Qantas drops huge international sale as airline wars heat up

Qantas is offering 400,000 discounted seats across its global network, as Australia’s airline price wars take a new turn.

EXCLUSIVE

Qantas has launched a huge international sale, offering 400,000 discounted seats across its global network, as Australia’s airline price wars heat up.

Return fares to some of the world’s most coveted destinations start at $539 for select travel dates through to January 2026.

In a bonus for families impacted by cost of living woes, some of the cut-price fares will be available during the normally costly school holidays period. 

Qantas has dropped a huge sale. Picture: NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

During the one-week sale, travellers will be able to snap up bargain flights on over 50 routes including the ever-popular holiday island of Bali, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York and Palau, one of the newest destinations to join the national carrier’s network. 

The cut-price flights to New York and Los Angeles come after Delta Airlines’ move to shake up Qantas’ monopoly on flights to the US.

In a move expected to slash prices, Delta Airlines will soon start flying between Melbourne and Los Angeles, a route long dominated by the Flying Kangaroo.

Travellers will be able to grab a bargain flight to the Big Apple. Picture: iStock

Passengers can snap up a return economy flight to London from Melbourne and Sydney for $1749, while a return economy flight from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne to Los Angeles will cost $1199.

Return flights from Sydney to Delhi start at just $949, which is also the cost of a return fare from Sydney and Melbourne to Tokyo. 

Also included are two of the airline’s newest routes launching later this year, Melbourne to Honolulu, which will take off from May 1, and Darwin to Singapore, which takes to the skies from March 30. 

Flights to Los Angeles are also included in the sale.

Qantas CEO International Cam Wallace said almost every destination on the airline’s international network was included in the sale

“We have also discounted some of our newest destinations, including Palau, which has generated huge interest since its launch, as well as some of our most popular routes like Japan and Bali,” he said. 

“The sale is a fantastic opportunity for travellers to snap up some great deals and start planning their next international adventure.”

The Qantas sale comes the day after rival airline Virgin Australia launched its own mammoth sale to short haul international destinations including Fiji, Vanuatu, Bali, Samoa and Queenstown.

Qantas sale fares are for travel between February 5, 2025, to January 15, 2026, with select blackout dates and are available until 11.59pm (AEDT) on Monday, February 10, 2025, unless sold out prior.