Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Australian air pass options for an American?

I am traveling to Australia on UA in February and March, and I need some sort of airpass to visit PER, MEL and BNE--starting and finishing in SYD. I know Qantas sells air passes as part of a trans-Pac ticket, but is there such a thing without combining it with a trans-Pac flight? If not on Qantas, then maybe on Virgin Blue?

Thanks in advance for advice anyone can offer!

Muckus

You can ask UA to see if they have made some arrangements for their pax. I am not aware of any, all of the Aussie Airpass products on QF require flying QF trans-pacific. The airpass are a good deal, but in the past year QF has lowered prices a lot if you can book in advance (catch is that those discounted fares are "use it or lose it", no changes allowed and becomes worthless if you are a minute late for the flight; the Airpass is fully changable).

Have you priced Virgin? Their least expensive tix are most reasonable and we liked flying with them a lot. Even paid for the extra legroom A$30, which was worth it on the longer flights.

I have been in OZ a couple times lately, and have had to hop from city to city each time. I can tell you that with all the competition between QF, Jetstar and VirginBlue, you are as likely to pay the same amount as an airpass would cost if you go online the night before you want to travel, and just buy the best deal.

Even if it costs a little more, the flexibility is very valuable.

I've looked into Air Passes before, but I ended up buying tickets individually
from Jet Start, Qantas or Virgin blue. Prices were pretty close if not cheaper
but I had lot more flexibility.

Only issue could be the luggage limits. QF will give you higher limits along
with the trans-pac QF flight.. limits are much lower on Jet Star and
Virgin blue.

Sites: (use the Australian portal.. it gets cheaper in most cases
but your CC might be charged extra 2-3% foreign transaction
fees)

http://www.jetstar.com/au/index.html
http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/home/qualifier-region-au
http://www.virginblue.com.au/

And its simple to buy multiple oneway tickets without outrageous charges.

I've looked into Air Passes before, but I ended up buying tickets individually
from Jet Start, Qantas or Virgin blue. Prices were pretty close if not cheaper
but I had lot more flexibility...I'm confused by this. All the cheap tickets that I have ever bought from DJ, JQ or QF were highly restricted (more so than in the US); flexible fares were available, typically at double the cost. The Aussie airpass is fully flexible (you can even change destination). The experience you describe is the opposite -- which confuses me. I found the Airpass was no cheaper but a lot more convenient and avoids the need to throw away tickets that can't be used (which happens on the cheapest fares in Oz if your plans change).

I'm confused by this. All the cheap tickets that I have ever bought from DJ, JQ or QF were highly restricted (more so than in the US); flexible fares were available, typically at double the cost. The Aussie airpass is fully flexible (you can even change destination). The experience you describe is the opposite -- which confuses me. I found the Airpass was no cheaper but a lot more convenient and avoids the need to throw away tickets that can't be used (which happens on the cheapest fares in Oz if your plans change).

I was talking in terms of the flight timings and destinations. I've never had to
change the tickets once issued, but choosing the way I did, it gave
me more choices in terms of the flight times, frequency and destinations.

You are right.. its hard to change the ticket with the domestic LCC flights
and change fees could be a bit steep.

Thank you, everyone, for these helpful posts. It definitely looks like one-way flights on Virgin Blue, JetStar or Qantas will work for me. I do worry about the no-change restrictions, but if I wait another two weeks or so for my plans to firm up I should be able to buy flights without much risk of needing to make a change. The cheapest fares may no longer be available by then on one airline or another, but between the three it should not be a problem to find a cheap flight at the right time. Thanks again, Muckus!

Agreed that individual discount domestic flights seem to be the way to go. Try http://www.webjet.com.au/ to price out the discount tickets simultaneously.

It may be worth your while to price your UA itinerary so that it includes your SYD-MEL. In my experience this does not add much to your trip, and would eliminate one leg (you may be able to do an open jaw, arrive in MEL, depart from SYD).

Fly in MEL, fly out SYD, or vice-versa.

Then arrange your itinerary as a loop - one-way city hopping, that is.

If you can firm up your schedule, the discount flights are the way to go. Unless you absolutely need the flexibility for ticket change, airpass is a whole lot more expensive than the discount fares. Also, some discount fares (not the cheapest one) do allow changes up to 24 hrs before travel, with surcharge.

Thanks for all the great advice. I got tickets on DJ for SYD-PER-MEL-BNE-SYD for about US$580, plus another $100 or so for "blue zone" seating. I consider that a good deal! Thanks again, Muckus.