QANTAS/JETSTAR: Dump a million discounted seats

As of today you can find one-way economy fares from as little as $39 on Jetstar and $99 on Qantas. If you are interested in Business Class fares on Qantas, then the starting price is $499.

These sale deals are available on 170 routes across Australia, plus 20 Jetstar international routes at an average of a 30% discount.

Mind you, with most fares currently 50 to 100% over pre-pandemic charges, that’s not as generous as it first sounds.

“Today we’re putting more than one million seats on sale, with discounted flights to almost every city and regional town in our network across Australia, and some great international destinations with Jetstar.

“This is the ninth network-wide sale from Qantas and Jetstar in the past six months and we have more planned.”

Alan Joyce Qantas CEO

Get in Quick

These sales don’t last forever! In fact, the Jetstar sale only runs till 11.59 pm AEDT 25 February 2023, (unless sold out prior). Fares are one-way, with no checked baggage. The Qantas sale runs till 11.59 pm AEDT 2 March 2023, (unless sold out prior).

Both sales only cover certain travel dates, and other conditions apply – so read the fine print!

Spend your COVID credits

Qantas is encouraging customers with credits to use them when booking sale fares. Most COVID related credits expire at the end of 2023, so you need to book and travel before then. There is a dedicated hotline 1300 171 505 – because booking fares with credits is not always straightforward. You can also visit the Travel Credits Hub online.

Sample Deals

Here are some sample sale offerings that might be useful indicators before you start searching (provided by Qantas):

Qantas	Fare^	Jetstar	Fare*
Sydney – Ballina (Byron Bay)	$99	Adelaide – Hobart	$39
Melbourne – Launceston	$99	Melbourne (Avalon) – Gold Coast	$39
Sydney – Coffs Harbour	$119	Brisbane – Townsville	$39
Adelaide – Melbourne	$129	Hervey Bay – Sydney	$39
Brisbane – Sydney	$139	Cairns – Perth	$89
Melbourne – Perth	$279	Adelaide – Perth	$89
Cairns – Sydney	$189	Melbourne (Tullamarine) – Newcastle	$39

Here are some Jetstar international sale fares:

Sydney – Auckland	$175
Sydney – Nadi (Fiji)	$179
Gold Coast – Wellington	$179

Tips for Booking

• Book early
• Travel at off-peak times (especially mid-week, if you can) for the lowest fares
• Keep an eye out for regular sales: Jetstar’s deals page which is updated every week, subscribe to Qantas’ Red Email and Jetstar’s Jetmail for notification on special travel deals
• Join Club Jetstar ($55/year) you get early access to Jetstar’s sales

2PAXfly Takeout

A sale is always a good thing, but remember there are always restrictions. For this sale, it will be the restricted travel periods and routes. Still, if you were intending to book travel, and you can commit now, you stand to save quite a bit.

The cynic in me says these fares would have been down anyway, so this is just a Qantas tactic to bring purchasing decisions forward. Remember, historically, post-February, after the froth of Christmas holidays is always a period of low sales for Australian airlines, so having a sale occasion around now – or indeed a double status credits period (good luck with that this year) is not unusual.

But still, I’m a travel trollop. I need to go – there are sales fares to book!