The fares quoted are standard fares, I.e. not sale fares. Sake fares will be considerably cheaper. Sales are regular - sign up to all of the airlines websites and you'll be notified. You just missed some major sales - from boxing day until mid Jan!
Originally Posted by
mudd_stuffin
Just for a comparison, you just missed a seat sale. Mel to qns was $199 one way on vs.
By the way, jetstar is jq, not js.
And if you're referring to Virgin Australia, it's VA not VS (That's Virgin Atlantic!).
Originally Posted by
joepakid
Virgin Australia do happy hour sales most days of the week in the afternoon Australia time. It might be a bit labor intensive to sit and watch the website, but I have gotten some pretty good deals in the past.
Just remember both Jetstar and Virgin are unbundled, and will probably charge you ~$25 per checked bag. The Australian carriers are also a bit tighter on the weight of carry-on bags. Qantas is still bundled, offering 1 23kg bag and a meal (snack or meal depending on time of day) with the base fare on their domestic routes, so you should factor that in to your cost calculation.
Virgin Aus haven't had happy hour sales for over a year!