Air
Travel is a very feasible way of getting
around because of the distance between islands
in the Pacific and land distances in Australia.
However unfortunately it is still quite
expensive. Many small islands or outback
areas in Australia have commuter services,
but the busier routes have jet airlines.
AUSTRALIA
The only way to arrive in Australia is usually
by Air from Asia, Europe or North America.
Flights are often booked so prepare well
in advance particularly at Christmas time.
Generally to enter Australia you need an
onward flight unless you are an Australian
or New Zealand national.
Airlines
There are now only two domestic Australian
airlines with the recent closure of Ansett.
Qantas
(tel: 13 13 13) is the biggest domestic
and international carrier. Virgin
Blue (tel: 13 67 89) is a relative new
comer and not such an extensive flight network.
Regional
Express (tel: 13 17 13) or Rex Airlines
flies to 30 regional destinations in New
South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and
Victoria. Destinations include Adelaide,
Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney; Ballina/Byron
Bay further north and outback destinations
like Broken Hill, Olympic Dam and Coober
Pedy. There are two backpacker travel passes
available with Rex. One is a one month unlimited
standby travel for $499 or two months for
$949. They are only available to international
travellers with a VIP or YHA card and
cannot acrue frequent flyer points.
Other
regional airlines include SkyWest
(tel: 1300 66 00 88) and Alliance
Airlines (tel: 1300 13 00 92).
These regional airlines operate flights
to smaller cities and some of their fares
are competitive with the bigger carriers,
particularly on the busier routes. Skywest
operates to remote parts of WA, Eastern
Australia Airlines operates along the NSW
coast and inland to Bourke and Cobar.
Other very small operators include Kendell
Airlines in country Victoria, South
Australia, Tasmania, Broken Hill (NSW) and
Uluru (NT) and Sunstate which operates in
Queensland, to some islands and to Mildura
and Broken Hill in NSW. Airnorth
runs between Darwin and Alice Springs and
small towns in NT. Some of these airlines
are affiliates with Qantas and can be booked
through them. Other airlines include Air
South Australian
Air Express , Emu
Airways , Flight
West , Koala
Air Safaris , Tamair
, Whyalla
Airlines
Domestic Travel
Air travel between capitals and major centres
in Australia remains affordable, between
smaller towns it can be expensive but given
the distances involved is sometimes the
best means of travel. Qantas
and Virgin
Blue both have competitve prices, keep
a look out on their sites for the red hot
e-deals. Virgin Blue is a discount airline
and flights do not include any refreshments
or inflight services. Although you can purchase
food and beverages onboard or in the boarding
lounges. Virgin Blue does not offer all
the same routes as Qantas and only has international
flights to New Zealand. Tickets are generally
cheaper for both airlines the further you
book ahead but check the websites continually
for new deals. You can book online with
a credit card and simply pick up your ticket
at the airport before boarding. These are
called E-tickets. Normally you just produce
some form of identification at the airport
or the reference number on the ticket. All
domestic travel is non-smoking.
International Travel
There are a number of international gateways
into the country and the biggest are in
Sydney and Melbourne. Perth gets flights
from Asia, Europe, New Zealand and Africa.
Hobart in Tasmania only links to New Zealand,
and Port Hedland only to Bali. Adelaide,
Darwin, Cairns and Brisbane also have international
connections. To get to Canberra you need
a local connection. Qantas is the only international
Australian airline besides Virgin Blue's
service to New Zealand. Destinations in
and around Asia and the South Pacific can
be affordable but to other places Australia
is remote and distances huge and so European,
American and African flights can be pricey
particularly in peak seasons.
If you are flying from the UK check out
TNT
and TimeOut
for cheap deals. Alternatively Trailfinders
are reliable agents. Bucket-shops in London
also sell discount tickets. In the USA you
can check Sunday travel sections of papers
like the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco
Chronicle-Examiner, New York Times or Toronto
Globe and Mail. Some tickets can offer opportunities
to stop off in the Pacific Islands on the
way.
