Australia Flights FAQ
Twelve questions we are asked most often about flying within Australia: how this site works, where the fares come from, what to expect at the airport, and the two things that catch visitors out — cities with two airports, and time zones that do not agree.
Table of Contents
Booking and Managing Flights
What does this site do?
OZFLY lists the timetable of every domestic route in Australia, one page per route: which airlines fly it, on which days, at what times, and what the fare has been. When you have chosen a flight, we hand you to our booking partner to buy it.
Do you sell tickets?
No. When you choose a flight you are transferred to our booking partner, kiwi.com, to complete the purchase. We hold no bookings and take no payment. Fares are shown in Australian dollars.
Where do the fares on this site come from?
We collect them from our booking partner and keep the cheapest we saw for each flight. They tell you what a route usually costs; they are not a live quote for your dates. Every page says when its figures were collected, and the price you pay is the one shown at the moment you book.
How far ahead should I book?
Domestic fares in Australia are lowest well in advance and climb in the last fortnight. The school holidays and the weeks around Christmas and January are the busiest, and on the regional routes, where the aircraft are small, the cheap seats go first.
Can I change or cancel a flight I booked?
That is between you and whoever issued the ticket: kiwi.com if you booked through a link here, or the airline if you booked direct. We cannot see your booking or alter it. Keep the confirmation email you were sent; it carries the reference you will be asked for.
At the Airport
How early should I arrive for a domestic flight?
Australian airlines generally close check-in about 30 minutes before a domestic departure, and bag drop can close earlier. An hour ahead is comfortable at the capital-city airports; at a small regional airport there is less to queue for, but the cut-off still applies. Check your own airline, because it is the airline that sets it.
How much luggage can I take?
In the fares we recorded, hand baggage ran from 4 kg to 9 kg depending on the airline, and checked baggage from 13 kg to 23 kg. The cheapest fares on the low-cost airlines may include no checked bag at all, and the regional airlines on small aircraft have the tightest limits. Check your own ticket; allowances change and ours are a snapshot.
Do I need identification for a domestic flight?
Carry photo identification. Airlines can ask for it at check-in or at the gate, and a driver's licence or passport is what they expect to see.
Travelling in Australia
Which airports serve Sydney and Melbourne?
Sydney is served by Sydney Airport (SYD). Western Sydney International (WSI) is the city's second airport, and had no flights in the timetable we last collected. Melbourne has two: Melbourne Airport (MEL) at Tullamarine, which handles most flights, and Avalon (AVV), about 55 km south-west of the city, where every flight we recorded was Jetstar's. The route pages put both of a city's airports on one page, so check which one your flight uses.
Are the flight times local time?
Yes. Every departure and arrival on this site is the local time at that airport. Australia has three time zones, and daylight saving applies in some states and not others, so a flight from Brisbane to Sydney can arrive an hour later than its length suggests in summer. Perth is two or three hours behind the east coast, depending on the season.
How do I reach the smaller towns?
On the regional airlines. Rex and Qantas's regional flights cover much of the south and east, Link Airways flies out of Brisbane and Canberra, Airnorth serves the Top End from Darwin, Skytrans flies in far north Queensland and from Sydney to Lord Howe Island, and FlyPelican flies from Newcastle. They use smaller aircraft with fewer seats, so book early, and look at the route page for the days the route actually flies: many regional routes do not fly every day.
Is the train or the coach an alternative to flying?
On short hops, sometimes: between Sydney and Canberra, a coach or train takes a few hours and saves the airport. Beyond that the distances are the reason Australia flies. Sydney to Perth is more than 3,000 km, and flying is the only practical way across the country or to most of the north.