Aussie jet-setters are set to save both time and money when searching for their next getaway following the release of the first Cheapflights Compass, a new annual research piece that reveals the most affordable destinations across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.*
Insights across almost 649,000 searches across one month revealed that while the most popular search options were New Zealand, India, Philippines, China and Sri Lanka. There is a strong potential for savings to the most affordable airports, helping bargain hunters’ to find the best deals. Based on the national average for return fares, the top value airports include Indonesia, Thailand, Fiji, Malaysia and Singapore.
For example, choosing Singapore (one of the cheapest) over Manila (one of the most popular), consumers could save around $268 ex Perth, $263 ex Melbourne, $205 ex Darwin, $167 ex Sydney. Selecting Kuala Lumpur for business or adventure, over Shanghai (one of the most searched destinations), could deliver savings of $228 ex Brisbane, $241 ex Adelaide, $179 ex Melbourne and $149 ex Sydney, per fare.
The Cheapflights Compass state-by-state affordability breakdown also showed:
* Bali’s airport ranked #1 most affordable across every state bar Brisbane (where it ranked #2)
* Singapore trumped popular Bangkok, ranking #2 for departures from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, #3 for Darwin and #5 from Brisbane
* Kuala Lumpur beat out the likes of Nadi, Bangkok and Manila to rank #3 from Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, #4 from Darwin and Perth, and #6 from Melbourne
* Myanmar’s Yangon emerged across the board as highly affordable option, well ahead of more traditional ‘off the beaten track’ destinations like Cambodia
From Sydney Airport
| Airport | AU$ |
| Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia | $482 |
| Singapore | $559 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $561 |
| Port Vila, Vanuatu | $597 |
| Nadi, Fiji | $623 |
| Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | $643 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | $644 |
| Langkawi, Malaysia | $650 |
| Penang, Malaysia | $651 |
| Phuket, Thailand | $705 |
| Shanghai, China | $710 |
| Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia | $717 |
| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | $718 |
| Noumea, New Caledonia | $725 |
| Manila, Philippines | $726 |
| Surabaya, Indonesia | $738 |
| Yangon, Myanmar | $739 |
| Hong Kong, China | $775 |
| Phnom Penh, Cambodia | $780 |
| Guangzhou, China | $782 |
| Cebu, Philippines | $801 |
| Chiang Mai, Thailand | $808 |
| Siem Reap, Cambodia | $817 |
| Harbin, China | $832 |
| Rarotonga Island, Cook Islands | $853 |
From Melbourne Tullamarine
| Airport | AU$ |
| Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia | $494 |
| Singapore | $511 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $558 |
| Penang, Malaysia | $630 |
| Langkawi, Malaysia | $649 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | $655 |
| Phuket, Thailand | $656 |
| Nadi, Fiji | $673 |
| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | $674 |
| Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia | $683 |
| Krabi, Thailand | $690 |
| Yangon, Myanmar | $717 |
| Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | $719 |
| Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei | $725 |
| Shanghai, China | $737 |
| Taipei, Taiwan | $750 |
| Guangzhou, China | $763 |
| Siem Reap, Cambodia | $767 |
| Hong Kong, China | $770 |
| Port Vila, Vanuatu | $772 |
| Phnom Penh, Cambodia | $772 |
| Chiang Mai, Thailand | $773 |
| Manila, Philippines | $774 |
| Noumea, New Caledonia | $799 |
| Nuku’alofa, Tonga | $823 |
From Brisbane Airport
| Airport | AU$ |
| Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | $542 |
| Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia | $569 |
| Port Vila, Vanuatu | $609 |
| Nadi, Fiji | $657 |
| Singapore | $688 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $715 |
| Honiara, Solomon Islands | $733 |
| Noumea, New Caledonia | $792 |
| Manila, Philippines | $804 |
| Penang, Malaysia | $844 |
| Phuket, Thailand | $852 |
| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | $853 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | $853 |
| Nuku’alofa, Tonga | $858 |
| Suva, Fiji | $889 |
| Chiang Mai, Thailand | $891 |
| Hong Kong, China | $905 |
| Yangon, Myanmar | $923 |
| Shanghai, China | $943 |
| Dalian, China | $952 |
| Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia | $952 |
| Hanoi, Vietnam | $957 |
| Kaohsiung, Taiwan | $970 |
| Siem Reap, Cambodia | $971 |
| Guangzhou, China | $971 |
From Adelaide Airport
| Airport | AU$ |
| Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia | $482 |
| Singapore | $695 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $722 |
| Johor Bahru, Malaysia | $786 |
| Port Vila, Vanuatu | $805 |
| Nadi, Fiji | $805 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | $843 |
| Phuket, Thailand | $854 |
| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | $868 |
| Manila, Philippines | $890 |
| Chengdu, China | $893 |
| Hong Kong, China | $901 |
| Yangon, Myanmar | $915 |
| Phnom Penh, Cambodia | $941 |
| Shanghai, China | $963 |
| Chennai, Indonesia | $966 |
| Hanoi, Vietnam | $967 |
| Siem Reap, Cambodia | $985 |
| Cebu, Philippines | $991 |
| Kochi, India | $994 |
| Guangzhou, China | $998 |
| Dalian, China | $1,013 |
| Wuhan, China | $1,030 |
| Ko Samui, Thailand | $1,037 |
| Hyderabad, India | $1,044 |
From Darwin Airport
| Airport | AU$ |
| Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia | $479 |
| Dili, Timor Leste | $500 |
| Singapore | $510 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $569 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | $645 |
| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | $646 |
| Phuket, Thailand | $657 |
| Manila, Philippines | $715 |
| Phnom Penh, Cambodia | $758 |
| Balikpapan, India | $767 |
| Yangon, Myanmar | $778 |
| Hong Kong, China | $805 |
| Hanoi, Vietnam | $824 |
| Cebu, Philippines | $855 |
| Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | $905 |
| Davao, Philippines | $907 |
| Kochi, India | $908 |
| Hyderabad, India | $932 |
| Taipei, Taiwan | $966 |
| Port Vila, Vanuatu | $982 |
| Nadi, Fiji | $996 |
| Ko Samui, Thailand | $1,035 |
| Lucknow, India | $1,060 |
| Colombo, Sri Lanka | $1,067 |
| Male, Maldives | $1,082 |
From Perth Airport
| Airport | AU$ |
| Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia | $284 |
| Singapore | $347 |
| Penang, Malaysia | $378 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $379 |
| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | $461 |
| Phuket, Thailand | $477 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | $478 |
| Langkawi, Malaysia | $480 |
| Yangon, Myanmar | $520 |
| Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia | $536 |
| Krabi, Thailand | $563 |
| Hong Kong, China | $573 |
| Phnom Penh, Cambodia | $590 |
| Chiang Mai, Thailand | $605 |
| Manila, Philippines | $615 |
| Hanoi, Vietnam | $624 |
| Taipei, Taiwan | $627 |
| Kochi, India | $670 |
| Siem Reap, Cambodia | $678 |
| Cebu, Philippines | $692 |
| Da Nang, Vietnam | $706 |
| Colombo, Sri Lanka | $711 |
| Chennai, India | $722 |
| Shanghai, China | $736 |
| Guangzhou, China | $753 |
Additional key findings include:
* While most Aussies seek to fly out on Thursday or Friday, by departing on Wednesday instead of Friday, consumers could save $25 per fare on average
* Booking two to six months in advance rather than one to two months ahead ultimately only delivers around $22 in savings per fare
* Darwinians are the most likely to choose APAC travel (49 per cent), followed by those in Perth (44 per cent) and Melbourne (42 per cent)
* Darwin and Adelaide are home to the top domestic travellers, with 35 and 34 per cent searching internal flights compared with just 21 per cent for Melbournians and 19 per cent for Sydneysiders
* Melbourne is Australia’s most affordable domestic flight destination, based on a national average, closely followed by Sydney. It also wins on price when it comes to most affordable departure point for a Trans-Tasman trip at just $429 return compared with $860 for those in Darwin or Perth
* With geography in their favour, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne locals are the most likely to cross the Tasman (10, 9, 8 per cent respectively)
* The Cheapflights Compass taps into search, price and travel trends to uncover insights that help consumers make informed, savvy holiday decisions. The first Cheapflights Compass explored the most popular destinations, search trends and the most affordable airports based on the average round-trip airfares for international flights within the APAC region from key airports nationwide, excluding Hobart. The insights are based on information gathered from 648,920 searches via Cheapflights.com.au from 1-31 January.