Australia Next Feb

[chemical_echo]

I'm looking at going to Australia next February to visit some friends and was wondering how soon is too soon to start looking for flights?
Qantas currently has a sale for under $1000 + taxes, so is it reasonable expect them to have another sale in the coming months that might include Feb 2013?
Would it possibly be cheaper for me to get to Buffalo, Detroit, or New York and fly from there?

[FunSave22]

I'm looking at going to Australia next February to visit some friends and was wondering how soon is too soon to start looking for flights?
Qantas currently has a sale for under $1000 + taxes, so is it reasonable expect them to have another sale in the coming months that might include Feb 2013?
Would it possibly be cheaper for me to get to Buffalo, Detroit, or New York and fly from there?
February is one of the peak months for Australia. It's their summer. Expect higher prices than you would during their fall.

Sometimes Buffalo or Detroit can be cheaper, but it often makes very little difference. The cheapest flights are often on United connecting through Los Angeles or San Francisco. This is mainly because United flies very old and cramped planes on their Australia routes.

If you book the whole ticket as once, the Toronto to west coast portion is often heavily discounted. This is why there is often little or no savings from leaving from Buffalo or Detroit.

[Dab09]

If you are spending the money to go there... the best flight option is YYZ "direct" to SYD (direct = stop in Vancouver)
I got my flights in August for a Dec > Jan trip -- ~$1800 taxes in.

Thanks,
Dave

[chemical_echo]

Thanks for the help.
I've checked Qantas, Air Canada and United.
AC is the most expensive, at just over $3000 and Qantas and United are both around $2500.
I still have plenty of time, so I'm going to wait it out and see if any airlines have a sale or drop in price.

[FunSave22]

Thanks for the help.
I've checked Qantas, Air Canada and United.
AC is the most expensive, at just over $3000 and Qantas and United are both around $2500.
I still have plenty of time, so I'm going to wait it out and see if any airlines have a sale or drop in price.
You probably also want to check Delta and Virgin Australia. (Although you'll probably have to drive to the states to catch a Virgin Australia code share).

And I think there's a good chance you should be able to get a price in the $2000-2200 range. With maybe a chance for something around $1800 if you get really lucky and find a good sale.


And yes, Air Canada will quite often be the most expensive. They fly quite new planes on this route and you can avoid US customs and immigration. There are plenty of Aussies and Canadians who will pay extra for these features.

[time space]

you can avoid US customs and immigration. There are plenty of Aussies and Canadians who will pay extra for these features.

+1

[kostek]

I was doing this same thing last year, and I found that checking often was a good idea. I used Hipmunk on my iPad.

[Meleras]

My daughter is there now. She left Feb 8th of this year. We booked about a week before Xmas and paid $2,000 (plus taxes). Air Canada - Sydney (with stop in Vancouver) then Quantas to Brisbane. At the beginning of Dec prices were a little bit cheaper - around $1800.