Airlines in fare wars

[March 6th 2009]

Some of the best long haul bargain airfares are now available as airlines compete for passengers.

A return fare to Sydney from London Heathrow is available for travel in May for just £240 plus taxes and charges reveals travel search engine nowfly.co.uk. The flights are with airline Etihad Airways via Abu Dhabi.

“Airlines have been trying to use smaller planes and cut the frequency of services on some routes in a bid to keep fares up. But the fall in passenger numbers has been so great on some routes that airlines have been forced into fare wars, leading to some incredibly low prices – with some lower than they have ever been in real terms,” comments nowfly.co.uk founder, Dan Hart.

“In the 1980s, you could get seats on charter flights from London to Sydney for £399. That was a great deal back then but the fares you can get now on scheduled carriers for just over £500 are cheaper when the effect of inflation is taken into account and you get a better seat too,” continues Hart.

“A year ago, you would have been looking at paying at least £700 for flights on the popular Kangaroo Route but the introduction of the huge Airbus A380 on the route by Qantas and Singapore Airlines, coupled with a downturn in demand, has led to the appearance of these unbelievable fares,” he adds.

But some of the fares are not as good as they at first appear. The total cost of the return flight to Sydney with Etihad Airways in May is £514. Hart says nowfly’s technology shows how airlines are still making money from fuel surcharges, despite the slump in the price of oil. No less than £160 of the fare is made up of fuel surcharges.

“Despite this smoke and mirrors approach from airlines, there is no doubt these current fares are incredibly attractive” says Hart.

Nowfly’s research on air fares reveals that many of the best deals come from taking one-stop flights via the Continent. For example £318 return from Manchester to San Francisco and £357 return from Bristol to Shanghai, both via Paris with Air France. Also from Manchester, a return fare to Delhi via Amsterdam Schiphol with KLM is available for £289 return.

Written by: Nick Purdom

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