Flying , at least between major destinations around the east coast between Melbourne and Cairns, is undergoing a revolution at the moment, with newcomer Virgin Blue seriously undercutting prices and grabbing a good part of the market away from one-time monopolists Ansett and Qantas. Elsewhere, regional routes are served by smaller airlines such as Kendell (an Ansett subsidiary), who cover New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland; and state-based companies such as Airlines of South Australia, Hazelton in NSW, and Sunstate in Queensland. While these smaller airlines' fares remain relatively costly, they can begin to seem a bargain when you take into account the time saved, and the money you'll spend on incidentals during a long bus or train journey.

 

If you expect to be flying a fair amount, you may be able to save costs before you leave home. Some airfares to Australia allow you to buy a set number of internal flights at a substantial discount if booked with your international ticket; otherwise, various passes are offered by Ansett and Qantas, which have to be purchased before arrival in Australia. All of them divide the country into zones - for instance, "Western Australia", "the Centre" or "East Coast" - and you pay according to how many zones your flight crosses. With Ansett's G'Day Pass , you book a minimum of three flights (and a maximum of ten) at £79/US$160 for each flight within the same zone - for example, Sydney-Hobart - and £99/US$200 for longer flights such as Sydney-Perth. Similarly, Qantas' Boomerang Pass requires you book at least two flights (and a maximum of ten) at £95/US$155 for single-zone fares, and £120/US$195 for multiple-zone journeys. In both cases, as long as you have purchased the minimum number of flights before arriving in Australia, you can purchase additional flights at the same rates, up to the maximum allowed.

Once in Australia , Qantas also offers the Discover Australia fare which gives you around a thirty percent discount on the full fare on all domestic Qantas routes on production of your international air ticket (which need not be with Qantas). Often however, it's cheaper to simply buy your ticket in advance ; Qantas and Ansett offer 21-day advance purchase discount fares (APEX), while Virgin Blue offers by far the best prices on their cheapest seats - though as these are sold on a first-come, first-served basis, you still need to get in early. Savings can be substantial: a Brisbane-Sydney return with Ansett or Qantas costs around $410 on the day, $290 with a Discover Australia fare, or $280 as an APEX; with Virgin Blue you pay just $240.

You may also be able to get further student and pensioner reductions . Qantas and Ansett's backpacker fares are available to anyone with a YHA or VIP card; you buy a minimum of three flights and get a substantial discount - a useful adjunct to an open-jaw ticket.

Another type of flight offered all over Australia is brief sightseeing or joyrides. Everything is covered, from biplane spins above cities to excursions to the Great Barrier Reef and flights over well-known landscapes. The last, especially, can be worthwhile, enabling you to see things that are inaccessible or impractical to reach overland. Aircruising Australia (tel 02/9693 2233, www.aircruising.com.au ) offers a twelve-day tour by air which takes in the main sights; the price of around A$9400 includes absolutely everything accommodation, all meals and guides. Primarily a bus company, Oz Experience (Sydney tel 02/9221 4711, rest of Australia tel 1300/301 359, www.ozexperience.com ) offer an Air-Bus Pass where you fly one-way around Australia with Qantas and bus the other in off-the-beaten-track routes with driver-guides; for example, the cheapest tour ("Cobber Rama"; A$630) allows you to fly from Sydney to Cairns and then bus down the coast from Cairns to Sydney with unlimited stops (minimum nine days, maximum six months), while the priciest tour ("Devil's Bollocks"; A$1370) lets you fly Sydney to Darwin, bus Darwin to Alice, fly Alice to Cairns and then bus Cairns to Sydney (minimum thirteen days, maximum one year).