Australian Domestic Flights

Domestic flight in Australia are very popular. Due to the extremely large distances involved, flying is a well-patronised form of travel in Australia. Fares are generally low, due to the amount of competition, and flights depart regularly.

Apart from primarily scenic flights in light aircraft, all major carriers offer discounts on their seats on most domestic flight routes. Some carriers specialise in providing low cost, no frills, travel between tourist and other destinations.

Services along the main business travel corridor ( Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane ) are run almost like a bus service, with flights leaving every 15 minutes during the day. The major domestic airlines in Australia are:

• Qantas, the only nation-wide full service airline, flying to major cities and some larger regional towns;
• Virgin Blue, a nation-wide budget airline with limited service, flying to major cities and a few larger regional towns;
• Jetstar, Qantas's budget arm with limited service and assigned seating, currently serving major cities in the eastern states & Perth;
• Tiger Airways Austrlaia, one of Asia's largest LCC has a hub in Melbourne (Mar 2008) serving about 10 destinations across the mainland and Tasmania, prices are very competitive, also fly to/from Singapore via Darwin or Perth;
• Regional Express, covering larger towns & cities on the eastern seaboard;

Regional areas are served by several small state-based airlines. These include:

• Skywest, covering regional Western Australia;
• Airnorth, covering the Northern Territory;
• MacAir Airlines, covering regional Queensland.

Fare prices tend to be quite volatile and can vary greatly day to day and carrier to carrier. Domestic fares from Qantas, Virgin Blue, Jetstar and Tiger Airways can be found and compared on Expedia.