Air
New Zealand and Qantas operate a network
of flights that link Auckland, Wellington
and Christchurch with most Australian cities.
United and British Airways also fly this
route and you can get cheap fares as there
is some competition between all carriers.
From Asia flights from Hong Kong to Australia
are always heavily booked, as are the Bangkok
and Singapore routes. Book well ahead.
There are not so many direct flights between
Australia and Africa and they operate only
between Perth and Harare. You could fly
to south-east Asia and then get a connection
with Malaysian
Air, Singapore
Air or Air
Mauritius. Two routes operate between
South America and Australia that take you
to Santiago (Chile) or Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Buying a ticket
Return tickets are usually cheaper and are
a good defence against immigration officials
who want to be assured that you are going
to leave the country. Generally to enter
Australia you need an onward flight unless
you are an Australian or New Zealand national.
Get a ticket with an airline that allows
you to make changes to the ticket without
any problems.
Students or travellers under 26 years should
always ask for youth / student fares. You
can get a 25% discount on economy fares.
Always try and get a stopover if you are
taking a long flight. International travellers
can get a 30% discount on Qantas flights
by presenting their international ticket
when booking domestic flights. You do not
need to buy a return ticket when flying
domestically in Australia. Qantas does have
some passes for flights around Australia.
Check with your travel agent when booking
as one may need to be purchased overseas,
the other in Australia.
Buying tickets with a credit card can double
your frequent flyer points and is an insurance
against dodgy travel agents. This way you
have time to check you have a ticket and
can cancel the charge if there is a problem.
If you are arriving late or departing early
check to see if the airport is open all-night
so you can catch some sleep on comfy sofas
before heading off again. Some places can
close down and public transport services
stop for the night.
One of the more popular Pacific tickets
is the joint ticket that includes New Zealand,
Fiji and Australia and costs less than $1000.
Most flights to Europe cost approximately
$1500-2000 return. A South American destination
costs upwards to $3000. Around the world
tickets start at about $2000.
It is usually cheaper to but a ticket 21
days in advance or 14 days in advance for
more discounts. There are usually some conditions
with the tickets, like staying at least
one Saturday night and they are non-refundable.
Airport Transport
Every major airport has a private or public
bus service between the town and the airport.
Some airports also have a rail system. Some
are quite economical and convenient. In
some places you may need to take a taxi.
Customs
Australian customs and quarantine laws are
amongst the strictest in the world and you
can be heavily fined for disobeying. Always
declare any seed produce, wooden items and
other items that are listed on a document
you receive before landing. If you have
goods to declare you need to take them to
the appropriate desk on landing for inspection.
Cheap deals
Always compare prices between travel agents
and keep a look out for last minute deals.
Airlines would rather sell half price tickets
then let a seat go empty so you can get
last minute prices. On domestic flights
it is often better now to check out the
“red” specials on the airlines
websites than going through an agent but
for international flights a travel agent
is still the best option. Keep an eye out
in newspapers and at travel agencies for
deals. Virgin
Blue offers cheap domestic flights but
reduces their services i.e you will not
be served meals or drinks.
On international flights the cheaper fares
are likely to be less conveniently schedules
and go less by a convenient route or use
less popular airlines. A lot of round the
world tickets go through Australia and can
be very good bargains. Expect to pay about
AUS$2000. STA
and TNT
often advertise cheap deals. For other cheap
flights check the ads in major newspapers,
student newspapers and the free / alternative
press.
Interstate Quarantine
If you are crossing state borders in Australia
by air, road, rail etc certain fruits, plants
and vegetables should not be taken with
you. The inspection posts rely more on personal
honesty but you can be inspected by officials
for undeclared items. Please respect the
national laws and place the forbidden produce
in bins provided at the airports.
Keep
an eye out for good deals going as it can
sometimes be cheaper flying between the
North and South Islands than getting the
ferry. Flights that make the crossing include
Soundair (Wellington-Picton), Origin Pacific
(Wellington-Blenheim&Nelson) and Air
New Zealand (Wellington-Blenheim&Nelson).
