Low Air Fares To Stay..
Low air fares to stay
By Jamie Walker
10nov01
WHATEVER happens to Ansett MkII, the good news for Australia's long-suffering flying public is that low air fares are set to stay for Christmas and most likely well beyond.
While the longer-term outlook is problematic – especially with Qantas dominating the domestic market – Australia's biggest travel franchise, Harvey World Travel, predicts the deals will still be available in the lead-up to next Easter.
Virgin Blue yesterday announced a five-day internet sale of 100,000 discounted fares.
They include one-way fares of $66 on Brisbane-Sydney, Sydney-Melbourne and Melbourne-Adelaide routes, and $99 one-way between Sydney-Adelaide and Brisbane-Melbourne.
Investigations by The Australian this week established that discount seats are plentiful – even at short notice – provided you are flexible with travel times.
Budget Christmas flights can still be booked to most high-volume destinations. But pick a route where the competition crashed with Ansett and you will pay a hefty premium.
"We really can't see these low fares disappearing in the short term because the domestic airline industry is in the process of re-inventing itself post-Ansett Mk I," said Harvey World Travel's Australian franchise manager, Mark Williams.
Internet booking, direct buying to the airlines and traditional travel agent deals will produce varying outcomes, depending on the destination and timing.
All three major domestic carriers push booking on the web, but this is not necessarily the most flexible or cheapest option.
Booked by phone on Wednesday, Qantas still provided a relatively cheap weekend return between Sydney and Melbourne. Leaving this morning from Kingsford Smith and back Monday evening, the fare came to $176, plus $28.45 in taxes (which were not initially disclosed by the sales operator).
By contrast, Harvey World Travel's best Sydney-to-Melbourne return fare this weekend was $160, plus taxes.
Ansett's return fare, as available on its website as of Thursday night, was $143 plus taxes.
Virgin Blue's Sydney-Melbourne return fare was the most expensive at $338, exclusive of taxes.
The tourism industry, rocked by the one-two punches of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US and Ansett's collapse, has factored cheap fares into its recovery strategy.
The chief executive of Cairns's Tourism Tropical North Queensland organisation, Ian Kean, said that city had lost 40 per cent of its air services when Ansett crashed and, with September 11, half of its US business, which usually accounts for 14 per cent of international arrivals.
Qantas had since lifted its share to about 80 per cent of domestic services, while Virgin Blue would start a daily flight from Brisbane on November 28, with a second service to be added from December 20.
In the interim, Qantas has the market to itself – and it shows. Yesterday, Qantas's best internet fare departing Melbourne on December 22 and returning from Cairns on December 26 was $836.08, including taxes of $106.08.
Contrast that fare, flying on the same dates, with $140 for the Sydney-to-Melbourne return (Qantas and Virgin Blue), $478 Melbourne-to-Gold Coast return (Virgin Blue) and $570 Sydney-to-Perth return (Qantas).
One trap is the escalating taxes and charges being tacked on to air fares, including the Government's $10 Ansett levy. In some cases, these can approach the cost of a full flight sector – $350, for example, on a Sydney to Darwin and Perth return.