring everyone’s luggage?    I’m asking as hubby normally travels with a 22 roll on and his laptop backpack (which he always puts sea and fits fine.).  We don’t want to have to buy a smaller roll on.  But we also don’t want to get to the plane and have his luggage get required check in.

thanx for anyone that can give us an idea

Erika

[mark213]

9 hours ago, birdylady said:

Question about Qantas luggage allowance if anyone knows.  We will be flying home  to the US from Sydney on Qantas with a premium economy ticket.  The way they have it written is you can have 1 carryon (up to 22 inches) and a personal item (like purse or laptop) or 2 carry ons up to 19 each.  Does anyone know strict Qantas is is measuring everyone’s luggage?    I’m asking as hubby normally travels with a 22 roll on and his laptop backpack (which he always puts sea and fits fine.).  We don’t want to have to buy a smaller roll on.  But we also don’t want to get to the plane and have his luggage get required check in.

thanx for anyone that can give us an idea

Erika

No a rucksack is too large with the larger case and will get counted. They will make you check the larger bag, and if not at check-in sometimes at the gate when boarding. Qantas are fairly strict but depends on how busy the flight is. Being premium will help though. You can chance it but be prepared. Personally I'd just check the larger bag and travel on the plane light.

[onlyslightlymad]

On 1/11/2023 at 11:10 AM, icat2000 said:

Exactly. Same with Air NZ in New Zealand too. 

Not so.  Under the Open Skies agreement signed in 2000 between NZ and Aus, the domestic markets were supposed to be opened to both countries.  NZ allowed Qantas, Jetstar etc to operate domestically but Aus refused to reciprocate.  Then, Air NZ tried to get into the market by buying Ansett which was a lemon and nearly drove them bust (big mistake!)

[nnps]

48 minutes ago, onlyslightlymad said:

Not so.  Under the Open Skies agreement signed in 2000 between NZ and Aus, the domestic markets were supposed to be opened to both countries.  NZ allowed Qantas, Jetstar etc to operate domestically but Aus refused to reciprocate.  Then, Air NZ tried to get into the market by buying Ansett which was a lemon and nearly drove them bust (big mistake!)

yeh and then they wouldn't honour their Ansett staff's redundancy entitlements when they went under.

[icat2000]

1 hour ago, onlyslightlymad said:

Not so.  Under the Open Skies agreement signed in 2000 between NZ and Aus, the domestic markets were supposed to be opened to both countries.  NZ allowed Qantas, Jetstar etc to operate domestically but Aus refused to reciprocate.  Then, Air NZ tried to get into the market by buying Ansett which was a lemon and nearly drove them bust (big mistake!)

Which all boils down to that multiple airlines are not sustainable in both markets.

 

I always check Qantas or Virgin when looking at domestic flights in Australia. Jetstar too risky at times. And I never flew Tiger Air.

 

NZ - well there only once choice domestically. NZ government has rescued Air NZ a couple times. I believe they own 53% airline now?? This is not uncommon as other governments around the world tend to prop up their major carrier too. 

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by icat2000

[LittleFish1976]

On 1/15/2023 at 7:11 AM, birdylady said:

Question about Qantas luggage allowance if anyone knows.  We will be flying home  to the US from Sydney on Qantas with a premium economy ticket.  The way they have it written is you can have 1 carryon (up to 22 inches) and a personal item (like purse or laptop) or 2 carry ons up to 19 each.  Does anyone know strict Qantas is is measuring everyone’s luggage?    I’m asking as hubby normally travels with a 22 roll on and his laptop backpack (which he always puts sea and fits fine.).  We don’t want to have to buy a smaller roll on.  But we also don’t want to get to the plane and have his luggage get required check in.

thanx for anyone that can give us an idea

Erika

 

They are on occassion extremely strict, making people place each bag they are carrying into the size-checking device when boarding. I've been asked (i.e. required) to check a bag from the boarding gate because they deemed it too big (normal size bag but a bit full, making it bulge out and measure larger). Think I was travelling business on that flight - they were checking everyone regardless of your ticket class.

 

Follow the guidelines to the letter would be my advice. It's always a pain to lose something to the hold when you're at the gate, particularly on a long flight.

[cruiser3775]

It would be worthwhile to buy a new carry on that fits the size requirements.  The airlines are getting stricter about this in Australia.  If you are carrying important things like your medications in a carry on that gets moved to the hold because it is oversized, then you run the risk of it being lost or misdirected.