An international airfares price drop to top cruising destinations has been reported over the past few months, according to new insights by Flight Centre.
In welcome news for Australian travellers and visitors flying back home, Flight Centre Travel Group’s corporate divisions, FCM Travel and Corporate Traveller, have analysed current data and found average international outbound Economy airfares have dropped considerably across all carriers.
The slide represents an average 5-10 per cent drop over the last quarter, translating to savings of more than $100 each way when compared to the same period (July to September) in 2013.
For example, services to the United States saw sizeable slashes, with economy fares on the Melbourne to Los Angeles route averaging $1,672 from July to September, down from $2,111 in the same period in 2023. The 21 per cent difference is the most significant sign that international airfares are finally becoming more affordable for Australian travellers after years of post-pandemic price spikes.
Why are international airfares getting cheaper?
Flight Centre corporate chief operating officer Melissa Elf references an uptick in capacity and increased competition among airlines as the two main drivers of this promising change, finally introducing a bit of stability to the travel industry after years of doom and gloom.
“Flight Centre has seen a year-on-year drop in average international fares every month for well over a year now,” offered Elf.
“The biggest drops in economy fares in the last quarter are those into the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, France, UK and Italy.”
The popular flight path between Sydney and Paris is now more accessible, for example, with a significant drop from $2,641 in 2013 to $2,299 for the same period this year.
Business travellers have also been eyeing savings across the board. On average, business class fares have fallen by about $300 or 4 per cent.
“All of our key routes have seen steady decreases in the business cabin, with the USA and Italy coming out as the bigger winners, with drops of 10 per cent and 8 per cent respectively,” said Elf.
Earlier this year, Cruise Passenger reported that these airfares would start to drop as competition steadily rises in the aviation industry. Even back then the writing was on the wall for cheaper airfares, with the following European destinations showing notable drops in the average ticket price. These were:
- United Kingdom by 8.5 per cent
- Italy down by 11.5 per cent
- Greece by 11.44 per cent
- France by 7.91 per cent
- Spain by 6.03 per cent
- Germany by 6.9 per cent.
Yet domestic fares are trending upwards
The opposite trend has been observed for flights within Australia. Looking at data for the September quarter, Flight Centre found that domestic fares increased by an average of 3-5 per cent compared to the same period if 2013. That means an average increase of $10-20 per ticket.
While it’s a small bump, the findings reveal the impact of issues such as Rex Airlines and Bonza exiting the market and a notable boost in travel demand in September.
Will this trend continue?
Ms Elf says there is a direct correlation between regions that are adding and welcoming airline capacity, and the cost of travel decreasing. This is logical of course, with supply steadily increasing to keep prices trending downwards.
The recently announced deal between Virgin Australia and Qatar is a great example. If Qatar’s bid to purchase a minority 25 per cent equity stake in Virgin Australia is approved, the partnership will see new services to Doha from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. This opens up 107 new connections to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The uptick in capacity and competition will theoretically help these prices to drop further from mid-2025. Not only that, but it may also free up aircraft to better service the domestic market and introduce some stability for prices closer to home.
“A strong and competitive airline industry is good for everyone, so we’re confident this will mean cheaper fares and more travel destinations for Australians from mid-next year,” said Ms Elf.
In the meantime, there are other ways to find cheap flights from Australia that you should be across if you want to maximise your travels moving forward.
