Fliers snap up half price seats

Aussie travellers are snapping up 800,000 half-price airfares – leading to calls for the government to offer more seats on more flights. Here’s how to grab the best deals.

David Mills

@DavidMills1972

5 min read

April 1, 2021 - 2:52PM

News Corp Australia Network

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Aussie travellers have rushed to take advantage of 800,000 government-subsidised airfares, leading to calls for more cheap seats on more flights.

The cheap flights went on sale just after midnight, with the airlines joining the party with cut-price deals and offers of their own.

Cheap seats on some popular routes were being snapped up, with the airlines’ websites experiencing some early technical difficulties from the surge in demand.

A of 10.45am AEDT, Qantas had sold more than 50,000 fares and Jetstar had sold more than 45,000.

Cairns, Adelaide, Darwin, Hobart, Maroochydore and the Gold Coast had proved to be popular destinations so far.

“We have seen great early sales for both Jetstar and Qantas since the Half-Off Flights fares went on sale just after midnight last night, with almost 100,000 customers picking up a half price flight in the first 11 hours,” a Qantas group spokesperson said.

“It’s fantastic to see this kind of confidence coming back to the domestic travel market and passengers getting back in the skies.

“We know this week has been hard for people who may have had their holiday plans disrupted. We are confident that the vaccine rollout will help keep borders open permanently, and these strong sales show that Aussies are excited and ready to travel again.”

The subsidised seats are on flights to 15 destinations hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Australian Tourism Industry Council said the program should be expanded to include all capital cities.

“The Morrison Government must invest more in domestic discount air seats, which are marketable to all destinations including every capital city, to bring confidence to interstate travel,” ATIC executive director Simon Westaway said.

“All capitals and our entire domestic flight network need to be eligible for discount fares through the Government’s Tourism Aviation Network Support Program to help reset our industry.

Two Qantas Aircraft at Sydney. The airline is releasing more cheap fares in addition to those subsidised by the federal government.

Mr Westaway said the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination “must be sped up”.

“We urge for a greater focus on immediately vaccinating key workers including frontline health, hotel quarantine and at airports,” he said.

“We repeat the call for national consistency across Federal and State Governments to get the national vaccine rollout efficiently moving and a unified response to declared virus hotpots.”

Today’s sales come as the tourism industry experiences a fresh tremor of uncertainty prompted by Brisbane’s recent lockdown and a case of COVID-19 in Byron Bay.

Industry sources said the Brisbane lockdowns had an immediate impact, but bookings overall for Easter were strong.

Of the 800,000 discounted seats, which are all in economy, 260,000 are on Virgin flights and more than 500,000 are shared between Qantas and Jetstar.

The number of discounted seats available varies between destinations, with Virgin offering 85,000 flights to the Gold Coast and 10,000 to Cairns.

While the half-price tickets are on sale until July 31 (for flights from mid April up to September 30), from midnight last night Qantas was also set to release discounted fares to an additional 50 destinations across more than 200 routes. Tickets for flights under this offer (dubbed the “Everywhere Else” sale) will be available until April 8.

Qantas Domestic and International CEO Andrew David said it was unfortunate the Brisbane lockdown had impacted some Easter plans, but it was a “temporary setback”.

“Almost every destination that Qantas and Jetstar flies to is on sale, including plenty of chances to grab half price fares as part of the government’s tourism stimulus package,” Mr David said.

Virgin Australia announced it was extending the status of its Platinum and Good Velocity members by up to 18 months.

CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the half-priced airfares would give regions a sense of hope and deliver a much-needed boost for thousands of tourism businesses.

“To ensure maximum flexibility under the program, we’re also extending our flexible flying policy for all half-priced fare bookings. This is designed to ensure everyone can book with confidence knowing they’ll definitely be able to make use of these great value tickets,” she said.

Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said the government was expecting “huge demand” for the cheap airfares.

“Every Australian who books a holiday will be supporting our tourism destinations that have been hardest hit by the closure of international borders and every dollar spent on an Australian holiday is a dollar that supports a local job and a local business,” Mr Tehan said.

“We want Australians to do their patriotic duty and book a holiday this year through their travel agent, and while they’re away to eat at restaurants, go to the pubs, and book tours and experiences to get money flowing into our tourism businesses.”

Tourism Minister Dan Tehan.

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

But critics of the government’s $1.2 billion aviation package, which will be supported by an $8 million advertising campaign, said it would do little to assist the tourism industry in Sydney and Melbourne.

In a joint statement, the Accommodation Association and Tourism Accommodation Australia said forward booking rates across Sydney and Melbourne properties were as low as 10 per cent over the next quarter.

“Given international travel is still a considerable way off, and the corporate travel market still marginal, this is not likely to improve any time soon,” the organisations warned.

The destinations included in the half-price fare program are hoping it will make a substantial impact after a horror 12 months.

“We are still hoping for a strong Easter and April school holidays with flight numbers into the Gold Coast still climbing despite the Brisbane lockdown,” Destination Gold Coast CEO Patricia O’Callaghan told News Corp.

“We are confident that the Federal Government’s flights package program will be popular with Aussies looking to soak up a well-deserved holiday in the nation’s most sought-after destination.

“The Gold Coast is open for business and we know these cut-price flights will be a catalyst in driving more hotel bookings from as early as today.”

While some flights to Avalon will be subsidised, accommodation industry experts said there was little in the package to support the tourism industry in Melbourne itself. Picture: iStock