Domestic airfares soar as on-time performance plummets: ACCC

Airfares soared in spring as high domestic air travel put pressure on seating capacity, an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) report has found.

Average airfares in October 2025 increased by 3.2 per cent compared to the same month the previous year and were up 4.5 per cent compared to October 2019, according to the December 2025 Domestic airline competition in Australia report.

High demand for seats in September and October 2025 had Qantas Group and Virgin Australia adding over 45 additional flights to their networks to cater for demand, ACCC reported.

But flights were still fuller than normal. More than 5.5 million domestic passengers flew around Australia in October 2025, 3.8 per cent more than October 2024, ACCC found.

This represented the second-highest passenger numbers for any month since January 2019.

ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said: "While September and October are typically very busy months for domestic air travel, both the AFL and NRL featured interstate teams in their finals this year which led to additional demand for travel to Melbourne and Sydney."

The school holidays also contributed to higher demand for airline seats.

In terms of capacity, Jetstar increased the most during the 12 months to October 2025, with 7.6 per cent more seats, followed by Qantas with 4.2 per cent more and Virgin Australia with 2.9 per cent more. Rex capacity dropped 0.6 per cent.

A separate report from FCM Consulting found domestic airfares fell 8 per cent, or $20 on average, in the year to May 2025 compared to the previous year.

However, prices for the Melbourne and Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane, and Melbourne and Perth routes increased four per cent, FCM Consulting found.

The ACCC report found only 74.1 per cent of domestic flights arrived on time in October due to poor weather conditions, including crosswinds in Sydney.

This was well below the industry average of 80.6 per cent.

The Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics' latest Airline On Time Performance Monthly Report found Qantas and QantasLink combined recorded 75.2 per cent for on-time arrivals during October 2025 while Virgin Australia and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines combined recorded 72.1 per cent.

The Qantas network was once again ahead in on-time departures with 76.8 per cent compared with 72.4 per cent for the Virgin Australia network.