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Sydney Flights - Hints and Tips for Finding Discount Airfares, Special Offers, Best Deals and Reputable Online Booking Sites!

On this page we provide all the information you'll need to book a flight to Sydney from US cities, Great Britain, Canada, the European Union and New Zealand, along with basic details about arriving in the city (see below). What's more, you'll find below our dynamic flight finder, with special rates from top airlines and the choice of e-ticketing for many fares. So make big savings by booking online with us now!

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Arriving at Sydney Airport

Sydney Airport, which handles both domestic and international flights, is situated approximately 5 miles (8km) from the city centre. The facility has three terminals, serving more than 40 airlines and handling more than 28 million passengers per year, the majority of which are carried on domestic flights.

Terminal 1 handles all international arrivals and departures, including flights operated by Australia's national airline Qantas, plus members of the One World Alliance.
Terminal 2 carries domestic traffic, while Terminal 3 is used exclusively by Qantas for its domestic flights.

For information on travelling between the airport and downtown Sydney once you arrive, see our essentials section (airport transfers can also be booked via our website). For additional, information on Sydney Airport and its terminals please visit the company's official website.

From the United States

The best deals from major airlines, travel agents and consolidators usually come in the form of Apex tickets, which, as well as carrying certain restrictions must be booked at least 21 days before your intended date of departure. However, last minute deals can also be great cash savers, especially if you're flexible about the carrier that you travel with, and unfussy about the timing of your flight. Including at least one Saturday night within your planned itinerary should help your cause even further. To get an idea of the flights and fares available, a good starting point is our own Dynamic Fare Finder.

The Australian national carrier Qantas offers the most flights to Australia, with its non-stop flight from Los Angeles (with Boeing 747-200s used on the route) being a particular favourite. As a codeshare flight with American Airlines, tickets cost around $1400 USD return (in high season) and can be purchased through our website. So far as other Qantas flights are concerned, US gateways to Australia are considered to be New York and Honolulu. Direct flights from New York JFK to Sydney depart five times per week, while those from Hawaii (which are non-stop) take place three times a week. In 2006, Qantas also started flying from San Francisco to Sydney non-stop, including an originating service in Vancouver.

Other direct flights to Sydney from east coast cities such as New York and Atlanta often require a stop (or change of aircraft) at airports such as San Francisco or Los Angeles. Typically, a coach class return flight in January/February will cost around $1600 USD per person, while those from west coast cities (such as Los Angeles in high season) typically cost around $1300 USD for the equivalent fare.

Among the other airlines offering services to Sydney from US cities, Air New Zealand operate daily services from Los Angeles to Sydney (via Auckland), while United work daily non-stop services from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Sydney with a continuing service to Melbourne.

If booking online, try to search for fares late in the evening (just after midnight) as this is the time when airlines update their databases to add special offers. If you do find a great deal, be quick though, as the number of tickets on sale is often limited (airlines invariably advertise the same deal in newspapers the following morning, even though most tickets will have already been sold. This is because customers, who flock to the website, may still end up purchasing a similar ticket even though all the reduced fares have gone).

Other low fares can also be found by visiting the pages of airline consolidators such as www.onetravel.com, Hotwire or web specialist's such as www.flyaow.com. Another great site we've found is www.search.com which trawls the databases of well-known sites (such as Travel Zoo, Best Fares etc) for seasonal discounts. It's certainly worth visiting if you're serious about getting a bargain!

Another innovation to the Internet market is Priceline, a website where you can "name your own price" on a wide choice of flights, including transatlantic crossings. In truth, to get a good deal you need to do your homework on prices elsewhere before putting in a bid.

College students and adults under 26 can pick up good deals through youth oriented travel agencies such as STA Travel. Their site provides a database of the cheapest fares available and allows you to make a choice of based on price, airline, time etc. Other ways to save money include booking through a discount agency, or if you've left arrangements to the last minute, buying a ticket through an agency offering consolidated/discounted fares such as www.onetravel.com. A useful "Rules of the Air" page (which gives the lowdown on specific subjects such as check-in time and baggage limits for airlines such as Delta and United) is an added bonus on their site.

For combined package tours of Sydney, a site well-worth visiting is www.goaheadvacations.com. They offer an 23 day combined tour of Australia and New Zealand from a very reasonable $4,649 USD.

For more travel agent listings see our links page. Passport, customs, general information and useful facts and figures are included in our essentials a-c section.

