Air Travel within Australia
Mar 16th, 2002, 10:54 AM
#1
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Air Travel within Australia
We are flying into Sidney. We will have about three weeks in Australia.We plan to go up the coast and to visit Cairns.We might want to see more if flying isn't too expensive. Are there any ways to get low prices or a discount pass for flights within Australia? With Ansett going out of business I don't think the guide books are up to date.
Mar 16th, 2002, 12:22 PM
#3
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www.qantas.com.au<BR><BR>www.virginblue.com.au<BR> <BR>Click on the holiday site on Qantas and see if you can get accommodation and flights for a cheap price <BR>OR check with qantas in your country, or on the web there as they have around Australia air passes that you can only buy outside Australia
Mar 16th, 2002, 12:53 PM
#4
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Look at the airlines sites and then either book on line or find an Australian travel agent to book for you. That is what we did a couple of years ago. All done by email and a credit card - actually faxed the card info as email is not secure unless the agent has a secure site. Worked out cheaper than the Boomerang pass.
Mar 16th, 2002, 05:05 PM
#5
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If you are coming from North America, Quantas offers a "Aussie Pass" that is cheaper than purchasing over in Austrailia. Contact Quantas or your travel agent. As an FYI, We will be visiting this May and our flights /person were $488 (US) for Melbourne to Adelaid, Adelaid to Cairns; Cairns to Sydney, Sydney to Melbourne. Good luck and enjoy your visit.<BR><BR>
Mar 29th, 2002, 06:29 PM
#6
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When you get to Cairns, leave immediatly. Port Douglas, about an hour north is infinitly nicer. Hotels in Port Douglas will generally offer transfers from the Cairns airport. From Port Douglas you can go to the reef, rainforest safaris, excellent restaurants (one that I can't remember name of but on the harbour side which has a sunset special - not to be missed), beutiful beaches etc.<BR><BR>I live in Sydney so if you want any further info please feel free to email me.<BR><BR>H
Mar 29th, 2002, 06:58 PM
#7
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Carl - its Sydney and its Qantas, I wanted to say that as its easier to get their web-sites if the spelling is correct. <BR>Just check out their fares and prices before getting a Boomerang Pass in the USA as it can work out much dearer. Virgin is SquishyAir.com and I would not fly with them again apart from the fact that I am not amused with their " let us introduce our spunky crew" type of approach. <BR>
Mar 29th, 2002, 07:09 PM
#8
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Mark, you got done mate. I worked it out that you are paying approx $950AU for the Aussie Pass and dealing direct with Qantas with an e ticket, to exactly the same places, would have cost $638AU. <BR>Interesting isn't it. Sometimes when you make inquiries and can act on them you do save quite a bit of money. <BR>
Mar 29th, 2002, 09:57 PM
#9
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I hope more people listen to Aussie (above), whose comment is invaluable. It really distresses me when I hear of Americans coming to Australia and getting ripped off because everything SOUNDS so cheap, with our dollar being worth half yours! But the tourist industry has ways of clawing back the bargains, and this Aussiepass may well be one of the ways. A thoudans dollars is a lot of money to go on a few short flights around the eastern half of Australia! We flew from Sydney to Argentina AND Chile AND back again for around that amount only two years ago! The sad fact is, since the demise of Impulse Airlines a year ago, internal airfares in Australia have become punishingly expensive, and Ansett's collapse didn't help matters any. I say avoid internal airflights for any but long distances (such as across the continent) and instead use McCafferty's coaches (think Greyhound) for about a quarter the cost. You will actually see some of the country that way, too!
Mar 30th, 2002, 09:51 AM
#11
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I used the OZPAS for flying around OZ and liked it because I could change dates, times etc withour penalty. And change I did as I had so much fun in Adelaide I left 4 days after I'd planned. You cannot just change internet tickets at will. sometimes more flexibility costs more in the short run. I felt it was worth it.
Mar 30th, 2002, 11:58 AM
#12
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Yep that is OK that you can change tickets at will if you buy a pass but also you can just buy internet tickets when you need them too. There are always times that you can fly and you can swap your flight plans as well to go on Virgin if that is suitable just by going to any public library in Australia and getting on the Internet for free and bringing up either airline.
