Finding Cheap Flights to Sydney Australia

Cheap flights to Sydney Australia are available if you are prepared to do some research.

There are some rules that you can follow to find a cheaper flight.

High season and low season flight price variations (summer and winter), as well as school holiday periods have an impact on flight prices.

To illustrate price variations over a year check out our comparison below.

It is also worth considering the fees that may be applied to your booking, particularly when booking a flight online. Ensure that the final price, including all fees and taxes, is shown before you accept the deal.

If you are flying to other Australian destinations from Sydney Airport, it is also worth considering whether to include domestic flights as part of your international flight package.

Australia now has a few cheap domestic airlines, and you can certainly save money by flying with them. Again we have illustrated this by comparing these methods.

But first, read on for our cheap flight top tips.

Top Tips for Booking Cheap Flights to Sydney Australia

• Shop around for flights both off and online, and try to book your ticket as early as possible
• Airlines, travel agents and online agencies will also have sales through out the year. Keep abreast of the sales by becoming a member of each airline or travel agency.
• Check with major and smaller carriers, as well as low cost carriers – typically low cost carriers in the Australasian region fly from East Asia to Sydney. If you are flying from the US Jetstar does fly from Honolulu.
  
• Try booking your flights to Sydney from alternative airports. Sydney has only one airport. However other major cities generally have more than one, and airports have differing fees for departure.
• If you are booking directly with airlines or offline travel agents, try booking the ticket with the airline or travel agent at your destination.  I once saved a few hundred dollars on my return ticket from Sydney to London by booking it from Sydney.
• Ensure you stick by the rules for baggage allowance, and understand the restrictions and extras that you may have to pay with some, particularly low cost airlines. Extra costs can include: checking in at the airport, reserving seats, checking bags, using entertainment, and buying food and beverage.
  
• If you plan on seeing more of Australia than just Sydney, look into a domestic flights part of your flight package, but also as a separate booking. With the addition of several low cost domestic services, savings can be made here.
  
• Consider a flight and hotel deal as part of your travel package, and again, look at the alternatives

By taking into account these factors you can save hundreds of dollars when booking your flight to Sydney.

Below I have broken down some of the above points, with working examples to illustrate these savings measures.

Booking Cheap Flights to Sydney Australia

Some good online travel agencies include Priceline, Expedia, Zuji, Ebookers and Webjet.

When flying to and from Australia I have always found Qantas the cheapest major carrier.

It is worth checking out smaller carriers such as Royal Brunei Airlines.

I have flown with this airline a few times and have saved money doing so. The service was great. The payoff however was that there were two stopovers making flight times longer.

Brunei is an Islamic country so no alcohol is served during a Royal Brunei flight (not that drinking alcohol on a long distance flight helps anything but a hangover).

Sydney's Seasons and School Holiday Periods

Sydney’s summertime is airline carrier high season, and flights tend to cost much more.

The summer is a major reason why people visit the city. Warm temperatures and long days allow one to enjoy all the great activities that Sydney has to offer.

Sydney's summer also coincides with the Christmas/New Year period increasing the city’s popularity:

• Family and friends regroup and catch up over the festive season
  Tourists visit during this time to experience the very popular
• Sydney New Years Eve celebration
• Sports fans travel to the city to attend the Sydney New Year’s cricket test
• The Sydney Festival is held throughout January. This draws international and local acts as well as international crowds, and continues the festive spirit within the city into late January.
  

Australian School Holiday Periods

Another thing that can affect ticket prices, particularly Australian domestic flights, is School holiday periods.

Generally NSW school holidays take place around these times each year:

• 1st term break: Easter to end of April
• 2nd term break: End of June to Mid July
• 3rd term break: 20 September to 8 October
• End of year holiday: 20 December to End of January

School holiday periods do vary slightly between some Australian states.

A Comparison of Flight Prices to Sydney from New York throughout the Year

Note: All examples used are only a guide to show trends. And in all cases the cheapest airfares are shown. These, of course, may change without notice.

As a guide to show the flight variation throughout the seasons and school holiday periods, I have searched for flights to Sydney from New York using Expedia.

I have set the duration of time spent in Sydney at about one month during school terms, and for the duration of each term holiday for school holiday periods.

You can see the obvious trends in price variation shown in the table below.

Booking Multiple Flights to other Australian Destinations within your Trip to Sydney

With the addition of several low cost carriers operating routes around Australia, it may very well be cheaper to book an Australian domestic flight separately from your international flight.

Expanding on the above example of flying to Sydney from New York, during the first term of school, and using Expedia to book your multiple flight:

• New York to Sydney 20/2
  
• Sydney to Melbourne 6/3
• Melbourne to Sydney 13/3
• Sydney to New York 19/3
  
• Total cost = $1931

Booking these flights individually will cost as follows:

• New York to Sydney 20/2, return Sydney to New York 19/3 - $1692
• Sydney to Melbourne 7/3, return Melbourne to Sydney 13/3 - $74
• Total cost = $1766