Canberra, you’ve come to the right place. As someone who has navigated the Australian capital’s modest airport many times over the years, I’ve become a bit of a pro at unearthing the best airfare steals.
We’re talking low-cost carriers, lucky discounted fares on full-service airlines, sneaky cheap direct route gems, and more money-saving tactics. No more overpaying or settling for terrible flight times and connections! With some smart strategies and a little flexibility, you can easily slash the cost of flying to or from Canberra.
So whether you’re an price-savvy leisure traveler, a penny-pinching student, or just someone who doesn’t like overpaying for airfare, buckle up. I’m about to give you the full rundown on how, when and where to find the cheapest Canberra flights every single time. Your wallet will thank me later!
Go Low-Cost Okay, let’s start with the obvious budget option – tapping into Australia’s affordable low-cost carriers for travel to and from the nation’s capital. Canberra is served by most of the major budget airlines like Jetstar and Tiger Air with direct routes to major airports across the country.
For example, I recently scored a ridiculous $55 one-way fare from Melbourne to Canberra on Jetstar by booking a few months in advance and being flexible on dates. Sure, you sacrifice little extras like checked bags and in-flight meals. But for shorthaul hops around Oz, low-cost is usually the way to go if you want to save serious cash.
The keys are being flexible on dates/times, booking well in advance, and opting for the lowest-tier fares even if it means bearing fees for things like checked bags and seat selection. It’s worth it for a flight that’s a quarter of the price of full-service airlines!
Use Flight Subscriptions Another money-saving strategy more travelers should utilize are flight deal subscriptions or membership programs. One that offers great Canberra fares is iFlyFlat, a monthly subscription that grants access to frequent “flat” discounted airfare rates on full-service airlines like Virgin Australia and Qantas.
For example, I just logged into my account and found a $129 “flat” fare from Canberra to Melbourne in late June on Qantas. The regular cost for that one-way ticket is nearly $400! Membership fees start at $49 per year – a steal if you travel frequently or have an inflexible schedule that doesn’t work with ultra-low cost airlines.
Services like Scott’s Cheap Flights are another option for scoring affordable Canberra airfare. For a modest annual fee, you get notifications for tremendous discounted fares on major carriers leaving from (or heading to) Canberra. If flexibility is your game, it’s an easy way to save hundreds.
Target Direct Routes While Canberra offers a surprising number of non-stop routes across Australia’s major airports, some direct options can be significantly cheaper than others for whatever reason. That’s why it’s wise to specifically search for non-stop flights versus just browsing for the cheapest fares overall.
For example, let’s say you want to fly from Brisbane to Canberra in July. On a regular search, connecting options from the likes of Jetstar or Qantas may look more affordable at first glance. But a non-stop search pulls up a random Virgin Australia direct route for the same dates around $150 roundtrip – almost half the price of the cheapest connection!
Moral of the story? Always check what the non-stop routes cost, even if booking separately, before defaulting to a connecting fare. Sometimes you can save a tidy sum by just eliminating a layover or two.
Cheap Positioning Flights Let’s talk about positioning flights for a sec – a very underrated budget travel hack. The gist is that sometimes it’s exponentially cheaper to fly from Canberra to a major hub like Sydney first, then onward to your final destination, versus trying to fly direct or with a layover.
So let’s look at Canberra to Los Angeles for example. I just pulled up some random dates and the cheapest roundtrip fare with a connection is around $1200. Ouch! But if I book a cheap $99 one-way to Sydney first, I can then find a roundtrip fare to/from LAX for around $750. That’s nearly a 50% savings by just positioning to a major hub airport first.
It may require an extra leg and a bit more planning, but it’s an awesomely thrifty workaround if direct routes from Canberra to wherever you’re going are insanely overpriced. Just watch out for luggage fees if not flying carry-on only.
There you have it – my tried-and-true budget tactics for finding the cheapest flights to or from Canberra! From low-cost airline deals to membership programs, targeted route searches and positioning flights, hopefully my tips help you effortlessly shave major dollars off every Canberra airfare moving forward.
No more settling for overpriced tickets or terrible connections. These clever strategies unlock so many amazing deals that can make flying to Australia’s low-key capital city an actual bargain. Happy cheap flight hunting, travel besties!