What Australians can expect to pay for airline tickets after the expensive Christmas peak

Australian air travelers hit by high airfare prices through December can expect some relief, according to new data showing the cost of a plane ticket has fallen since the Christmas peak.

The Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) shows an increase in discounted flights in January.

However, prices are still higher than at the beginning of 2022.

Data shows the ‘best discount airfare’ index fell from 112 points in December to 74.5 points in January.

‘Restricted Economy’ tickets saw a smaller drop in prices, going from 90.5 points to 82.0 points in the last month, while business tickets had an even smaller margin, falling from a score of 61, 8 to 57.4.

Although the drop is promising for those hoping to travel more in 2023, the index is much higher than it was in 2022, when discount airfares received a score of 54.1 and economy tickets were 73.2.

The index is a record of the lowest flights offered to passengers each month, rather than an average of all costs.

‘Restricted Economy’ tickets experienced a small drop from December 2022 to January 2023. ‘Restricted Economy’ tickets are for tickets with flexibility fares

Discounted fares experienced the biggest price drop in the last month, however, prices are still higher than at the beginning of 2022

The price drop comes after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) pressured the airline industry to reduce high prices by increasing the number of flights available.

“The ACCC will closely monitor national airlines to ensure they return capacity to marketing in a timely manner to put downward pressure on airfares,” said the latest ACCC report on airline competition in Australia.

“In this context, the ACCC would be concerned that airlines retain capacity to keep airfares high.”

The first Bonza flights will take off from the Sunshine Coast, followed by Melbourne.

The airline is set to operate on 27 routes across the country, focusing on regional areas.

The ACCC found that passengers paid 27% more for flights in October 2022 than they did in October 2019.

The news comes as a new budget airline has obtained its Air Operator’s Certificate and is one step closer to taking off.

Bonza is now “finishing its preparations to go on sale” with the first flights leaving the Sunshine Coast, followed by Melbourne.

The airline has not disclosed the exact date when the tickets will go on sale, but has released its initial route map of 17 destinations and 27 routes.

93 percent of Bonza’s routes are currently not served by any other airline and 96 percent are currently not served by a low-cost carrier.