San Francisco to Sydney $660 RT - Tax Included

San Francisco to Sydney is down to $660 roundtrip, including all taxes and fees. Travel is on United Airlines from end of July through end of September. Click here to book.

HOT! San Francisco to New Zealand for $484 RT "all in"

HOT FARE! Last minute flights between San Francisco (and LAX) and Auckland on Air New Zealand for $399 roundtrip + tax; comes to about $484 with taxes and fees. This is a limited time offer, must purchase by 11:59 PM May 14th. Leave SFO between May 21-30, return May 28-June 10th. You do not earn FF miles with partner airlines, but you do with Air New Zealand's Airpoints program. Click here to book.

Current weather in Auckland here.

San Francisco to Sydney $601 "All In" on United

HOT FARE: $601 roundtrip, including all taxes and fees - will get you from SFO (or LAX) to Sydney or Melbourne, Australia on United Airlines.  Now that is a heck of a sale. 

Details: Overall, there are few restrictions. Your outbound flight can be any day of the week between July 1 and November 30, 2009*. No advance ticketing requirements apply to economy class tickets. $250 fee + applicable fare difference if you make changes to the reservation before departure. Books into "K" class. 

Have friends in the Big Apple? They can fly down under for just $60 bucks more! Visit the United Airlines website for more details on this sale. 

*Sale t&c states outbound travel by December 16th, but the lowest fare class we found permits outbound travel no later than November 30.

San Francisco to Sydney $713 "All In"

United Airlines just matched the $713 Qantas airfare for San Francisco to Sydney flights. The price covers round trip travel, including tax and fees, now through June 15th, and costs only $70 more for travel through the end of October 2009. Check availability here using the "flexible dates" option. 

British Airways Considers Qantas Partnership

Today British Airways announced they are in partnership talks with Qantas, Australia's largest airline. Although British Airways officials cautioned no guarantee a deal can be reached, both airlines are reportedly working toward a "complete and permanent merger." Read more from the New York Times.

San Francisco to Sydney $901 RT/taxes included

United Airlines is offering round trip tickets between San Francisco and Sydney for $901 round-trip, including all taxes and fees. Plenty of availability too! Valid for departures between October 20 and November 27, 2008 only. Visit www.ual.com.

Qantas 747 Emergency Landing, No Injuries

A Qantas 747 enroute from Hong Kong to Melbourne made an emergency landing last night in Manila, after a massive hole appeared in the plane.

The incident occured while flying at nearly 30,000 feet, at which time the plane then reportedly plunged, portions of the floor and ceiling collapsed, and oxygen masks deployed when the plane lost cabin pressure.

Still, despite the chaos and terror reported in the sky, the pilot managed to land the plane safely, and without injury to passengers. Read more, and view other pictures of the damage from the Sun.

Air New Zealand's "Pink Flight" for Sydney Mardi Gras

Air New Zealand is planning a special flight, open to anyone, who is heading to Sydney for the Gay Mardi Gras festival in late February. The flight includes a pre-flight party at SFO and one-time frills activities & entertainment on the party flight to Sydney. They also promise down-time for those who need some nap-time. Just checked on fares - not bad at all; $499/each way + tax. Visit this website, or check out their booth at the Castro Street Fair this weekend.

History about to unfold: Airbus 380 flies in October

The grand mamma/pappa (you can choose the gender) of planes will soon be put into service for everyone to enjoy. This will truly be an amazing moment in aviation history. The Airbus-380 will begin flying passengers by the end of October.

First though, Singapore Airlines will auction off their inaugural flight to some lucky folks through eBay. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to charity organizations.

More information can be found here.

Competition heating up for flights to Australia

V Australia Airlines, Virgin Blue's new trans-pacific airline received Australian regulatory approval to start flying from Australia to the West coast of the United States. Airline officials declined comment on which cities would be served, but San Francisco and Los Angeles are considered the most uncompetitive long-haul air routes in the world, with Qantas having a strong-hold over all other carriers. Additionally, based on demand, the San Francisco Bay Area has demonstrated a need for additional service to to Australia. The initial rollout calls for 10 weekly flights to the U.S West coast.

V Australia still needs U.S government approval, but says its plans are to fly by the 4th quarter 2008 when brand new 777-ER planes are delivered.

JetStar, another Australian based low cost carrier had previously reported targeting the Bay Area with service direct to Australia by the end of 2007.

Contributing source: The Australian

Adding a Low Cost Carrier to your Itenerary

As the world becomes smaller, and more people become interconnected, small regional airlines have rapidly formed over the past few years to get people into remote areas outside main tourist hubs. From this, Low Cost Carriers also began to glow, offering cheap, no frills transportation to cities and villages around the globe.

LCC are cheap, sometimes offering seats as low as a penny + tax each way. But everything else than your body in a seat may cost ya. Some airlines charge for checked luggage, many for food or drinks. Change fees can be steep and restrictive, and flights often packed. But if you play by the rules, LCC offer an inexpensive option for connecting to cities outside major international hubs.

It seems every day there is a new Low Cost Carrier (LCC) opening up shop - last I checked I've counted over 80 on the Internet alone. Rather than listing all these out, i've provided a links to search engines in Europe and Asia offering LCC options. In Australia, I recommend JetStar, and in South America, where the LCC airlines are a bit slower in forming, there are fewer options. One Brazilian carrier, WebJet is provided for reference. Be sure to shop around.

Europe Search engine for city pairs in Europe
Asia Listing by each country in Asia (I recommend Air Asia)
Australia JetStar
Brazil Webjet
Canada WestJet

Wikipedia has a good listing of several other LCC airlines

Leaving Foreign Currency fees at home during your next vacation

Foreign Currency Transaction fees charged when using your credit card overseas can range from a mere nuisance to a big-fat expense. For example, most Visa cards charge 2-3% on top of any purchase, making a $300.00 purchase cost you $3 bucks more. Nothing more than a cup of coffee (even a Latte) you say? Consider how this cost might pinch the pocketbook over a 2 week vacation in Paris. Flyerguide is one of many sites that have broken down the costs of using plastic overseas, whether it be your debit card, ATM or credit card. Some cards charge NO fees. With this information, consumers can be better decide which cards to take with them on their next overseas adventure.