We all know a friend who swears by the fact that you need to buy tickets six weeks out from the travel day and Tuesdays are the cheapest days to fly, but is that still the case? Travel insurance comparison site, Compare the Market, has crunched the numbers to see which days are the cheapest to fly out in December as people begin to plan for their end-of-year celebrations.
Turns out that friend of yours is in fact onto something. Using Skyscanner for a single one-way ticket with no checked baggage, Compare the Market found that flights out of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to the rest of Australia’s major cities are cheapest between the 11th and 17th of December.
While there is a strong correlation within this period with inexpensive flights (in comparison to prices across December), there are still some great deals to be had before this time (such as Brisbane to Cairns on the 5th of December) as well as after these dates (Sydney to Adelaide on the 19th of December).
Across the board, the analysis also found that on average, the most expensive tickets from all three major cities (Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne) were a few days prior to and after the 25th of December.
The cheapest deals out of Brisbane for a single one-way ticket with no checked baggage are:
| Departing Brisbane to | Cheapest day(s) | Cheapest price | Average cheapest price across December | Price difference cheapest vs ave. |
| Sydney | Dec 13 & Dec 20 | $77 | $113.35 | $36.35 |
| Melbourne | Dec 14 | $125 | $163.84 | $38.84 |
| Hobart | Dec 6 & Dec 18 | $174 | $218.13 | $44.13 |
| Adelaide | Dec 5 | $140 | $206.74 | $66.74 |
| Perth | Dec 25 | $297 | $364.81 | $67.81 |
| Darwin | Dec 15 | $179 | $274.28 | $95.28 |
| Cairns | Dec 5 | $97 | $164.42 | $67.42 |
| Canberra | Dec 7, Dec 13-15 & Dec 25 | $143 | $203.21 | $60.21 |
| Departing Brisbane to | Most expensive day(s) | Most expensive price | Price difference between cheapest and most expensive | Days in between cheapest and most expensive day |
| Sydney | Dec 30 | $222 | $145 | 10 days |
| Melbourne | Dec 23 | $255 | $130 | 9 days |
| Hobart | Dec 22 | $380 | $206 | 4 days |
| Adelaide | Dec 22 | $408 | $268 | 17 days |
| Perth | Dec 23 | $482 | $185 | 2 days |
| Darwin | Dec 23 | $370 | $191 | 8 days |
| Cairns | Dec 28 | $355 | $258 | 23 days |
| Canberra | Dec 26 | $403 | $260 | 1 day |
The cheapest deals out of Sydney for a single one-way ticket with no checked baggage are:
| Departing Sydney to | Cheapest day(s) | Cheapest price | Average cheapest price across December | Price difference cheapest vs ave. |
| Brisbane | Dec 5-7 & Dec 12-13 | $72 | $118.35 | $46.35 |
| Melbourne | Dec 19 | $55 | $84 | $29 |
| Hobart | Dec 6 | $87 | $169.84 | $82.84 |
| Adelaide | Dec 6-7, Dec 12-14 & Dec 19 | $118 | $158.52 | $40.52 |
| Perth | Dec 6 & Dec 12 | $304 | $343.90 | $39.90 |
| Darwin | Dec 15 | $173 | $253.45 | $80.45 |
| Cairns | Dec 3 | $126 | $218 | $92 |
| Canberra | Dec 19 | $153 | $210.86 | $57.86 |
| Departing Sydney to | Most expensive day(s) | Most expensive price | Price difference between cheapest and most expensive | Days in between cheapest and most expensive day |
| Brisbane | Dec 23 & Dec 27 | $196 | $124 | 10 days |
| Melbourne | Dec 23 | $133 | $78 | 4 days |
| Hobart | Dec 22 | $373 | $286 | 16 days |
| Adelaide | Dec 23 | $270 | $152 | 4 days |
| Perth | Dec 27 | $378 | $74 | 15 days |
| Darwin | Dec 7 | $363 | $190 | 8 days |
| Cairns | Dec 26-27 | $413 | $287 | 23 days |
| Canberra | Dec 21 | $453 | $300 | 2 days |
Cheapest deals out of Melbourne (any airport) for a single one-way ticket with no checked baggage are:
| Departing Melbourne (any airport) to | Cheapest day(s) | Cheapest price | Average cheapest price across December | Price difference cheapest vs ave. |
| Brisbane | Dec 13 | $101 | $171.97 | $70.97 |
| Sydney | Dec 13 | $57 | $99.10 | $42.10 |
| Hobart | Dec 12-13 & Dec 17 | $68 | $131.35 | $63.35 |
| Adelaide | Dec 14 | $82 | $132.26 | $50.26 |
| Perth | Dec 9 | $246 | $343 | $97 |
| Darwin | Dec 16 | $194 | $278 | $84 |
| Cairns | Dec 2 & Dec 4 | $128 | $219.26 | $91.26 |
| Canberra | Dec 13 | $78 | $117.23 | $39.23 |
| Departing Melbourne (any airport) to | Most expensive day(s) | Most expensive price | Price difference between cheapest and most expensive | Days in between cheapest and most expensive day |
| Brisbane | Dec 23 | $294 | $193 | 10 days |
| Sydney | Dec 30 | $206 | $149 | 17 days |
| Hobart | Dec 23 | $307 | $239 | 6 days |
| Adelaide | Dec 3 | $274 | $192 | 11 days |
| Perth | Dec 22 | $537 | $291 | 13 days |
| Darwin | Dec 27 | $448 | $254 | 11 days |
| Cairns | Dec 28 | $428 | $300 | 24 days |
| Canberra | Dec 3 | $212 | $134 | 10 days |
Another trend that Compare the Market found is that travellers may be able to grab a bargain by flying out on the 31st of December to select cities. Holidaymakers from Brisbane may be able to snap up one of the cheapest tickets to Hobart and Perth of the calendar month, while Sydneysiders could get themselves to Melbourne for as little as $63 if they fly out on New Year’s Eve. Melbournians could also make a trip out to Hobart or Adelaide for less than $100.
| Departing Brisbane to | Average December price | Cost of flying out on the 31st |
| Sydney | $113.35 | $143 |
| Melbourne | $163.84 | $151 |
| Hobart | $218.13 | $176 |
| Adelaide | $206.74 |
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