Border reopening triggers airfare plunge

International airfares are starting to head south as borders reopen and severe restrictions on passenger numbers ease.

International airfares for routes in and out of Australia are on their way down, as borders reopen and crippling restrictions on passenger numbers start to ease.

At the height of the Covid crisis, fares as high as $20,000 were being charged for a one-way flight from London or LA to Australia due to severe limits on the number of people able to be carried.

However, new data from booking site Webjet showed seats sold in the past week were closer to 2019 airfares, and in some cases even cheaper.

For Sydney to London, the average return fare across all cabins was $3554 compared to $5408 at the start of the month. In the same week in 2019, seats on that route cost an average $3134.

Sydney-LA, airfares sold last week averaged $2327 return, compared to $2106 in 2019, and $3585 in the first week of October.

Melbourne-London fares were even cheaper than in 2019, at $2271 return, compared to $3517 two years ago and $6789 a few weeks ago. Return fares for Sydney-Fiji were selling at an average $1790 last week, compared to $1749 in 2019, and Melbourne-Fiji was $1946 return, an improvement on $2051 two years ago.

The prices did not include the cost of pre-flight Covid tests, ranging from $140 to $200 each, which were a requirement of entry into countries such as the US, Fiji and Singapore.

The data came as airlines prepared to fill a lot more seats when Australian borders reopened on Monday, allowing fully vaccinated people to fly out without a special exemption.

Those returning to New South Wales and Victoria would not be required to quarantine at all from November 1.

Tasmania was set to follow suit on December 15 while Queensland and South Australia were waiting until vaccination rates hit 90 per cent before allowing quarantine-free overseas arrivals. Western Australia was expected to update its border plan in mid-­December.

 

Webjet OTA chief David Galt said international bookings were going from strength to strength, with the ­momentum likely to continue in the lead-up to the Christmas holiday period.

“The festive season is historically the most popular period of travel for Aussies so it’s fantastic that we now have the opportunity to jet off overseas to some favourite destinations,” Mr Galt said.

After close to two years without international flights, travellers were expected to notice changes such as the suspension of in-flight magazines and duty-free sales on-board.

Passengers on Cathay Pacific would be required to answer health-screening questions upon check-in and anyone aged over two would need to wear a “face covering”. Etihad Airways had installed “wellness ambassadors” on every flight and included Covid wellness insurance in each airfare, in the event medical care or quarantine was required.

Singapore Airlines’ lounges in Sydney and Melbourne would reopen on Monday with reduced food and beverage offerings for specific flights, and Qantas was encouraging passengers to allow plenty of time for check-in, with counters opening four hours before a flight.

In a vote of confidence the ­Australian travel industry would bounce back quickly, Emirates and Singapore Airlines have announced the return of their largest aircraft, the A380, from December 1. Qantas’s fleet of 12 A380s remain in the California desert but at least one should return to Australia by the end of the year for training purposes.

Another five will return to ­service by early 2024, with the ­remaining two to be retired.

Originally published as Border reopening triggers airfare plunge