To visit Great Barrier and Stewart Islands
you can book a ticket to get the ferry there
and fly back. Stand by flights to Stewart
Island are also competitive.
FIJI Air Fiji
is the most established domestic airline
and has 15 routes plus an international
service to Tuvalu. They also offer an Air
Pass which allows you to travel one of three
set routes stopping at several islands. Sunflower Airlines
also has a comprehensive network with a
fleet of smaller commuter planes. Turtle
Airways offers a seaplane service to
some of the smaller islands.
Nadi and Suva are the major air hubs on
Viti Levu with connecting flights to Vanua
Levu, Kadavu and outer islands.
If PNG is your sole destination it
can be expensive. It is usually better to
get it as a stop over on the way to Singapore,
India or Sri Lanka. Air Niugini has an arrangement
currently with Air Lanka to Colombo at a
good price.
Weekend fares in PNG are 30 to 50% cheaper
but the seats are limited and best booked
well in advance. Onward international ticket
holders receive a cursory 20% discount of
all tickets at any time of the week. Seven
day fares are also cheap options. Air Nugini
offers a five flight deal for just USD$300
with additional stops and extra USD$50 each.
The Air Nuigini site has a schedule of domestic
flights. Some airports include Port Moresby,
Mt Hagen, Madang, Trobiand Islands, Aloatu,
Rabaul.
COOK ISLANDS
Flying is the most practical way of reaching
all the small islands that make up the Cook
Islands. Air
Rarotonga is the largest domestic operator
with two 18-seat planes. There are more
services to the southern group of islands
particularly to Atiutaki which has three
daily flights. Flights to the northern islands
are less frequent. No flights on Sundays.
FRENCH POLYNESIA Air
Tahitiserves most of the islands
in French Polynesia. Air
Moorea and some smaller charter airlines
also provide services. Most flights pass
through Tahiti but some also run direct
between Bora Bora and Rangiroa in the northern
Tuamotus.
Air
Tahiti offers a number of air passes including:
The Pass Découverte (Discovery Pass)
to Moorea, Huahine and Raiatea from Papeete.
Cost 21,000 F CPF. The Pass Bora Bora to
Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea, Bora Bora and
Maupiti from Papeete. Cost 30,500 F CPF.
Pass Lagons (Lagoon Pass) to Moorea the
atolls of Rangiroa, Manihi and Tikehau from
Papeete. Cost 30,000 F CPF.
Pass
Bora Tuamotu covers the Tuamotus and the
Society Islands. You can also visit Moorea,
Huahine, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Maupiti
and the atolls of Rangiroa, Manihi and Tikehau
from Papeete. Cost 45 500 F CPF.
Each
pass also allows an extension to the Austral
and Marquesa island groups. The Marquesa
extension to Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa is an
additional 45 000 F CPF. The Austral extension
to Rurutu and Tubuai is an additional 20
000 F CPF.
*
Avoid areas with young children
* Put a request in for seats with more leg
room (these are often reserved if someone
with a disability requests them)
* Suck on lollies or inhale sachets of eucalyptus
(both provided by the airline) if you have
ear trouble with ascent or descent.
* Bring an array of activities to keep you
occupied eg. Books to read, work to do,
letters to write etc
* Request to be moved if you can spy a series
of empty seats or request that the seats
next to you be left empty until needed
* Don’t hesitate to tell other passengers
if they are talking too loud when you are
sleeping, have their chair too far back
or are generally disrupting your comfort.
* Walk around the plane regularly for exercise
once the seatbelt sign is released. If you
hang around the hostess area long enough
you may even score a few perks – drinks,
visits to the cockpit etc.
* Get in early using the bathrooms as these
can deteriorate rapidly on some flights.
* Alcohol does not help with jet lag affects.
* If you’re hungry ask for more food.
There are often spare meals that are only
discarded.
