Booking a cheap flight

When to book a flight is one of the biggest challenges in getting cheap, cost effective flights. Websites such as http://www.lastminute.com.au and http://www.kayak.com list all of the flights available and ordered by their price.

Getting a great deal can involve a lot of hit and miss. A week before you wish to travel, the flight might be listed at around $150 for a local flight across australia. However, 3 days before your due departure date, the same flight and time might be listed for $110 as the airline attempts to clear their vacant seats. A note of warning - in the example used above on flights to Brisbane, the day before I departed the flight was listed at $184, proving that waiting till the last minute is not always the best strategy.

Another option is to keep an eye on budget airlines such as JetStar and Virgin Blue and their associated sales. This can often see savings of up to 50% on domestic flights on regularly travelled routes, such as to Melbourne or Adelaide. The last sale at the beginning of September featured Melbourne flights for $55 one way.