Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific is selling seats from Sydney to London for more than £20,000 in April, as passengers look for scarce long-haul flights without stopping in the Middle East.
The tickets, which cost A$39,577 in business class for returns departing in mid-April, far exceed the usual fares charged even in the first class cabin.
Travelers on routes around the world have had to look at different options after the US-Israel war against Iran closed critical airspace and major hub airports in the Middle East.
A large proportion of traffic between the UK and Australia connects in the Gulf, traveling on airlines such as Emirates, based in Dubai, Etihad from Abu Dhabi and Qatar Airways from Doha. The three largest airlines have now restarted limited operations on a fraction of normal schedules, and hundreds of thousands of travelers have seen their flights canceled during 10 days of full or partial closure of airspace in countries around Iran.
Alternative long-distance connections, such as those via Singapore, Hong Kong or Malaysia, have limited capacity.
Budget flights across the Gulf in the same period remain on sale from around £1,100 return, the top end of the normal range according to Skyscanner, although bookings are mired in uncertainty as the war continues. Routes from companies operating through China, India and Malaysia were typically priced between £1,400 and £1,800.
While April is a busier season, return fares between the UK and Australia on the route are typically £3,000 to £4,000 in business class and £800 in economy class.
Cathay no longer had economy class seats available to book on many dates in April, but fares for cheap seats started at around £1,800.
Any passenger now paying the A$39,577 fare will travel in mixed cabins, upgraded to first class on some sections, but on certain departures, with the drawback of having to spend time in economy class for a short journey in Australia. The bumper fare beats the listed price for first class, available for just A$28,146 (£14,900) in April.
Andrew Charlton, an aviation analyst, said he had not seen fares at a similar level, but was aware that other airlines in Asia were raising fares on a range of routes to Europe, including those to the Philippines and Japan, with many economy fares on the popular UK-Australia route now at last year’s premium economy levels.
The closure of Russian airspace has made Asian routes less viable, with carriers having to divert south over the same congested and uncertain airspace of the Middle East, or even from Japan, diverting northeast over Alaska and the Arctic to reach London.
Advertised long-haul prices across the Gulf remain the cheapest, but Charlton said: “I wouldn’t do it without checking my travel insurance. The way Emirates is going to attract passengers is by selling cheap, but they would be taking a risk.”
Cathay has been contacted for comment.
