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China Eastern Airlines wins again, with round-trip economy fares starting at $1,109, but fares are much higher on the airline’s website, starting at $2,597. That’s not far off Vietnam Airlines’ premium economy fares, which start at $2,850, and Cathay Pacific’s fares, which start at $3,496.
Melbourne to London return, 18 July to 22 August
China Eastern Airlines fares start at $1,202, or $1,888 on the airline’s website. Emirates Airlines fares start at $2,173, and Qatar Airways fares start at $2,447. In premium economy, the cheapest fare starts at $3,681, with China Eastern and Virgin Atlantic. Premium economy fares start at $4,934 on Singapore Airlines.
Melbourne to Paris return, September 10 to October 9
Vietnam Airlines fares start at $1,520, but the airline’s website lists them at $1,465. On Emirates, the same flight starts at $2,424. Vietnam Airlines also has the cheapest premium economy seats, starting at $3,539.
Segmentation
Economy class fares to Europe have fallen compared to the same period in 2023. Premium economy and business class have not fallen as much, but fares at the back of the plane have fallen. The most likely reason is a rebalancing of supply and demand, as Visitors Last year’s forecastIn February 2024, the latest year for which data is available from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE), there were 4.17 million seats available on international flights to and from Australia. This is a 35 per cent increase on the number of seats available in the same month in 2023.
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One of the airlines that has seen the biggest increase in seat supply during this period is China Eastern Airlines. According to BITRE data, the airline carried 89,000 passengers on flights to and from Australia in February 2024. In the same month in 2023, the figure was less than 9,000. This growth means that airfares are under downward pressure.
The best deals on Eastern Airlines flights are booked through OTAs like Aunt Betty, BYO Jet, and Kiwi.com. You’ll pay at least $600 more for the same ticket through these airlines. It’s unusual to see such a large gap between the prices offered by an OTA and the prices offered by the airlines that operate the service. The gap can’t be explained by cutting back on services like checked baggage allowance and free seat assignments, which is one way OTAs offer cheaper prices than airlines. The most likely reason is that these OTAs have a large number of unsold European tickets, thus offering low prices.
In comparison, China Southern’s fares are similar to those of China Eastern Airlines as published on the airline’s website. Round-trip fares from Melbourne and Sydney to Paris and London are about $200 cheaper when booked through Skyscanner’s OTA.
Outside of the summer months, fares are slightly higher in September, which could mean greater demand as Australian tourists look to avoid the peak summer months and travel in the less busy months of September and October. However, if demand remains low, prices are expected to fall in the coming months.
What are the business class fares like?
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The cheapest return business class fare between Melbourne and Paris between July 18 and August 22 is again from China Eastern at $5949 on Skyscanner but $9314 on China Eastern’s website. Singapore Airlines fares are $8815 but Swiss starts at $8043 via Hong Kong on a Cathay Pacific codeshare. This suggests that demand for first class seats remains strong. The increase in the number of economy seats relative to demand is where the best value is.
*Unless otherwise stated, the following flight prices are from Skyscannersourced from June 12, 2024.
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