School Holidays Airfare purchase

[Scohaus]

Hopefully this is the proper forum for this, if not please forgive my ignorance . I'm an American heading to Australia in September, flying in and out of Sydney. My wife and I are flying from Sydney to Cairns 24 September and returning 28 September (our dates are set). I've been tracking Virgin Blue and JetStar for a couple months, just wishing and hoping for a sale, but when there's a sale (such as the current ones) our dates are always excluded because of the school holidays.

Now, to my dismay, the fares keep going up a little every few days it seems... about $440 return per person right now, including another price jump Thursday. Is that high, or is it likely to go up more?

Can anyone provide advice on whether I should just book the flight right now before they go up more, or do you expect them to creep down or be included in a fare special in the coming weeks as the dates get closer? I know we're going there in a peak travel period, so I know we'll pay more than we would another time of year. My wife already hates me for not booking them 2 weeks ago when they were $60 cheaper, but I'm very stubborn and am desperately hoping to find a deal .

Any help is greatly appreciated! THANK YOU!

 

[serfty]

Hi Scohaus, welcome to AFF

If you need to travel during school holidays, the earlier you book the better.

School holiday dates are almost always be excluded from sales.

I believe you should book now as prices are generally going to continue the get higher as your travel period approaches.

Have a look at site such as WebJet (Cheap Flights, Qantas, Virgin Blue, Jetstar - Cheap Flights & Airfares - Compare Flights at Webjet - Webjet.com.au) to identify the cheapest fares/best travel options for your dates. (Don't use WebJet to book your flights - you can normally save some $$ by booking directly on the respective airline's web site).

 

[markis10]

You may also want to have a look at travel to Townsville and then getting a rental car for the 4 hour drive, JQ have a direct flight to TSV on the 24th for around $100 so thats $200 saved, which would pay for 4 days rental car hire!

 

[medhead]

As mentioned s[ecials never happen during school holidays. The closest I've even had was picking up a special price on the Thursday before the school holidays started.

Also note that the holiday periods can be 1 week out of sync between the states, so there could be upto a 3 or 4 week black out depending on the timing and desitination.

 

[serfty]

... Also note that the holiday periods can be 1 week out of sync between the states, so there could be upto a 3 or 4 week black out depending on the timing and desitination.

Exactly the case in the coming months.

• Tas is 5 September - 20 September
• Vic & Qld holidays are 19 September - 4 October
• NT is 26 September - 4 October
• ACT, WA and SA's are 26 September - 11 October
• NSW is 03 October - 18 October

http://www.dest.gov.au/portfolio_department/calendar_dates/school_term_dates_2009.htm

 

[odysseus]

Exactly the case in the coming months.

• Tas is 5 September - 20 September

Hmm, that's good for Taswegians as it seems they can disregard the restrictions above. The national sale exclusion dates generally started from mid-September, so fortunate for any Tasmanian travellers.

 

[medhead]

Hmm, that's good for Taswegians as it seems they can disregard the restrictions above. The national sale exclusion dates generally started from mid-September, so fortunate for any Tasmanian travellers.

The key word there is generally. I would bet that any route to Tasmania would have different exclusion dates. (NB I haven't bothered to check...)