Summer flight data reveals persistent travel trend
Young people and solo travellers are copping exorbitant fares by booking flights due to depart within a month.
Travellers are throwing caution to the wind when it comes to booking their holidays with the majority forgoing planning months or even years in advance.
A new study shows last minute travel arrangements continue to prevail, with mostly young Australians choosing to cop exorbitant fares by booking flights due to depart within a month of purchase.
Data collected by online travel agency Webjet found that the vast majority of domestic and international flights booked between December 24 and January 2 were for last minute trips.
65.3 per cent of domestic bookings made within the period were for travel departing in January, with Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane topping the list of the most popular destinations. The Gold Coast, Cairns and the coastal town of Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland also made the cut.
Rising airfares didn’t deter international travellers, either. 31.5 per cent of international flights booked between Christmas eve and January 2 were due to depart just weeks or days later in January. Auckland, Bali, London, Queenstown, Tokyo, Wellington and Christchurch were among the most-booked overseas destinations, along with Fiji, Bangkok and Manilla.
The majority of travellers opting to fly within weeks of finding a flight are also choosing to go it alone, with solo travellers making up 56.5 per cent of the last-minute bookings. The age range of those passengers were identified as being between 26 to 35 years of age.
Webjet chief executive officer David Galt said the continuation of last-minute booking behaviour reflected many Australians’ desire to be spontaneous and take advantage of great last minute deals.
“The overwhelming majority of these bookings were made by solo travellers compared to couples and families,” he said, noting the wave of searches and bookings heading into the new year.
“Whether it’s the effect of spending a bit too much time with the family, or setting new year goals, the festive break is always a prime time for people to plan and book travel for the year ahead.”
Daniel Finch, managing director at booking aggregator Expedia, said they had also experienced a surge in travellers booking last minute flights in December last year when compared to 2021.
“We’re also seeing higher demand in response to increasing airline capacity,” he said.
“Australians are savvy travellers and many are taking advantage of increased supply as it becomes available.”
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