How to get to US from Aust/NZ for less?
 

After I finish my Peace Corps service in Morocco, I hope to head to SE Asia to travel, starting at BKK.

I'm exploring the possibility of seeing Australia and NZ, too, but am having trouble getting back to the States for a reasonable amount.

Can anyone tell me if there are airports in the SPacific that have traditionally lower rates to the U.S.?

I might be better off heading back to BKK, SIN or KUL, but the ALK or SYD flights to there seem to have gotten steeper since I started looking at flights.

I've been looking at freighter cruises, too. Time's not so much of an issue as money.

In order to provide any useful help with your question we are going to need to know what you consider a "reasonable" amount, and the rough date(s) of your return to the USA.

VAustralia currently has one-way fares from SYD or BNE to LAX for appr. $ 630 AUD ai. Last date at this price is currently Nov. 30, but I suspect it will get extended or certainly reappear for travel in March or April of 2010. Not what I would describe as "cheap" but one-way fares on this route are not known to be cheap.

There are several discount carriers with flights from Australia to SE Asia. Tiger, JetStar, and Air Asia fly from a variety of cities in OZ to SIN and KUL. If you book far enough in advance you should be able to get a one-way ticket from PER to KUL, or PER to SIN, or DRW to SIN for not much more than $ 100. SYD, MEL, or OOL to Asia will cost a bit more. You may then have more options for an economical one-way fare back to the USA.

People may be able to provide other useful suggestions if you provide your appr. travel date.

This is what I'm looking for - airports that traditionally cost less than others to fly back to the U.S.

I know there are LCCs throughout Asia and Aust/NZ; that's not the issue. I'm trying to learn if there's a city/country that generally has lower rates to the U.S.

Dates would be late December, though I can't name a price. I'm not looking for a particular dollar figure, just to know if there's some city that generally is cheaper to fly in and out of. The airport options are quite extensive; I figured there's someone who knows far more than I do.

Late December is high season. There won't be (m)any cheap fares available. As posted above, one-way fares to USA tend to be fairly expensive (as a guide 75% of return fare).

Normally ex-NZ is quite a lot cheaper than ex-Australia, but there is currently more competition on the SYD-US route so that may be cheaper (during sales).

The cheapest options are normally SYD-LAX/SFO and AKL-LAX/SFO.

Air NZ has weekly auctions on Thursdays for longhaul travel at short notice on specific flights. They are almost always return itineraries, but even so may be cheaper than regular one-way fares. However, if there are any for USA at that time of year I'd expect to be in high demand.

Flying to/from any country that celebrates Xmas is going to be expensive in late December @:-)

Do tell more !

How low do the prices get, and can they be purchased x US?

EmailKid

United's Australian site had a sale that ended two weeks ago- MEL-NYC was available for about $895 AUD ($755 USD) roundtrip. Fares from Sydney were about $30 more.

Check Air Pacific's website too - for some reason, it doesn't always seem to show up on Kayak, Expedia, whatever.