It's been nearly a month since Qantas released its international flight schedule and airfares, and within that short time the airline's restart date has been brought forward by a month.
Qantas was planning a return to its international destinations on December 18, but on some routes, flights will be back in the air in just over a month.
On September 16, Newshub took a snapshot of Qantas' airfares on flights departing on December 18, compared to other operating airlines on booking website SkyScanner.com.
But now that the flights are leaving a month earlier, has there been any change to advertised airfares?
The simple answer seems to be: Yes. In some cases, there have been massive changes.
On Thursday, October 7, Newshub took a snapshot in the same way and to the same destinations, but using the new "first flight" date of November 14.
The major changes were on flights between Sydney and London. In September a one-way ticket to London on December 18 was advertised for $2742.
However, flights on the newly scheduled first flight are as low as $1108 one-way. Interestingly, the airfare which was checked for December 18 last time had increased to $3175.
Sydney-London
Qantas - December 18: $3175
Qantas - November 14: $1108
Cheapest - December 18: Qatar Airways - $1326
Cheapest - November 14: ANA $770
Sydney-Los Angeles
Qantas - December 18: $3688
Qantas - November 14: $2900
Cheapest - December 18: United Airlines $1347
In terms of the cheapest flights between Sydney and London on November 14, there are four options. The outright cheapest is Emirates, however that involves flying to Dubai and then to Los Angeles, essentially going the long way around.
It's the same for the next cheapest option, Qatar. It's charging $1078, but you are also going to spend much longer in the air than what you should in order to get to Los Angeles.
Lastly, it wouldn't be fair to separate the two cheapest airlines offering direct flights to Los Angeles from Sydney. Delta Airlines has an airfare of $1360, while United Airlines is just one dollar more at $1361.
All airfares have been converted to NZ$ and are one-way, departing on flights on November 14. They were viewed by Newshub on October 7, 2021.Some tickets have more than halved in cost.
