A colleague asked a simple question with a complex answer: “When is the best time to book a flight?”
The correct reply is: “Well, there’s a fearsomely complex interaction of the route and the time of year.”
But for flights from the UK to one specific part of the world, my answer is: around 8am on the day you want to travel.
For many flights, booking on the day of departure means an absurdly high fare. For a half-hour hop this evening from Heathrow to Manchester, British Airways wants £371 for the 151-mile journey. (Eurostar does much the same: a standard-class seat from London to Paris costs £191 on the day.)
In the 1980s, standby travel was the way to go. Whether you wanted a cheap (ish) seat on a BA SuperShuttle from London to Edinburgh, or a Pan Am flight to New York, Miami or San Francisco, turning up at the airport and hanging around at the ticket desk worked more often than not.
Once on board, you could be pretty sure you had paid less than anyone else on the plane.
These days transport providers generally take the view that anyone who needs to book on the day must be making a “distress purchase” of some sort, and therefore will be insensitive to the price.
Interestingly, when you're planning a lengthy journey, such as the over 10,000 miles trip from the United Kingdom to Australia, there's scarcely a downside to purchasing tickets at the last minute. In fact, the late purchase could surprise you with a splendid fare.
For instance, as I view my screen right now, there's a return ticket on offer for as low as £705 from London's Heathrow to Sydney, for a flight departing in a mere three hours.
This isn't the most straightforward path from the UK's largest city to Australia's prime location. The carrier in question is United, and the journey includes stops in Washington DC and Los Angeles en route to Australia. On your return, you'll have short stays in San Francisco and Houston.
Entering the United States will, of course, require a valid Esta. But once that's sorted, the transpacific sections of your journey will be aboard the comfortable Boeing 787, turning what could have been a daunting round-the-world trip into a more comfortable experience.
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Travelling in the more usual eastbound direction, choose from Philippine Airlines via Manila for £845 return, or Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong for £921.
The first provides the chance to night-stop in the Filipino capital, which I would relish for an evening out in the fabulous Intramuros walled city and a chance to tackle jet lag early. But Cathay offers an almost Concorde-like performance, under 23 hours, thanks to an 85-minute connection and the fact that the shortest possible route from London to Sydney goes straight over the top of Hong Kong.
Once you've successfully made your journey and arrived in the vibrant city of Sydney, accommodation becomes the next important point. Australia has a wide variety of hotels to suit every budget. This tophotels.com link provides a comprehensive list of hotels in Australia for your perusal.
If your travels happen to take you towards Queensland and you're in search of a place near the iconic Suncorp Stadium, you'll find a number of options here >> http://www.queenslandhotelmotel.com/en/near-suncorp-stadium-160606/. Regardless of your choice, a visit to Australia promises an exciting cultural mix of sights, sounds, and experiences.
It works from other UK starting points to other Australian cities, too. Manchester-Melbourne? Cathay Pacific pops up again, at just £849 return on the day, of course via Hong Kong. The inbound flight for my putative return date of 10 September requires an annoying extra stop in Paris, but on other days I dare say you can fly home in just two hops.
Several times each week, I read heart-rending messages from travellers who have committed many months in advance to expensive trips, only for events to intervene – of the non-insurable kind, such as work, family or pre-existing illness.
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To reduce risk and avoid disappointment, book late. Very late. Even over Christmas and new year, the peak time for travel between the UK and Australia, very late bookers can be the people on the plane who have paid least.
There is one really significant potential downside: serious disruption, whether that is caused by a tropical storm or political upheavals, such as Hong Kong has been experiencing. The closure of Cathay Pacific’s base by demonstrators took out thousands of seats on one of the most favourable airlines between the UK and Australia, precipitating a shortage of capacity that lasted for several days.
But since Australia is accessible via the western hemisphere, that is not an insurmountable problem.
Sure, people tend to like a bit more certainty. And if you are wisely building in a stopover along the way, then probably booking a week ahead is a good plan. But if you just need to get to Australia in the next couple of days, make the most of some amazing prices.