Find Cheap Flights to Australia

The mysterious land Downunder, Australia – high on most people’s Bucket List – is within reach with increased airline routes and multiple alternatives for cheap flights to Australia from North America.

For travelers in the continental United States yearning to roam in the Outback or snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef, the first stop for the flight to Australia is California. Non-stop flights to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney depart from Los Angeles and San Francisco, with most flights leaving from Los Angeles. Connecting flights from many North American cities are usually available, but that depends on the international air carrier.

The cost of your flights to Australia will be based on the time of year you travel and your choice of airlines. The most expensive time to fly is during the year-end holiday season - from early December through the middle of January. There are never any sales during this period and the least expensive tickets are usually taken 8-9 months in advance.

The "low season" for flights to Australia is from early May to early June and from mid-July through mid-September. Most of the super low advertised fares to Australia are for travel only during this time.

November and mid-January through the end of February is a fairly expensive time to fly to Australia, but occasionally the airlines offer promotional rates for travel during this season.

More airlines are flying non-stop to Australia. The increased competition has brought the cost of airfares down, especially during the low season. Airline consolidators, selling their tickets through travel agents, often have online search engines for you to find cheap flights to Australia - but when searching for tickets, also give a quick look at the airlines' websites to make sure you've found the lowest fare.

The airlines that fly non-stop from the continental US to Australia are:

• Qantas, the airline of Australia, offers daily non-stop flights to Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney from Los Angeles and less frequent flights from San Francisco. Qantas offers "add-on" flights operated by American Airlines from many gateways in the US to connect to the flights to Australia departing from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Qantas’ website frequently features low season savings on flights and specials on its Aussie AirPass.
• American Airlines occasionally has cheap flights to Australia. The overseas flights from Los Angeles or San Francisco are operated by Qantas. As strange as it seems, it is sometimes possible to purchase a ticket on a Qantas airplane to fly to Australia through American Airlines for less than the ticket would cost if purchased through Qantas.
  
• VAustralia, the newest addition to the Virgin Airlines Group, flies non-stop from Los Angeles (with a few flights each week from San Francisco) to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with connecting flights on Virgin America and Delta available from other cities within the US. VAustralia is keeping pace with Qantas on special offers for cheap flights to Australia through its website.
• Delta began service to Sydney, Australia in 2009. The announcement of code-share flights between Delta and Virgin Airlines, specifically VAustralia, means there will be more flights to Australia for Delta’s SkyMiles members. Additionally, if you're a Delta WorldClubs member, you can access VirginBlue’s luxurious airport lounges when traveling within Australia on VirginBlue or internationally on Delta or VAustralia.
• United flies non-stop to Sydney from Los Angles and San Francisco, connecting from other cities in the US. Occasionally there will be special sales on United’s website for these flights.

Other airlines, including Air China, Asiana and Cathay Pacific, fly to Australia from the United States with one or more stops. These flights tend to be more expensive and are much longer.

Flying East

Travelers on the East coast of North America might consider flying East as an option to reach Australia. Usually, flying East is more expensive and longer – however if you plan to combine a trip to Singapore (Singapore Air has daily non-stop service from Newark to Singapore) or Dubai (Emirates offers daily non-stop service from JFK) with your Australian vacation – or if you prefer the luxury and comfort of flying with a top rated airline, flying East should be considered.

You can combine your visit to Australia with flights to Tahiti, New Zealand or Fiji.

Qantas offers non-stop flights from Sydney or Brisbane to New Zealand – Christchurch or Auckland - and a non-stop flight from Auckland to return to the United States.

Air Pacific flies from Los Angeles to Nadi, Fiji and from there to Sydney on most days of each week. Through Qantas’ code-share agreement with Air Pacific, you can book a non-stop flight to Australia on Qantas, and return on Air Pacific with a stop-over in Fiji, or vice versa.

Air Tahiti Nui flies from Los Angeles to Papeete, Tahiti, continuing on to Auckland, New Zealand, then connecting to a flight to Sydney on Qantas.  Total flying time for this journey is over 17 hours, plus the airport layovers. 

Air New Zealand offers cheap flights to Australia, but all Air New Zealand flights that depart from the United States arrive in Auckland before connecting to a flight to Australia. If you're not planning to include New Zealand in your Australia vacation, purchasing airfare to Australia on Air New Zealand adds too many extra hours to the travel time.

If you are traveling with a US passport, you must have a visa to enter Australia.  Application for a tourist visa, valid for up to a 3 month stay, can be made on-line to the Australian Electronic Travel Authority and approval is usually instantaneous. The fee is $20 AUD.

Complete your application for your Visa at least a month before your departure date – if your application is not immediately approved, you may have to forward additional information to the Australian Embassy.

Neither Tahiti, New Zealand or Fiji require a visa for vacationers with a US passport.