The average international return economy airfare has increased by more than 50 per cent since prior to the pandemic, new research reveals.
Based on flight search data for travel between 1 July 2023 and 31 December 2023 on travel site KAYAK and its associated brands, the findings show that international fares rose by 51 per cent to an average price of $1,826 compared to the same period in 2019.
Despite the increase in air supply globally over the past 12 months, the average price was also 23 per cent higher year-on-year.
Domestic airfares also rose but at a much more moderate rate of 10 per cent over 2019 and 15 per cent y-o-y for an average price of $400.
Encouragingly however, the rise in costs hasn’t diminished Australians’ desire to get out there and travel. In fact, the research shows that international and domestic flight searches for the second half of 2023 are up by around 68 per cent and 52 per cent respectively, for a combined increase of 67 per cent on pre-pandemic flight searches.
Unsurprisingly, with COVID-19 travel restrictions effectively a thing of the past, year-on-year flight searches grew 211 per cent for international and 106 per cent domestic.
Here’s a snapshot of INT flight searches …
And also a snapshot of DOM flight searches …
All flights were for departures from any airport in Australia searched between 1 January and 20 April 2023.
Where’s trending?
Trending overseas destinations (compared to the same period in 2019) include Kathmandu, Paris, Milan, Frankfurt and Ho Chi Minh City.
The most affordable international cities on average are:
Short Haul:
- Auckland, New Zealand – $641
- Denpasar, Bali – $734
- Queenstown, New Zealand – $743
- Noumea, New Caledonia – $712
Long Haul:
- Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam – $886
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – $889
- Singapore – $925
And the most affordable domestic destinations per average flight are:
- Gold Coast – $279
- Hobart – $295
- Melbourne – $324
- Sydney – $347
- Brisbane – $349
“There is plenty of excitement amongst Aussies for travel over the remainder of the year and lots of opportunity to find a great deal,” KAYAK Brand Director Nicola Carmichael said.
“Taking the most searched destination London, opting to fly in October vs December could save you around $970 for a return economy flight.”
Going it alone
Elsewhere, the research shows that there has been a massive increase in solo travel interest, with searches for international and domestic hotel single stays rising by around 168 per cent since 2019.
Travellers are also booking longer trips, with the average length of hotel stays for the July-December 2023 period sitting at around six days, which is 13 per cent up on 2019.
An average night in a 3-4 star international hotel is currently around $325 while for a domestic it is $287.
The most sought-after international hotel stays are in London (average price $331), Paris ($318), New York ($500), Amsterdam ($258) and Honolulu ($469), while Sydney ($309), Surfers Paradise ($267), Melbourne ($208), Brisbane ($241) and Perth ($204) rule domestically.
Overall KAYAK’s consumer research revealed that two in three (59 per cent) Australians believe international holidays to be more memorable than their domestic counterparts.
The highest number of respondents in another recent study said that the cost of overseas travel had not become prohibitive for them.
