[justinbrett]

I'm currently living in Victoria for work but family and friends are in Brisbane.

I plan to fly back very often next year, looking at around 1 in 3 weekends (total of 18 trips in the year).

The standard red-e-deal for Melbourne - Brisbane is $179 each way, but I have seen cheaper on sale.

I plan to pre-purchase most of the flights for next year in the next few months (knowing that it will save me loads of money rather than waiting).

Two questions:
1) is there some deal I don't know about that you can purchase a bulk amount of flights like this at a discount? (I doubt it, but it's worth a try).

2) I've seen some good sales over the past few months, it would probably be better to purchase the majority of them during a sale. Is there any way to predict these sales? (I know there's always one right before Christmas).

I've been gold for a few years now, even with these flights I won't reach Platinum... but I'm happy with Gold.

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Evan]

What your planning on doing is i think exactly what JohnK does.
You could maybe try a travel agent that has corperate discounts that may share.... except for that you probably already have the best answer.
E

[Sunstar320]

I know its not flying Qantas or anything, but Have you considered flying Virgin Blue or Jetstar out of Avalon. During a sale, these sectors come down to $69, and the saving here would be much better than receiving points or Status Credits...

Considering you wont reach Platinum anyway, how about trying the LCC's. The saving after all these flights you are to complete is substantial!

[comint]

Also consider -

"Go Card fare" from OOL airport to Brisbane city at around $10, Tiger's current (lead-in) airfare is about $70 (has been lower), (with carry-on luggage only) and you quote Qantas at almost $180.

So as per above, depending exactly where and when you want to go, there are thousands of dollars of savings to be had - by not flying Qantas/Virgin Blue. ($3600 in this basic example.)

[Sunstar320]

Originally Posted by comint

Also consider -

"Go Card fare" from OOL airport to Brisbane city at around $10, Tiger's current (lead-in) airfare is about $70 (has been lower), (with carry-on luggage only) and you quote Qantas at almost $180.

So, depending exactly where and when you want to go, there are thousands of dollars of savings to be had - by not flying Qantas/Virgin Blue. ($3600 in this basic example.)

comint has hit the nail on the head!
Booking Tiger Airways this far ahead is good, as its all 49.95 Carry on, or 59.95 with Baggage for next year. Mabye wait for a few possible suprises on the 23rd November though, regarding Tiger sales that is

Otherwise, just drive the extra mile down to Avalon, and pay only $79 with Baggage, during Sales. Keep an eye out for these sales, last big one was a few weeks back, so not long to go mabye. Virgin is the one who usually kicks the sale off, then QF,JQ will respond in due course...

Dont forget, on JQ and TT you are flying brand new beasts, you can pick your own seat, and upgrade your baggage!

Anyway, Good Luck!!!

[justinbrett]

Thanks guys for your input.

I'm open to the idea of LCC - my only concern is time. I like the fact with Qantas I can check in online and turn up at the airport about 30 minutes before wheels up. (I will be having hand luggage only for almost all of the flights).

Tiger is out of the Question because I don't have time to travel an hour from Cooly to Brisbane and then back again on Sunday. The earliest flight I can get on with Qantas in Melbourne is the 18:05, which gets me to Brisbane at 19:15 during daylight savings or an hour later in the winter. Considering I'm flying up for the weekend I don't want to be arriving as late as 9pm.

Not fond of going to Avalon either because I'm already driving from regional Victoria 2 hours East of Melbourne. Plus I know from friends experience Jetstar are ruthless with check-in times.

Virgin would probably be OK but the price difference doesn't seem to be that great - and considering the benifits of FF points, Qantas club, prefered seating I'm happy to pay a little bit extra for that.

I saw Qantas had $129 MEL-BNE a while ago, I hope to see that one back again.

Mind you I have about 200,000 points, I could always get a few award trips with that.

[comint]

Originally Posted by justinbrett

Plus I know from friends experience Jetstar are ruthless with check-in times... prefered seating.

Aside from the impact your originating location and exact final destination has on the decision making process, it's worth noting -

• Jetstar has online check-in (which means sans-checked bags = no "ruthlessness") available at no extra charge.
• Jetstar (as mentioned previously) has seat allocation confirmed during the booking process. (No extra charge for standard seats.) Possibly better than Qantas preferred seating, which biases towards last minute Chairmans/Platinum purchasers?

[serfty]

For those flights that need to be taken at peak travel times (e.g. School Holidays, Friday/Sunday evenings, Monday Mornings) by all means book as soon as you know the dates/time for certain.

For all other dates, simply keep an eye out for Sales. Generally specials will be available 3-6 months out and significant savings can be made.

e.g. I have already puchased return MEL-BNE-MEL Qantas flights for Feb next year @$257 all up.

[medhead]

I did this a few years ago. And, you know, she wasn't worth it