The sea in Puglia. Ed Anderson/aremediasyndication.com.au
Faring the flight path from Melbourne to Athens, Sydney to Tokyo is no humble business. So, when the opportunity for spending less on flights – and more on holiday travel luxuries, local delicacies and boutique hotels – presents itself, you take it.
While it’s only been a month since we saw significant discounts from the likes of Etihad, Flight Centre, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and more in the Black Friday flight sales, if you missed out on your dream deal then you might just find it in the Boxing Day and the new year sales.
Here, we’ve compiled our research into Gourmet Traveller‘s 2025 guide to Boxing Day flight and holiday sales, with huge savings and flights for as little as $49. Whether you’re heading interstate or across the seas, these sales – as well as New Year’s flight sales – are ones to take advantage of.
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Best Boxing Day flight sales
While the majority of 2025’s Boxing Day sales are yet to drop, we can look to last year’s deals – from the likes of Flight Centre and Virgin Australia – to give insight as to what we could expect to see in the coming weeks. Here are the Boxing Day flight deals that can help you save your euros, dollars and yens for travel in the new year.
Virgin Australia Boxing Day sale
Virgin Australia is offering significant savings on domestic and international short-haul flights for Boxing Day – such as Sydney to Ballina Byron from $49 one-way, Melbourne to Queenstown from $285 one-way and Sydney to Bali (Denpasar) from $469 return.
Flight Centre Boxing Day deals
Flight Centre: Domestic, international and multi-stop flight deals from the likes of Virgin Australia, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Finnair. So you could escape to Ballina/Byron from $57, Bali from $303 or Hawaii from $538 one-way, or take a round-the-world return economy trip from Sydney to Bangkok, Helsinki, Rome and Dallas from $2616.
We also saw also seeing return business class flights to Europe for under $10000 – including Sydney to Rome from $9474 and Brisbane to Paris from $9105, both with Qatar.
Etihad flight deals
While Etihad hasn’t traditionally participated in Boxing Day sales, the UAE airline extended their Black Friday sale with deals including return economy flights from Sydney to Barcelona starting at $1776, or Melbourne to Athens from $1690 when you book by January 10, 2025 and travel by March 31. And return business class from Sydney to London from $8792!
Etihad has also been known to offer New Year’s sales in the past. The airline offered some sweet round trip deals such as Copenhagen from $1745 and to Beirut from $1828.
Singapore Airlines flight deals
Fly from Sydney to Phuket for $1145 or Brisbane to Paris for $2121 and more deals on flights to London, Ho Chi Minh City and more with Singapore Airlines
Boxing Day tour and holiday deals
- Flight Centre: Save up to $866 on tours to Europe and up to $771 on tours to Asia
- Luxury Escapes: Up to 70 per cent off hotels and resorts
- Agoda: Offers a range of savings and deals on accommodation, travel activities and more
Boxing Day cruise deals
- Flight Centre: Discover Vanuatu with P&O Cruises from $1599 for nine nights or take a five night cruise from Sydney to Tasmania from $819 per person
- Luxury Escapes: Luxury Escapes offers discounts on luxe cruises year-round, with deals up to 56 per cent off when we checked for Boxing Day
Airlines and travel booking companies alike have been known to offer generous deals during the Boxing Day sales period, including Virgin Australia, Etihad and Flight Centre. While Boxing Day sales usually start on December 26, many go through to the new year. This means you have a small but sweet window to book your 2026 trips in for less.
