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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.