Which Flight Comparison Websites Do You Use for Inter-State (Domestic) Travel?

discrete on 12/11/2016 - 12:06

Hi,

I just finished booking my flights for a last-minute trip to Melbourne from Sydney (departing in the morning, and returning in the evening), and I'm thinking that maybe there has to be a better way than what I am currently doing. Basically what I did was:

  1. check ozbargain for any flight deals (there weren't, unfortunately)

  2. google for "cheap last minute flights from sydney to melbourne"

  3. go through each major flight comparison website. I tried:
    a) flightcentre: slick website but I kept getting "tickets not available" for the timings I selected. Frustrating and annoying - why display the timings if the tickets are not available? And they don't even indicate which flights the tickets are not available for, is it the departing flight, return flight, or both?
    b) webjet: did not have Virgin flights, (which budgetair [see below] has), i.e. the range of airlines scanned was not as comprehensive as flightcentre or budgetair
    c) in the end, I settled for budgetair.com.au. End to end, the process was quite ok, and it allowed for a Mastercard (or Visa) debit transaction, which does not come with extra credit card fees. Total paid: $304+ (return), for a Monday, not the cheapest, but given my restrictions on timings, I guess it's still an ok price.

I also tried the website of tigerair itself but the available timings were not as many as those provided by the comparison websites (very strange).

Would welcome any suggestions or feedback on this flight-selection/hunting process :)

Cheers.

Travel

Comments

  • Tony-Abbott on 12/11/2016 - 12:31
    +2

    $150 each way for a MEL-SYD flight last minute is extremely cheap.

    $150 is usually the cheapest they go, unless there is a sale anyway (well for better carriers, not JQ or TT)

    Next time just check out www.skyscanner.com.au find out which airline is the cheapest, and then go directly to the airlines website. Generally the cheapest for domestic travel.

    • NotAMoodle on 12/11/2016 - 20:18
      +1

      Skyscanner is by far the easiest to use and is usually showing the same prices, if not better as the rest.

  • HardQuiz on 12/11/2016 - 17:23
    +2

    If you know basic coding, you may find this website interesting.

    http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

    FYI, it doesn't cover some budget airlines

    • kawinuyo on 13/11/2016 - 08:10
      +1

      Don't need to know basic coding to use itamatrix, it is a very very very useful tool. I think moreso for international flights and complicated connecting flights. I usually use itamatrix then skyscanner to double check (for the cheapo airlines it misses)

      • HardQuiz on 13/11/2016 - 10:16

        If you want to do hidden city ticketing and/or other exclusions such as forcing the search to certain airline passing by specific airport, you need to know how to code the command for the search.

  • discrete on 13/11/2016 - 13:46

    Thanks for your replies, everyone! I was using skyscanner previously, but for international flights though, I didn't think it would be as useful for domestic flights ><. Didn't know about matrix.itasoftware.com either, it looks quite interesting, will check that out in more detail in future :). Thanks again, all :)!

  • reggae on 10/12/2016 - 12:35
    +1

    not all airlines appear on search engines websites.

    For example, in OZ, smaller airlines don't like to pay the massive costs to be on computer reservation systems.

    Like an airline that now flies jet nonstop form Albury to Brisbane, called Jetgo. Pretty sure, you can only get their flights on their website or by phoning them.

  • spacemansam on 14/12/2016 - 17:15

    I've found www.kayak.com.au to be great also, many times have found them to be slightly cheaper ($5-$20) cheaper thank Skyscanner

  • martino on 02/01/2018 - 16:46

    Do NOT use www.budgetair.com.au!

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