Falling fuel costs and more seats drive down prices in Australia and the Asia-Pacific
Cheaper jet fuel and more seat availability have driven down prices for Australian jetsetters and the price relief is expected to continue, AAP report.
Domestic economy air fares were 12% cheaper in the first two months of 2025 than the same time last year, data compiled by corporate travel advisers FCM Consulting shows. That represents $29 off the average ticket price.
The price drop comes despite theAustralian Competition and Consumer Commissionclaiming limited domestic competition was helping the country’s dominant airline groups –QantasandVirgin– boost their profit margins.
Globally, jet fuel is down almost 17% compared to the 2024 average, driven in part by economic uncertainty from Donald Trump’s trade war. FCM Consulting’s director,Felicity Burke, said Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region had experienced sharper drops in fares compared with the rest of the world.
“We’ve been saying for a long time now that global capacity increases and other factors like jet barrel cost reductions would go hand-in-hand with air fare price drops in various regions, and this is one of several reasons that we’re now seeing this come to fruition,” she said.
Air fares for the “golden triangle” route between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane remained fairly flat – a consequence of higher demand.
Global capacity in May was 7% higher than 2019 and 5% higher than the same time last year. International economy air fares out of Australia dropped 5% in January and February compared with the same period last year, while business class tickets fell 3%.
The greater Geelong region has become the country’s most popular destination among Australian movers after figures showed that it had taken the biggest share of net internal migration.
The latestregional movers index (RMI) reportshows that in the 12 months to the March quarter, the greater Geelong local government area had a 9.3% share of total net internal migration, compared with 8.9% for the Sunshine Coast, which had topped the chart for the previous two years.
The figures reflect an increase in movement out of metropolitan areas to the regions, with capital city to regional relocations increasing by almost 11% on the previous quarter to sit 20.5% above the pre-Covid average.
The RMI is produced by theRegional Australia Instituteand theCommonwealth Bankand analyses quarterly and annual trends in people moving to and from Australia’s regional areas.
Liz Ritchie, the chief executive of the RAI, said the data demonstrated the nation’s “love affair” with regional living was showing no signs of abating with 25% more people moving from capital cities to the regions, than back in the opposite direction.
The popularity of the Geelong region comes with a rise in the popularity of regional Victoria as a whole. The state captured 34% of the total net inflows into all of regional Australia during the March 2025 quarter, larger than the 28% share in the March 2024 quarter.
Josh Foster, acting executive general manager of regional and agribusiness banking at Commonwealth Bank, said the figures showed the vitality of Victoria.
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’mMartin Farrerwith the top stories to start the day beforeLuca Ittimanitakes the hot seat.
David Littleproudsays he has “comfort” in the tweaks to the policy package that he will present to the Nationals party room, suggesting he expects a deal to reunite the Coalition will get the nod from his MPs and senators.
Pressure is building within Labor’s grassroots membership for the government to impose sanctions on Israel over its blockade of food and aid into Gaza, with an internal pro-Palestine group reporting “a surge in anger and frustration” among members. The issue has loomed large over the Sydney Writers’ festival and we report on how Israeli and Palestinian participants have tried to navigate what one called a “moral crisis”.
Plus: the Sunshine Coast is no longer the most popular destination for internal migrants, and the new city at the top of the list is a very different option. And new data shows that air fares are falling – but will it last?