• Domestic Discount Air Fares
• Indexes

Domestic Discount Air Fares

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• Graphs
• Summary
• Notes
• Collection methodology

Graphs

Domestic Air Fares (Business)

Domestic Air Fares (Restricted Economy)

Domestic Air Fares (Best Discount)

Summary Table

Real Domestic Air Fare Index (July 2003=100)

Notes

Indexes are constructed from BITRE's monthly survey of airline internet booking sites. Fares are recorded only when they are available on the nominated day of travel (the last Thursday of the month). The series is a price index of the lowest available fare in each fare class, weighted over selected routes. It does not measure real airline yields, or average fares paid by passengers. For more information on methodology use the link at the top of this page.

Occasionally, the index may record an unusual result when the nominated day of travel falls on, or adjacent to, a public holiday:

• The travel date fell on a public holiday in December 2019, April and December 2024.    
• The travel date fell the day before a public holiday in December 2020, January and March 2024.
• The return travel date fell the day before a public holiday in March 2020 and March 2022.

April 2021 to current—Best Discount index: During the period of "Half Off" air fares made available through Tourism Aviation Network Support (TANS), the BITRE Air Fares Survey has collected the cheapest available fare—using "Half Off" fares where available.

April 2021—Restricted Economy index: Virgin Australia Restricted Economy fares on some routes were noticeably lower this month. The Virgin Australia web site notes that complementary food would no longer be provided on Economy class fares as of 25 March 2021. It is not clear what part this change has played in the reductions to Virgin Australia's Restricted Economy fares.

Business class fares from April 2020: Fares collected may not include normal entitlements like meals and lounge access during the period impacted by COVID-19.

Index calculation for April 2020 to November 2020: There were significant reductions to airline services in April and May 2020 in particular due to the COVID-19 pandemic and valid fares were not available for many routes covered by the survey. The indexes for April to November 2020 are based on the available routes during those months compared to the same routes in the base period.

November 2017 change to Restricted Economy index: From November 2017, refunds of Jetstar's Restricted Economy products (Starter with Max) for cancellations are only available in the form of vouchers. Vouchers may only be redeemed for other Jetstar products and are therefore considered by BITRE to be closer to a transfer than a full refund. This change in Jetstar's product places it outside BITRE's definition of a restricted economy fare, which has resulted in a sharp increase in the restricted economy index for November 2017.

March 2015—the Full Economy index is discontinued: From the middle of February 2015, Qantas Airways ceased offering Full Economy fares for domestic travel. It is no longer possible to produce an index for this fare category. In the future, if Full Economy fares are offered on sufficient routes, the index for this fare category could be reinstated.

December 2011 and January 2012 changes to Business and Full Economy indexes: Both the Business and Full Economy indexes were substantially affected by changes to fare offered. In December 2011 the Business index fell substantially mainly due to reductions in many of these fares by Qantas. This index again dropped significantly in January 2012 as Virgin Australia introduced Business class fares on many more of their routes. With the expansion of Virgin Australia's Business class fares they removed their Premium Economy class fare completely. The removal of these fares resulted in the Full Economy index rising substantially in January 2012.

June 2011 change to Restricted Economy index: In June 2011 both Virgin Australia and Jetstar introduced simplified fare structures. The new fare types used in constructing the indexes are shown on the Methodology page. The major impact of this change was to the Restricted Economy index. The new Virgin Australia fares used for this category (Flexi) were substantially lower than the previously used Virgin fares (Flexible). In a competitive response Qantas also reduced its Flexi Saver fares on competing routes. These changes produced a sharp drop in the Restricted Economy index.

February 2008 change to Full Economy index: Prior to February 2008 the Full Economy Fare category was based solely on the Qantas Fully Flexible Fare. From February 2008 on the category was expanded to include Virgin Blue's Corporate Plus Fare, leading to a drop in the index at the point of changeover.

Consumer price index Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Catalogue No 6401.0