I don’t want to sound the alarm, but Christmas is less than 50 nights away (eek!). If you’re hoping to jet-set this holiday season, you’ll want to listen up. We’ve been alerted to the cheapest and most expensive days to book flights over the holiday period – and it could save you hundreds of dollars.

Travel insurance company Compare the market used Skyscanner to collect data on one-way fares from Australia’s three largest airports to the country’s major cities. The results revealed that flights departing from Brisbane, Melbourne And Sydney were on average the cheapest between December 3 and 5, then from December 10 to 13. During this time you can save up to $95 on flights from Brisbane to Perthup to $50 on travel from Melbourne to Darwinand up to $71 on routes from Sydney to Brisbane.

Compared to last year – where the best deals were between December 11 and 17 – this year’s cheapest flights have been shifted even earlier into December. Could this be a signal to clock in a week early and take advantage of your annual leave? We think so!

If you’re hoping to avoid Christmas price hikes, researchers have also revealed the most expensive days to book a one-way ticket to Australia. Unsurprisingly, the most expensive days to travel fall just before Christmas, December 20-22, or just after, December 26-29.

During this peak period, flights from Brisbane to other Australian cities can go up to $270. Meanwhile, fares from Sydney or Melbourne to Perth can cost you more than $300 – which is effectively the price of a luxury hotel stay. We’ll let you decide how to spend those hard-earned dollars (but we’ll also leave our guide on Australia’s best hotels right here).

The good news is that compared to last year, domestic flight prices in Australia fell over the Christmas period by an average of 9.9 percent in Brisbane, 14.3 percent in Melbourne and 6. 1 percent in Sydney. Looks like Santa is really watching over us this year.

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