FLIGHT PRICE INDEX

The Definitive International Flight Guide To Australia

FEBRUARY 2007

BEST FARES

1. During February BA followed the likes of Easyjet and Ryanair and introduced a Baggage Handling Charge for customers checking in baggage on to both short and long haul routes. Charges can be as much as £120 one way for checking in one additional bag. Is this sustainable? Will other carriers follow suite? www.australiatravelmarket.com predicts the answer is NO to both questions. Whilst customers may be willing to accept this sort of additional charge when paying £6 for a flight on Ryanair to Rome, it is fundamentally different when a customer has paid £500 for a 7 hour flight to New York. As long as other carriers do not follow suite, customers will simply choose not to fly on BA. It would certainly be reason enough for www.australiatravelmarket.com to choose to fly on a rival airline.


2. Will the merger of Thomas Cook and Mytravel lead to the reintroduction of charter flights to Australia? Inevitably the merged group will have surplus aircraft for their winter requirements, and with Thomas Cook stating that Australia has the potential to be the source of good high yielding growth it would not surprise if an aircraft is redeployed to this route – especially given that Thomson pulled off this year. Time will tell…

3. Great news for those who live in the North East who wish to travel to Australia. Emirates have recently announced that they intend to commence flying from Newcastle in September. A direct flight once a day from Newcastle to Dubai will link up with onward services to Australia. No longer will Newcastle residents have to travel across to Manchester or down to Heathrow to travel to Australia. www.australiatravelmarket.com predicts this new service will be an immediate success.

TRENDS IN DECEMBER

London Heathrow
1. Flights departing London Heathrow have increased in price by an average of
6.28% between January and February.

2. The only decrease in price is in June with an average price decrease of –3.58% from £665 to £642.

3. April witnessed the largest increase in price with a 19.50% increase from £863 to £1072.


Manchester

4. Flights departing Manchester have increased in price by an average of 7.72%

5. The largest average price increase from Manchester is in April with an increase of
22.11% from £1050 to £1348.

6. August, October and November are the only months that have a slight decrease in flights flying from Manchester.

Glasgow

7. The largest average price decrease from Glasgow is in June with a decrease of 4.84% from £736 to £702.

8. The largest average price increase from Glasgow is in April with an increase of 27.21% from £907 to £1246.

General

9. Overall there has been a general increase in the price of flights from all airports over the next 11 months.

10. Thomas Cook and Malaysian Airlines have dominated the market this month for all future months from Heathrow.

11. British Airways and Airline network have dominated the market place from Manchester.

12. Qantas and Airline Network have dominated the marketplace for most future months from Glasgow.

13. April 2006 is currently the most expensive month for travel from the UK from all airports to Australia.

Source: http://www.australiatravelmarket.com


• Economy return airfare to Sydney as at 1st February ‘07
• Using leading scheduled airlines to Australia (QF/SQ/MH/CX/EK/TG/VS)
• Average cost of all airfares displayed in search results
• Request airfare applicable at 01st of each month, for 2 week period
• Fares from London Heathrow, Manchester and Glasgow applied
• Supporting Fare Table can be viewed below

www.australiatravelmarket.com is a destination dedicated, content rich, travel search engine, that provides the independent traveller with the resources, on one comprehensive site, to quickly, simply and efficiently research, price compare and book.


-ENDS-

Note to editors: ALL PRICES ARE CORRECT AT TIME OF PRINTING

www.australiatravelmarket.com issues The Flight Price Index on a monthly basis. Should you require information at any other time, or would like a quote, comment or opinion from CEO Dave Simmons, please do not hesitate to contact Amy Sullivan Commercial Director on 020889 16824 amy@globaltravelmarket.co.uk