Glimmer of hope for cheaper domestic air fares

The consumer watchdog has found domestic air fares surged through October as airlines cashed in on demand during the sports finals season and school holidays.

During the period, NRL and AFL fans from Brisbane flew to Sydney and Melbourne to watch their teams capture grand final victories over Victorian clubs.

October and late September recorded 5.5 million domestic passengers, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's airline report released today.

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This was 3.8 per cent higher than last October and the second biggest set of passenger numbers recorded for any month since January 2019, the month when the ACCC first began gathering data on the domestic airline industry.

Qantas and Virgin put on an 45 extra flights to meet the demand, but flights were still fuller than normal.

In October 2025, 84.4 per cent of available seats were filled by passengers, compared with the 12-month average of 81.6 per cent.

ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said interstate AFL and NRL teams playing in finals series pushed up air travel demand.

"Airfares are typically elevated during peak demand periods, but the higher passenger levels in October 2025 placed additional pressure on seat capacity which pushed up airfares for consumers," she said.

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The ACCC research reinforced what many air travellers already know: the aviation market in Australia is heavily concentrated around Qantas and Virgin Australia, with the two airlines holding 98 per cent market share.

But the regulator provided a glimmer of hope for cheaper future air tickets, noting Qantas and Virgin Australia are planning to increase their fleets next year.

This includes Qantas redeploying its 13 Airbus A320 planes from the axed Jetstar Asia carrier.

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