New research has revealed the most and least expensive days to fly in December and during Christmas and New Year, with domestic fares ranging from $53 to more than a whopping $2,500 one-way (and that’s not even to/from Perth).
Compare the Market reviewed daily direct flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane across December 2025, comparing eight key routes to identify the sharpest price swings of the season.
For December travel, the data shows the first half of the month offers the best value for holiday travellers, with airfares climbing steadily towards Christmas week before easing again in early January.
The cheapest fare found was a $53 Sydney-Melbourne seat, while the priciest example exceeded $2,500 for Melbourne-Adelaide and Melbourne-Sydney services.
Year-on-year comparisons revealed mixed movement. Several routes remained stable, but others, including the Sydney to Hobart and Melbourne to Perth routes, saw notable increases.
“Travelling in the Christmas and New Year peak can be more expensive, but choosing to fly earlier rather than later in December generally means you could score a better deal on a ticket,” Compare the Market’s travel specialist Catriona Rowntree said.
“For example, the cheapest flights from Sydney to Cairns is $104 in the first seven days of December or $455 on the 27 December just as the holidays start.
“If you’re set on a date, Compare the Market found notable ticket price differences for flights on the same day depending on the time of day and airline. That’s why it’s really worth shopping around.
“Airports are stressful at this time of the year. Remember that to be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is ‘holy cow we’ve missed the plane’.”
All pricing was sourced from Skyscanner searches conducted in October 2025 for travel between 1 December 2025 and 1 January 2026.
KARRYON UNPACKS: The early-December sweet spot keeps proving itself for low airfares, yet travellers still tend to book around Christmas week and pay for it, literally. For consultants, this is another strong reminder to guide clients towards flexible dates and to compare options on the same day, not just across different days. The pricing gaps in this study didn’t just creep; some surged into four figures.
