Fares down to Down Under

How do you find the best value to Oz?

Tomorrow is Australia Day. To celebrate, the mother of all fares wars has broken out on routes to Australia and New Zealand (not least because the airlines are keen to get bookings in ahead of any conflict in the Gulf). Yesterday Qantas cut its round-the-world fares, offered jointly with British Airways, by around £130. It is offering a wide range of stopover possibilities, including Rome, New York and Tokyo. Expect robust responses from other airlines. As always, for the lowest fares go through a discount agent.

If the winter gloom is getting you down and you want to fly in the next month or two, the best deal is probably with the perennial low-fare carrier, Malaysia Airlines. It offers fares from Heathrow and Manchester, via Kuala Lumpur to Australia and New Zealand. You can reach Sydney for £595 and Auckland for a very competitive £570. Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane are also on offer.

One benefit of flying to Australasia on the Malaysian carrier is that you get a free side-trip to anywhere on its domestic network, so long as you book and pay for at least two nights' hotel accommodation, at reasonable rates.

A good alternative in March is Korean Air, which is trying to increase its profile in Britain and offering excellent deals via Seoul. Sydney is available for £570, while Auckland is £585.

From April, competition to Auckland will weaken when United Airlines abandons the Los Angeles-Auckland route. In addition, Qantas is teaming up with Air New Zealand, so it makes sense to buy now for New Zealand in case fares rise.

With a fairly fixed supply, prices are lowest when the fewest numbers of passengers want to depart the UK: late April, May and the first half of June. Between 20 April and 15 June, the BA/Qantas circumnavigation will be on sale through discount agents for around £850. Simple round trips at the £550 mark or below can be found on Austrian Airlines via Vienna, or Malaysia Airlines.

Once the summer school-holidays approach, Emirates stands out. The Dubai-based airline has a special of £725 for departures between 16 July and 9 December..

Cheaper fares pop up again once the summer holidays are over. Look to Malaysia Airlines for the best value 16 August-5 October and 15 November-9 December at around £645. The gap is because the Rugby World Cup takes place in Australia from 10 October to 22 November. Seats on cheap flights will be scarce for flights just before and during the tournament.

At the end of October, Emirates launches a revolutionary non-stop daily flight from its hub at Dubai to Sydney: Birmingham will be a single hop from Bondi. It will also start flying via Singapore to Brisbane.

Over Christmas, Korean Air is good value at £870 to Sydney and £880 to Auckland. For Australia, Emirates is an option at £1,099 for anyone who wants to go Christmas shopping in the Gulf. Otherwise, seats are scarce even at £1,150-plus.

If you plan to fly domestically within Australia or New Zealand, or between the two countries, think before handing over your money. Rather than snapping up a long-haul bargain and then finding you have to pay a fortune for domestic flights, it could be worth paying a higher international fare to take advantage of free or very cheap flights within or between Australia and New Zealand. Give the agent your whole itinerary: they can work out the best deal for you.