‘Get in early’: How you can get your hands on one of the government’s 800,000 half-price flights

A staggering number of discounted flights have already been snapped up after going on sale today. Here’s how you can get your hands on one.

Australians eager to snag a cheap holiday should have their wallets ready because the first round of 800,000 half-price flights are dropping from Thursday.

A whopping 100,000 customers snapped up a discounted fare during the first 11 hours after tickets went on sale at midnight, and that’s across Qantas and Jetstar alone. A Qantas spokeswomen said it was great to see travellers returning to the skies.

As of 10.45am on Thursday, more than 50,000 Qantas fares and more than 45,000 Jetstar fares had been sold, with Cairns, Adelaide, Darwin, Hobart, Maroochydore and the Gold Coast among the most popular destinations.

The federal government’s $1.2bn initiative was revealed earlier in the month and aims to rejuvenate the nation’s crippled aviation sector.

A round of cheap fares, about 46,000 tickets, will be released this week to 13 select tourism destinations.

Transport Minister Michael McCormack said Virgin had also sold “thousands upon thousands of tickets”.

And he had a message for prospective travellers: “Get in early.”

Qantas is offering thousands of half-price flights. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gaye Gerard

RELATED: 800,000 half-price flights revealed

Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier described the move as the “ticket to recovery”.

“Our tourism businesses don’t want to rely on government support forever. They want their tourists back,” Mr Morrison said.

“They don’t want to be living forever on taxpayer assistance. They don’t want to be sitting at home.

“They want to be mobilising tourists to their region. They want to be engaged in what they set their businesses up to do.

“They want to be able to run their businesses again, which is what they love doing more than anything else.”

Virgin Australia also said it is on track to experience its biggest day of ticket purchases since before the pandemic.

Visits to the airline’s website have more than tripled and bookings have been boosted by 600 per cent.

The most popular route is Melbourne to the Gold Coast.

Here’s everything you need to know about snapping up a cheap fare.

WHERE CAN I GO?

The half-price ticket program will initially operate to 13 key regions including, the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays and Mackay region (Proserpine and Hamilton Island), the Sunshine Coast, Lasseter and Alice Springs, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, Broome, Avalon, Merimbula, and Kangaroo Island.

Flight routes and how many tickets are available will be driven by demand and airlines will have the final say.

WHEN AND HOW CAN I BUY A TICKET?

Tickets are available from midnight April 1.

The fares are likely to be released in batches until the end of July unless they sell out before then.

Virgin is one of the airlines taking part. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

To book a flight, people simply have to log on to major airline websites.

WHICH AIRLINES ARE TAKING PART?

Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin are the key airlines. But regional airline Rex will also offer half-price tickets on some routes, but they must have been running the route for at least two years.

On Wednesday Virgin revealed it will offer 260,000 half-price economy seats across 25 destinations.

WHEN CAN I TRAVEL?

The travel period for these fares will begin on May 1 and carry through to September 30.

DISCOUNTED FLIGHT ROUTES

The government warns these may change depending on airline negotiations and demand.

Gold Coast

Adelaide – Gold Coast

Melbourne – Gold Coast

Sydney – Gold Coast

Canberra – Gold Coast

Avalon – Gold Coast

Tropical North Queensland

Melbourne – Cairns

Sydney – Cairns

Darwin – Cairns

Whitsundays and Mackay region

Sydney – Proserpine

Sydney – Hamilton Island

Sunshine Coast (Queensland)

Sydney – Maroochydore

Melbourne – Maroochydore

Adelaide – Maroochydore

Lasseter and Alice Springs

Adelaide – Alice Springs

Sydney – Uluru

Brisbane – Alice Springs

Melbourne – Alice Springs

Perth – Alice Springs

Sydney – Alice Springs

Brisbane – Uluru

Melbourne – Uluru

Launceston, Devonport and Burnie

Melbourne – Launceston

Sydney – Launceston

Brisbane – Launceston

Melbourne – Devonport

Melbourne – Burnie

Broome

Darwin – Broome

Sydney – Broome

Melbourne – Broome

Avalon (Victoria)

Gold Coast – Avalon

Sydney – Avalon

Merimbula (New South Wales)

Melbourne – Merimbula

Kangaroo Island (South Australia)

Adelaide – Kingscote.