What is the best way to fly from Sydney to Cairns (and back again)? Should I buy boomerang passes, fly Virgin Blue, or fly Qantas?<BR><BR>Should I buy our tickets before we leave (March 1st) or wait until we get there?<BR><BR>Thanks!<BR>Kate

Hi Kate,<BR>We have various internal flights like this to take during our March/Apr honeymoon. I have booked all of these in advance via Virgin Blue, from here in the UK. I researched each internal flight via travel agent(OneWorld alliance do the Boomarang deals), Qantas and VirginBlue - Virgin always came out cheaper for the routes and times we wanted. We're taking Cairns back to Sydney on a midweek afternoon for AU$180 each including taxes. We found this the most expensive internal flight of the three we booked, probably because it's the day after Easter weekend, and I think the more northern routes tend to be more expensive.<BR><BR>I didn't want to risk leaving these flights until we got to Australia. Our 4 week trip has lots of flexibility, but we did want to fix a few flights (also I must add I didn't mind paying for a couple of things up front rather than be landed with all when we get back!)<BR><BR>Anna

At present I think the best deals are through the Qantas and Virgin Blue websites, rather than Boomerang passes. If you're fairly flexible about times, there are some great bargains.

p.s. Look at tickets now

We used Virgin Blue and got a great deal by purchasing it from their website ahead of time. It was way cheaper then the Boomerang pass!

Hi, ksaintcyr!<BR>Another vote for Virginblue, and, when you check their website, pay special attention to their Tuesday and Wednesday fares, which is when most of the bargains are. As one of the posters above said, if you're flexible, there are bargains to be found on that site, but you have to dig for them.

I 2nd Alan's suggestion to check out the Tuesday &amp; Wednesday flights on Virgin if possible - I just booked flights for my parents to come visit me at Easter &amp; flying on those days was a fraction of the cost of other days - I think they call it their 'Mid week mini fares'.

I also meant to add that Virgins advertised fares on their website DO include taxes (rather than adding them on later as a nasty surprise like some other sites).

Thank you everyone for your help - looks like for the days we are traveling, that the Boomerang Pass is the cheapest option. We're flying on weekend days, if we weren't we could have saved some $$$ but we are. Oh well.<BR><BR>Thank you for the good advice!