From Great Britain

To get an idea of the flights and fares available, a good starting point is our own Dynamic Fare Finder. At the time of writing (February 2007) over 30 airlines offer services to Australia from UK airports, with the most popular options being direct flights via cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Singapore and Dubai. In addition, you can add a stopover to your journey (usually in Japan, Thailand or Singapore), fly via a city such as Johannesburg or island hop across the Pacific by using a number of international gateways.

The country's national airline Qantas operates 28 flights a week to Australia from the UK including a double daily service to Sydney, while Malaysia Airlines fly non-stop (with 18 flights a week) between London and Kuala Lumpur. This then provides an easy onward connection to Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth & Sydney. In addition, Emirates fly to major gateways around Australia (via Dubai and Singapore), while the ever reliable Singapore Airlines offer 3 daily flights from London Heathrow and a daily flight from Manchester to Singapore (from where you can board any one of 71 connecting flights per week to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide).

Perhaps the best resource for finding late bargains and cheap fares is www.cheapflights.co.uk. Not only does the site remove the hassle of contacting countless travel agents by phone, but also provides direct e-mail and/or website links to companies listed in their database. The 'information' section also gives useful hints and tips on finding the best deals around. Other useful sites include www.travellersweb.ws and farebase (easy to use with highly competitive prices).

For more travel agent listings see our links page. Passport, customs, general information and useful facts and figures are included in our essentials a-c section.

From Canada

To get an idea of the flights and fares available, a good starting point is our own Dynamic Fare Finder. You'll find that Air Canada offer daily direct services from Vancouver to Sydney via Los Angeles (with the return leg usually taking in Honolulu), while passengers from Toronto Pearson will need to connect via Los Angeles for the AC5183 service to Sydney.

As far as Qantas flights are concerned, those originating in Toronto require a change at Los Angeles, while those from Vancouver require a change of aircraft either in San Francisco or Los Angeles.

For more travel agent listings see our links page. Passport, customs, general information and useful facts and figures are included in our essentials a-c section.

From the European Union

To get an idea of the flights and fares available, a good starting point is our own Dynamic Fare Finder.

With a journey time of approximately 20 hours from Paris to Sydney, France's national airline offers code share flights from Charles De Gaulle in conjunction with Qantas (via Singapore). Alternatively, it may make financial sense to fly via London or Frankfurt or, in the case of Emirates Airlines, to fly from Charles De Gaulle via Dubai. Flight prices are on the high side, with a return economy ticket in high season costing around €1200-€1400.

In Germany Lufthansa fly direct from Frankfurt to Sydney, with the journey being via Singapore or Bangkok. For travellers starting their journey in Berlin or Münich, you'll need to fly to Frankfurt first, before catching one of two daily flights to Sydney (though, on the return leg, you can fly straight back to Münich from Hong Kong). As the carrier frequently offers special web only deals (as well as a 'happy hour' page where visitors can bid for flights) you are advised to check online for Lufthansa's latest prices.

In the Netherlands, KLM - Royal Dutch Airlines operate a code share agreement with Malaysia Airlines to provide a one-stop service to Sydney via Kuala Lumpur. Flights from Maastricht require a stop at Schipol first, while those travelling from Rotterdam will have to take a 45 minute train journey to Amsterdam, before taking their direct flight out.

Flights From Elsewhere in Australia and New Zealand

Given its geographical size, it's no surprise that Australia has a wide-choice of domestic airlines, offering both services to outlying towns and major cities. Firstly, Rex. Regional Express flies between Sydney and destinations such as Wagga Wagga, Dubbo, Albury, Grafton and Bourke, while budget carrier Jetstar connects Australian cities to Singapore and New Zealand, as well as destinations in Asia and beyond (in addition to offering domestic flights within Australia).

For citizens of New Zealand, Jetstar offer return flights to Sydney from Christchurch, while Virgin Blue have scheduled services to Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington (the last two being via Brisbane). In addition, Freedom Air operate services to Sydney from Hamilton, Palmerston North and Dunedin.

To get an idea of the flights and fares available in Australia, a good starting point is our own Dynamic Fare Finder. In addition, Travel Com offers up a comprehensive choice from their online database, together with www.travelshop.com.au and Flight Centre. For New Zealand, good online booking services can be found at: www.travel.co.nz and www.travel-nz.com.

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