A London-based traveller has been left outraged after she was quoted up to $1,899 for a three-hour flight between two neighbouring Australian states.
Hayleye was looking for return flights from Sydney to Hervey Bay in Queensland over the Christmas and New Year period on booking.com, a third-party travel agency that sells Qantas flights.
She was shocked to discover flights would cost between $441 and $1,899 and slammed the cost of the more expensive fares as a ‘pure money grab’.
‘This is what they are charging from NSW to QLD. This makes me beyond angry!
‘Going to say it again for the keyboard warriors, there is cheaper options, but they don’t match my International flight arrival, and this just happened to catch my eye while searching all different websites.
‘I was just pointing out the fact they think/can charge this at all. Yes, there is cheaper yes, this is the most expensive there is, but the point was that is even an option.’
The same dates on the Qantas website showed direct return flights from Sydney to Hervey Bay would cost passengers between $471 and $1,005.
Return flights that made a stop in Brisbane ranged between $698 to $2,081.
A London-based traveller was shocked to find return Qantas flights from Sydney to Hervey Bay could cost her over $1,700 (pictured, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce)
Flights that made a stop in Brisbane between Sydney and Hervey Bay cost almost $2,000
There are various factors that influence the quoted fare for flights.
Aussies are advised to compare prices from different sources to find the best deal. One effective method is to use a website like Skyscanner, which searches multiple travel sites and allows you to compare offers.
Being flexible with variables such as travel dates, layovers, and airlines will also maximise savings. The more flexible you are, the more options you’ll have.
For instance, budget carrier Jetstar offers direct flights with similar departure times at less than half the price of Qantas fares, albeit without baggage included.
Travelling one day later can save approximately $85 on Qantas fares, and avoiding the peak summer period can lead to significant savings.
A Qantas spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia that Jetstar had return flights from Sydney to Hervey Bay for $409 and Qantas was offering return flights from $799.
‘It looks like fares are more expensive on booking.com,’ she said.
Aussies were divided over whether the prices were unfair.
‘You’re flying out of a small/regional airport in the holiday season and complaining because they don’t have cheap flights at the exact time you want,’ one man said.
Hayleye replied: ‘The point I was making is that they are allowed to charge this amount at all. Just because it’s regional shouldn’t make it extortionate.’
‘If you have family in Australia get them to book the flights, its cheaper. Qantas is picking up that you’re in another country,’ one woman suggested.
Hayleye said the cheaper flights wouldn’t leave her without enough time to travel from the international to the domestic airport, meaning she would have to spend more (stock image)
Hayleye said she understood that Christmas is expensive and that she had no issue paying $700 to $800 for return flights to Hervey Bay.
‘But I just think anything above that is a pure money grab!’ she continued.
‘Not saying there isn’t cheaper options, just not options that matches what I need. I just think it’s crazy they can even charge this at all.’
One woman said she had lived in Hervey Bay for 25 years and that it had always been expensive to fly from regional areas.
‘I regularly fly from Adelaide to Brisbane, about once or twice a month, it’s always $600, return. It may have been better to book from here,’ she wrote.