8th November 2017
Hamilton Island holidays are shaping up to be the hot favourite this summer, with an airfare war seeing flight prices plummet to just $105 each way. Both Virgin Australia and Qantas have dropped their fares in a sale that appears to be ‘keeping up with the Jones’ when it comes to airfares to the popular Queensland Island. But who has the cheaper fare?
Virgin Australia advertised the lowest price with fares out of Brisbane at just $105 however Qantas quickly fought back with fares starting from $125 from Brisbane. With such a small price difference, you may be wondering who offers the better deal overall. Let’s break it down to crown the overall winner.
Best travel dates
This one was so close we had to call it a tie. Both airlines are offering similarly priced one-way fares on a variety of comparable dates that range from 16 January to 27 June 2018. Depending on your route, flight dates differ slightly and peak holiday periods are generally excluded, making this category a draw.
Cheapest fare
Virgin Australia take out this round, managing to undercut Qantas by up to $20 per leg on the same routes. For example, Virgin is offering flights from Melbourne for just $149 each way while Qantas comes in slightly higher at $169 each way. It’s close, but Virgin takes the win.
Most departures
Qantas manages to win this one by offering just one more departure than Virgin. Holidaymakers in Newcastle benefit from Qantas departures as part of this sale while Virgin Australia is not offering flights from Newcastle. Otherwise, both airlines are offering flights from the main capital cities including Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
Winner
If all you want is the best price then Virgin Australia will win you over with the absolute cheapest fare. However, it’s so close to call and there are a number of other factors that may influence your decision including your brand loyalty and frequent flyer program. With fares so cheap, the real winner here is the consumer.
