Have a stopover and save 50pc on airfares

Fiona CarruthersTravel editor

Jun 2, 2023 – 4.47pm

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How do you fly from Australia to Los Angeles and other major cities for half the cost? It’s simple – just be prepared to spend some downtime during a stopover.

Travel experts recommend researching indirect routes with one or more stops to save up to half the cost of a direct airfare.

Venice Beach west of downtown Los Angeles. Getty Images

Using the example of heading to Los Angeles in August, James Kavanagh,
Global CEO Leisure Travel with the Flight Centre Travel Group, points out that a direct return flight (Sydney-LA-Sydney) with a major carrier is currently priced at around $2600 for the almost 14-hour flight.

“Then if you look at fares from Sydney–LAX [return] making just one stopover – in say, Auckland or Nadi – you can pick them up for around $1300 for 17-18 hours of total travelling time,” Mr Kavanagh said. “That’s a pretty good saving for the sake of spending a few hours in an airport.

“Wait until Christmas, and return airfare prices increase to $3388 indirect and $5000 direct, so the difference between off-peak and peak can be quite high still.”

The gradual return of the major Chinese airlines to Australia, along with recent announcements from the likes of Singapore Airlines and United Airlines of increased seat capacity towards the end of the year bodes well for sharper pricing.

“We’re already seeing excellent accommodation deals in cities like Edinburgh, London and New York over the northern hemisphere winter months, but you still have to get there,” Mr Kavanagh said.

“As soon as an airline announces increased capacity, get in and book before the fares rise with demand.

“Even though it’s completely counter-intuitive to the cost of living crisis, demand for travel hasn’t softened.”

The cost of business class airfares might be dropping, but economy and discount fares on the most in-demand routes remain well above 2019 levels, according to recent figures released by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics.

Data released by global search engine Kayak shows the average international return economy airfare from Australia for the second half of this year is $1826, compared to $1213 for the same period in 2019, an increase of more than 50 per cent.

Meanwhile, leisure-driven “lifestyle hotels” are leading the accommodation sector’s comeback, according to FCM Consulting’s latest Global Trends Report.

Global hotel occupancy for the first quarter of this year was at 60 per cent, only four percentage points below 2019 levels, with the lifestyle category performing particularly well, according to the report.

The first quarter of 2023 saw all six global regions surpass the previous quarter’s average room rates by 4-26 per cent with Asia leading the charge, up 26 per cent, followed by the Middle East, up by 22 per cent, then Europe and Latin America.

Rates in Australia/New Zealand were up by 12 per cent, followed by North America on 4 per cent.

Lifestyle hotels are distinguished by their mid-point pricing, design and colour pops, quirky amenities and services (such as the availability of bicycles to guests, green initiatives and wine tastings in the lobby), and include brands like Ovolo, Kimpton, MGallery and Canopy by Hilton.

James Hewlett, Head of Marketing with Collette tours, said while touring is seeing a renaissance given people can lock in prices on hotels, meals and land travel, “flight prices, generally speaking, for 2023, are still quite high”.

Given flight capacity will remain an issue for the remainder of the year, Mr Hewlett said many Collette customers were booking for 2024, when airfares should ease.

“We feel there’s not much left of this year, and people will be lucky to get real savings on departures for 2023,” Mr Hewlett said, adding the post-pandemic trend of people going to Europe or long-haul destinations for longer to justify the higher costs was likely to continue.

“We are seeing people booking up to three or four tours back to back, and we continue to see a lot of multi-generational travel to Europe and the like. Japan is also very popular, and represents excellent value for money.“

Silts Studios at Grun Canggu in Bali. The tiny island ‘has rebounded very strongly, as has Fiji’, says Flight Centre’s James Kavanagh. -

Collette’s October 12-night Japan Past & Present, includes 30 meals and all hotels, priced from $6999 per person for a maximum of 24 guests per tour.

If you want to avoid Australian crowds, Bali, London, Singapore, Auckland and Los Angeles are the top forward booking cities by Australians, according to Flight Centre data.

Regarding the nation’s “all-time favourite overseas destinations”, a recent poll of 4000 Australians by Luxury Escapes found Italy came out on top, followed by France, Bali, Thailand and Hawaii.

“Bali has rebounded very strongly, as has Fiji, and that’s driven in large part by the quality of the deals on offer, even during the busy school holiday periods,” Mr Kavanagh said.

Deals include $1865 for six nights for four people at Bali’s five-star Hotel Nikko Benoa Beach, in the south-eastern part of the Bukit Peninsula, a 20-minute drive from Denpasar International Airport. Roll in flights for all four guests for $4700, for a total spend of $6565.

Or head to Fiji’s four-star Naviti Resort on the Coral Coast, priced from $5299 for four people for seven nights, including flights.

Fiona Carruthers has written and edited travel for the Financial Review for almost a decade. She has held senior roles with ABC Radio National, Deutsche Welle Radio, TIME and The Australian, and was deputy editor of Traveller. Email Fiona at fcarruthers@afr.com